Shale Oil Occurrence Mechanisms: A Comprehensive Review of the Occurrence State, Occurrence Space, and Movability of Shale Oil

Yangbo Lu, Feng Yang, Ting’an Bai, Bing Han, Yongchao Lu and Han Gao
Additional contact information
Yangbo Lu: Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology of Petroleum Exploration and Development in Hubei Province, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Feng Yang: Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology of Petroleum Exploration and Development in Hubei Province, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Ting’an Bai: Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology of Petroleum Exploration and Development in Hubei Province, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Bing Han: Inner Monglia Key Laboratory of Magmatic Mineralization and Ore-Prospecting, Hohhot 010020, China
Yongchao Lu: Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology of Petroleum Exploration and Development in Hubei Province, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Han Gao: No. 11 Production Factory of Changqing Oilfield Company, PetroChina Co., Ltd., Qingyang 745000, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: Shale oil resources are important supplements for the gradually decreasing oil production from conventional reservoirs. Although the exploitation and development of shale oil have achieved considerable progress in the last decade, the commercial extraction of hydrocarbons from shales is still difficult, especially in the lacustrine sedimentary basins of China. One of the key points controlling the successful extraction of hydrocarbons from shale systems is the understanding of the occurrence mechanism of shale oil. This study comprehensively summarizes the theories and techniques to characterize oil occurrence state, occurrence space, oil content, and oil movability in shale systems. Sophisticated instruments, such as high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and high-energy ray imaging, were utilized to qualitatively analyze the pore networks of shales. Advanced physical experiments and numerical simulation techniques, including step-by-step rock pyrolysis, solvent extraction, and NMR, were introduced to characterize shale oil adsorption and movability. By the comparative analysis of the occurrence space, it is found that the image observation technique especially focuses on concentrated pores, such as organic matter-hosted pores. The fluid injection technology yields particular pore size information, which should be calibrated using other information. The 3D digital core, demonstrating the spatial distribution of minerals and pores, is an effective input for shale oil flow simulation. Geological controls analysis about oil retention in organic-rich shales has found that the inorganic matter pores and fractures are probably the “sweet spot” of shale oil, due to the low oil adsorption and high light hydrocarbons content. Many physical experiments measure the total free oil content but neglect the hydrocarbon–rock interaction and the sequential migration of hydrocarbon compounds. Thus, micro-scaled experiments measuring the hydrocarbon adhesion forces are needed to uncover the occurrence mechanism of shale oil in the future.

Keywords: shale oil; occurrence space; occurrence state; movability; oil retention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/24/9485/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/24/9485/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:24:p:9485-:d:1003345

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().