Numerical Analysis of In Situ Conversion Process of Oil Shale Formation Based on Thermo-Hydro-Chemical Coupled Modelling

Juan Jin, Weidong Jiang, Jiandong Liu (), Junfeng Shi, Xiaowen Zhang, Wei Cheng, Ziniu Yu, Weixi Chen () and Tingfu Ye
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Juan Jin: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Weidong Jiang: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Jiandong Liu: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Junfeng Shi: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Xiaowen Zhang: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Wei Cheng: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Ziniu Yu: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
Weixi Chen: Engineering and Technology Department, Qinghai Oilfield, PetroChina, Dunhuang 736202, China
Tingfu Ye: Drilling and Production Technology Research Institute of Qinghai Oilfield PetroChina, Dunhuang 736202, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: The in situ conversion process (ICP) is a retorting method pyrolyzing the kerogen in shale into oil and gas products, which shows great potential to promote the recovery of oil shale resources. In this work, a thermo-hydro-chemical-coupled model for the in situ conversion process is established, considering the temperature dependence of key properties and the transverse isotropy caused by the layered characteristics of oil shale. Based on the proposed model, a series of simulations is conducted to evaluate the production performance of the in situ conversion process of oil shale reservoirs. The results indicate that energy efficiency reaches a maximum of 2.7 around the fifth year of the heating process, indicating the feasibility of in situ conversion technology. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis shows that the heating temperature should be higher than 300 °C to avoid the energy output being less than the energy input, and the oil/gas ratio decreases with increasing heating temperature. Moreover, thermal conductivity is positively with production while heat capacity is negatively correlated, and the energy efficiency decreases with increasing thermal conductivity and matrix heat capacity. Finally, the heating period should be no longer than 4 years to maximize the heating efficiency.

Keywords: in situ conversion process; multi-physics field; oil shale; production evaluation; thermo-hydro-chemical coupled model; numerical analysis (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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