--> Abstract: Recognizing Geochemical Facies to Improve Oil Shale Resource Assessment and Development; #90063 (2007)

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Recognizing Geochemical Facies to Improve Oil Shale Resource Assessment and Development

 

Ruble, Tim E.1, Brian Jarvie1, Michael D. Lewan2, R. Paul Philip3, Daniel M. Jarvie4 (1) Humble Geochemical Services, Humble, TX (2) U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (3) University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (4) Humble Instruments and Services, Humble, TX

 

Oil shales have recently emerged as a major nonconventional world oil resource due to changes in economic and technological considerations. Innovative in-situ thermal conduction retorting methods are currently being tested to exploit some of the estimated 3.3 trillion barrels of in-place shale oil, as assessed worldwide by the USGS1. The largest single known deposit is the Green River Shale in the western US, which is thought to represent about half of this appraised total and is the focus of the current study. Not all of these in-place resources are recoverable; however, even a moderate estimate of 800 billion barrels of Green River shale oil is three times the proven conventional reserves of Saudi Arabia2. Therefore, it is essential to optimize our approaches for oil shale resource assessment and development.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California