JOSCO Delivering Value Through Innovation

Abstract

Shell's ICP Technology – A Means of Unlocking Oil Shale Resources The world's demand for oil and gas will grow to at least 2035. The oil and gas industry is exploring for conventional supplies in increasingly hostile environments and unconventionals, such as oil shale. Oil shale is sedimentary rock containing organic matter (kerogen) that yields oil and gas when heated. World oil shale high grade resources are massive, on par conventional oil reserves. Although many pioneering attempts have been made, none has resulted in the large scale production of oil and gas. These attempts generally focused on traditional mining methods and surface retorting. Shell's approach called In-situ Conversion Process (ICP) is different and is aimed at heating the oil shale by thermal conduction using a closely spaced array of horizontal electric resistance heaters. Assessing and Appraising the Jordan Oil Shale Resource Most of the oil shale resource assessment work was focused on the Piceance Basin of Colorado. In May 2009 Shell signed a very significant Oil Shale Concession Agreement covering 25% of Jordan. Since 2010, more than 300 wells have been drilled and around 50 wells have undergone hydrology testing. Data from these programs have enabled the identification of three “sweet spots”. Demonstrating Technical Feasibility of ICP in Jordan JOSCO will tap into many years Shell has spent developing advanced reservoir models that provide insights to the response of the reservoir to heating (including reaction kinetics). In Jordan, the first ICP field test (Jordan Field Experiment, JFE), will be soon underway. JFE is a small proof of concept test with the goal of validating the predictions of our reservoir models. The Path to a Commercial Project in Jordan After the JFE, further piloting is required in Jordan to validate heater performance, containment, determine the energy balance and to investigate geomechanics. A full commercial project would represent a significant opportunity for the country of Jordan which imports essentially all of its energy. Through the application of Shell's novel ICP Technology, JOSCO is looking forward to be the key player in unlocking the massive oil shale potential in Jordan.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90194 © 2014 International Conference & Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey, September 14-17, 2014