Economic feasibility and efficiency enhancement approaches for in situ upgrading of low-maturity organic-rich shale from an energy consumption ratio perspective

The technical feasibility of in situ upgrading technology to develop the enormous oil and gas resource potential in low-maturity shale is widely acknowledged.However,because of the large quantities of energy required to heat shale,its economic feasibility is still a matter of debate and has yet to be convincingly demonstrated quantitatively.Based on the energy conservation law,the energy acquisition of oil and gas generation and the energy consumption of organic matter cracking,shale heat-absorption,and surrounding rock heat dissipation during in situ heating were evaluated in this study.The energy consumption ratios for different conditions were determined,and the factors that influence them were analyzed.The results show that the energy consumption ratio increases rapidly with increasing total organic carbon(TOC)content.For oil-prone shales,the TOC content corresponding to an energy consumption ratio of 3 is approximately 4.2%.This indicates that shale with a high TOC content can be expected to reduce the project cost through large-scale operation,making the energy consumption ratio after consideration of the project cost greater than 1.In situ heating and upgrading technology can achieve economic benefits.The main methods for improving the economic feasibility by analyzing factors that influence the energy consumption ratio include the following:(1)exploring technologies that efficiently heat shale but reduce the heat dissipation of surrounding rocks,(2)exploring technologies for efficient transformation of organic matter into oil and gas,i.e.,exploring technologies with catalytic effects,or the capability to reduce in situ heating time,and(3)establishing a horizontal well deployment technology that comprehensively considers the energy consumption ratio,time cost,and engineering cost.

Classification of Hydrocarbon-Bearing Fine-Grained Sedimentary Rocks

Fine-grained sedimentary rocks are defined as rocks which mainly compose of fine grains（〈62.5 μm）. The detailed studies on these rocks have revealed the need of a more unified, comprehensive and inclusive classification. The study focuses on fine-grained rocks has turned from the differences of inorganic mineral components to the significance of organic matter and microorganisms. The proposed classification is based on mineral composition, and it is noted that organic matters have been taken as a very important parameter in this classification scheme. Thus, four parameters, the TOC content, silica（quartz plus feldspars）, clay minerals and carbonate minerals, are considered to divide the fine-grained sedimentary rocks into eight categories, and the further classification within every category is refined depending on subordinate mineral composition. The nomenclature consists of a root name preceded by a primary adjective. The root names reflect mineral constituent of the rock, including low organic（TOC〈2%）, middle organic（2%4%） claystone, siliceous mudstone, limestone, and mixed mudstone. Primary adjectives convey structure and organic content information, including massive or limanited. The lithofacies are closely related to the reservoir storage space, porosity, permeability, hydrocarbon potential and shale oil/gas sweet spot, and are the key factor for the shale oil and gas exploration. The classification helps to systematically and practicably describe variability within fine-grained sedimentary rocks, what＇s more, it helps to guide the hydrocarbon exploration.