The liquid oil extracted from oil shale, once it is upgraded, creates a type of synthetic crude oil. Shale oil refers to hydrocarbons that are trapped in formations of shale rock. The green river oil shale deposits in western united states and a number of the tertiary lacustrine deposits in eastern queensland, australia, are lamosites. The posidonia shale kerogen has a type ii elemental composition and generates mixed base low wax crude oil 2325 whereas the green river shale has a type i elemental composition and generates paraffinic high wax crude oil 24,26. Guo encyclopedia of life support systems eolss are wellknown catalytic poisons in various refining processes. Amman, natural resources authority, hashemite kingdom of jordan, 98 p. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen. Book of astm standards, part 25, designation d 390480, p. Petroleum and natural gas are probably the most familiar hydrocarbons. Primary oilshale resources of the green river formation in the eastern uinta basin, utah by laurence g. The green river formation was deposited in a series of saline, alkaline lake basins in.
Green river basin drilling activity 2020 shale experts. Green river basin drilling activity in 2020 and 2019. The green river formation is the site at which the fossil of the oldest known flying mammal was found. The hydrocarbons in oil shale can be used as an alternative to petroleum or natural gas. Definition sedimentary rock with a high organic content organic matter is known as kerogen kerogen.
The oil recovered in the bakken and eagle ford is actual oil that doesnt flow properly because its trapped in the shale. The green river oilshale deposits in western united states and a number of the tertiary lacustrine deposits in eastern queensland, australia, are lamosites. Oil shale can be a confusing term and the reason is that it can contain crude oil, bitumen, and even natural gas. At left, a complete fossil of knightia, a small fish common in green river sedimaents. Hydrocarbons are substances made entirely of hydrogen and carbon. They cause stability problems in gasoline, jet and diesel fuels, and produce nox emissions in burners. The green river formation, an oil shale formation in colorado, utah, and wyoming, is a potentially valuable source of synthetic crude oil. May 10, 2012 tapping the vast amounts of oil locked within u. Oil shale resources of the eocene green river formation. Fish preservation, fish coprolites and the green river formation. Primary oil shale resources of the green river formation in the eastern uinta basin, utah by laurence g. The green river formation in piceance creek basin is estimated to have the largest oil. The first is the composition of the fish coprolites. It was discovered along with food still inside its body and waste not yet disposed, so some of the flora, algae, pollen and arthropods of the time can be studied.
And for decades, oil companies have been struggling to find an economically viable way to release that oil from the underground rock. Mason abstract resources of potential oil in place in the green river formation are measured and estimated for the primary oil shale resource area east. The second western reference shale is a tipton member green river formation oil shale obtained from an outcrop near rock springs, wyoming. The richest, most concentrated deposits are found in the green river formation in western. Pdf characterization and comparison of shale oil and crude oil. Details about the site selection and sample acquisition have been reported by owen 1987. Geological survey usgs recently completed a comprehensive assessment of inplace oil in oil shales in the eocene green river in the greater green river basin, wyoming, colorado, and utah. The organic material present in the green river formation is of biological origin.
The complex analysis of the chemical composition and technological properties of oil shale from the green river formation was carried out. The wilkins peak member of the green river formation in the green river basin in southwestern wyoming contains not only oil shale but also the worlds largest known resource of natural sodium carbonate as trona na 2 co 3. The most abundant oil shale beds in the world lie in the green river formation. Oil shales vary considerably in their mineral content, chemical composition, age, type of kerogen, and depositional history. Shale oil usually contains large quantities of olefinic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Comparison between shale oil tbp data from two different origins, green river shale oil from wyoming shale 1 and green river shale oil from colorado shale 2, and crude oil from two different. Fracking is a process that oil companies use to drill down into the layers of shale and open up the rock formations. Source rock characterization of the green river oil shale, piceance.
It has been estimated that the oil shale reserves could equal up to 3 trillion barrels 480 billion cubic metres of shale oil, up to half of which may be recoverable by shale oil extraction technologies pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or. Kerogen is a part of rock that breaks down and releases hydrocarbons when heated. Edwards has examined green river formation fish coprolites and his results are revealing for two reasons. However, the hydrocarbon, which is namely kerogen, extraction from shales is limited due to environmental and technical challenges. Petrophysical analysis of the green river formation, colorado. Currently, only a few companies are pursuing oil shale development in utah, all focusing on near surface deposits in the southeastern part of the resource. Although not all of this can be extracted, it is more than three times the proven petroleum reserves of saudi arabia. Green river shale the green river formation contains the largest oil shale deposit in the world with an estimated 3 trillion barrels of oil reserves, of which half is recoverable. Oil shale, any sedimentary rock containing various amounts of solid organic material that yields petroleum products, along with a variety of solid byproducts, when subjected to pyrolysisa treatment that consists of heating the rock to above 300 c about 575 f in the absence of oxygen. Jan 20, 2014 for decades, petroleum engineers have known of vast quantities of oil trapped under the ground in colorados oil shale rock. This dvd includes reports, data, and an arcgis project describing. Potential green river formation oil shale reserves based on 30 gallons per ton of rock are almost 20 billion barrels of oil. Coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol.
This data includes wells permitted, wells drilled and well completed and wells drilled, but uncompleted, ducs. The green river, utah holds the worlds greatest oil shale resources. Oil shale in the eocene green river formation including the piceance basin. Unesco eolss sample chapters coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol. Oilshale samples selected from a core of the green river basin wyoming were studied to ascertain differences in the composition andor chemical structure of the organic material in the samples relative to stratigraphic position within the green river formation. Worlds largest shale oil reserve the green river formation. Part of theanalytical chemistry commons,geographic information sciences commons, geology commons, and theoil, gas, and energy. Petrophysical analysis of the green river formation. The differences between oil extracted from shale formations like the oil in bakken and eagle ford and oil shale like the green river formation and western slope are vast and have been a great source of confusion. Oil shale research in the united states department of energy. Shale oil can also contain significant quantities of heteroatoms. Characteristics of green river oil shale green river formation oil shale has been defined as a compact, laminated, sedimentary rock containing organic material from which appreciable amounts of oil can be obtained by the application of heat but not by extraction with solvents.
The green river formation contains the largest oil shale deposit in the world with an estimated 3 trillion barrels of oil reserves, of which half is recoverable. Shale oil resource play potential of the green river. Green river formation geological feature, united states. It has been estimated that the oil shale reserves could equal up to 3 trillion barrels 480 billion cubic metres of shale oil, up to half of which may be recoverable by shale oil extraction technologies pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution of. The green river formation in the uinta basin has may characteristics typical of an ideal shale oil resource play.
Develop improved geologic understanding of the green river formation. Geological survey digital data series dds69dd, 6 chapters, pages variable. Green river formation lithology and oil shale correlations. A study by shell oil showed that an in situ site generated 21 to 47 percent more emissions than conventional oil production.
The analysis of the kerogen of green river oil shale by controlled potential oxidation with perchloric acid chris wyatte mcgowan iowa state university follow this and additional works at. Complete and articulated fossils such as these suggest that the lakes present at that time were fairly deep, to allow the anoxic conditions required. In eastern germany and poland the kupferschiefer, a bituminous shale, is mined for copper, lead, and zinc. Green river formation lithology and oil shale correlations in the piceance creek basin, colorado ri bureau of mines report of investigations, 7357 laurence g. Due to the recent increase in crude oil prices and concerns over diminishing conventional reserves, the utah geological survey has reexamined the uinta basins oilshale resource, primarily in the mahogany zone of the green river formation. The green river formation, an oilshale formation in colorado, utah, and wyoming, is a potentially valuable source of synthetic crude oil. Oil shale geology is a branch of geologic sciences which studies the formation and composition of oil shalesfinegrained sedimentary rocks containing significant amounts of kerogen, and belonging to the group of sapropel fuels. At right, the gar lepisosteus, a large predatory fish also common in the formation. The green river formation is the largest oil reserve on the planet. The analysis of the kerogen of green river oil shale by. Like conventional oil, shale oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, and it is characterized using bulk properties of the oil. Guoquan, shi, 1988, shale oil industry in maoming, in proceedings international conference on oil shale and shale oil. Log interpretation parameters determined by analysis of green.
The green river formation contains the largest oil shale deposit in the world. Jul 03, 2015 the green river formation an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of colorado, utah, and wyoming contains the worlds largest deposits of oil shale. Oil shale is a type of sedimentary rock that is rich in kerogen. Assessment of inplace oil shale resources of the eocene green. Pdf characterization and comparison of shale oil and. Mason abstract resources of potential oil in place in the green river formation are measured and estimated for the primary oilshale resource area east. Oil shale refers to a type of crude oil that can be refined from sedimentary rock.
Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. However, despite its astounding potential, experts argue that economically viable technology necessary to extract oil from the area beneath colorado, wyoming and utah does not yet exist. Additionally oil shale byproducts would require off. Material balance fischer assays, carbon aromaticities, thermal properties, and bulk mineralogic properties have been determined for the oil shales. Crains petrophysical handbook immature oil shale analysis.
Geological survey oil shale assessment team, 2011, oil shale resources of the eocene green river formation, greater green river basin, wyoming, colorado, and utah. Developing a predictive geologic model of the green river oil shale, uinta basin. The decomposition of posidonia shale and green river shale. Department of energy stated that oil shale production would generate sulfur and nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and large quantities of carbon dioxide. Green river formation lithology and oil shale correlations in the piceance creek basin, colorado ri bureau of mines report of investigations. The classic type i oil shales in the upper green river formation correlate well. The high cost of crude oil has many people looking for new sources of energy and taking a second look at some old ideas. Part of the casebooks in earth sciences book series casebooks.
Log interpretation parameters determined by analysis of. Chapter 4 origin and characteristics of green river oil shale. Separation of kerogen from green river oil shale springerlink. Petrophysical analysis of the green river formation, coloradoa case study in oil shale formation evaluation october 2011 petrophysics 333 a simple closure model for clastic environments assumes that the principal earth forming elements are present as oxides, for example sio 2, al 2 o 3, fe 2 o 3, na 2 o, k 2 o, cao, mgo, tio 2, mno, etc. The green river formation an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of colorado, utah, and wyoming contains the worlds largest deposits of oil shale. Effective extraction of green river oil shale via combustion. Past assessments, the first conducted in 1964 and subsequent studies continuing through the early 1980s, concentrated on the eocene green river formations. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas.
Oil shale deposits in the green river formation are estimated to contain up to 3 trillion barrels of oil, half of which may be recoverable, which is about equal to the entire world s proven oil reserves. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of the combustion process for shale oil extraction. However, despite its astounding potential, experts argue that economically viable technology necessary to extract oil from the area beneath colorado, wyoming and utah. Stanfieldoil yield and properties of green river oil shale in the uinta basin, utah. Apr 01, 2001 as previously noted, fish preservation in the green river formation correlates best with fish coprolites. The oil shale that was received from terra tek had a top size of approximately 34 inch. The green rlver formation was deposited in three eocene lakes that covered an area of more than 34, 000 square miles in colorado, utah and. Stratigraphic cross sections of the eocene green river. Apr, 20 the green river formation is the largest oil reserve on the planet.
621 499 1189 526 1439 25 1481 68 318 458 530 714 256 147 360 170 921 1260 247 156 892 380 636 1266 1316 1317 955 1458 1395 1267 1397 1491 306 1487 505 114 300 1416 919 181 681 1269 774 1348 1387 1052 683