Nuclear in situ recovery of oil from oil shale

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:4130545

Lewis, A E

A plan is presented for production of oil by retorting oil shale in situ after breaking it with underground nuclear explosives. Reserves of oil shale of thickness and grade suitable (greater than 20 gal/ton) for this process occur in the Piceance Creek Basin of Colorado, and are estimated to contain 640 x 10$sup 9$ barrels of oil in place. Cost projections indicate that this oil could be produced at a price ranging from $2.00 to $3.30 at the well head with a 20 percent rate of return on investment (discounted cash flow). The price and production rate vary with oil shale thickness. At a rate of 32 nuclear chimneys per year in oil shale ranging in thickness from 1000 to 2000 ft, production varies from 28 x 10$sup 6$ bbl/a ($3.30/bbl) to 121 x 10$sup 6$ bbl/a ($2.00/bbl). Capital requirements for this in situ process are estimated to be 20 times less than those required by a surface retorting process. Environmental problems such as the need to dispose of large volumes of waste rock associated with conventional mining and surface retorting of oil shale would be largely avoided. De-watering problems would be similar to those associated with other methods of development. Problems of seismic ground motion and possible contamination of the oil and groundwater appear manageable. Because of its potential economic and environmental advantages, it is believed that this method should be considered for development of this vast resource. (auth)

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, Livermore
• NSA Number: NSA-33-009230
• OSTI ID: 4130545
• Country of Publication: IAEA
• Language: English

Related Subjects

*NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS-- USES
*OIL SHALES-- IN-SITU RETORTING
*SHALE OIL-- PRODUCTION
450201* --Explosions & Explosives--Nuclear--Civil Uses
COLORADO
COST
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
GREEN RIVER FORMATION
GROUND MOTION
GROUND WATER
N42520* --Engineering--Nuclear Explosions--Civil Uses
RADIATION HAZARDS
SAFETY
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS
UTAH
WYOMING