Method of detonating explosives for fragmenting oil shale formation toward a vertical free face
A description is given of a method for explosively expanding oil shale formation toward a limited void volume provided by a void excavated in a retort site in formation containing oil shale, wherein said void has at least one vertical free face, the improvement comprising the steps of: placing explosive in a roiw of blasting holes in a remaining portion of unfragmented formation within the retort site adjacent such a vertical free face, said blasting holes being mutually spaced apart along the length of the void; and detonating explosive in the blasting holes in a single round in a time delay sequence progressing along the length of the row of blasting holes for explosivelyexpanding formation in said remaining portion of unfragmented formation toward such vertical free face for forming at least a portion of a fragmented permeable mass of formation particles containing oil shale in an in situ oil shale retort.
- Assignee:
- Occidental Oil Shale Inc
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4210366
- OSTI ID:
- 5154307
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Staggered array of explosives for fragmented oil shale formation toward a vertical free face
Staggered array of explosives for fragmented oil shale formation toward a vertical free face
Related Subjects
040300* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
040401 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMMINUTION
DETONATIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPANSION
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
EXPLOSIVES
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURING
FRAGMENTATION
FUELS
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
KEROGEN
OIL SHALES
ORGANIC MATTER
OXIDATION
PROCESSING
RETORTING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES