Getty mines oil sands in California
A large deposit of oil-laden diatomaceous earth in the McKittrick oil field 40 miles west of Bakersfield, California, has resisted all efforts at production by standard means. Getty Oil Co. is in the pilot phase of a project to recover the Diatomite's oil by an open pit mining operation. It also could have significant implications for other California oil fields, possibly setting the stage for the mining of oil sands in shallow fields like Kern River, S. Belridge, and Lost Hills to maximize oil recovery. A report on the project is summarized. The Diatomite is estimated to have 500 million bbl of oil in reserves, of which 380 million bbl are recoverable. The estimated amount of recoverable oil exceeds the McKittrick field's cumulative production of 240 million bbl. A pilot plant was built to test solvent extraction method of recovering heavy oil. The multistep process involves a series of 6 extractors. The Lurgi retorting plant employs a 2-step heating process to separate hydrocarbons from crushed ore.
- OSTI ID:
- 6137168
- Journal Information:
- Drilling Contract.; (United States), Vol. 39:11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BITUMENS
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
CALIFORNIA
OIL SAND MINING
SURFACE MINING
OIL SANDS
PROCESSING
RESERVES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXTRACTION
FEDERAL REGION IX
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
TAR
USA
040300* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
040402 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Surface Methods