Experimental in situ retorting of oil shale at Rock Springs, Wyoming

Technical Report · Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1969

OSTI ID:6541601

Burwell, E L; Carpenter, H C; Sohns, H W

Preliminary results of an in situ oil shale retorting experiment conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in a shallow bed of Green River oil shale at Rock Springs, Sweetwater County, Wyoming are described. Eleven wells were drilled into a 20-ft-thick section of the shale lying between 68 and 88 ft deep, and attempts were made to connect the wells through the shale with a fracture system created by application of high-voltage electricity (electro linking), hydraulic fracturing, and explosive fracturing. Ignition of the shale through the central well was easily achieved with a propane burner, and shale oil began to collect in 3 wells within 3 hr. Propane injection was discontinued after 7 days, and combustion continues, although attempts to control the direction of the combustion front have been unsuccessful. Production rates as high as 4-1/2 bopd have been recorded, but too little is known about underground conditions to permit an estimate of recovery efficiency at this time. (Abstract only - original not available)

• OSTI ID: 6541601
• Report Number(s): PB-184,806
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
OIL SHALES
IN-SITU RETORTING
ROCK SPRINGS SITES
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
ELECTROLINKING
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
GREEN RIVER FORMATION
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
PROPANE
US BUREAU OF MINES
ALKANES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BOREHOLE LINKING
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMMINUTION
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURING
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HYDROCARBONS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RESOURCES
RETORTING
US DOI
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WYOMING
040401* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- In Situ Methods
True & Modified