Investigation of the Geokinetics horizontal in situ oil shale retorting process. Quarterly report, July, August, September 1982

Technical Report · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6681808· OSTI ID:6681808

Bartlett, S.; Wege, L.

The Geokinetics In Situ Oil Shale Project is a cooperative venture between Geokinetics Inc. (GKI) and the US Department of Energy (DOE). The objective is to develop an in situ process for recovering shale oil using a fire front moving in a horizontal direction. The project is being conducted at a field site, Kamp Kerogen, located 70 miles south of Vernal, Utah, on Section 2, Range 22 East, Township 14 South, Uintah County, Utah. The process is a true in situ method for extracting oil from oil shale. The oil shale is fractured by means of explosives placed in blastholes drilled from the surface. After a specific area has been fractured to create an in situ retort, air injection wells are drilled at one end and off gas recovery (air-out) wells are drilled at the other. The oil shale is ignited at the air injection wells and air is continually injected to establish and maintain a burning front. The front is moved in a horizontal direction through the fractured rock. This heats the shale, driving out the shale oil which drains to the bottom of the retort where it is recovered through oil production wells. As retorting progresses from the air-in to the air-out wells, the residual coke serves as the primary fuel source to sustain the moving burn front. The combustion gases are recovered at the off gas wells. Progress accomplished during the period ending September, 1982, is summarized.

• Research Organization: Geokinetics, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FC20-78LC10787
• OSTI ID: 6681808
• Report Number(s): DOE/LC/10787-104; ON: DE83004249
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040401* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- In Situ Methods
True & Modified
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FIELD TESTS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASEOUS WASTES
IN-SITU PROCESSING
IN-SITU RETORTING
MATERIALS
MINERAL OILS
NORTH AMERICA
OFF-GAS SYSTEMS
OIL SHALES
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETORTING
SHALE OIL
TESTING
USA
UTAH
WASTES
WELLS