Shale Oil/Gas Recovery Technologies
Depleting conventional oil and gas reserves mandate that alternative energy resources are explored to supply the increasing global energy demand. Shales are fine grained sedimentary rocks containing a significant amount of kerogen, which is a naturally occurring, solid and insoluble organic matter that can yield oil and gas upon undergoing thermal processes. For this reason, shale reservoirs are considered a highly promising potential source of unconventional oil and gas.
Shales are characterized by a very lowpermeability which limits the flow of oil and gas within the reservoir. This implies that production is not as simple as drilling a hole and waiting for the rise of the petroleum. These reservoirs require careful and precise manipulation in order to successfully extract the desired amount of fluid. Therefore, the production and extraction methods of shale oil and gas differ greatly from those utilized in conventional reservoirs.
Based on the above introduction, the proposed thesis should include the following:
- General overview of shale reservoir characteristics.
- State of the art of shale oil and shale gas production and extraction technologies.
- An overview of the advantages and disadvantages of aforementioned technologies with an emphasis on their environmental impact.
- A generic feasibility study on the most promising technology.
- An overview of the potential to introducing renewable energy into shale oil extraction technologies.