Nonconventional
Oil from Shales - Potential Recovery Methods and Economics of Recovery from Oil
from Rich, Mature Source Rocks
Eppink, Jeffrey1, Robert
Ferguson2, Vello Kuuskraa3, Keith Moodhe2 (1)
Advanced Resources International, Inc, Arlington, VA (2) N/A, N/A, (3) Advanced
Resources International, Arlington, VA
Non-conventional oil, in our definition,
includes deep heavy oil (not recoverable with traditional steam injection
methods), tar sands (oil sands) immobile residual oil left after traditional recovery
(both in the main pay and residual oil zones), and mature oil in tight shale
formations. (Oil shale, consisting of thermally immature kerogen, is a resource
classification of its own.) A common feature of each of these non-conventional
oil deposits is the need for significant advances in technology for their
efficient recovery. A significant subset of nonconventional oils, oil from
shales, is an emerging resource that is receiving increasing attention. Oil
from shales is recovered from self-sourced, rich, mature source rocks in the
general absence of an oil-water contact.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California