Squeeze Oil From The Cracks in The Rocks! My Country’s Recoverable Shale Oil Reserves Rank Third in The World
May 15, 2024
Shale oil is oil attached to shale rocks or cracks. It is called "oil squeezed out of cracks in rocks" because of its difficulty in extraction.
my country's first national-level continental shale oil demonstration area - Jiqing Oilfield Operation Area, shale oil production reached 215,000 tons in the first quarter of this year, a record high.
my country's first national shale oil demonstration area
Production reaches record high in first quarter
Since the beginning of this year, 53 new wells have been drilled in the Jiqing Oilfield operating area of Xinjiang Oilfield, with an average completion cycle of 34 days, an increase of 5% over the same period last year. Currently, the daily production level of shale oil reaches 2,800 tons, an increase of 46% compared with the same period last year and a record high. 27 drilling wells are operating at the same time, which is the largest production capacity construction since the construction of the operating area.
Wang Wei, senior engineer of petroleum engineering at the Jimusar shale oil operating area of Xinjiang Oilfield: According to the plan, 100 wells will be drilled in the operating area this year, and the scale of construction production capacity will reach the highest level in history. In 2025, shale oil production will reach 1.4 million tons.
The Jiqing Oilfield operating area is my country's first national-level continental shale oil demonstration area, covering an area of 1,278 square kilometers and estimated resource reserves of more than 1 billion tons.
Shale oil - oil hidden in the cracks of rocks
What exactly is shale oil? What is its overall condition? Shale oil is petroleum resources stored in shale. Generally speaking, it is petroleum stored in the cracks of rocks. Mining requires pressurizing oil-bearing shale, using water and additives to expand cracks in the oil-bearing shale to release oil.
Due to the deep burial depth and low permeability, extraction is very difficult, like squeezing oil from a whetstone. Due to the growth of global oil demand and the reduction of traditional oil resources, the market demand for shale oil is increasing. Currently, shale oil has been discovered in 75 basins in 21 countries around the world. The United States is the world's largest shale oil producer, with shale oil production accounting for 35% of the world's total production. my country is rich in shale oil resources and its recoverable reserves rank third in the world.
Overcoming "stuck neck" technology
"Extracting oil" from stones
The Xinjiang Oilfield Jiqing Oilfield operating area relies on technological innovation to establish a comprehensive identification standard for shale oil "golden target bodies", which has improved the efficiency of shale oil extraction.
Wang Liangzhe, assistant engineer of the Geological Research Center of the Jiqing Oilfield Operation Area of Xinjiang Oilfield Company: Shale oil reservoirs are like sandwich biscuits buried 3,500 meters below the ground. High-quality reservoirs are like the cream layer in the sandwich biscuits. They need to be controlled during the drilling process. The drilling tool travels laterally along our cream layer and has more contact with the cream layer, so that the drilled oil well can achieve high production in the later stage. This is also called the "golden target" comprehensive identification system. After technological breakthroughs, the "golden target" The "target body" oil drilling rate has increased from the original 44% to the current 85%.
How to "squeeze" shale oil that is as viscous as honey from the cracks of stones is a recognized problem in mining shale oil. Currently, the Jiqing Oilfield operating area uses a carbon dioxide pre-fracturing process to inject carbon dioxide into the oil layer, similar to honey. Add water to reduce the viscosity of crude oil in the oil layer, increase its fluidity, and squeeze the crude oil out of the formation.
At present, my country has established three national-level shale oil demonstration areas, the Xinjiang Oilfield Jimusar National-level Shale Oil Demonstration Area, the Daqing Oilfield Gulong Continental Shale Oil National-level Demonstration Area, and the Shengli Jiyang Shale Oil National-level Demonstration Area. district.
