Heavyoil 20 08 2009

Unconventional reservoirs
General introduction
Professor Ole Torsæter Department of Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics, NTNU Trondheim
Autumn 2009

Outline
• • • • • • Conventionaland unconventional oil resources Oil shale Extra heavy oil Oil sand (bitumen) Oil sands in Alberta Fluid and rock characteristics of oil sand reservoirs in Alberta • Production methods of oil sandreservoirs

Resources

Conventional Oil is a Small Fraction of Fossil Fuel Reserves
Oil Shale 2.4% InSitu HVO/ Bitume n 1.9% Surface Bitumen 0.2% Conventional Oil 0.9% Gas Hydrates 62% ConventionalGas 0.6%

Coal 31%

Coalbed Me thane 0.7%

Source: Shell International Exploration and Production Company, personal communication

Classification of crude oil
Type of oil Density rangeViscosity range kg/m3 Pas ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conventional crude oil < 934 < 0,05 Heavy oil Extra heavy oil Natural bitumen 934 – 10001000 - 1044 > 1044 0,05 – 5 5 – 10 >10

From: Heavy-Oil Reservoirs, Oilfield Review (Autumn 2002)

Unconventional versus conventional oil

Athabasca

North Sea

Orinoco

Brazil

Heavyoil resources

Conventional Oil Heavy Oil 15% 30%

Extra Heavy and Bitumen 55%

From: Strategy West Inc. (Nov.2007)

Heavy Oil: World Wide
After Batzle et al (2006) Data in millions of barrelsFuture for oil production
After Maurice B. Dusseault

Unconventional Hydrocarbon Liquids

OIL SANDS GTL
(300 b/d)

ULTRA-Heavy Crude

Ethanol
(0.8 b/d)

Coal-to-Liquids

TheResource Pyramid … a concept
Cumulative Ultimately Recoverable Not yet technically Recoverable

Conventional
(3 to 7 Tbooip)

EHO & Bitumen
(4 to 5 Tbooip)

GTL (0.3 Gb?) Shale (1 to 3), Coal(~?)
Source: USGS, HIS, IEA, Skinner (StatoilHydro)

Oil shale

Uinta Basin, Utah, USA

Location of the Green River Formation oil shale in the
United States

Shale oil resources and...