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IAIA1, < / <br />?? ?-Ldo?? ou by Mlj ? o"z? <br />RECEtVEq/ <br />MAY 2 6 2009, ?? use P?, s? MAY 2 0 2009 <br />GRAND JUNCTION FIELD OFFICE <br />Divieicxj of Rec:Zma!ior1, <br />MinMg and S lvnhole Heat Sources DIVISION OF <br />A conventional burner or catalytic heater could be used to burn methane, propane;0orrea eA SAFETY <br />shale fuel gas to provide heat to the boiling pool of shale oil. The burner or heater would be <br />contained in a casing that is submerged in the boiling pool. Flue gases would not be <br />allowed to co-mingle with retort products. An electric resistance heater or radio frequency <br />antenna could be used in lieu of either the burner or catalytic heater. AMSO will use an <br />electric heater for the Pilot Test, but the baseline approach for commercial operation is a <br />downhole catalytic heater. <br />Surface Heat Sources <br />Any number of fluids (steam, gases, certain liquids) could be heated on the surface using <br />boilers or other methods to heat the fluids. These hot fluids would be circulated to a heat <br />exchanger submerged in the boiling pool. Alternatively, retort products can be collected on <br />the surface, heated to appropriate temperatures, and sparged into the boiling pool. <br />Once the CCRTM retorting process is operational, a surface cooling/condensing process will <br />result primarily in the production of shale oil, shale fuel gases, and water. In the RD&D phase, <br />the shale oil will be trucked off-site or will be incinerated. The shale fuel gases will be used to <br />create retort heat or will be incinerated. Produced water will be trucked off-site or will be <br />incinerated. <br />A CCRTM process can be operated in a variety of geometries. One simple form of a CCRTM <br />retort is a horizontal borehole where the boiling shale oil pool is distributed over a long <br />horizontal section at the bottom of the mining interval. This concept is shown schematically in <br />Figure 4-2. A horizontal well may be "U" shaped, "Y' shaped, or "L" shaped as created by <br />directional drilling. In each case, those portions of the well that deviate from vertical to create <br />horizontal boreholes would be completed at the bottom of the retort interval. Another simple <br />form of a CCRTM retort is a vertical borehole where the boiling shale oil pool occupies the lower <br />portion. <br />AMSO will also examine more complex combinations of these vertical, horizontal, and inclined <br />boreholes to enhance resource recovery, improve commercial viability, and reduce <br />environmental impacts to the surface and subsurface for eventual commercial operations. The <br />RD&D Lease activities will emphasize horizontal or moderately inclined heating wells. <br />AMSO will attempt to develop a commercially viable retorting process using these simple forms. <br />One conceptual approach for commercial operations is shown in Figure 4-3. About 20 well pairs <br />separated by 100-ft would make up a retort panel. The panels would be separated by a narrow <br />strip of unretorted shale for a barrier pillar. Heat would be provided by downhole burner. <br />Countercurrent heat exchange would occur between the outgoing flue gas and incoming air and <br />fuel. Oil, gas, and water would be produced both as liquids and vapors. An above ground <br />facility would process the produced fluids, separating them into components to be shipped or <br />pipelined to upgrading facilities or commercial markets. Details of the commercial operation <br />will be developed during the RD&D project. <br /> <br />19