Clean and secure energy from domestic oil shale and oil sands resources: Quarterly progress report - October 2013-December 2013

The Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources program, part of the research agenda of the Institute for Clean and Secure Energy (ICSE) at the University of Utah, is focused on engineering, scientific, and legal research surrounding the development of these resources in Utah. In Task 2, outreach and education efforts focused on disseminating results of work from various subtasks through the publication of papers in peer-reviewed journals and throughout participation at conferences. The website has also been updated with links to all recent publications. Task 3 focuses on utilization of oil shale and oil sands resources with CO2 management. In Subtask 3.1, researchers collected emission factors and inventory data for oil and gas production in the Uinta Basin. They also submitted revisions to a paper that has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. The Subtask 3.2 research team performed simulations of fluid flow through the TEA-C burner using STAR-CCM+. Subtask 3.3 and 3.4 researchers developed models for the number of permits to drill and the decline curves associated with the various fields in the Basin to predict total conventional oil and gas production. Validation/uncertainty quantification (V/UQ) will be performed using a Monte Carlo approach that samples from the distributions of parameter values for the drilling and decline curve models. Task 4 projects are related to liquid fuel production by in-situ thermal processing of oil shale. The status of Subtasks 4.1, 4.2, and 4.8 has not changed from last quarter; researchers continue to work on drafting final reports. The Subtask 4.3 and 4.9 research teams submitted a second paper for publication. Work on additional milestones, to be completed using funds that were internally reallocated, can begin next quarter now that the funds are in place. Subtask 4.7 researchers studying the geomechanical reservoir state continued testing at unconfined conditions to assess performance on creep conditions where temperature is applied and a constant load is maintained. Task 5 projects provide analyses of the environmental, legal, economic, and policy framework. The remaining topical report (Subtask 5.3), an analysis of policy and economic issues associated with using simulation to assess environmental impacts, will be submitted in Feburary of 2014. All Task 6 projects (economic and policy assessment of a domestic unconventional fuels industry) are now complete. Task 7 researchers are focused on research relevant to their industrial partner, American Shale Oil (AMSO). The Subtask 7.1 team initiated two numerical efforts. One is the processing of AMSO axial and radial performance data as a function of stress-temperature-grade-confining pressure. Two is the assessment of subsidence potential using Itasca Corporation software. The Subtask 7.3 research team updated the geometrical representation of the heater in their simulations to better represent the actual heater used by AMSO. They also created a cosimulation which uses two simulation regions to capture both the small, convective fluid time scales occurring in the diesel fuel inside the lower lateral and the larger, conductive time scales occurring inside the shale formation.