| Description |
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. Task 3, "Clean oil shale and oil sands utilization with CO2 management," has been focused on the continued analysis of data from Uinta Basin oil and gas production and the development of a Matlab-based basin model. The Subtask 3.1 team evaluated well depth and well field for 6928 wells in the Uinta Basin and determined that well field had a significant effect on well depth. These results indicate that drilling costs should be tied to field in the Matlab model. For Subtasks 3.3 and 3.4, the project team continued work on a Matlab-based model that predicts drilling frequency and production levels from oil and gas wells in the Uinta Basin. Well counts were fit with a Poisson regression and the production data with an exponential decline curve. Task 4 projects, "Liquid fuel production by in-situ thermal processing of oil shale/sands," range from the molecular to the basin scale. At the molecular scale, Subtask 4.9 researchers are synthesizing data and preparing a final publication on the details of kerogen and bitumen isolation and characterization from the three segments of the Skyline 16 core. At the core scale, Subtask 4.5 researchers completed their final task deliverable, a paper summarizing their work on oil shale structure before and after pyrolysis. Also at this scale, the Subtask 4.3 team completed tar analysis from demineralized kerogen samples from the Skyline 16 core. There was no noticeable difference in the types of compounds evolved from samples taken from different depths. Subtask 4.7 researchers carried out mechanical properties tests at 400°F and 800°F on larger White River oil shale samples. At the production scale, the Subtask 4.1 team performed a simulation Red Leaf's ECOSHALE capsule that included both a detailed property model and an operator splitting algorithm. Further work is required in order to balance the computational requirements of the short, fluid time scales and the long, thermal time scales. At the basin scale, Subtask 4.8 researchers described two cores of the Green River Formation. Detailed sedimentary and stratigraphic description was performed and photos were taken. X-ray flourescence data also collected at 3-foot stratigraphic intervals. Task 5, "Environmental, legal, economic and policy framework," has one remaining project, Subtask 5.3. A summary report of research relevant to assessing the judicial and administrative framework for utilizing simulation science in the context of assessing environmental risks or harms is attached as an appendix to the report. The Market Assessment (Subtask 6.3) was finalized in this quarter in preparation for sending it out to reviewers in October 2012. Subtask 6.1, which provided much of the engineering analysis for the assessment, will be completed once the process models and data have been uploaded to a webpage on the ICSE website. Based on a project review of Task 7, Subtask 7.2 has been terminated and its remaining funds shifted to Subtasks 7.1 and 7.3. Expanded task statements based on revised budgets for Subtasks 7.1 and 7.3 are included in this quarterly report. Subtask 7.1 researchers proceeded with segmented linearization and development of constitutive modeling surfaces on American Shale Oil (AMSO) data. Subtask 7.3 researchers completed 15 simulations for their validation/uncertainty quantification studies of the January heater experiment test conducted by AMSO. |
