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Society o f Petroleum Engineers of AIME

6200 N. Cent ral Expwy.

C( WERSPE 6071

Dal las, fex. 75206

Predi cti on of the Permeabi I i ty of a

Fragmented Oi I Shal e ed duri ng

I n Si tu Retorti ng w th Hot Gas

By

R. B. NeedhemtMemberSP&AIMEtPhillipsPetroleumO.

THKPAPERISSUBJECT TOCORRECTK)N

@Copyright 97

Amer ican Inst itute of Mining, Metal lu rgical , and FWroleum Engineers, Inc.

Th is paper was prepared for the 5 Ist Annual Fal l Techn ical Conference and Exhibi tion of the Society o f RXroleum

Engineers ofAIME, held in New Or leans, Oct. 3-6, 1976. Permiss ion to copy is restr ic ted toan abstract ofnotmore

than 300 words . //l us trat ions may not be copied. The abs tract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of

where and by whom the paper is presented, ~blicatian elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF

PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGYorthe SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGiNEERSJOURNALis usual iygrantedupon

reques t to the Edi tor of the appropr iate journal, prov ided agreenmnt to gi ve proper credi t i s made, Discussion of

this paper i s inv ited,

ABSTRACT

The operabilityf in-situoil-shale

retortingasbeenestablishedy retortingeds

of crushedshaleunderlithostaticoads

simulatinghecolumnloadsto be encounteredn

practical.perations.

Theresultingompaction

andreductionn permeabilityerecorrelated

to predictthefinalpermeabilityehaviorof en

actualfragmentdin-situbedwithparticles

averaging in,in diameter.

Twocompactione21sp1.25end5 in.in

diametertereusedfortheretortingexperi-

mentsin whichthepermeabilityf thecompacted

bedwas determinedoraverageshaleparticle

sizefromO,of+6 to 1.0in.f shalerichnessfrom

18to 58 gal~tontI.ithostaticoadfrom70to

W psiad heat% ratefrom

5 to 1~ F per

hour. A correlationasdevelopedhatpredict~

thepermeabilitysingthelithostaticressurej

shalerichn~ssandparticlesizefora shale

heatingrateof 10F perhour. Themodified

Kozenyequationasusedas thetheoretical

basisforthe correlationndthemeasured

permeabil.itiesouldbe predictedithan

average

errorof 21percent.

Referencesndillustrationst endof paper.

INTRODUCTION

The initialpermeabilityf en in-situb

of brokenshalewillbe morethanadequatefo

theinjectionf heatingfluidstbutretorti

&asticallyreducesthepermeabilitys a res

of compactionausedby heatingtheoil shal

underan overbwdenload. To estimatethe

permeabilityf thefragmentedhalebeddur

retortingtheinfluencef shaleparticlesi

I.ithostaticressuretemperatureistorytan

shalerichnesswasdeterminedy laboratory

experiments.

Theseexperimental,atawere

correlatedndthenextrapolatedo a larger

averageparticlesizeto predictthepermeab

of fragmentedhalebedsanticipatedor

commercialn-situretorting.

GreenRiveroi

shalefromthePiceanceCreekBasininColor

was utilizedthroughouthesestudies.

EXPHIIMENTALPPARATUSND PRCXXXJRE

Lsr~e-Scaleompactionell

A simplifiedectionaliewof thelsrg

scalecompactionellis shownin Fig.1. Th

cellis cylindricalndholdsabout5,COC to

7~OOCmof crushedshaletdepending,uponhe

shalerichness.Theprocedureasto fillth

cellwithcrushedshaletplacetheplungerin

thetopof thecent andthenputthecell.n

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PREDICTIONF THEPERMEABIIZTYF A FRACMINTEI)IL-

2

QUAT X Rti ll nTll?ThW2 T1l-fXTTH lWi lWRfPTNfl WTTU UfYP cAQ

QD 7

.

a hydraulicress.

Thepresswas equippedwith

withan oilaccumulatororthehy&aulicdrive

thatwaspressuredo thedesiredpressurewith

nitrogen.In thismanner,therequiredload

couldbe appliedto thecrushedshaleto simu-

lateanydesiredI.ithostaticressureto to

1,000psi. Afterthedesiredlithostaticres-

surewasapplied,a continuousaspurgeof 0.5

scf/hourf carbondioxidewas established.

The

shalewasnextpreheatedo 200F at a heating

rateof

75

F perhour,thenheatedat a rateof

10oF perhourto thefinaltesttemperature,

whichwasusually8CQF. The shaletemperature

wasmaintainedt 8CX)F forat least2 hoursto

ensurecompleteretortingf the shale.

By reg-

ulationof thevoltageon eachheater,thetem-

peratureat thefourthermocoupleellscouldbe

maintainedithin2 to

5

F afterthepreheat

phwe wascompleted.

Thecompactionf theshalebedandthe

permeabilityf a sectionof thebedwere

measuredthroughoutachtest.

Thepermeability

wasmeasuredby regulatingheflowrateof the

carbondioxideto thedesiredvalueand

measuringhepressuredropacrossone setof

thepressuretapsshownin Fig.1.

Theoilgeneratedromheatingthe shale

flowedout throughthebottomfritandwas

collectedt atmosphericressurein a graduated

cylinderpositionedt theexitof a coldwater

trap. The gasesthenpassedthrougha dryice

trapthatwas precautionary,inceit collected

onlynegligibleuantitiesf oil.

The primaryvariableshatwereinvesti-

gatedwiththelarge-ecaleompactionellwere

shaleparticlesize~shalerichness,and litho-

staticpressure.In addition, fewexploratory

testswereconductedn whichthetemperature

historyof theshalewasvaried.

Small-Scaleompactionell

averageparticlediametersf 0.046and0.23

wereusedin allof thelargecompactionel

runsi3xceptne.

However,log-normalistri

tionscouldnotbe usedin thesmallcompac

sellbecausethecellwouldnotholdthe lar

particlesecessmyto completethedistrib

RESULTS

Theprimaryexperimentalesultswereth

permeabilityf thecompactedshaleandits

dependenceponlithostaticressure,shale

richness,averageshaleparticlesize,and

temperatureistory.In addition,twas

observedthatthepresenceof-liquidilin t

largecellduringretortingaffectedtheper

abilityto gas;thatis,a relativepermeab

effectwasobserved.

Lithostaticressure

The lithostaticressureis thepressu

exertedon the shaleparticlesas a resulto

~heweightof theoverburdenf fragmented

shale.I@.7 expresseshe3il,hostaticp

sureas a functionof the ave.~~eorosityo

the fragmentedhalebed,thepositionof th

calculationointin thebed,andtheavera

richnessof theoverZ@ngfragmentedhale.

example,the lithostaticressureis calcul

as 1+60psiaat a depthof 600ft belowthes

faceof a fragmentedhalebedhavingaporo

of 20 percentandan averageshalerichnesso

25 gal/tonoThedensityof theshalewas

obtainedfroma correlationy Stanfieldt a

Theinfluencef theI.ithostaticress

appliedduringtheheating,uponthe final

compactedil-shaleermeabilitys majoran

is showngraphicallynFi

2. For exampl

thepermeabilityf a con

:edbedof 27ga

ton shaledecreasedrom

200darciesat

I

lithostaticressureof 1~..sito lessth&C

darciesat 60C psi.

It cenbe concludedha

Thedesignof the small-scaleompaction

bedheightas r;flectedn the lithostatic

cellwassimilarto thelargecellexceptonly sureis a majordeterminingactorin estab

oneheaterwasused,the shalechargewas30 to

lishingthepermeabilityetainedby fragme

40 gm of crushedehale,andtheshalebedwas

shaleafterbeingheatedto 800F to recov

cooledto roomtemperatureeforetheperme-

the shaleoil.

abilitywasmeasured.A gaspurgerateof 0.1

scf/hourf heliumwasmaintainedhroughout

Oil-Shaleichness

eachtest.

The shalericlnessrangestudiedwas 18

ShaleSamle Premration

58 gal/ton.

Fig.2 showstheinfluencef s

richnessuponthepermeabilityf

the

compa

The shalewasobtainedfromtheAnvil

shalec

As predictablerompreviouswork sho

PointsmineatRifle,Colo.,as crushed

shale

ing

thattherichershaleshavelowercompr

andwas sortedby colorin orderto minimizethe

strengths~heretainedbedpermeability

variationn richness.Thesortedsampleswere

decreasesas therichnessincreases.

Thes

crushedto lessthanaboutl~in. in diameter

datashowthattheinfluencef shalerichn

enda portiontakenforFischerassayanalysis.

ia equallyas importantas the lithostatic

The crushedshalewas separatedbyscreeningnd

we ~det=mi~ngtheret~edpermeabi~ty

recombinedoproducethedesiredparticlesize

theshale.

distribution.og-normalistributionsor

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R. B. 1

ShaleParticleSize

The averageparticlesizetha+,illexist

in an undergroundedof rubbl.izedil shaleis

unknown;however,fromrooffallsin oil-shale

mines3andfromexperiencen oil-shaleining,

it is estimatedhattheaverageshaleparticle

dismeterin an in-situbedwillbe between005

and2 ft~ A-shalebedwithan averageparticle

sizeof thismagnitudeouldbe impracticalor

studyin laboratoryxperiments;herefore,eds

havingaverageparticlesizesfrom0.0A6to 1.0

in,werestudied.Theinfluencef average

particlesizewasestablishedorthe0.0A6to

l.O-tn.sizersnge thenextrapolatedo an

averageparticlesizeof 6 in.to predict

behaviorn actualundergroundeds.

TableI is a summaryof theexperimental

dataon theinfluencef averageparticlesize

uponcompactedshalepermeability.

hesetests

showthatfora givenshalerichnessthe

retainedpermeabilityncreasesithincreasing

averageparticlesizeat low lithostaticres-

sures.

As thelithostaticressureincreased,

theincreasein permeabilityithincreasing

particlesizediminished.Thatis?fora given

shalerichnessthe scale-upof retainedperme-

abilitywithparticlesizeendedas the litho-

staticpressureincreased,venthoughthe com-

pactedshalestillhas substantialermeability.

Forexample,thej? to 40 gal/tonshalehas

almostno scale-upin permeabilityithparticl(

eizeat a lithostaticressureof 300 psieven

thoughtheretainedpermeabilitys 4 d=cies~

The scale-upof retainedermeabilityith

r

articlesizefor27galton shaledidnot

exhibita limitinglithostaticressureless

than600psi,whichwasthemaximumpressure

tested.

Temperatureistor~

In therecoveryof shaleoilfromfrag-

mentedoil shalein an undergroundedby the

injectionf hotgases,thetimerequiredto

heattheoilshaleto about800Fwill range

frommonthsto years. Therateat whichthe

shalewouldbe heateddependsuponthegasmass

fluxrate,theaverageparticlesizeof the

snalevndtheverticaldistanceof the shale

fromthetopof thebed. Thisheatingrateis

estimatedromheattransfercalculationso be

in therangeof 0.2to 6 F perhour.4The

influencef heatingrateuponthepermeability

of thecompactedhalebedafterbeingheated

to tWOF wasinvestigatedn thesmall-scale

cell,andthe datasresurmnarizedn TableII.

Reducingtheheatingratetwenty-foldrom100

oF perhourto 5 Fperhourincreasedhe

retainedpermeabilityf the shalebedtwofold.

Thatis,the slowerheatingratesresultedin

greaterretainedpermeability.he effectof

theheatingrateis secondaryhencompsredwitl

EDHAM

bheinfluencef lithostaticressure,shale

richness~ndaverageparticlesize.

There

Lo savetime,thebasicinvestigationf par

size,1.5.thostaticressure,and

shale

richn

inthelargecompactionellwas-conducted

heatingrateof 10F perhour, It is real

thattheseretainedpermeabil.itiesbtained

a heatingrateof 10oF perhour will be sli

lowerthanthoseforheatingratesof 0.2 to

oFperhour,whichareanticipatedoran in

bed,butthe errorwillbe on theconserva

side.

RELATIVXPERMEABIIJ.TYFFFCTS

Wing theretortingfthe shalein th

l=ge compactionell,the shale-bedompac

andpermeabilityeremeasured.

A directco

lationbetweenthebed compactionndperme

abilitywaspossibleuntila temperaturef

about700F wasreached~

At thistempera

oil generationas sorapidthatgravitydra

ageat thelowerpermeabilitiesouldnotma

taina sufficientlyowGilsaturationo av

significantnfluencef t oilsaturatio

thepermeabilityo gas. Tnereforetheef

tivepermeabilityo gasdecreasedempora

untiltherateof oilgenerationy pyroly

was slowerthanthe gravitydrainage.

The

magnitudef thisdecreasefora heatingra

10F perhourdependsupontheshale-bed

permeabilityndtheshalerichness?Fig.9

showsthe shale-bedermeabilitys thetem

tureof theshalewasraisedto 800oF. Th

relativepermeabilityffectis shownby th

dashedcurve. The solidcurvewasobtaine

correlationf the shale-bedeformationi

the permeabilityndtemperature.-heela

permeabilityffectwas experienceds a te

rarydecreasein permeabilityot associat

witha correspondingmountof bedcompact

Sincethepermeabilityf thefragmentedh

in an in-situbedwillbe muchlargerthsnt

obtainedin theseexperimentsecausethe a

ageparticlesizeswillbe from0.5to 2 ft

comparedwith0.29in.,end the heatingrat

willbe slower,therelativepermeability

is uniqueto thelaboratoryests.

DEVELOPMENTF CORRELATION

Theobjectivef thedevelopmatof a

correlationasthecalculationf thecomp

shale-bedermeabilitynderconditionsxp

in an in-situbed duringretorting,tiliz

a knowledgef shalerichness,.ithostat

sure?averageshaleparticlesize,and shal

heatingrateas theyvarywithdepthin the

ModifiedKozeny

Euuation

ThemodifiedKozenyequationasused

startingasisfordeveloping correlati

thedependentariableof compactedermea

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PREDICTIONF THEPERNEABILXTYF A FMOMENTEDOIL-

4

SHALEREDMIRTNGTN-SITURETORTINGTH HOTGAS

SPE6

t

..

tiththeindependentaviablesf shalerich-

equationto replacetheporositywouldgive

~ess~lithostaticressure,averagebedparticle

Bize,end shaleheatingrate.

Oneformof the

1(= ~ Jl - P/sJ3

Kozenyequationis

beo *e** o

(3

(iys

.a,nk

S*****

* (1)

Since theexactformof theporosityrelatio

k

(1 .. )2

shipin theKozenyequationis opento consi

ablequestion,hisfunctionalelationship

TLhisquationasoriginallyntendedto pr~ct

relaxedto providea moregeneralEq. 5, In

thepermeabilityf an unconsolidatedart cle addition,incetheminimumstrengthhasnot

bedsystem.Theapplicationf t~s equationto

beenmeasuredas a functionof shalerichnes

compactedil-shalesystemsis shownin Fig.40

Inthesedatathelithcstaticressureranged

andtemperatureistory theminim strengt

(S)willbereplacedby a minimumstrength

from130to 720psiandtheheatingratefrom2

to 100oF per

hour while the average

particle

factor(F), whichwill.arbitrarilye given

sizeandrichnessof the shalewereconstant.

a valueof unityfor27 galltonoilshalehea

ThecurveinFig.4 is theKozenyequation,

from2W %? to 800oF at a rateof 10Fper

hour. Withthesemodifications,heKozeny

wheretheterma dn wasdeterminedo yieldthe

bestfit. Thedatamatchshowsthatthecorn=

equationowbecomes

pattedshalepxosity is

the

determiningactor

in establishinghepermeabilityora particu-

k

()(}

s nG; ,,6 .,..,0

larshalerichnessandinitialp=ticle size.

(4

Thevariablesf I.ithostaticressureandheat-

r

ingratearethusreflectedn thefinal

whereG(P/F)is a specificfunctionto be det

porosity.Althougha goodmatchof thedatahas minedfroma seriesof compactionestsusin

beenobtainedthroughthe

use

of theinter-

particleporosity,hepredictionf perme-

referencearticlesizeandkeepingthetemp

turehistoryconstant.

abilitynowrequiresthepredictionf the

~rosity. Sincetheporositywouldbe justan

Severs:importantfeatureswereincorpo

intermediatearameter,t wasdecidedto elimi-

intothe~~iysise First,the

compacted shal

nateporosityfromthe correlation.

Thefinal

interparticlerosity probablyis determined

permeabilitys uniquelydependentponthec

by thelithostaticressureandtheminimum

pattedbedporosityandthe averageparticl

diameter.Second,theporosityofthebed

compressivetrengthof the shaleduringthe

heatingprocess.

Fig.5 showsatypicalshale

dependsuponthe lithostaticoadandthe

minimumcompressivetrength.Stateddiffer

compressivetrengthbehaviorresultingfrom

ently,thelithostaticoadthatcanbe

a particularemperatureistory.

supportedy a shalebedcanbe determinedy

To obtainthecompressivetrengths

productof theminimumcompressivetrengtha

the averagesectionalarticlecontactarea.

reportedin Fig.5 coresof oilshalethat Third,theminimumcompressivetrengthis a

were1 in.in diameterwereplacedin a hydrau-

functionof the shalerichnessandtemperat

licpressto determineheloadatwhichruptur

~storym

Utilizingtheseideas,thegeneral

occurred.Electricheaterswereusedto attain

thetesttemperaturenda purgewithan inert

Eqc4 hasbeendeveloped.In orderto utili

thisequation,hefunctionalformofG(P/F

gasusedto preventoxidationf thecores.A

thevaluesof F andn mustbeknown,

significantffectof shalerichnesson compres

sivestrengthas evident.

Thetransi.tionpoin

CO~~~ON

of the shalestrengthfactor,whichis discusse

later,liesbetweenrichnesses9.0and27.6,

Thedatausedto developthecorrelati

qualitativelyxplainingherelativestrength

areshowninFig.6.

Thetemperatureistor

differencesetweenthethreegradesof shale.

forallof thecorrelatedatawasthesame;

i.e.,theshalewaspreheatedo 200F at a

The minimumstrengthdependsupontempera-

turehistoryandshalerichness.Forthe

rateof 75 Fperhourandthenheatedto 80

developmentf thecorrelationt wassurmised

at a rateof 10F per hour. Thedataobtai

thatthefinalporositydependedupontherela-

on shalebedswithan averageparticlediame

of O*23in,werepresentednFig,2.

These

tivemagnitudesf thelithostaticressureand

datacanbe fittedto a singlecurvebythe

theminimumcompressivetrength.As a first

introductionf the shalestrengthfactor(F

approximationherelationshipouldbe of the

The solidline

and circles

inFig.6 showth

form

result,andFig.7 showsthevariationf F w

S(I.- )=P. . . . . . . . . .

shalerichnessrequiredto producethisresu

(2)

fortheonetemperatureistoryutilized.Fi

7 includesdataforparticlesizesothertha

Utilizinghisrelationshipn theKozeny

thatofFig.2.

As wasstatedin theprevio

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R. B. NEQ)HAM

section,the shalestragthfactor(F)was

arbitrarilyssigneda valueof onefor27 gall

tonshaleheatedat a rateof 10F perlmr.

Sincethe0.23-in.averageparticlediame-

terparticlesizewas chosenforthereference

particlesizeanda heatingrateof 10oF per

houras thereferenceeatingrate,thenthe

curvein Fig.6 is the.function(P~), The

nexttaskis thepredictionf n, theparticle

sizescale-upfactor.

SinceG(P/F)is now

known,thevaluesof n canbe determinedrom

MC 4for all.thedatawithaveragepwticles

sizesotherthan0.23in.,whichwas therefer-

enceperticlesize.

Thesevaluesof n are

correlatediththe shalestrengthfactorin

Fig.8.

At valuesof the shalestrengthfactor

greaterthen1.0,theparticlesizescale-up

factoris dependentnlyuponF; however,at

valuesof F below1.O theinfluencef the

lithostaticressureis shown.Forthegener-

atedvaluesof n endF, theagreementf all.the

reduceddatawiththeuniversalunctionG(Pfi)

iS showninFig.60

Thecompletedorrelations representedy

informationresentednFigs.6, 7, and8,

whichis usedwithEq.4 to computepermeability

Theinformationeededto utilizethecorrela-

tionis averageshalepsrticalsize,shale

richness9ndlithostaticressure.

In addi-

tion,thetemperatureistoryshouldbe a heat-

ingrateintherangeof 10oF perhourup to

600oF, Forapplicationo an in-situbedwhere

theheatingratewillbe lessthan10F per

hour,thepermeabilityeterminedromthe

correlationillbe lowerthantheactual

permeabilityn thebed. Therefore,heperme-

abilitycalculatedromthe correlationould

be a lowerlimit.In addition,incethevari-

ablesof particlesize?richnesst

andlitho-

staticpressurearedominant,heheatingrate

canbe chengedconsiderablyitho y a rela-

tivelysmallchangein permeability.

Theproceduresedto predicttheperme-

abilityof a fragmentededof shaleretorted

undera lithostaticressurewouldbe the

followingteps.

First,fortheknownshale

richness,hevalueof F (theshalestrength

factor)fora heatingrateof 10oF perhow

is obtainedfromFig.7. Second,usingthe

lithostaticressureandthe valueof F just

determined~hevalueofG(P/F)is obtained

fromFig.6. Third,againusingthelithostatit

pressuresndF, a valueof n, theparticle

sizescale-upactortis determinedromFig.8,

Fourth,thepermeabilityf the shalebed is

calculatedromEq.4, knowingtheaverage

particlediameter(d)of thebed. Referenceto

%. 4 shows thatthepermeabilityisowcalcu-

latablesinceG(P/F),d, sndn arenowknown.

Thevalueof ~wouldbe 0.23in.,sincethis

is thepwticle sizeusedto determinehe

functionG(P/F).Thismethodofpredicting

permeabilitiesn rubbli~edshalebedswasused

to calculatehe permeabilityehaviorfor

particlesveraging in.in diameter,ntici-

patedin actualrubblizedskin beds. The

resultsare shownin Fig.9.

To expeditethe,calculation,rocedure,

third-orderolynomialsavebeendeterminedo

describetheplotsin Figs.6, 7, and8. These

equationsrelimitedto valuesfortheshale

strengthfactorF~ of oneendgreater.

With

strengthfactorvaluesof lessthanonetthe

particlesizescale-upfactor,n, is a function

of bedheightin additionto the strengthacto

Insufficientataforthismorecomplexrelati

Ship wherestrengthfactorsarelessthanone~

precludecurvefittingin thisregion,Shale

richnessis,therefore,imitedto 2.7gal/ton

andless. Withthisin mind,thestrengthfact

iS givenby

P= -(O.39O2)R+1O.O33for~

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RZEDICTIONF THEPEVEABIIJTYOF A FRAGMENT~OIL-

SHALEBEDDURINGIN-SITURIZl?ORTINGITHHOTGAS

SPE 60

Thisprocedurenvoltingseveralintervalsay

pated in commercialn-situretorting,

be

applied when working

witheitherthegiven

operabilityroblemscreatedby thelossor

plotsor wtththederivedthird-orderquations.

permeabilityrepredictedhererichoil shal

Forquickendapproximatestimatesf rubble-

(356al/tin,dependentponthedepth)are

bedpermeabilitiesithonlyonecalculation;

locatednearthebottomof thebed. By contra

valueof one-halftheactualbedheightis used leanshalesret~n adequatepermeabilityo

to determinen averagepressure.

maintaintheretort ngrocess.

Limitationsf theCorrelation ACKNOWLEWMRW

The correlationitsthedataobtainedfrom

The authorwishesto expressappreciati

thecompactionestswithacceptableccuracy, to PhillipsPetroleumo.forpermissiono

Thecorrelationredictedhemeasuredperme- publishthispaper.

abilitywithan averageerrorof 21 percent~a

mud.mumerrorof 115percent?andwith95 per-

NOMINCLATJRE

centof thedatawithin50pemcentof thecalcu-

latedvalue.

a = parameterependentpontheshapeand

specificsurfaceareaof theparticles

The primarylimitationsf thecorrelation

d . weightedaverag(perticledismeter,n.

arein thesmallnumberof experimentalata

~ .weightedaverageparticlesizeusedin th

pointsobtainedat certaincombinationsf the

shalebedfortheseriesof teststo

variables,speciallyorshalesricherthani+O

determine(P/F),in.

gal/ton.

In particular,o datawereobtained

F = minimumshalestrengthfactor

fortheparticlesizescale-upfactorfor shales

G = a functionof P/Fdeterminedroma.seri

overLO gal/tonor forshalesin the30-to 40- of compactionestsusingthereferenc

gal/tonrangeat lithostaticressureselow150

An additionalsignificsntimitations

particlesizeandkeepingthetemperat

psi.

historyconetent

theextrapolationf thecorrelationo the

h = heightof therubbl.izedhalebed,ft

largeparticlesanticipateduringactualin- k = permeabilityf theentireparticlebed,

situoperation.

Theinfluencef particlesize

darcy

inthe0.046- to I.O-in.rangeon permeability

~ = permeabilityf thei-thintervalin the

mustbe extendedto severalinchesin orderto

crushedshalebedt dsrcy

calculatehepermeabilityf en actualbed.

~ = heightof thei-thintervalin therubbli

Mostof th;selimitationsssential,couldbe shalebed,ft

removedby additionalestsusingtheanalysis

n E constantdependentn thepsrticlesyste

andexperimentalethodsa~eady developedn

P = I.ithostaticressure,sia

thiswork.

R = shalerichness,al/ton

S = minimumcompressivetrengthof shale

CONCLUSIONS

t

= interperticleorosityof thebed system

1

= initialbedporosity

Fromthesetestson theeffectsof litho-

staticpressure,shaleric~ess,averageparti-

REFIIUiNCliS

cle size,andtemperatureistoryuponcompacted

shalepermeabilityndthe extensionf the

1. Stsnfield,. E.tSmith,J. k.,Smith,H.

resultsby correlationndcalcul.ationsthe

NO, endRobb,W. A.: rOilieldsof Sec-

followingereconcluded.

tionsof GreenRiverOilShalein Colorad

1954-57,RI5614,USBM,Washington1960

1. Theprimaryvariablesetermininghe s.

compactedshale-bedermeabilityreI.ithostatic

* Tisot,P.R. endSohns,H. W.: Structur

pressure,shalerichness,andparticlesize, Deformationf GreenRiverOilShaleasIt

withthetemperatureistorya secondaryari-

Relatesto InAituRetorting,ltI 7576,

able,

USBM,Washington(1971).

3. Iomberd~D. B.: TtecoveringilfromShal

2. A modificationf theKozenyequation

withNuclearIkplosives,tl. Pet.Tech.

canbeusedas a basisfordeveloping corre-

(Aug.1965)877-882.

lationforthepredictionofthepermeability

l+.Needham,R. B,,JudzisJr.,Arvidsend

of compactedhale.

Thedevelopedorrelation Cornelius,. J.:

lrOilieldandQuality

predictsthemeasuredpermeabilityithan

fromSimulatednAitu Retortingof Green

averageerrorof 21 percent,a maximumerrorof

RiverOilShale,~to be published.

115percent,andwith95percentof thedata 5. Scheidegger,. E.; ThePhysicsofFlow

within50percentof theprediction. Throwh PorousMedia,RevisedEd.,The

Macmillano.,NewYork(1960)128-131.

3. For largefragmentedhalebedsantici-

8/10/2019 Spe 06071

7/8

r

: : N: : : :

. . . . . . .

::>::s

::::s:

STEEL

::1:::

PLUNGER _

~ THERMOCOUPLE

ii

WELL

........

: j: j: ;j . ~ INSUL ATION

lNSULAi10N

a

::.::.

ll[:j::i:j - PREikiRE

I

\

TRAMSITE>

~ FRIT

1

F,g. 1 - Large SC?il@ compaction Cell

too -

to -

1.0 -

0 .23 INCH A VERA OE

PARTICLE DIAMETER

HEATING RATE fO*F/HR

I

1

1 1

%x) 404 500 600 7W

SHAL E TEMPERATURE - f

Fig, 3 - Permeability of shale bed

\

27

{

k3.30~

P- L 17Ho sTA TK p REs su RE-p sI

F g. 2 -

Effect of Iithostatic pressure and

shale richness on retorted shale bed permeabil ity.

~

SMA LL SCA LE COMPA CTION OF SHA LE

LITHOSTATIC

PRESSURE , PSI

v 720

L 670

a 560

0

4S0

O 320

9 220

130

1

RANIX OF HEATING RA TES FROM

2WF TO 600 F IS 2.0 -100 F/HR

1

60

FINA L INTERPARTICLE POROSITY - %

woo

RICHMESS ,

OA LL ON PER TON

woo ..

A

A

- f9.o

o

27.6

40W -

0- 34.6

TEST TEMPERA TURE - 7W F

30W

HEATINO RATE T07WF-160F PER HOUR

A LL ROCK FA IL URES WERE B RITTL E

20W -

fwo -

oo~m

TIME - HOURs (TIME HELD AT 7wFj

Fig. 5

- Compressive strength of Green

River oil shale.

du~lnq retort lnq.

Fig. 4

- Permeability - poroeity

relationship for compacted oi I shale.

8/10/2019 Spe 06071

8/8

nooo

AVERAGE

SHA LE PARTICL E

3000

2Ym&Ql? Y&r X&. Y+& .

\

i6.3 0.23

1.

&

:

17,6 OC04C

L

Nwwoo - 0.054 s

-.

26.s 0.2s

a

L

0.046

L

0.054

s

a 27.6 f.W

~

L

0.23 L

*W -

0.046

L

z

0.23

L

30 -

g

SHA LE HEA TING RA TE FROM 200F

~

m

TO SW*F

10F/HR

s 10

s

2

g

- 3.0 -

I

\

I

0.3 &

I

I l\

I

1

J

2W 400 SOD w Ooo

200

P/F -

LITHOSTATIC ?RESSU

RE (PSI)

STRENGTH FACTOR

Fig. 6 -

General ized permcabi I ity function.

f - SHA LE STRENGTH FAC1OR

F,g. 8 -

Part cle aizc scale-up factor - shale

strength factor rel at ionship for compacted oi I sha,l e.

3,4-

HEA TING RA TE TO

600 F - tO f/HR

3,0 -

2.6 -

2.2 -

t8 -

td -

to -

0.6-

o.2~ ;0 ~

1

1

J

40 30 60

SHAL E RICHNESS - OA LL ONS PER TON

Fig. 7 -

Shale strength factor - shale

richness relationship for compacted 01 I

shale.

CRUSHED SHA LE 8ED HCIOHT, FT.

Fig. 9

- Calculated permeabi I I ty for crushed

shale having average partiole diameter of SIX

i nchea.