Vello Kuuskraa

China Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Evaluation and Technical Challenges

China has abundant organic-rich source rock shales which are prospective for commercial shale gas/oil development but still in the early phase of evaluation and testing. We analyzed petroleum source rock data published in nearly 400 Chinese language papers to construct a unique GIS data base of shale geologic and reservoir properties throughout the country. We then conducted a comprehensive assessment of the country’s shale gas and shale oil resource potential. China’s risked technically recoverable resources within high-graded prospective areas are estimated at 1,115 Tcf of shale gas and 32 BBO of shale oil resources (Table 1). Of the dozen onshore sedimentary basins that were assessed, the most prospective are Sichuan, Tarim, Junggar, and Songliao. One of the most intriguing prospects is liquids-rich Permian shale on the structurally simple northwest flank of the Junggar Basin. The Pingdiquan/Lucaogou lacustrine shale is about 250 m thick and 3,500 m deep here. TOC averages 5% and the shale is oilprone (R o 0.85%). The area is close to infrastructure. The Sichuan Basin, industry’s primary focus for shale gas, has multiple shale targets but also significant geologic challenges, such as numerous faults (some active), often steep dips, high tectonic stress, slow drilling in hard formations, and high H2S and CO 2 in places. Tarim Basin shale targets are mostly too deep (>5 km) apart from uplifts where they may be thin with low TOC. The Songliao Basin has liquids-rich potential in over-pressured and naturally fractured Cretaceous lacustrine shales. However, China’s shale oil deposits tend to be waxy and stored mainly in lacustrine-deposited shales, which may be clay-rich and less “frackable” than the low-clay brittle marine shales productive in North America.

Basin strategies for linking CO2 enhanced oil recovery and storage of CO2 emissions

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that CO 2 -based enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR) offers an opportunity to combine two high priority national and international objectives, namely: increase world oil supplies and safely store CO 2 emissions. As such, the oil production industry could become a major customer and market for CO 2 emissions captured from electric power plants and industrial sources. The chapter examines and updates the CO 2 -EOR and CO 2 storage potential for the U.S. and selected other oil producing countries. It sets forth a series of “basin strategies” that would stimulate this dual energy and environmental activity in the major oil basins of the world. A field-by-field data base and an updated reservoir and economic model provide the foundation for this analysis. The chapter mainly focuses on two topics: the impact of incentives, such as carbon credits or tax credits, on the outlook and economics of CO 2 - EOR and CO 2 storage; and, the role that public-private partnerships and progress in technology can and needs to have on expanding the reservoir capacity and fields favorable for EOR and CO 2 storage.

Future U.S. greenhouse gas emission reduction scenarios consistent with atmospheric stabilization of concentrations

Publisher Summary The chapter analyzes a scenario for reducing the U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that is consistent with the Presidents Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) and, in the longer term, atmospheric stabilization at 550 ppm. The purpose for formulating and evaluating such a stabilization scenario is to define the role and expectations for performance of carbon sequestration technologies in a future, speculative carbon constrained world. The analysis shows that an integrated approach, involving energy efficiency, cost-effective renewable and availability of advanced CO2 capture and storage technology, would be required for atmospheric stabilization. Under this scenario, the carbon intensity of U.S. GDP is reduced by 18% in 2012 below year 2002 U.S. carbon intensity per the GCCI. From 2012 to 2050, GHG emissions, including CO2 and non-C02 GHGs, are further reduced toward an absolute annual emissions target of 1,200 million metric tons carbon, representing a substantial U.S. contribution toward a world-wide atmospheric stabilization concentration of 550 ppm. The analysis examines opportunities for reducing emissions in all sectors, including transportation, electricity supply, industrial, commercial, and residential. It quantifies the potential contribution of the various GHG reduction options and shows that advanced, lower-cost CO2 capture and storage technology will need to play a key role in any future GHG emissions reduction scenario.

The potential impact of CO2 capture and sequestration on the carbon intensity of the U.S. electricity supply sector

Publisher Summary Recent forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predict a tightening of natural gas supplies in the United States and a resulting 60% increase in the use of coal for power generation over the next two decades. This chapter reviews the U.S. electricity supply sector and the factors influencing its average carbon intensity. An interactive spreadsheet-based model allows the analysis of reduced greenhouse gas emission scenarios for electricity supply by changing assumptions for: the efficiency of new power plants; the rate of capital stock turnover; the rate of deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage; and the rate of deployment of renewable energy systems, and other parameters. Cases are presented that show the potential impact that advanced CO2 capture and storage technology could have on net greenhouse gas emissions and carbon intensity. With lower cost CO2 capture technology, reliable long-term storage options, and economic incentives the deployment of coal-fired power plants with CO2 sequestration could reach 80 GW in 2025. Similarly, the use of CO2 sequestration by natural gas-fired plants could reach 20 GW in 2025. The analysis framework shows that the application of carbon capture and storage to coal-fired power plants could strategically transform them into critical assets that are consistent with speculative, future atmospheric stabilization scenarios.