In situ recovery of shale oil
US4043595A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 11, 1975 |
| Grant date | Aug 23, 1977 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 11, 1995 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21C41/24
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An in situ oil shale retort is formed in a subterranean oil shale deposit by excavating a columnar void having a vertically extending free face, drilling blasting holes adjacent to the columnar void and parallel to the free face, loading the blasting holes with explosive, and detonating the explosive in a single round to expand the shale adjacent to the columnar void toward the free face in layers severed in a sequence progressing away from the free face and to fill with fragmented oil shale the columnar void and the space in the in situ retort originally occupied by the expanded shale prior to the expansion. A room having a horizontal floor plan that coincides approximately, with the horizontal cross section of the retort to be formed is excavated so as to intersect the columnar void. The blasting holes are drilled and loaded with explosive from the room. The room can lie above the columnar void, below the columnar void, or intermediate the ends of the columnar void. In one embodiment, the columnar void is cylindrical and the blasting holes are arranged in concentric rings around the columnar void. In another embodiment, the columnar void is a slot having one or more large paralle…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.