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Iran achieves know-how to extract shale oil from reservoirs
For the first time in Iran, a research project has developed the necessary technology for extracting shale oil from reserves using toxic coke technology at the laboratory and in semi-industrial scales, IRNA reported on Monday.
This technological initiative was led by Ali Shekarifard, an associate professor at the Technical Faculties Campus of University of Tehran, in collaboration with Estonia’s Tallinn University of Technology, aimed to conduct expert studies for the exploration and evaluation of the exploitability of oil shales in Ghalikouh, located in the western Lorestan Province.
According to Shekarifard, this research has laid the groundwork for establishing a new oil shale industry in Iran by acquiring essential technical knowledge.
Iran found shale oil reserves of two billion barrels of light crude in its western Lorestan Province in February 2017.
Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen.
The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.