SPE-172135-MS

In-situ Oil Shale Development in Jordan through ICP Technology

Thomas Meijssen, Jordan Oil Shale Company B.V.; Jack Emmen, SPE; Tom Fowler, Shell International
Exploration and Production B.V.

Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 10 13 November 2014.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may
not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Globally, with a rapidly growing world population, increasing prosperity and improved access to reliable
electricity the IEA expects the demand for energy on the planet to increase significantly in the next
decadesi. Meeting this demand globally and in Jordan will be a formidable challenge and requires
exploring for conventional hydrocarbons as well as tight / shale oil and gas resources. Jordan has one of
the largest oil shale resources in the world and although previous attempts to harness this energy source
have been made in Jordan, none have resulted in large scale production of energy from oil shale. In May
2009, Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) signed an Oil Shale Concession Agreement to explore and evaluate
the commercial potential of the deeper layers of Jordanian oil shale. Since then, the Jordan Oil Shale
Company (JOSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, has gathered seismic data over an area of 22, 270
km2 across the country and drilled/tested over 300 wells. JOSCO also established one of the most
advanced geochemical and geological laboratories in the Middle East to analyze thousands of rock
samples, and currently employs more than 200 people of which more than 95% are Jordanian. Being part
of Shell provides JOSCO with access to a network of experts world-wide, providing invaluable technical
know-how, operational expertise, cutting-edge research capabilities and global commercial insight.
Shells approach to oil shale development utilizes a technology called In-situ Conversion Process (ICP).
This is different from conventional surface retorting methods and direct firing of oil shale for power
generation, and is aimed at heating the oil shale by thermal conduction using a closely spaced array of
horizontal heaters. JOSCOs current activities are focused on demonstrating the technical feasibility of
ICP technology in Jordan. The first ICP field test (Jordan Field Experiment, JFE) has been designed and
will aim to validate JOSCOs subsurface understanding of the ICP process. After the JFE, further piloting
is required in Jordan before a commercial project is envisioned. When successful, oil shale can play an
important role in supporting the Jordans energy mix, and may also help encourage further benefits to
Jordans energy industry, economy and society in the future.

i www.iea.org
2 SPE-172135-MS

Figure 1Comparison of oil shale resource volumes in the USA and Jordan with conventional oil reserves.

Introduction
According to the IEAs World Energy Outlooki, the worlds demand for oil and gas will grow in absolute
terms through at least 2035, despite the projected rapid growth of renewables. Meanwhile, the replacement
barrel will likely continue to become ever more challenging to find and produce. To keep pace, the oil and
gas industry is exploring for conventional supplies in increasingly hostile environments and is extending
its development of tight / shale oil and gas supplies to more challenging resources.
One of these resources is oil shale. Oil shale is the informal term used to describe the fine-textured rock
of sedimentary origin containing appreciable amounts of indigenous organic matter (kerogen) that yields
liquid oil, gas, and water when heated to conversion temperatures. Oil Shale is occasionally confused
with Light Tight Oil, a resource that has recently begun large scale development, primarily in North
America (Eagle Ford, Bakken, etc.). The primary difference is that oil shale is a solid rock and the light
tight oil exists as a liquid locked inside a low permeability matrix.
World oil shale high grade resources are massive, on par with the 1, 700 bln bbls of conventional oil
reserves, and major oil shale resources are found in USA, Russia, China, Israel, Jordan, Brazil, Morocco,
and Australia. This is depicted in Figure 1. The USA has the worlds largest known oil shale resource with
high grade deposits of 700 bln bbls and the Jordanian oil shale resource has been estimated to be 100 bln
bbls.

In-Situ Conversion Process (ICP)

With oil shale, the key to success requires more than knowing the location of the best resource. In
addition, and more importantly, a robust recovery process is required that is economically viable,
environmentally responsible, and socially sustainable. Developing such a process is not a new challenge.
Although many pioneering attempts have been made over the past 100 years, none has resulted in the large
scale production of oil and gas. These attempts generally focused on traditional mining methods and
surface retorting technologies.
The approach of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) is different. Shell has been actively engaged in a
process that bears little resemblance to the traditional mining and retort approach. Shells approach is to
use a novel technology called the In-situ Conversion Process (ICP), in which oil shale is heated by thermal
conduction using a closely spaced array of horizontal electric resistance heaters. Over a period of four to
six years, the heaters raise the formation temperature to approximately 325C at which point the kerogen
SPE-172135-MS 3

Figure 2Schematic layout of a commercial in-situ oil shale development using ICP technology.

Figure 3Jordan Oil Shale Company (JOSCO) oil shale development concession area as awarded in 2009. The black line in the figure outlines the
country of Jordan and the yellow areas designate the awarded concession area of 22, 270 sq km.

present in the oil shale is converted to oil and gas which is producible by conventional means. In essence,
the ICP technology is a much faster version of the natural conversion process with the kerogen conversion
taking a few years instead of a few million years. A schematic layout of a commercial development of oil
shale using the ICP technology is shown in Figure 2. Typical characteristics of Shells ICP process are
that (a) it yields high-quality light (30-50 degrees API) oil, (b) it leaves undesireable coke behind in the
subsurface, and (c) it can attain very high (more than 60%) recovery efficiencies.
4 SPE-172135-MS

Figure 4 Five distinct maturation phases of Jordan oil shale development from project kick off to commercial project Final Investment Decision
(FID). For each maturation phase, key objectives and deliverables are shown. JOSCO successfully completed the identify and explore phases and is
currently executing the appraise phase.

Oil Shale Development in Jordan using ICP Technology

Most of Shells and industrys oil shale resource assessment work was focused on the Piceance Basin of
Colorado, the worlds single best oil shale resource. Shells oil shale portfolio increased to include Jordan
in May 2009 when Shell signed a very significant Oil Shale Concession Agreement (OSCA) covering
25% of Jordan. The awarded concession area is shown in Figure 3. Shell has formed a wholly owned
subsidiary called the Jordan Oil Shale Company (JOSCO) to conduct operations in Jordan. A major
resource assessment and appraisal campaign is underway that hopefully will culminate in the opportunity
to commercially develop Jordans oil shale resources.
Figure 4 shows that the road to commerciality consists of 5 distinct phases. In the identify phase,
commercial negotations leading up to the ratification of the Oil Shale Consession Agreement, take place.
This phase is followed by an explore phase. The focus during this phase is to identify sweet spots in the
concession area that meet commercial richness/thickness criteria. During the subsequent appraise phase
the programme is directed to further define the identified sweet spots. It is in essence a continuation of
the explore phase, with similar data gathering, zoomed in to the pre-selected sweet spot locations. Also,
during this phase a first ICP field test is scheduled. The objective of this test is to demonstrate that the
ICP technology works in the Jordan oil shale. This small-scale ICP production project is called the Jordan
Field Experiment (JFE). The appraise phase is followed by the pilot phase. During this phase, larger-scale
pilots/projects are designed and executed to demonstrate technical and commercial feasibility of ICP in
Jordan. This phase is followed by the design phase, in which the concept of the first commercial
development is defined. The design phase is concluded with the final investment decision (FID) for this
first commercial project.
JOSCO successfully completed the identify and explore phases and is currently executing the appraise
phase.
SPE-172135-MS 5

Figure 5An impression of oil shale drilling in Jordan by JOSCO. JOSCO owns and operates two similar rigs as the one shown in the figure. More
than 300 wells have been drilled and 15 wells have been cored with these rigs.

Figure 6 Hydrology testing (left) and in-situ thermal conductivity logging opeations (right) in Jordan oil shale.

Oil Shale Development Activities in the Explore Phase

Since the signing of the Oil Shale Concession Agreement in 2009, significant progress has been made.
Beginning in 2010, more than 300 wells have been drilled to appraise the concession area with as prime
objective to assess the richness and thickness of the oil shale resource across the concession area. These
wells have been drilled using two fit-for-purpose JOSCO owned and operated rigs. Figure 5 gives an
impression of the JOSCO drilling operations in the Jordan desert environment.
Hydrology testing has been conducted in more than 50 wells to confirm the presence of good top and
bottom seals and to find areas without external water influx. A total of more than 500 hydrology tests have
been completed successfully and analysed using a variety of hydrology assessment methods. An important
physical property for ICP is the thermal conductivity of the shale. To measure the thermal conductivity
profile of the oil shale interval, a dedicated field unit was designed and built. This so-called hot wire
testing unit was successfully used to obtain a representative bulk thermal conductivity profile of the
Jordan oil shale. Figure 6 gives an impression of the hydrology testing and in-situ thermal conductivity
logging operations.
In addition, a microfrac testing programme has been conducted to evaluate the stress state and fracture
gradient of the oil shale and overburden to assist in drilling operations and provide key input for
geomechanical analysis work. To assist in the development of a regional structural geologic framework,
6 SPE-172135-MS

Figure 7JOSCOs advanced in-house rock and geochemistry laboratory an impression of some of the analysis capabilities that the laboratory
offers.

a 2D/3D seismic campaign was carried out. This ensured adequate seismic coverage across the concession
area and sweet spot locations in particular.
To process and analyse the vast amount of field samples effectively, JOSCO has set up one of the most
advanced geochemical and geological laboratories, unrivaled in the Middle East. The state of the art lab
has analyzed thousands of cutting samples providing high quality data to enable a comprehensive
geological and geochemical picture to emerge. Figure 7 shows some of the capabilities that the in-house
rock and geochemistry laboratory provides.
The JOSCOs efforts have resulted in job opportunities for more than 200 individuals in support of the
project, 95% of whom are Jordanian.
Data and interpretations from the above-described programs have enabled the initial identification of
three broad sweet spots (generally areas with high resource richness and thickness). These sweet spots
are currently being further assessed by infill drilling, hydrogeology field testing, and integrated subsurface
evaluations as part of the appraise phase programme.
To commercialize oil shale, the key project technical, environmental, commercial, and political risks
need to be mitigated to an appropriate level. For technical de-risking, JOSCO will build on the successes
of the long history of conducting lab experiments, desk top research, heater prototyping, and numerous
field pilots in Colorado USA and Alberta Canada. JOSCO will tap into the years Shell has spent
SPE-172135-MS 7

Figure 8 ICP subsurface modeling an integrated approach that requires full integration of a variety of field data and laboratory data. The key
input properties for a successful reservoir description and predictive model are shown. Some of these properties can only be obtained from specialized
ICP-tailored equipment. Shell has the capabilities in its Technology center in Houston to determine these properties and for the JFE project, these
capabilities have been used extensively.

developing advanced numerical reservoir models that provide insights to the response of the reservoir to
heating (including reaction kinetics, high pressure PVT relationships, and complex geomechanical
characterization). However, there are limits to what can be learned in the laboratory and using numerical
models. The real proof of the technology must be demonstrated in the field.
Jordan Oil Shale Development Activities in the Appraise Phase - Jordan
Field Experiment (JFE)
As indicated in the oil shale development maturation overview, a small-scale ICP field project is
scheduled as part of the appraise phase. This project, called the Jordan Field Experiment (JFE), was
designed in 2012/13 and is currently under construction. The JFE is a small (~200 bbls total production)
proof of concept test with the goal of validating the predictions of our reservoir models.
The kerogen conversion process is a complex dynamic process. Being part of Shell, JOSCO has access
to the all the subsurface expertise and tools needed to design the JFE. Within RDS reservoir models that
describe the ICP process have been developed using experience gained globally. These models have been
calibrated against earlier field pilots and were used as a basis for JFE. The models were tuned or
recalibrated using Jordan specific oil shale information that has been collected in the field and in the rock
and geochemistry laboratory. Given the unique nature of the ICP process, some of the input properties can
only be obtained using highly specialized equipment. Examples are (a) dedicated pyrolysis experiments
to assess the in-situ conversion process in more detail than what can be obtained from more standard
8 SPE-172135-MS

Figure 9 Top view schematic of the Jordan Field Experiment (JFE) pattern wells. The wells are deviated but penetrate the oil shale target interval
vertically. In total there are 7 heater wells (HW1-7), 1 producer well (P01) and 2 observer wells (OB1-2), placed in a hexagonal array. Not shown
are 7 monitor wells that located several tens of meters away from the heated oil shale.

Fisher Assay set ups, (b) geomechanical rock deformation tests at ICP temperatures, and (c) the
development of formation properties such as porosity and permeability at elevated ICP temperatures. RDS
has these specialized testing capabilities in its Technology Center in Houston and extensive testing of
representative Jordan oil shale samples has been carried out in this center to develop a JFE-specific
reservoir model. An overview of key input properties needed to arrive at a suitable reservoir model is
given in Figure 8.
The JFE consists of seven vertical heater wells in a close-spaced hexagonal array with a producer inside
the pattern. Two observer wells are included in the hexagonal pattern to monitor the performance of the
ICP reactions. Figure 9 schematically shows a top view of the well pattern lay out. Additonally, seven
monitor wells are included to examine possible product migration, thereby providing a safeguard for the
environment. One of those monitoring wells is located above the heated area and six monitoring wells are
positioned several tens of meters away from the heated area. In total the project consists of 17 wells. To
date, the monitoring wells have been drilled and completed and are being surveilled to provide a baseline
prior to the switching on the heater wells. Drilling activities for the deviated patterns wells (heaters,
observers and producer) are currently ongoing.
Surface facilities have been designed to provide energy to the heater wells and process the production
fluids safely. Energy to the heaters is supplied by a diesel-generator. The production fuids, consisting of
oil, gas and water, are routed to a 3-phase separator. The small amounts of produced gas are then sent to
a flare, whereas the produced oil is sent to interim storage and then incinerated. The produced water
undergoes further treatment after separation and is then sent to an evaporation pond. The project is
furthermore equipped with sampling and measurement facilties. As such, key performance parameters can
be monitored real-time and 24/7 in the field and in the JOSCO office in Amman. There is also a direct
satellite link with the Shell Technology Center in Houston. This enables the project to optimally benefit
from the expertise of Shells global oil shale experts who are located in this technology center, and for
the RDS and JOSCO staff located in these different continents to work together as an integrated team. A
schematic outline of the surface facilities is shown in Figure 10.
Design and manufacturing of many of the facilities has been coordinated by the RDS global oil shale
team. This way, the project was able to draw extensively on the ICP testing experience that has been
SPE-172135-MS 9

Figure 10 Schematic site lay-out for the Jordan Field Experiment (JFE).

Figure 11Shells In Situ Conversion Process (ICP) some key characteristics: (a) attains high recovery factors, (b) produces high quality light oil,
(c) leaves undesireable coke behind in the subsurface.

developed by RDS globally during the last decades. Many of the facilities modules that are unique given
the ICP conditions were manufactured in the USA, thereby again building on previously developed ICP
testing experience. Manufacturing of the various skids and modules has been completed successfully and
currently construction activities are ongoing on the JFE site location. These construction activities are
expected to continue until the end of 2014.
With the wells and facilities contruction activites completed, and the project commissioned, the heater
wells will be switched on and ICP conversion is expected to commence in 2015.
Technical and Commercial Feasibility of Shells ICP Technology in Jordan
In Jordan, after the execution of the JFE pilot, further piloting is required to validate heater performance,
to validate robust containment, to determine the energy balance and recovery efficiency, to investigate
geomechanics, and to measure the composition and gas to oil ratio of produced fluids. This information
will enable the economic performance of a commercial venture to be predicted with high certainty. In
addition, the further piloting will improve the scale-up capability necessary to actually execute a potential
10 SPE-172135-MS

full scale commercial oil shale project on the basis of ICP technology, a technology that (a) attains very
high recovery efficiencies, (b) yields high quality light oil and (c) leave the undesireable coke behind in
the subsurface (see Figure 11).
A full commercial oil shale project on the basis of ICP technology would represent a significant
opportunity for the country of Jordan which imports essentially all of its energy. A single commercial oil
shale project in Jordan could provide all of the oil needs for the country, forever changing the economic
landscape, since sucha major project would require a high degree of integration including power
generation, power transportation, water infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, oil upgrading and/or refining,
gas processing and treating, and sulfur handling to name a few.