Numerical Analysis of In Situ Conversion Process of Oil Shale Formation Based on Thermo-Hydro-Chemical Coupled Modelling

The in situ conversion process (ICP) is a retorting method pyrolyzing the kerogen shale into oil and gas products, which shows great potential to promote recovery of resources. In this work, thermo-hydro-chemical-coupled model for established, considering temperature dependence key properties transverse isotropy caused by layered characteristics shale. Based on proposed model, series simulations conducted evaluate production performance reservoirs. results indicate that energy efficiency reaches maximum 2.7 around fifth year heating process, indicating feasibility technology. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis should be higher than 300 °C avoid output being less input, oil/gas ratio decreases with increasing temperature. Moreover, thermal conductivity positively while heat capacity negatively correlated, matrix capacity. Finally, period no longer 4 years maximize efficiency.