Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method

Xiaoqi Wang; Siwei Meng; Mehdi Ostadhassan; Xiwei Li; Shujun Bao; Jiaping Tao; Xiaodan Liu; Chenjun Zhang; Man Shen; Huaqing Xue; Bo Liu; Xu Jin; Wenzhi Zhao

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100011

The Innovation Energy > 2024 Vol. 1 > No. 1 > 100011

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Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method

1.
Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
2.
Institute of Unconventional Oil & Gas, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
3.
National Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil, Daqing 163000, China
4.
Exploration Department, Huabei Oilfield Company, Renqiu 062550, China
5.
International Cooperation Center of National Development and Reform Commission, Beijing 100038, China

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Corresponding authors: liubo@nepu.edu.cn (B. L.); jinxu@petrochina.com.cn (X. J.)
Received Date: September 12, 2023

Accepted Date: January 25, 2024

Published Online: February 23, 2024

The Innovation Energy 1(1), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100011 | Cite this article

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PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. Oil in shale matrix can cause local charging effect during high resolution electron microscopy imaging.
  
  Shale oil reserved in nano pores with small amount of below pmol can be detected by controlled charging imaging.
  
  High resolution large-area 2D controlled charging imaging provides a powerful tool for highly anisotropic samples.
  
  Microscopic 3D imaging reveals the spatial distribution of shale oil and its relationship with pore system.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Shale oil has revolutionized the global energy landscape, mostly existing in nanopores. However, there is no method for directly characterizing such a small oil cluster. This paper proposes a novel method for the direct characterization of shale oil at the nanoscale via controllable local charging imaging using electron microscopy. With this method, the potentially movable hydrocarbons of below one pmol (10⁻¹² mol) reserved in nanopores can be detected. The distribution of the shale oil clusters can be obtained through large-area two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) visualizations. Additionally, the amount of these resources can be calculated. Comparative analyses were conducted on reservoir samples from typical shale oil blocks in China and the US, and the results indicate the universality of the novel method, paving the way for accurate evaluation of shale oil resources and reasonable choice of exploitation technologies such as hydrofracturing and underground in-situ conversion processing.

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Cite this article:

Wang X., Meng S., Ostadhassan M., et al., (2024). Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method. The Innovation Energy 1(1): 100011. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100011

Wang X., Meng S., Ostadhassan M., et al., (2024). Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method. The Innovation Energy 1(1): 100011. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2024.100011

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Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method

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Detecting shale oil hidden in nanopores using a novel electron microscopy method

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