Greenvale Energy Ltd., Sydney, has appointed consulting firm SRK Consulting (Australasia) Pty. Ltd. to progress development of the Alpha oil shale project in central Queensland inland from Rockhampton using a radio frequency (RF) microwave extraction technique.
The Alpha torbanite deposit is in mineral development lease 330 and contained within the late Permian-age Colinlea sandstone in the Galilee basin.
Key features of the development plan are focused on lowering the initial project capital costs and achieving the lowest possible oil-recovery costs.
The RF process entails low-pressure microwave heating, which Greenvale declares is environmentally benign. The technique combines RF heating and critical liquid driving where critical fluid technology uses the solvent properties of gases compressed at their critical point.
Greenvale explained that oil industry equipment drills into the deposit and places a RF antenna or transmitter into the oil shale. The emitted ray energy heats the oil shale and critical point carbon dioxide drives the oil to the well. The oil is brought to the surface where it condenses and is stored. Carbon dioxide is separated and recycled downhole.
The SRK program will carry out many tasks, including magnetic and gravity modelling to define compartments within the oil shale deposit as well as perform an analysis of geophysical and petrophysical data. It also will study the potential for in-situ RF microwave extraction via lateral wells and define any additional deeper resources, along with sampling and geochemical analysis.
Contingent resources estimation will be made based on the potential of deeper zones and the potential of in-situ extraction compared to mining and surface processing techniques.
ASKR’s work is scheduled for completion within 3 months.