Development Status and Feasibility Evaluation Index System of Continental Shale Oil Demonstration Area in China

The construction of shale oil demonstration area is of great significance to leading and promoting the scale benefit development of continental shale oil and the sustainable development of the industry in China. Based on the development status and construction progress of the existing national shale oil demonstration area, as well as the analysis of the situation and challenges faced, the feasibility evaluation method, evaluation parameters and index system of the (proposed) demonstration area are established. China’s Longdong, Jimusar, Gulong and Jiyang demonstration areas have made two major strategic breakthroughs and reserves discovery of shale oil, five key technological breakthroughs and integrated innovation. A number of engineering and technical parameters have achieved step-by-step leapfrog upgrading, geology-engineering integration application, quality improvement and efficiency increase, forming the mechanism mode and gaining important experience in four aspects: organization and management, production and construction, technical breakthrough and measure guarantee. There are three types of shale oil developed in the demonstration area, individual achievements are lower than the approval planning objectives, potential and pressure of increasing reserves and production as well as scale benefit development coexist. According to the key contents, main methods and parameter-index system construction principles of shale oil feasibility evaluation, six categories of primary indicators (including resource feasibility, geological condition feasibility, development technology feasibility, environmental protection and energy conservation feasibility, economic feasibility and risk countermeasure feasibility), 18 categories of secondary indicators,126 three-level indicators are established, which constitutes the feasibility evaluation index system framework of shale oil demonstration. In general, the construction of three national shale oil demonstration areas has been smoothly promoted and developed steadily. The feasibility evaluation parameter-index system pays attention to the combination of resources and geological characteristics, development technology and economic evaluation in terms of content, highlights the combination of parameter analogy method, economic evaluation method and comprehensive analysis method and queuing comparison method in terms of methods, and strengthens the feasibility evaluation of environmental protection, energy conservation and carbon reduction, risk and countermeasure analysis under the background of“dual carbon”goals in the new era. It is expected to provide decision-making reference for the feasibility evaluation and construction of shale oil demonstration areas in China. © 2023 China University of Geosciences. All rights reserved.