The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 03, 1984
Filed:
Sep. 29, 1977
Irving G Studebaker, Grand Junction, CO (US);
Occidental Oil Shale, Inc., Grand Junction, CO (US);
Abstract
An in situ oil shale retort is formed in a subterranean formation containing oil shale and having a substantially vertically extending first cleavage plane set and a substantially vertically extending second cleavage plane set intersecting the first set. The dispersion of the individual cleavage planes in the first and second cleavage plane sets is determined. The in situ retort is formed by excavating a vertical slot-shaped void within the boundaries of the retort site, leaving a remaining portion of the unfragmented formation within the retort site which is to be explosively expanded toward the slot. The unfragmented formation adjacent the slot has a pair of longer vertical free faces substantially aligned with the cleavage plane set having the lower dispersion. A pair of shorter vertical side walls of the slot can extend substantially perpendicular to the cleavage plane set having the lower dispersion. Explosive placed in such remaining formation adjacent the slot is detonated to fracture formation along cleavage planes in the first and second cleavage plane sets and to expand such remaining formation within the retort site toward the slot, forming a fragmented permeable mass of formation particles containing oil shale within the retort site.