Controlled retorting methods for recovering shale oil from rubblized oil shale and methods for making permeable masses of rubblized oil shale

摘要

In-situ retorting methods include forming an in-situ mass of rubblized, hydrocarbon-containing minerals covering at least part of that mass with a nonflammable liquid such as water, uncovering part of the mass and retorting to produce hydrocarbon values from that part, and then progressively or sequentially uncovering other parts of the mass and retorting hydrocarbons from those parts. Methods for forming highly permeable rubblized masses include forming a retorting zone in a kerogen-bearing formation wherein two walls of the retorting zone form a low angle to one another, and cleaving oil shale from the upper wall beginning near the intersection of the two walls and proceeding upwardly.