中国石化新闻网讯 据彭博社报道，埃克森美孚公司押注于一种更先进压裂技术，相信这将使其从页岩井中提取的石油量翻倍。

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埃克森美孚首席执行官达伦·伍兹（Darren Woods）在伯恩斯坦战略决策会议上表示：“现在仍有大量石油留在地下。”他指出：“压裂技术已经存在很长时间，但对于压裂技术的科学认识仍不充分。”

水力压裂，即通过向地下注入水、砂石和化学品，使岩石破裂并保持开放状态，以便让石油流出。尽管这项技术催生了美国的页岩繁荣，但目前的技术只能回收油藏中约10%的石油。随着页岩井的产量增长放缓，更好的钻井和压裂方法可能变得至关重要。

伍兹表示，埃克森美孚正在致力于改进压裂技术的两个具体方面。首先，希望能够更精确地进行井筒压裂，使更多富含石油的岩石得到开发。其次，希望延长裂缝的开发时间，以增加石油的流动性。目前，防止裂缝关闭的主要方法是使用砂石。

伍兹表示：“在我看来，这些是最先进技术进入该领域的层面。”他说：“我们认为有一些有前途的技术可以在该领域应用，并将显著提高采收率。”

吴奇之 编译自 世界石油网站

原文如下：

ExxonMobil to employ news fracing technology to double oil production from shale wells

ExxonMobil Corp. is betting that a better way to frac will double the amount of oil it can pump from shale wells.

“There’s just a lot of oil being left in the ground,” Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said Thursday at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference. “Fracing’s been around for a really long time, but the science of fracking is not well understood.”

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracing, is the process of injecting water, sand and chemicals underground to break apart rock and keep it propped open for oil to flow out. Though the technology gave rise to the U.S. shale boom, only about 10% of the oil in a reservoir is recovered using current techniques. Better drilling and fracing methods may prove critical as output growth from shale wells slows.

Exxon is working on two specific areas to improve fracing, Woods said. It wants to be able to frac more precisely along the well so that more oil-soaked rock is getting drained. It also wants to keep the cracks open longer to boost the flow of oil. Sand is the primary method today to prevent fractures from closing up.

“That in my mind is where the first wave of technology will come into that field,” Woods said. “We think we’ve got some promising technologies to employ there that will significantly improve our recovery.”

（责任编辑：黄振 审核：蒋文娟 ）