Chapter 13: Energy Resources

Energy - Introduction U.S. oil consumption  ~ 22 million barrels/day Exxon’s, Girassol Field, Angola Hubbard’s “Peak Oil”; global vs. U.S. production Energy future  hydrogen?

Girassol Offshore Field Girassol field  Angola, Africa Discovered in 1996, Elf Exploration Angola Offshore, deep water field  4500 ft. deep ~100 miles offshore

Girassol Oil hosted in  sandstone reservoirs ~3000 ft. below seafloor Outer edge of Congo River delta  organic rich sediment Produces ~200,000 barrels/day $2.7 billion development costs Total reserves est. ~750+ million barrels

M. King Hubbard’s global “peak oil” prediction (1956), predicted U. S M. King Hubbard’s global “peak oil” prediction (1956), predicted U.S. peak between 1965-1970.

Energy Resources Chapter Objectives Fossil Fuels Non-fossil fuel energy resources Environmental considerations; extraction & waste products

I. Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels  hydrocarbon-based energy sources from organic-rich sedimentary deposits Petroleum, natural gas, coal

I. Fossil Fuels Hydrocarbons & Petroleum Simple to complex, H-C based molecules Table 14.1 Crude oil (petroleum) is refined (cracking) into various compounds Gasoline is a product of the refining- cracking process

I. Fossil Fuels B. Geologic Origin of Petroleum 5 main “steps or conditions” needed Source rock  rich in organics Heating to “oil window” needed ~50-150oC = 100-200oF 3-5 km = 1-3 miles burial

Geologic origin of petroleum 3. Reservoir rock & fluid migration 4. Caprock needed  prevents leakage 5. Geologic trap  geologic structures

Figure 14. 2: (a and b) Common structural oil traps Figure 14.2: (a and b) Common structural oil traps. (c) Stratigraphic oil traps. Fig. 14-2, p. 416

I. Fossil Fuels C. Oil Production Exploration Identify targets via geology Field surveys 2. Drilling Vertical vs. slant vs. horizontal (directional) & multilateral

Modern Exploration

Figure 14.5: Oil in an anticline is driven by gas pressure from above and by buoyant water pressure from below. Fig. 14-5, p. 417

Figure 14.7: Multilateral drilling from an offshore platform allows many oil-producing zones to be tapped from one platform. In this illustration, four zones are tapped by lateral horizontal pipes. Fig. 14-7, p. 418

Modern Exploration Drilling

Offshore drilling

I. Fossil Fuels 3. Pumping

I. Fossil Fuels 4. Secondary Recovery Extraction of remaining petroleum after standard recovery Thermal  steam injection Fire flooding  air + fire = heat Water injection (washing) Miscible  light gas mixtures or CO2

Figure 14. 8: Secondary recovery Figure 14.8: Secondary recovery. Steam, air, carbon dioxide, or chemicals dissolved in water are injected into a sluggishly producing formation in order to stimulate the flow of oil to extraction wells. Fig. 14-8, p. 418

Crude  refining  gasoline, etc…. I. Fossil Fuels 5. Delivery & Refining Transport of crude to refineries Pipelines vs. supertankers Refining  converting petroleum crude into various hydrocabon compounds: Crude  refining  gasoline, etc….

BP, Gulf Oil Leak Disaster Deepwater Horizon Deep water drilling (exploration) ~5000’ Blow out  explosion & fire  Apr. 20th, 2011 Contained/capped  July 15th Officially sealed, Sept. 20th, 2011 11 dead

BP, Gulf Oil Leak Disaster Leak  ~35,000-60,000 barrels/day 2.5 million gallons/day max. est. Total  4.9 million barrels, 206 million gallons Where did it all go?

Where did it all go? Category Estimate Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Direct recovery from wellhead 17% Burned at the surface 5% Skimmed from the surface 3% Chemically dispersed 8% 10% 6% Naturally dispersed 16% 20% 12% Evaporated or dissolved 25% 32% 18% Residual remaining 26% 13% 39%

I. Fossil Fuels 6. Price Market costs  OPEC major player in determining world market costs “supply & demand”  since 2003, global demand (vs. supply) increasing significantly….why? Refinery capacity  effects $$$ in U.S.

I. Fossil Fuels 7. Peak Oil? Reserves  that which can be extracted at profit Global reserves  ~1200 bbl’s proven (2005) Have global reserves peaked?

U.S. Production vs. Import

Figure 14. 9: World and U. S. proved petroleum reserves Figure 14.9: World and U.S. proved petroleum reserves. Note the scale change for U.S. reserves and that proved world reserves increased from 1970 to 1990 and then leveled off from 1990 to 2000. In contrast, U.S. reserves have decreased overall since 1970. Fig. 14-9, p. 419

Figure 14.13: The growing gap between petroleum discovery and production. Collin Campbell, ASPO. Fig. 14-13, p. 422

Fig. 14.1

Fig. 14.2

Fig. 14.5

Fig. 14.11

Is ANWR the answer to our energy woes? No proven reserves  no drilling done “possible” reserves based on the geology Best case  5.7 bbl (95%) – 16 bbl (5%)  10.4 bbl average 5% of daily U.S. consumption = 12 - 32 years 100% daily consumption = 215 – 525 days

Box Fig. 14.1-1

Box Fig. 14.1-2

I. Fossil Fuels “Dirty” energy D. Coal  C-rich rock material composed of converted plant matter “Dirty” energy Coalification process  heat & pressure From plant matter to organic-rich rock

Coalification Process Accumulation of thick masses of plant matter in low-oxygen (reducing) environment Burial to depth pressure & heat Expulsion of water & volatiles

I. Fossil Fuels Coal Ranking = low to high grade types based on: volatile content, heat content, fixed carbon content peat  lignite  subbituminous  bituminous  anthracite

Fig. 14.15

Coal Appalachia  bituminous, minor anthracite Midwest  bituminous Western  lignite, subbituminous, bituminous

Figure 14.16: Production in million short tons (and percent change from 2004) for each of the coal-producing regions and the total production for the United States. Note the shift in production from the Appalachian region to the Western coal states. Energy Information Administration. Fig. 14-16, p. 424

Fig. 14.18

Fig. 14.16

Fig. 14.17

I. Fossil Fuels Coal mining Underground  deep, seams/beds Strip  large scale, shallow beds Mountain top Air pollution CO2 & SO2 emissions, Hg & other heavy metals

Figure 14.17: Schematic cross section illustrating conventional underground and surface coal-mining technology. Adapted from Colorado Geological Survey. Fig. 14-17, p. 425

Fig. 14.22

Fig. 14.23

I. Fossil Fuels E. Tar Sands & Oil Shales Huge deposits, costly $$ Tar sands  Alberta, Canada ~1.7 trillion barrels! Needed: hot water!

I. Fossil Fuels 2. Oil Shales Shale rock with high % kerogen western U.S.  Green River Basin, WY Huge reserves Hot water (500oC) needed  very $$$$

Figure 14.19: Oil shale from the Green River Formation in Wyoming and a beaker of the heavy oil that can be extracted from it. Fig. 14-19, p. 427

Fig. 14.24

Fig. 14.25

II. Alternative Energy Nuclear “heavy” isotopes bombarded w/neutrons Splitting of atoms  release energy = nuclear fission Controlled chain reaction occurs within reactor core Water boiled by heat to drive turbine generators  electricity

II. Alternatives Uranium235 is the heavy isotope used  mined from the mineral uraninite France ~ 55% nuclear Japan ~ 30% + U.S. ~ 19%

U-235 Nuclear fission and chain reaction

Conventional nuclear fission reactor

Figure 14. 30: The nuclear fuel cycle Figure 14.30: The nuclear fuel cycle. The steps include mining, enrichment, transportation, power generation, reclamation, and disposal. Fig. 14-30, p. 436

Fig. 15.7

Concerns Related Nuclear Reactor Safety Nuclear reactor safety is a serious undertaking Controlled release of very minor amounts of radiation occur Major concerns are with accidents and sabotage Loss of coolant in the core could produce a core meltdown This event could allow the fuel and core materials to melt into an unmanageable mass and then migrate out of the containment structure Could result in a catastrophic release of radiation into the environment Reactors must be located away from active faults

U.S. nuclear power plants

Percentage of electricity generated by nuclear fission varies greatly by country

Dangers? Core Meltdown!

Chernobyl, 1986, USSR

Radiation Release 17 curies  3 Mile Island 185 million curies  Chernobyl

II. Alternatives/Nuclear Waste Products Spent fuel rods  high level radioactive waste machinery  low to moderate level waste weapons waste  liquid plutonium EXAMPLE 1996  30,000 tons of spent fuel rods 380,000 m3 of high level waste 1 reactor  65,000 lbs./year

Nuke Waste Long decay time! ex) plutonium 239 T1/2 = 24,000 years Presently; nuke waste stored on site, above ground (109 plants in U.S.) NEED  long term waste isolation Transport issues, environment, public, terrorists, geologically stable location

Yucca Mountain, Nevada Federal radioactive waste repository site Picked from 3 initial sites  Hanford, Texas, Yucca Mtn. + $2 billion spent since 1987 90 miles NW of Vegas No waste received to date

Yucca Mtn. Geology Volcanic tuff beds ~ 15 m.y. Last volc. eruption ~20,000 years ago ~800 below surface; 1200 above watertable Deep water table & dry climate 2 large faults  Ghost Dance & Solitario Canyon faults

Fig. 16.28

Fig. 16.29

Yucca Mtn. – Issue? Seismicity? Volcanic activity Changes in climate/watertable? Transportation of waste When/if completed  will hold ~70,000 tons of nuke waste

II. Alternative Energy B. Geothermal Shallow heat sources Conversion of liquid H2O to steam Steam under pressure  turbines to generate electricity Areas of active or recently active volcanism Clean; no air pollution So, why not more?

II. Alternatives EXAMPLES: Geyers, CA New Zealand Iceland

II. Alternatives C. Hydroelectric  dams Water turns turbines  electricity Clean, but??

II. Alternatives D. Wind Power Modern wind mills  electricity

Fig. 15.28

II. Alternatives E. Solar Photovoltaic cells Concentrated solar Passive solar

Photovoltaic Cell. 15.14

Concentrated vs. passive solar

Fig. 15.12

II. Alternatives F. Others 1. Tidal power  tidal zones Bay of Fundy France 2. Biomass Distilling volatiles from organic wastes 3. Fuel Cells

Gas Hydrates: an alternative?

Methane Hydrates Methane in methane hydrate exists as crystalline solids of gas and water molecules Found to be abundant in the arctic regions and in marine sediments Estimates of over 1300 trillion cubic feet of methane in methane hydrate have been studied off the Carolina coast It is not clear how we can tap into this potential reservoir

Gas Hydrates: the downside  Methane hydrates  burning CH4 only contributes more Carbon to the atmosphere Natural, catastrophic releases  massive releases of CH4 from warming oceans Natural catastrophic releases documented in geologic record

Gas Hydrates & Fuel Cells Possible sources of hydrogen for fuel cells? How do Fuel Cells Work? 2H2 + O2  2H2O + electrical energy No CO2 emissions!

Honda Clarity

Fuel Cells Needed: Abundant, accessible supply of hydrogen Hydrogen source ?  fresh water 2H2O + energy  2H2 + O2 Energy needed to separate the hydrogen CATCH 22!

Our Energy Future Fossil Fuels aren’t going away regardless of global warming  Alternatives on the rise but need significant subsidies and federal initiatives Will alternatives meet the massive consumption needs? NO FREE LUNCH!

Is There a Bright Side?  Changing energy economy? Future jobs/careers (and wealth) for those that start now?