Oil

What is oil? Petroleum (crude oil) –complex liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, with small amounts of S, O, N impurities Most valuable natural resource (?) –Gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, grease, wax, asphalt, plastics…

Oil (Petroleum) Facts Crude Oil (petroleum) is oil pumped from the ground. –Must be refined into usable products (boiled off at various temperatures) Discovered in 1859 in Pennsylvania! Known reserves expected to last less than 50 years! –Current price per barrel: $54

Formation of Oil

Oil Formation Decomposition of ancient sea plants & animals –Quick burial –Partial decayed (some carbon remains) Intense heat & pressure Time – millions of years to form

Oil Extraction Primary Oil Recovery –Drill well –Pump out oil that flows by gravity into well Secondary Oil Recovery –Inject water into nearby water to force oil into well.

Enhanced (Tertiary) Oil Recovery

Recovery & Net Energy In any oil field, only 1/3 of the heavy oil can actually be recovered by 1 st or 2 nd – ary methods Tertiary recovery uses the energy of 1/3 of a barrel of oil for each barrel it produces (<4min)

Fractional Distillation From extraction, oil travels via pipeline to a refinery Impurities are removed Oil is heated, which separates the various liquids by various boiling points

What is petroleum used for? Fuel – transportation (65%), generating electricity Making products - plastic, fleece, ink, floor wax, soap, carpet, nail polish, aspirin, etc. (over 6,000 products)

Where are Gas & Oil found? Oil Reserves in… United States Middle East Venezuela North Sea Siberia Nigeria Seal Rock Reservoir Rock Source Rock

Oil Reserves Estimated reserves: educated guesses about the location and size of oil or natural gas deposits Proven reserves: how much oil can be economically obtained from the oil field

OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries –Set up in 1960 so developing countries would get a fair price for the resource. –Control 67% of world’s oil –Saudi Arabia (#1), Iraq (#2), Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Qatar, and Venezuela

Oil in U.S. 2.3% of world reserves uses nearly 30% of world reserves; 65% for transportation; increasing dependence on imports. t

Future of Reserves Economically depleted –When 80% of a resource has been used –Cost to extract remaining supply is more expensive than its sale price. At current usage 33 years to economic depletion! How much is undiscovered? Should we conserve?

Why change when you’ve found a good thing? Low oil prices = stimulated economic growth In turn... –discourages improvements in energy efficiency and alternative technologies

Environmental Concerns Pollution - many pollutants created when burned which leads to smog and acid rain Global Warming - releases CO2 when burned Oil Spills - damage to plants and animals

ANWR and offshore drilling GejkLdwAhttp:// GejkLdwA eiOPuqE

Crude Oil Alternatives Greener oil options?

Oil Shale Tar Sand Oil Shale (kerogen) & Tar Sand (bitumen) Different forms of rock/sand that can be transformed (crushed/heated or pressurized) to be use like crude oil.

Global supplies of shale oil may be 200x’s larger than global Conventional Oil supplies

Oil Shales Pros/Cons Pros –US availability –World supplies Cons –Processing Uses ½ barrel of oil to process (heat) Uses large amounts of water (in desert areas!) Surface mining Groundwater contamination (salts, carcinogens, & toxic metals)

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