Oil: Black Gold
Oil Formation Microscopic aquatic protists die pressurized & heated Seeps through porous rock and trapped under non-porous Many C-H chains
Crude Oil Recovery Primary Oil Recovery: Drill well, pump out oil Secondary Oil Recovery: Injection of H2O into nearby well, force heavy oil into well
Off-shore Oil Platforms Dangerous to work on Require constant maintenance
Santa Barbara Oil Platforms
Crude Oil Refined? Mix of diff. HC’s that are separated w/ distillation: purifying a liquid by evaporation and condensation.
Crude oil delivered by oil tanker Distilled at a Refinery (LBC, San Pedro)
NA Reserves
Org. of Petroleum Exporting Countries 12 countries : Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Determines best means for protecting their oil interests…price stabilizing
Case Study: OPEC Embargo OPEC stops supplies of oil to US b/c we supplied Israel w/ weapons during Yom Kippur War. Odd-even rationing Flag System Ended in ’74 with Kissinger negotiations.
Pricing 1.How much oil is pumped? 2.How much oil is being refined? 3.Operational costs of gas stations **NOT FULL COST Pricing-doesn’t include externalities
Shale Oil Fine-grained rock, has HCs called kerogen Is crushed & heated, vaporizing kerogen condensed to shale oil
Tar Sands Mix of clay, sand, water and bitumen (a high sulfur oil) Heat sand until bitumen softens, floats to surface Refined into crude oil Canada #1!
Pros of Crude Oil: Easy to Transport
Pros of Crude Oil: Cheap!
Pros of Crude Oil: High Net Energy Yield
Pros of Crude Oil: Platforms make artificial reefs
Cons of Crude Oil 1) Air pollution (combustion) –increased CO 2 levels global warming –acid deposition
Downside of All Fossil Fuels: Production of CO 2
Cons: MTBE Methyl tertiary butyl ether C 5 H 12 O Fuel additive in gas, enhances octane (helps burn gas completely reduces NOx and VOC emissions) Groundwater pollutant from LUSTS carcinogen? Banned in 2004
Con: Oil Spills 1989, Exxon Valdez spilled 10.9mill. barrels of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska Prince William Sound Exxon Valdez
CLEAN UP! Large booms contain oil
CLEAN UP! Skimmer boats scrape off oil
CLEAN UP! GE bacteria eats oil!
CLEAN UP!
High pressure washing
Con: Wars! Gulf War 1991: Iraq invaded Kuwait; US attacked to protect its oil supply
Peak Oil M.K. Hubbert, 1956 Theory: Crude oil reserve and production will peak in 1970’s and decline there after Show Hubbert Curve US Oil Production peaked in 1971