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 1st or 2nd –ary methods

• Tertiary recovery uses the energy of 1/3 of a barrel of oil for each barrel it produces

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMRu7GjR7o&feature=related (<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.Oil in U.S.•2.3% of world reserves

•uses nearly 30% of world reserves;

•65% for transportation;

•increasing dependence on imports.

www.bio.miami.edu/beck/esc101/Chapter14&15.ppt

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

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP2GejkLdwA

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO_3eiOPuqE

Crude Oil Alternatives

Greener oil options?

Oil Shale Oil Shale (kerogen) & Tar Sand 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 ConventionalOil 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)

www.bio.miami.edu/beck/esc101/Chapter14&15.ppt