Green Car Congress: Oil

Oil

[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]

USGS CARA Concludes 13% of World’s Undiscovered Oil, 30% of Undiscovered Gas in the Arctic

May 29, 2009

Map of the assessment units (AUs) of the CARA is color-coded for mean estimated undiscovered oil. Only areas north of the Arctic Circle are included in the estimates. Black lines indicate AU boundaries. Source: USGS CARA. Click to enlarge.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) has completed a geologically-based assessment of the oil and gas resource potential of the Arctic, the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). (Earlier post.) The researchers in the effort concluded that about 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30% of the world’s undiscovered gas may be found there, mostly offshore under less than 500 meters of water. A paper on the work was published in the 29 May issue of the journal Science.

Undiscovered natural gas is three times more abundant than oil in the Arctic and is largely concentrated in Russia, the researchers concluded. Oil resources, although important to the interests of Arctic countries, are probably not sufficient to substantially shift the current geographic pattern of world oil production, they said.

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Study Finds That CO2 Standards for Vehicles Can Reduce Price of Oil

April 10, 2009

Car fleet composition in the EU under the different scenarios. Click to enlarge.

A new study by the French institute Enerdata, commissioned by the European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E), suggests that the European CO₂ standards for new vehicles due to come into effect in 2012 will lead not only to a European savings on oil (mainly via lower oil import volumes) but also to slightly lower global oil prices. Enerdata concluded that a 0.9% reduction in global oil consumption results in a drop in global oil prices of 1.2%.

Most analyses of the economic assessments of energy efficiency measures normally use fixed oil prices when accounting for economic benefits. By working out that the price of oil will fall when the EU’s regulations fully take effect, the study suggests that the European economic benefits of fuel efficiency have been underestimated, in general by up to 17%, according to T&E.

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Energy Biosciences Institute Adds Microbially Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery Project

April 01, 2009

A combined effort of all three academic partners in the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) will seek to increase the amount of oil that can be extracted from existing wells by using microbes within their geological habitat to help recover residual oil and enhance production. They will also research methods of in situ biorefining to improve oil field life cycle costs and reduce environmental impacts.

The process is called “Microbially Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery,” (MEHR) and the program to investigate it is the 51^st research effort in the EBI, which is funded by BP, the global energy company. More than two dozen scientists from the University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will participate in the investigations.

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Alaska Senators Introduce Legislation Permitting Advanced Directional Drilling for ANWR

March 01, 2009

US Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced legislation that would allow the use of advanced directional drilling to tap the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) coastal plain. The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, would allow access to the coastal plain’s oil and natural gas resources through the use of underground directional drilling from state-owned lands to the west of the refuge and state waters from the north.

The legislation seeks to find a compromise with those concerned with preserving the 1.5 million acre coastal plain while still tapping into ANWR to increase domestic production of oil and gas.

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LLNL and Chevron Sign Fuel Production Catalysts Research Agreement

January 14, 2009

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has signed a research agreement with Chevron to develop the next generation of catalysts for production of cleaner, more efficient fuels from crude oil.

The research will focus on how catalytically active surfaces form and change on contact with feed molecules and, in particular, over time, how they are influenced by promoters and impurities.

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IEA Calls for “Global Energy Revolution” Despite Economic Crisis

November 12, 2008

World primary energy demand in WEO 2008 Reference Scenario. Click to enlarge.

In his release of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2008—the latest edition of the International Energy Agency’s annual publication—IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said that the report highlights that current trends in energy supply and consumption are “patently unsustainable, environmentally, economically and socially. They can and must be altered.”

In the WEO-2008 Reference Scenario, which assumes no new government policies, world primary energy demand grows by 1.6% per year on average between 2006 and 2030—an increase of 45%. This is slower than projected last year, mainly due to the impact of the economic slowdown, prospects for higher energy prices and some new policy initiatives.

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UOP, Albemarle and Petrobras to Cooperate on Catalytic Crude Upgrading for Heavy Oils

October 03, 2008

UOP LLC, Albemarle and Petrobras have signed a technology cooperation agreement to demonstrate and further the commercialization of UOP’s Catalytic Crude Upgrading (CCU) process technology. UOP developed the CCU process in 2005 as a cost-effective option to upgrade heavy crude oils and bitumen-derived crude.

Under the agreement, UOP will provide the technology, equipment and system design. Albemarle will provide an improved Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst to be used in the process. Petrobras, which has already run the process in its pilot plant, will offer knowledge and experience with FCC catalyst as well as heavy crude processing.

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Assessing the Impact of Global Peak Oil on the Climate

September 10, 2008

Atmospheric carbon dioxide changes over time for the study’s five fossil fuel scenarios: business-as-usual (a), coal phase-out (b) and oil use and supply (c-e). Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/Kharecha and Hansen

A new paper by Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University Earth Institute shows that if proven conventional oil and gas reserves do not greatly exceed estimates of the Energy Information Administration—i.e., if conventional production peaks during the next few decades—it will be feasible to keep atmospheric CO₂ from exceeding about 450 ppm by 2100, provided that emissions from coal, unconventional fossil fuels, and land use are constrained. Their paper was published 5 August in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles.

Although a limit of 450 ppm CO₂ is one of the more ambitious emissions targets proposed by governments and corporations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that even at that limit, there is a 20% likelihood that global temperatures will increase by 3.5º C or more. In April, Hansen called for a global target of 350 ppm. (Earlier post.)

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Modified Seawater as EOR Fluid Could Boost Oil Recovery From Limestone Reservoirs Up to 60%

September 03, 2008

Schematic model of the suggested mechanism for altering wettability using seawater. (A) Proposed mechanism when Ca²⁺ and SO₄^2- are active. (B) Proposed mechanism when Mg²⁺ and SO₄^2- are also active at higher temperatures. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS

Researchers at the University of Stavanger in Norway report that injecting a modified seawater fluid—“smart water”—into limestone oil reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) could help boost oil extraction from those reservoirs by as much as 60%. Their findings are scheduled for the 10 September issue of the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.

In the study, Tor Austad and colleagues note that more than 50% of the world’s oil reserves are trapped in oil reservoirs composed of calcium carbonate, rocks that include chalk and limestone. The average oil recovery from carbonates is generally lower than for sandstone reservoirs. The reason, they note, is that the carbonate rock is neutral to preferentially oil-wet and often highly fractured.

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100% of Gulf of Mexico Oil Production Shut-In After Gustav

September 02, 2008

Hurricane Gustav’s path through oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Click to enlarge. Source: EIA.

The US Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported that as of mid-day Tuesday, approximately 100% of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in, based on reports from the operators. Estimated current oil production from the Gulf of Mexico is 1.3 million barrels of oil per day. Approximately 95.4 % of the natural gas production in the Gulf has been shut-in. Estimated current natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico is 7.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

Thirteen refineries are shut down, totaling 2.5 million barrels per day of capacity. Ten refineries in the Gulf Coast region also reduced runs.

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Report: Global Refinery Octane Requirements to Decline

A new Global Refining Octane Outlook report by Hart Energy Consulting concludes that while the global gasoline market octane will gradually increase by half a point through 2020, requirements for global refinery octane will decline between 2007 and 2020, affected by outside component contributions—e.g., merchant ether and ethanol—and the impact of fuel quality requirements.

Global octane markets have been volatile as driven by refining capacity constraints, gasoline sulfur reductions (and related refinery processing octane loss), removal of MTBE from markets, upgrade of ultra low octane markets and final stages of lead removal. Markets have experienced periods of high octane premiums with US premiums peaking at 5 to 7 cents per octane-gallon.

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Argonne and KPM Developing New Efficient Process for Extracting Hydrogen from Hydrogen Sulfide in Unrefined Petroleum, Including Oil Sands

August 26, 2008

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc. (KPM) of Kingston, Ontario are developing a new process to extract and reuse pure hydrogen from the hydrogen sulfide that naturally contaminates unrefined oil, including oil sands. The hydrogen can then be used to upgrade and clean crude oil and petroleum products and aid in a number of refining processes.

The process uses a molten copper reactor invented by Argonne and KPM researchers. Hydrogen sulfide gas is first separated from the crude oil stock in the reactor, using technology already in place. This gas is then bubbled though molten copper, which releases pure hydrogen, which is captured. As the sulfur reacts with the copper, the copper is gradually turned into copper sulfide.

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Shell Perdido Spar Arrives in GOM; Deepest Oil Development in the World

August 18, 2008

The Perdido spar will bring production in from three fields—Great White, Silvertip and Tobago—with a production design of 130,000 boe/day. Click to enlarge.

The Shell-operated Perdido Regional Development Spar has arrived in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and is currently being secured to the seafloor in 7,816 ft (2,382 m) of water, a process that will take about one month. Perdido will be the deepest oil development in the world, the deepest drilling and production platform in the world and have the deepest subsea well in the world to date. Other partners in the joint venture are BP and Chevron.

Designed to deliver 100,000 barrels of oil and 200 million scf of gas (a total 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent, boe) per day, the Perdido Spar will bring in production from three fields: Great White, Silvertip and Tobago.

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USGS Estimates the Arctic Holds About 22% of Global Undiscovered, Technically Recoverable Oil, Gas and NGLs

July 24, 2008

Assessment units (AUs) in the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) color-coded by assessed probability of the presence of at least one undiscovered oil and/or gas field with recoverable resources greater than 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE). Probabilities for AUs are based on the entire area of the AU, including any parts south of the Arctic Circle. Click to enlarge.

The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids (NGLs) in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum, according to an assessment by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The assessment from the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (earlier post) is the first publicly available petroleum resource estimate of the entire area north of the Arctic Circle.

These resources account for about 22% of the undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in the world. The Arctic accounts for about 13% of the undiscovered oil, 30% of the undiscovered natural gas, and 20% of the undiscovered natural gas liquids in the world. About 84% of the estimated resources are expected to occur offshore.

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GE and STW Resources Collaborate to Recover Up to 70% of Hydraulic Fracturing Wastewater

July 17, 2008

GE Water & Process Technologies and STW Resources, Inc., (STW), a new company formed to use GE technology in water reclamation, formed a collaborative that will use a new, cost-effective process and patented GE thermal evaporation technologies to help oil and gas customers recover up to 70% of their hydraulic fracturing wastewater. Hydraulic fracturing is common technique used to increase the production rate of oil and gas wells, and creates billions of gallons of wastewater annually.

A conventional hydraulic fracture system combines freshwater with proppant (sand) and a polymer system. The polymer portion provides viscosity or thixotropic characteristics to carry the proppant into the reservoir. The fluid is pumped into the oil or gas bearing zone at very high pressure and cracks or fractures the structure, enabling the proppant to penetrate far back into the zone.

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TransCanada Announces $7B Expansion to Keystone Pipeline Project; Capacity Could Reach 1.5M Barrels per Day

The existing Keystone pipeline project and the Keystone XL expansion project. Click to enlarge.

TransCanada Corporation, on behalf of the Keystone Pipeline partnerships (Keystone) between TransCanada and ConocoPhillips, plans to expand the still-to-be-completed Keystone crude oil pipeline system project (earlier post) to provide additional capacity of 500,000 barrels per day from Western Canada directly to the US Gulf Coast by 2012.

The expansion (“Keystone XL Pipeline Project”) is expected to cost approximately US$7.0 billion. When completed, the expansion will increase the commercial design of the Keystone Pipeline system from 590,000 barrels per day to approximately 1.1 million barrels per day and result in a total capital investment of approximately US$12.2 billion.

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IEA: Despite Some Weakening Demand, Oil Market Will Remain Tight Over the Medium Term

July 01, 2008

Distillates (jet fuel, kerosene, diesel and other gasoil) will remain the main growth drivers of world oil demand, followed by LPG and naphtha (mostly used as petrochemical feedstocks) and gasoline. Click to enlarge.

Despite a weakening in demand in the OECD due to weaker economic growth projections and a doubling of oil prices over the past year, ongoing supply constraints, refinery limitations and continued demand growth in key emerging markets will contribute to a tight market over the medium term (to 2013), according to the Medium-Term Oil Market Report (MTOMR 2008) just published by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The current high prices in the market are primarily due to demand-supply fundamentals, not to speculation, according to the report.

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Global Energy Consumption Rises as Supplies Lag; Coal Still the Fastest Growing Fuel in the World

June 18, 2008

Global consumption of energy, in million tonnes of oil equivalent. Click to enlarge.

According to the just-published BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, the ongoing strength of world economic growth last year, despite financial market turmoil which began in August, continued to support global energy consumption. Although growth in primary energy consumption slowed in 2007 compared to 2006, at 2.4% it was still above the 10-year average for the fifth consecutive year.

Coal remained the fastest-growing fuel, but oil consumption grew slowly. Oil is still the world’s leading fuel, but has lost global market share for six consecutive years, while coal has gained market share for six years.

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Dust-Up Between BP and Russian Investors Threatens TNK-BP Joint Venture

by Jack Rosebro

A quartet of Russian oligarchs—Mikhail Fridman and German Khan of the Alfa Group, Viktor Vekselberg of the Renova Group, and Len Blavatnik of Access Industries—are pressuring BP to replace Robert Dudley, the BP-nominated CEO of TNK-BP, a joint British-Russian oil venture, and shake up its board of directors.

The TNK-BP joint venture is a significant contributor to BP’s total production. In the first quarter of 2008, BP’s share of output from TNK-BP was 818,000 barrels of oil per day and 512 mmcf/d of natural gas per day, for a combined 906,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day—33.4% of BP’s oil production and 23% of its total liquids, oil and natural gas production for the quarter.