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Petroleum

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plus invisible GHGsL.A. smog

Chief source: combustion of petroleum products

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Petroleum has been used by humans for millennia, originally for fires and warfare. In the Middle East, oil fields were exploited for naptha, tar, and kerosene in the 8th to 12th centuries.These early users depended on seeps (like this modern one), where petroleum rises naturally because of subsurface pressure.

BeverlyHillbilliestheme

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Hydrocarbons: organic compounds consisting of H and C

Petroleum: a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of solid, liquid, and gaseous hydrocarbons that occurs naturally beneath the Earth's surface.

Liquids Gases

Solids (e.g. paraffin) are not abundant, but have many uses

Crude oil

methane

Natural Gas

propane

pentanebutane

Condensateliquid droplets in gas

after

Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs)

proc

essin

g

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Crude oil* Liquid mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons

(aka “oil”)

* After refining: the chief source of transportation fuels

Natural gas

* After processing: used for power generation, residential, fertilizers, manufacturing, transportation (still very limited)

* Gaseous mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons

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Combustion (burning) of hydrocarbons releasescarbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere

Fuel + Oxygen Carbon dioxide + Water + HeatIn words:

CxHy + (x + y/4)O2 xCO2 + (y/2)H2OThe general equation:

C3H8 + 5O2 3CO2 + 4H2O E.g., for propane:

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residue

fuel oil

lubricants

diesel

kerosene

gasoline

naptha

gasesFractionaldistillation

in a refineryvery schematic cartoon

L.A. oil refinery

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Natural gas

Almost always a mixture of gases; to be used as a fuel, extensive processing is required to produce pure methane.

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PetrochemicalsChemicals produced from petroleum

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The Graduate 1967

“Plastics.”

ALL PLASTICS are petrochemicals.

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polystyrene epoxies

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polycarbonate, etc.

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PVC

solvents

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Other synthetic fibers, such as acrylics & dacron: clothing, yarn, rugs, rope, sails, grafts, containers, resins, etc.

Polyester: The most widely used artificial fiber in the U.S. — apparel & home furnishings, plus bottles, fiberglass, LCDs, holograms, filters, insulators, auto body parts, and more.

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Apparel, carpets, musical strings, fishing line, racket strings, rope, auto parts, machine

parts, sutures

Nylon

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More uses

sterilizers (food & medical supplies

rubbing alcohol

synthetic rubber

MTBE

detergents

vinyl

dyes

phenols (antiseptics)

TNT

drugs

packaging

riot shields

eyeglass lenses

auto parts

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The inescapable fact: Modern developed societies depend on petroleum in innumerable ways. We are a petroleum-dependent society.

“No civilization can survive the destruction of its resource base.”

Bruce SterlingAlso see Jared Diamond’s Collapse and

Joseph Tainter’s Collapse of Complex Societies

“The Prize” 20th century = “The Oil Century”

“The lifeblood of modern civilization”

“The foundation of modern society”

Petroleum is a non-renewable resourcethat took millions of years to form.

Our use of it has been unsustainable.

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Petrolia, Ontario

1858 North America’s first oil wells1860 World’s first integrated oil company

1860–1900 “Oil boom” trained drillers who later dispersed around the planet: U.S., Middle East, South America, etc.

Titusville, PA1859 First U.S. drilling rig

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Make lists of the top 5 countries:

Oil productionto date (since ~1860)

Current (2007) rate ofoil production

Remainingoil reserves

KSAFSUUSAIran

China

USAFSUKSAIran

Venezuela

FSU = former Soviet UnionKSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

KSAIraqIran

KuwaitUAE/Venez

UAE = United Arab Emirates

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The unequal distribution of petroleum triggered many military and other strategic decisions over

the last century.

Early 1900s: Britain converted its fleet from coal to oil; dependence on Middle East oil; long-term involvement there starting in World War 1.Events before and during World War II* 1930s: Japan imports ~80% of its oil from the USA, and ~18% from Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).* 1937: Japan invades China, initiating war between them.* Aug 1941: U.S. oil embargo vs. Japan, which has 1.5 years of oil reserves.* Dec 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, simultaneously invades Dutch East Indies (Indonesia); first targets: oil fields and refineries.*Germany’s North Africa campaign part of the Axis plan to control the Suez canal and Middle East oil supplies.

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U.S. strategy after WWII: U.S. production supported the Allied effort throughout WWII, but dwindling reserves encouraged administrations (starting w/FDR) to look internationally….chiefly to the Middle East.

Iran 1953: The U.S. (via CIA) and U.K. organized the overthrow of Iran’s elected prime minister, who had recently nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which became British Petroleum (BP) in 1954).

1991 Gulf War: After Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait, the U.S. spearheaded the “liberation” of Kuwait and the defense of oil-richer KSA.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq: Purportedly to eliminate weapons of mass destruction etc. Recommended book: Michael Klare, Blood and Oil (2004).

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A

B

C

D

E

KSAIranIraq

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MediterraneanSea

CaspianSea

RedSea

Gulf of Aden

PersianGulf

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Yemen

Om

an

UAEQatar

Kuwait

Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia

Iraq Iran

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The Middle Eastcontains 45–60%

of the world’spetroleum reserves.

* 6% of global production to date* 6% of modern production

* World’s largest oil field* 60-65% of KSA production to date

Ghawar Ghawar: perhaps themost important placeyou’ve never heard of

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How to Make Exploitable Petroleum 1. Start with lots of source rock, such as shale containing organic material that has not been oxidized (not very common).

3. Place a reservoir rock above the source rock. The petroleum will rise because of its low density, so you need a porous (and preferably permeable) rock to hold it.4. Ensure that the reservoir has a suitable trap—a subsurface geologic structure that will hold (“trap”) petroleum in the reservoir rock, preventing its slow migration to the surface.

2. Heat the source rock to 60°–120°C (for oil) or 120°–220°C (for gas). Do not overcook. Will take millions of years.

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Pores are open spaces between the particles of a rock.

The more pore space, the higher the porosity.

Pores may contain air, gas, or liquid (water or oil).

The more “connected” the pores, the higher the permeability.Pore fluids will flow more easily in rocks that are more permeable.

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Natural Gas Oil WaterColor code:Rock

Cartoon of a vertical slice through the crust showing traps in reservoir rocks where petroleum and water

typically accumulate.

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Typical E&P steps, part 2Primary recovery lasts for several months or years.

As the pressure drops, flow slows and operators must use “secondary recovery” techniques for to recover petroleum. The most common technique: injection of water or gas.

Injectionwell Production

well

water forceddownward

water enters pores, raises pressure; “sweeps” petroleum

in front of it

petroleumrises

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Water injection also is used to increase production, but usually leads to a quicker reservoir decline and less total production.

Injected water produces problems with corrosion, scaling, treatment prior to disposal; requires costly processing and replacement of parts.

Typical E&P steps, part 3

“Tertiary recovery” techniques may be used once the injection techniques are ineffective. However, they’re expensive, and thus feasible only if the price of petroleum is high....

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Production history of an oil field

Primary

SecondaryTertiary

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Peak Oil: The maximum sustainable production rate of petroleum for an area (e.g., a field, a country, or the world).

M. King Hubbert and “Peak Oil”

M. King Hubbert (U.S. geologist) predicted that production rate for any well, field, or region will resemble a bell curve.

The peak of such a curve is known as Hubbert’s Peak.

Peak Oil does NOT mean “running out of oil.”