Submerged Oil Working Group 

November 2, 2016 

Clean Gulf Conference, New Orleans LA 

Meeting Notes 

 

Participants: Nancy Kinner, J.T. Ewing, Victoria Broje, Steve Buschang, Scott Lundgren, Chris Barker, 

Lindsey Saum 

Updates on research and status of projects: 

1. Research Planning Inc (Jacqui Michel email update) 

API Sunken Oil Detection, Containment, and Recovery documents have been published 

and are available here (under Inland) at: http://www.oilspillprevention.org/oil‐spill‐

research‐and‐development‐cente.  These documents (report and field guide) are posted 

on the CRRC Submerged Oil working group webpage. http://crrc.unh.edu/research_swg  

Also, the API report on Options for Minimizing Environmental Impacts of Inland Spill 

Response is in final formatting and should be published soon. It includes a section on 

Group V oils that submerge. 

2. Ed Owens oil detection dogs. More here>> http://www.k9scat.com/ 

3. Shell (Victoria Broje) 

A review by Royal Society of Canada of oil behavior that includes behavior of diluted 

bitumen is now available online 

http://www.rsc.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/OIW%20Report_1.pdf.  CAPP and CEPA 

provided funding. It was Phase 1 of the project. 

Phase 2 of CAPP & CEPA project if to conduct new experimental study of oil behavior at 

SL Ross facility.  The external technical advisory team was formed, test protocols are 

being discussed and work will begin in early 2017. 

Study will include: 

‐ Laboratory‐scale testing on selected conventional crude oils, shale oils, diluents, and 

diluted bitumen products. Testing will measure oil composition and properties and how 

those change with weathering, adhesion on a variety of surfaces, and the effects of 

interactions with suspended particulates. 

‐ Meso‐scale testing in test tank to measure the effects of weathering on water with the 

selected oils at a larger scale. Testing will assess the effects of temperature, waves, 

current, air flow, salinity, UV rays and suspended particulates and will verify bench scale 

tests.  

The overall objective is to inform responders on behavior of various oils (dilbit) under 

various spill scenarios and environmental conditions. 

o Question on wide variability of dilbits= range of products will be selected to 

represent a range of possible products that are transported in Canada. 

o Question on whether this information is available from MSDS = MSDS doesn’t 

provide information needed for response and prediction of product behavior 

 

 

especially in case of diluted bitumen. This study will generate additional 

information.  

o Texas has a chemist at Jefferson Energies who put together a response for each 

of their blends.  Will forward this information once completed.   

o Environment Canada has developed something similar. Check with Bruce 

Hollebone on dilbit properties for pipeline transport. Bruce and Environment 

Canada is on the technical advisory committee for this project.  

o Also note information on the Crude Oil Monitor. This information was used to 

select oils for the study, but it doesn’t provide properties of weathered products 

needed for behavior analysis.  

4. NOAA ORR ERD – Chris Barker 

No report 

Please keep Paige Doelling in the loop on Jefferson Energy as she worked with TX GLO 

on this spill 

5. Texas GLO – Steve Buschang 

Internal training presentation (see attached) 

6. NOAA ORR ERD – Scott Lundgren 

UNH students doing lab experiments with sorbent snare to determine pick up rates 

NAS study (PHMSA‐funded)  

BSEE wish lists from NOAA; still working on this for dilbit.  Chris will get updates with 

Environment Canada. Forming collaboration in order to share this flow of information 

Report to Congress re: freshwater spill response (Great Lakes) not specific to heavy oils 

7. CRRC – Nancy Kinner 

Note the new Clean Waterways Conference in June 20177 in Louisville, KY 

IOSC is having an inland track as well 

UNH students lab experiments in circular flume 

Installing/renovating a straight flume  

Steve Lehmann suggested study: drag snare or pompoms for detection what does it 

mean?  Wet snare is different than dry snare; different snare holds oil differently; if 

snare is coated, does it lose oil while dragging; freshwater vs. saltwater; only using No 6 

oil from Sprague – need other types of oils for experiments.  

8. JT Ewing mentioned a new sorbent company – Spilltration – that he saw here at Clean Gulf and 

was impressed as it picks up diesel/fine sheen.  It is a Halen Hardey company. The founder was 

also the founder of the “New Pig Corporation” which now he sold and formed Spilltration 

Products. It is sorbent material primarily designed to work in the rain and wet environments. It 

is made with the same melt blown polypropylene fibers as standard sorbents but with a looser 

weave which allows more water to pass through and absorbs the oil. I can see it used like a filter 

on decanting jobs or spills near storm drains. Their web site is www.spilltration.com or you can 

see some of their products demonstrated on u‐tube. 

 

 

Next meeting to be held at IOSC.  

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Objectives:

TexasGeneralLandOffice

•Review

•AwarenessofModernCurrentAtypicalOilProducts

•FamiliarizationwithTransportation

•EmergingRisksAssociatedwithAtypicalOilProducts

•AwarenessofResponseOperationsOptions

•Discussion

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Vapor Pressure and Volatility

• VaporPressure Force exertedbythegasorvaporreleasedbya liquid orsolidsubstanceinaclosed container orspace.

• At orbelowthe vapor pressure, there is no net evaporation.

• Asubstancewithahighvaporpressureatnormaltemperaturesisoftenreferredtoas volatile.

•Asthe temperature ofa liquid orsolidincreasesits vaporpressurealso increases.

• ReidVaporPressure Itisdefinedastheabsolutevaporpressureexertedbyaliquidat100°F

• Volatility inthisinstancereferstopetroleum’sevaporationcharacteristics.TheNewYorkMercantileExchange(NYMEX)specificationsforcrudeoilfuturescontractsrestrictReidVaporPressure(RVP)tolessthan9.5psiat100ºF.Bakken crudeoilhasanRVPofatleast8.75Eagleford upto15PSI

• RVPgasolineMax9.0psisummerandbelow14.7PSIforwinterGasoline

FlammabilityandFlashPoint

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LowerexplosivelimitLowerexplosivelimit (LEL):Thelowestconcentration(percentage)ofagasoravaporinaircapableofproducingaflashoffireinpresenceofanignitionsource(arc,flame,heat).

UpperexplosivelimitUpperexplosivelimit (UEL):Highestconcentration(percentage)ofagasoravaporinaircapableofproducingaflashoffireinpresenceofanignitionsource(arc,flame,heat)

Flammable(Explosive)RangeThisistherangebetweenthelowestexplosivelimit(LEL)andtheupperexplosivelimit(UEL)

ExamplesBakken/EagleFord0.8‐8.0%Gasoline 1.4‐7.6%

FlashPointThisisthelowesttemperatureoftheliquidatwhichitgivesoffenoughvaportoformanignitablemixtureofvaporandairimmediatelyabovetheliquidsurface

Bakken/EagleFord<59°‐199°Gasoline‐ ‐45°

FlammabilityandFlashPoint

APIGravity istheoilindustrystandardusedtodetermineandclassifythedensityofoil

Specificgravity istheratioofthe density ofasubstancetothedensity(massofthesameunitvolume)ofareferencesubstance(FreshwaterWater1.0,Saltwater~1.03)

SpecificandAPIGravity

IfAPIgravityisgreaterthan10,itislighterandfloatsonwater;iflessthan10,itisheavierandsinks.Insaltwater6.5‐7

Oilwithaspecificgravitygreaterthan1oranAPIdegreeof<10API

Oilwithaspecificgravitylessthan1oranAPIdegreeof>10API

Freshwater(Specificgravity=1andAPI=10)

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Oilsandsandbitumen(Class C)haveaspecificgravityintherangeof7to9 °APIandviscosityabove10,000 cP

Crude Oil Toxicity (EPA) http://www2.epa.gov/emergency‐response/types‐

crude‐oil

Remember:“oil"isamixtureofmanydifferentchemicals

EPAClassA:Light,VolatileOils:Theseoilsarehighlyfluidandhighlytoxictohumansandincludejetfuelandgasoline.

EPAClassB:Non‐StickyOils:Theseoilsarewaxyandlesstoxictohumansandincludedieselfuelandlightcrudeoil.

EPAClassC:Heavy,StickyOils:Theseoilsarebrownorblackandstickyortarryandincludemostcrudeoils.Theirtoxicityislow,butifspilled,theirimpactsonwaterfowlandwildlifecanbesevere.

EPAClassD:Non‐FluidOils:Theseoilsarenon‐toxicandincludeheavycrudeoils.Theyaredifficulttocleanup,andifspilled,theirimpactsonwaterfowlandwildlifecanbesevere

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Crude Oil Toxicity Possibilities: Possiblecomponents:Benzene,Hydrogensulfide,Ethylbenzene,Toluene,Xylene,Naphthalene,others

BTEX isanacronymthatstandsforbenzene,toluene,ethylbenzene,andxylenes.Thesecompoundsaresomeofthevolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)foundinpetroleumderivativessuchaspetrol(gasoline).Toluene,ethylbenzene,andxylenes haveharmfuleffectsonthecentralnervoussystem

Hydrogensulfideisextremelytoxic.Amajorfactorinitstoxicityisitsabilitytofatiguethesenseofsmell.H2Slosesthetypicalrotteneggsodorwhentheconcentrationrises,andexposedworkersmaynotbeawareofincreasedgasconcentrations.Exposuretoconcentrationsabove600ppm canberapidlyfatal.

Alberta Tar Sands WhatareTarSands(Bitumen)?

Aheavyblackviscousoil Tarsandscannotbepumpedfromthegroundinitsnaturalstate;tarsanddepositsaremined,usuallyusingstripminingoropenpittechniques,ortheoilareextractedbyundergroundheatingwithadditionalupgrading.

http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/tarsands/

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TexasGeneralLandOffice

OnMay7,2014,theSecretaryofTransportationissuedanEmergencyRestriction/ProhibitionOrdertoallrailroadcarriersthattransportinasingletrain1,000,000gallons(approximately35railcars)ormoreofUN1267,Petroleumcrudeoil,Class3,producedfromtheBakken shaleformationintheWillistonBasin(Bakken crudeoil).

TexasGeneralLandOffice

OnMay7,2014,theSecretaryofTransportationissuedanEmergencyRestriction/ProhibitionOrdertoallrailroadcarriersthattransportinasingletrain1,000,000gallons(approximately35railcars)ormoreofUN1267,Petroleumcrudeoil,Class3,producedfromtheBakken shaleformationintheWillistonBasin(Bakken crudeoil).

Around600millionbbls ofcrudeoilwastransferredbyrailin2014

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KeystoneXL

Pipeline

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Keystone1Pipeline

FlanaganSouthPipeline

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HoustonLateralPipeline

SeawayPipeline

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Bitumen, transported as Dil‐bit, Syn‐bit, Rail‐bit, Access Western Blend (AWB),  Pipeline Sales Oil (PSO), Bow River (BR); Cold Lake Blend (CLB); Christina Lake Dil‐bit Blend 

(CDB), Christina Lake Blend (CSB); Western Canadian Blend (WCB); Western Canadian Select (WCS); Wabasca Heavy 

(WH) 

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Toxicitytohumans,includingcarcinogenicity,reproductiveanddevelopmentaltoxicity,neurotoxicity,andacutetoxicity

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What’sitgoingtodo??

Diluents Possibly found in Tar Sands Oil

Alcohols Ethers Metals Methane Pentane Butanes OtherHydrocarbons PossiblyH2S

HealthSafetyAspectsmostAssociatedwiththeDiluents

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Enbridge Pipeline Kalamazoo River Spill July2010843,000gallonsofDilbit spilledintoTalmadge CreekandtheKalamazooRiverimpactingabout35milesoftheriver

Dilbit specificgravityof.75upto.92/93Betweentwodaysandtwoweekstheoilbegantosink.

Why???

Enbridge Pipeline Kalamazoo River Spill July2010843,000gallonsofDilbit intoTalmadge CreekandtheKalamazooRiverimpactingabout35milesoftheriver

Dilbit specificgravityof.75‐.92/.93Betweentwodaysandtwoweekstheoilbegantosink.

Why???Lossoflightendsandsedimentation

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TexasGeneralLandOffice

Representativedilutedbitumenproducts,AccessWesternBlend(AWB)Gravityimplications

RatesofevaporationforAWBwasfoundinonestudyoccurredatamasslossof15.9%ofitsmass,within6hoursat15°C.Within24hours,therelativemasslosseswere18.4%,

Properties,CompositionandMarineSpillBehaviour,FateandTransportofTwoDilutedBitumenProductsfromtheCanadianOilSandsEnvironmentCanadaEmergenciesScienceandTechnology,EnvironmentalCanada

Shale Oils

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TexasGeneralLandOffice

TexasGeneralLandOffice

In2014atotalof185,036,779.91barrelsofshalecrudeexportedfromtheCorpusChristiarea.

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Shale Oils, AKA Tight oil, AKA LTO (Light Tight Oil), or Condensates is petroleum that consists of light crude oil contained in 

petroleum‐bearing formations of low permeability, often shale or tight sandstone.

Represented as:High concentration of light end petroleum hydrocarbons(C‐1‐C5, methane, ethane, propane and butanes)

Resultsin:•Increasedvaporpressure•Increaseinvolatility•Loweringoftheflashpoint•Loweringoftheboilingpoint

Also,thelighterendsMAYhavehigherH2S

Flammability of Shale oilsNationalFireProtectionAssociation(NFPE)=3‐4ie:sensitivetostaticdischarge

ExplosiveLimitsvariableLEL0.4to15.0UEL

Flashpoint‐40° to212°For‐74°‐122° AFPM

USCGStriketeampresentation,2015

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Thickshaledepositsdonotallowformigrationofgasses.ScottTinker,BEG

TexasGeneralLandOffice

Eagleford CrudeOilSamples

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TexasGeneralLandOffice

Lac‐Magantic,Quebec.63Railcars,Confirmed47deaths

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Reids VaporPressure(RVP)EagleFord[hasaRVPof]14‐15,RVPgasolineMax9.0psisummerandbelow14.7PSIforwinterGasoline

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TexasGeneralLandOffice

StabilizedandUn‐stabilizedsamples

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LouisianaSweet

WestTexasLight

MostCrudesareGroup3Oils•Moderatelyvolatile•Moderatetohighviscosity•SpecificGravity0.82– 0.85•Variabletoxicityinwatercolumn•Maycoatorsmotherorganisms•Non‐homogenousmixture

Scenario:  1,000 bbl spill in open waterWind 15 knots, Water temp 75⁰ FFate across 5 day period

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Group1&2RefinedProducts•Highlyvolatile•Lowviscosity•SpecificGravity<0.8– 0.85•Highlytoxicinwatercolumn•Donotcoatorsmotherorganisms•Homogenousmixture

Scenario:  1,000 bbl spill in open waterWind 15 knots, Water temp 75⁰ FFate across 5 day period

Gasoline

Diesel

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VeryLightCrudes(Fracked Shale):CombinedcharacteristicsofGroup1,2&3•Highlyvolatile•Lowviscosity•SpecificGravityBK0.82*EF0.77*•Likelytoxicinwatercolumn•Unlikelytocoatorsmotherorganisms

Scenario:  1,000 bbl spill in open waterWind 15 knots, Water temp 75⁰ FFate across 5 day period

BakkenCrude

EagleFordCrude

*CrudeOilAnalysis,LSU2014 NOAA,UnconventionalOils:AResponder’sPerspective.ppt

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DilutedBitumenproductsinitiallybehavemuchlikeGroup4•Slightlyvolatile•Highlyviscous•SpecificGravity0.85– 0.95•Lowtoxicityinwatercolumn•Willcoatorsmotherorganisms•Homogenousmixture

Scenario:  1,000 bbl spill in open waterWind 15 knots, Water temp 75⁰ FFate across 5 day period

ColdLakeBlend(Dilbit)

VenezuelanCrude

NOAA,UnconventionalOils:AResponder’sPerspective.ppt

TexasGeneralLandOffice

NRTSpillConsiderations/RecommendationsAirMonitoringforFire:

O2COExplosiveLimits‐ LEL‐UELH2SBenzeneVOCsSOXandNOXParticulates

•Recommendationfor4or5gasmonitoringsystems•Photoionizationdetectors(PID)/Flameionizationdetectors(FID)forVOCs•Chem.Specificmonitors

NOAA;Bakken CrudeOilSpillBargeE2MS303ppt

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Anticipated Effects Very Light Crude OilsThe Incident Commander must determine the response: 

Shorelineoiling:Anticipatedtobelight,appearsresponsivetohighvolume,lowtemperaturewash

Wildlifeoiling:Duetolowviscosity,unlikelytosmotherorcoat.Maybesubjecttoingestionduringpreening

Watercolumntoxicity:Potentiallyhigh,duetoconcentrationsofaromaticcompounds.

Vegetationtoxicity:Potentiallyhigh,duetoconcentrationsofaromaticcompounds.

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•Offensivetactics(Safetynumberonepriority)•Defensivetactics(Wellaheadofapproachingspill)•Nonintervention

Response StrategiesVery Light Crude Oils

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Cautions:Highlyvolatility,highexplosivepotential.Airmonitoringrequired,controlpotentialignitionsources

Methods: Boomit?:Withcaution,avoidconfinedspaces Skimit?:Maybe,somerecoverableoilmayremainonwater

Burnit?:Notrecommended,couldeasilygetoutofcontrol

Disperseit?:Noneed,naturallyhighlydispersible

NOAA,UnconventionalOils:AResponder’sPerspective.ppt

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Anticipated Effects Diluted Bitumen Products The Incident Commander must  determine the response: 

Shorelineoiling:Anticipatedtobeheavy.Oilisadhesive,andmayrequireaggressivetechniquesforremovalsuchashightemperature,highpressurewashorsurfacecleaningagents.

Wildlifeoiling:Maybeextensiveduetosmotheringandcoatingeffects.

Watercolumntoxicity:Likelylowtomoderate.Minimaldispersionofblendedproductinavailabledate,butpotentiallyhighconcentrationofBTEXcompoundsindiluent.

Vegetationtoxicity:Variable.Notacutelytoxicbutlikelytocauseheavycoating.

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NOAA,UnconventionalOils:AResponder’sPerspective.ppt

Response StrategiesDiluted Bitumen Products

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Cautions:Incontainedspaces,highlyvolatilecomponentsmaygenerateexplosivepotential,justlikeothercrudes.However,currentdatadoesnotsuggestvolatilizationofdiluent componentsatafasterratebecauseoftheartificialmixing.

Methods Boomit?:Yes Skimit?:Yes Burnit?:Mayworkwhenfresh,efficacylimitedafterweathering.

Disperseit?:Lowdispersability evenwhenfresh

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Take Home and Caveats

SDSSheetsmaynotdepicttruenatureofproductbeingcarried.

Littlerealworldexperienceexistswithspillsofthesetypesofoils

Experimentaldataonbehaviorsoftheseoilisminimal Wearelearningaswego!

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References CrudeOilAnalysisfromSPLHoustonLaboratories,CertificateofAnalysis#1030‐14040719‐001A,May5,2014,providedtoScottMiles,LouisianaStateUniversity

EPAOSCwebsite:www.epaosc.org/bridgerpipeline EPAwebsite:http://www.epa.gov/enbridgesp GulfStrikeTeambulletin:ResponderAwareness– NorthAmericanCrudeOilShipments

Tightoil.(2015,January22).InWikipedia,TheFreeEncyclopedia.Retrieved16:41,February3,2015

NOAAADIOS2Model,updated1/28/15 NOAANOAA;Bakken CrudeOilSpillBargeE2MS303.ppt 2‐2014 NOAA,UnconventionalOils:AResponder’sPerspective,.ppt 2‐2‐15 WittO’Brien’s,PolarisAppliedSciences,andWesternCanadaMarineResponseCorporation(2013)AStudyofFateandBehaviorofDilutedBitumenOilsonMarineWaters:Dilbit Experiments– Gainford,Alberta

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Discussion