1 Petroleum
Dec 17, 2015
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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.”