BAESI workshop 6 December
2008
2. Petroleum
1
L.A. smog
plus invisible GHGs
Chief source: combustion of petroleum products
2
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.
Beverly
Hillbillies
theme
3
The demand for petroleum
on the world market grew
slowly, but started to take
off in the 1800s. Whale oil
was replaced by kerosene
lamps starting around
1860.
Coal was still the major fuel
source in the world until about
1940, when petroleum passed it
and became the most valuable
commodity in the global
marketplace.
4
Petroleum: a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of
solid, liquid, and gaseous hydrocarbons that occurs
naturally beneath the Earth's surface.
Hydrocarbons: organic compounds consisting of H and C
Solids (e.g. paraffin) are not abundant, but have many uses
Liquids
Crude oil
Condensate
Natural Gas Liquids
(NGLs)
Gases
propane methane
butane
pentane
Natural Gas
5
Crude oil
(aka “oil”)
* Liquid mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons
* After refining: the chief source of transportation fuels
Natural gas
** After
Gaseous
mixture
of
naturally
occurring
hydrocarbons
processing: used for power generation,
residential,
fertilizers, manufacturing, transportation (still very
limited)
6
Combustion (burning) of hydrocarbons releases
carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere
In words:
Fuel + Oxygen
Carbon dioxide + Water + Heat
The general equation:
CxHy + (x + y/4)O2
xCO2 + (y/2)H2O
E.g., for propane:
C3H8 + 5O2
3CO2 + 4H2O
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Fractional
distillation
in a refinery
very schematic cartoon
gases
naptha
gasoline
kerosene
L.A. oil refinery
diesel
lubricants
fuel oil
residue
14
Natural gas
Almost always a mixture of gases;
to be used as a fuel, extensive
processing is required to produce
pure methane.
15
Petrochemicals Chemicals produced from petroleum
16
“Plastics.”
The Graduate
1967
ALL PLASTICS are petrochemicals.
17
polystyrene
epoxies
18
polycarbonate, etc.
19
PVC
solvents
20
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.
Other synthetic fibers, such as acrylics & dacron:
clothing, yarn, rugs, rope, sails, grafts, containers,
resins, etc.
21
Nylon
Apparel, carpets, musical strings, fishing line,
racket strings, rope, auto parts, machine parts,
sutures
22
More uses
dyes
MTBE
phenols (antiseptics)
eyeglass lenses
TNT
rubbing alcohol
synthetic rubber
detergents
packaging
vinyl
auto parts
drugs
riot shields
sterilizers (food & medical supplies
23
The inescapable fact: Modern developed
societies depend on petroleum in
innumerable ways. We are a petroleumdependent society.
“No civilization can survive the
destruction of its resource base.”
Bruce Sterling
Also see Jared Diamond’s Collapse and
Joseph Tainter’s Collapse of Complex Societies
24
“The foundation of modern society”
“The lifeblood of modern civilization”
“The Prize”
20th century = “The Oil Century”
Petroleum is a non-renewable resource
that took millions of years to form.
Our use of it has been unsustainable.
1858 North America’s first oil wells
1860 World’s first integrated oil company
Petrolia, Ontario
Titusville, PA
1859 First U.S. drilling rig
1860–1900 “Oil boom” trained drillers who later
dispersed around the planet: U.S., Middle East, South
America, etc.
26
Make lists of the top 5 countries:
Oil production
to date (since ~1860)
USA
FSU
KSA
Iran
Venezuela
Current (2007) rate of
oil production
FSU = former Soviet Union
KSA = Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
UAE = United Arab Emirates
KSA
FSU
USA
Iran
China
Remaining
oil reserves
KSA
Iraq
Iran
Kuwait
UAE/Venez
27
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.
28
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).
29
B
A
D
C
E
KSA
Iran
Iraq
30
Caspian
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea
Persian
Gulf
Red
Sea
31
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
UAE
32
The Middle East
contains 45–60%
of the world’s
petroleum reserves.
Ghawar
Ghawar: perhaps the
most important place
you’ve never heard of
* World’s largest oil field
* 60-65% of KSA production to date
* 6% of global production to date
* 6% of modern production
33
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).
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.
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.
34
Pores are open spaces
between the particles of a
rock.
Pores may contain air, gas, or
liquid (water or oil).
The more pore space, the
higher the porosity.
The more “connected” the
pores, the higher the
permeability.
Pore fluids will flow more easily
in rocks that are more
permeable.
35
Cartoon of a vertical slice through the crust showing traps in
reservoir rocks where petroleum and water typically
accumulate.
Color code: Rock Natural Gas
Oil
Water
36
Typical E&P (exploration and production) steps
Explore, using dumb luck (Jed); geologic mapping (late 1800s);
standard geophysical tools (1930s); high-tech tools (1990s).
Drill a test well.
If the petroleum is trapped and under pressure, it will rise naturally; no
pumping needed (Jed, early Saudi Arabia).
This is the “primary recovery” phase—free-flowing
petroleum.
Gas released during extraction is
valuable but must be trapped and
processed; for decades, it was simply
flared off.
37
Typical E&P steps, part 2
Primary 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.
Injection
well
water forced
downward
Production
well
petroleum
rises
water enters pores, raises pressure;
“sweeps” petroleum in front of it
38
Typical E&P steps, part 3
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.
“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....
39
Production history of an oil field
Primary
Tertiary
Secondary
40
M. King Hubbert and “Peak Oil”
Peak Oil: The maximum sustainable production rate of
petroleum for an area (e.g., a field, a country, or the
world).
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.”
41
Hubbert’s prediction for U.S. peak oil: ~1970
Actual date of U.S. peak oil: 1970
(curve shape differs from his prediction due to Alaska discoveries)
U.S. production
w/Alaska
peak in
1970
lower 48
Hubbert’s prediction for global peak oil: ~2000
42
2000
Arab oil
embargo
Fuel-efficient
76 cars
Shift to natural gas,
electricity for heat
Global peak production
had not peaked by
2004.
Aug 08
72
1965
But it looks like we’ve
been on a “bumpy
plateau” since 2004.
millions
barrels/day
68
4/02 4/03 4/04 4/05 4/06 4/07 4/08