4/19/2015. Abiotic Oil? Some challenge the accepted view of petroleum formation being exclusively from biological material.

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1 ES 10 Nonrenewable Energy Resources Oil and Natural Gas continued Past to Present (1 st 31 slides) What are fossil fuels Why use Oil / Natural Gas Drawbacks Where does oil come from? Oil Traps; Source, Reservoir & Cap Rocks Abiotic Oil? How much is there and who has the oil? How long will it last? Where does US get it s oil? Unconventional sources of oil and gas: Oil Shale, Tar Sands, Methane Clathrates, aka Gas Hydrates Abiotic Oil? Some challenge the accepted view of petroleum formation being exclusively from biological material. Extraterrestrial occurrences used to support hydrocarbons may be inorganic: Outer planets and moons contain methane. Some stony meteorites (chondrites) contain hydrocarbons. Carbonaceous chondrites (5% of all chondrites) are a type of stony meteorites that contain Silicates, Oxides, Sulfides and traces of various hydocarbons, including amino acids. Most chondrites (86% of all meteorites) are rich in silicate minerals olivine and pyroxenes. (Iron meteorites account for <6% of all meteorites but make up ~90% of the mass of all known meteorites.) Since hydrocarbons formed from inorganic reactions in the above 2 examples, some think hydrocarbons on earth may have formed in a similar way. Abiotic Oil? Methane is present in volcanoes (1% - 15%). Abiotic oil from the mantle that migrated upward, or volcanoes erupting through a cover of sediments already containing some hydrocarbons? Some laboratory experiments using a high-pressure and high temperature apparatus have produced petroleum from solid iron oxide (FeO), marble (CaCO 3 ) and H 2 O with no biotic compounds or hydrocarbons originally present. Could petroleum be produced abiotically? Yes, in association with extraterrestrial and internal igneous activity but it s not commercial grade. Could petroleum be produced from recycling various waste? Yes. Thermal Conversion Process (TCP) Changing of manure and/or animal & vegetable waste to crude oil. Thermal Depolymerization (TDP) Can change many carbon-based materials into crude oil and methane, and is not limited to manure or vegetable waste. Web Link: Anything into Oil, Discover Vol. 27 April Pyrolysis Decomposition of organic material at high temperatures without oxygen. Web link: The Clean Oceans Project 1

2 Carthage Missouri plant opens in Feb tons turkey guts & 20 tons of pig fat can yield 500 barrels oil worth ~$42,000/day. Other by-products: fertilizer and water. Problems: initial high cost, odors and emission violations. US consumes >22 million bpd 175lb human = 38lbs oil, 7lbs gas, 7lbs mineral & 123 lbs water 175 Where are global petroleum deposits located and how much oil is there? USA 3% former USSR Latin America China Asia Percent World Crude Oil Reserves by Country Europe USA Africa OPEC Countries 79% 67% Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: Saudi Arabia Iran Iraq Venezuela Kuwait UAE Nigeria Libya Angola Ecuador Algeria Qatar Approximate US Energy breakdown (notice 86% is from Fossil Fuels) OPEC Countries Latin America former USSR China Asia USA Europe Africa 2

3 North American Energy Resources Prudhoe Bay Beaufort ALASKA Sea Trans Alaska Arctic National oil pipeline Wildlife Refuge Prince William Sound Valdez Gulf of Alaska CANADA Arctic Ocean Coal Gas Oil High potential areas How long will current conventional oil reserves last? Known and projected global oil reserves expected to be 80% depleted in yrs. At the rate of consumption in 2008, OPEC s reserves will last ~85 yrs. Known recoverable US reserves is ~21 billion barrels and US consumes ~22 million barrels/day. US reserves with no oil imported: 21 billion barrels/22 million barrels/day = 2.6 years US imports ~13.5 million barrels of oil/day (~61% of 22 mill). 21 billion barrels/the remaining 8.5 million US barrels use/day = 6.7 years Pacific Ocean UNITED STATES Atlantic Ocean Grand Banks Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling would add ~4 10 months Saudi Arabia alone could supply world for ~10 yrs. Global oil consumption is expected to increase >30% by 2020.» Source: G.Griggs, UCSC MEXICO How long will current conventional oil reserves last? Peak Oil = the midpoint of depletion, when ½ the total has been taken. 3

4 Other sources of Oil / Unconventional Oil Shale and Oil Sand (aka Heavy Oils ) Oil still in Source Rock Oil Shale: Sedimentary rock containing organic kerogen (altered org matter in Sed Rk) never buried deep enough to raise temperature required to convert Kerogen to liquid oil Massive deposits underlie US (estimate 2-5 trillion barrels) Oil Sand/ aka Tar Sand: mixture of sand, clay, water and Bitumen (a viscous, heavy oil, too thick to flow out of rock, the soluble portion of Kerogen). Alberta Canada extensive deposits-- few in US Oil Shale Resources of North America It s estimated that the Green River Formation in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah contain >400 billion barrels of oil. Monterey Shale 4

5 Oil Shale Booming Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking): a drilling process designed to increase the yield of oil and/or gas out of rock; method involves fracturing surrounding rock (increasing permeability) and pumping fluids into the fractures under extremely high pressures to force the desired gas or liquids out. As of 2012, 2.5 million "frac jobs" had been performed worldwide on oil and gas wells; over one million of those within the U.S. Some Fracking Practices Steel casing, cement sleeve protect aquifers Horizontal drilling Perforation Water + sand + slickening agents + salt acturing Oklahoma Earthquakes: between 1978 and 2008 ~2-6/yr. In 2010 there were 1,047 earthquakes Read this slide at home How Fracking Can Impact The Environment water consumption, diesel pumps, compressors, drills, etc. methane escape & flaring truck traffic, emissions, habitat impacts, pipelines The number of people who have died in Texas car crashes involving commercial vehicles has increased by more than 50 percent since the fracking boom started there in Fatal car accidents in Texas rose from 301 incidents in 2009 to 454 incidents in 2013, according to Texas Dept of Transportation data. aquifer contamination, unaesthetic views electrical gunshots perforate steel casing & cement, then slickwater pressure + propping agents fracture the shale wastewater disposal underground untreated in streams burden on sewage treatment plants 5

6 Web Link: Horizontal Wells and Fracking (6.5min) Resources for the Future fracking rules / different states Explore on your own. fresh water withdrawals underground injection wells for wastewater cementing of well all other state regulations ~93x54 Miles Making Fracking Greener? Run equipment with cleaner natural gas rather than diesel pumps, compressors, drills Replace water trucks & traffic with temporary water pipelines Kitchen counter frackfluids as safe as what s under your kitchen sink Recycle fracking fluids commonly done now Use gas as a fracking medium rather than water The Athabasca Tar Sands of Alberta, Canada McMurray Formation Fluvial and estuarine, Early Cretaceous ( my) CO2 or propane - produces 30% more natural gas 6

7 How much Oil Shale and Tar Sand (aka oil sand)? Global supplies are estimated to be 200X larger than conventional oil. More oil is trapped in Canadian tar sands than Saudi Arabia has in all it s reserves. It is estimated that tar sand in Alberta & Orinico Oil Belt in Venezuela contain nearly 3.4 trillion barrels of oil. Athabasca Oil Sands Suncore, Syncrude and Shell Canada combined oil production in 2006 was million bpd (barrels per day). By 2020, Canadian oil production may reach 3 million bpd & by 2030 ~5 million bpd At end of 2010, world proven conventional crude oil reserves stood at >1.4 trillion Barrels Why not use these resources? Oil shale and sand extraction requires surface mining ecosystem disruption; forests, wetlands, grasslands huge volumes of waste rock-- only ~3 barrels of shale oil for 1 ton of rock processed 3 barrels of H 2 O/1 barrel of shale oil produced tailing ponds created: hold leftover water, sand, clay, bitumen, salts, metals (Ni, V, Hg, As, Pb) pollution floats downstream land reclamation issues lower useful energy yield than conventional oil and gas Web Link: Web Link: Garth Lenz: The True Cost of Oil min 7