BAESI workshop

6 December 2008

2. Petroleum

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

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

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

Liquids

Gases
spropanemethane
a
g
n
i
s
t
e
l
op
r
butane
d
d
i
u
liq
r ingpentane
e
t
af ess
c
o
pr

Crude
oil
Condensate
Natural Gas Liquids
(NGLs)

Natural
Gas

Crude oil

(aka oil)

* Liquid mixture of naturally occurring

hydrocarbons
* After refining: the chief source of
transportation fuels

Natural gas
* Gaseous mixture of naturally occurring
hydrocarbons
* After 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 + He

The general equation:

CxHy + (x + y/4)O2

xCO2 + (y/2)H2O

E.g., for propane:

C3H8 + 5O2

3CO2 + 4H2O
7

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

PetrochemicalsChemicals 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) packaging

eyeglass lenses

TNT

rubbing alcohol
synthetic rubber

vinyl
auto parts

drugs

detergents
riot shields
sterilizers (food & medical
supplies
23

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 Sterling

Also see Jared Diamonds Collapse and

Joseph Tainters 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 Americas first oil wells

1860 Worlds first integrated oil compan

Petrolia, Ontario
Titusville, PA
1859 First U.S. drilling rig
18601900 Oil boom trained drillers who later
dispersed around the planet: U.S., Middle East,
26

Make lists of the top 5 countries:

Oil production
to date (since ~1860)

USA
Current
(2007)
rate
of
FSU
oil production
KSA
KSA
Remaining
Iran
oil reserves
FSU
Venezuela
KSA
USA
Iraq
Iran
Iran
China
Kuwait
FSU = former Soviet
Union
UAE/Venez
KSA
of Saudi
UAE = Kingdom
United Arab
Emirates
Arabia

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.
*Germanys North Africa campaign part of the Axis plan to
control the

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 Irans 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

KSA
Iran
Iraq

30

Caspian
Sea
Mediterranean
Sea
Persian
Gulf

Red
Sea
n
e
d
A
f
o
f
l
u
G

31

Iran

Iraq
Kuwait

Om

an

Kingdom of Qatar
UAE
Saudi Arabia

n
e
m
e
Y
32

The Middle East

contains 4560%
of the worlds
petroleum reserves.

Ghawar

Ghawar: perhaps the

most important place
youve never heard of

* Worlds largest oil field

* 60-65% of KSA production to
date
* 6% of global production to dat
* 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 60120C (for oil) or
120220C (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 trapa
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 phasefree-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
injection of water or gas.
Production
well

water forced
downward

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,
theyre 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
Hubberts Peak.
Peak Oil does NOT
mean running out of
oil.
41

Hubberts 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

Hubberts prediction for global peak oil: ~2000

42

2000

1965

Global peak
production had not
peaked by 2004.

Fuel-efficient
cars
76
Shift to natural
Arab oil gas,
embarg
electricity
72 for
o
heat

Aug
08

But it looks like

weve been on a
bumpy plateau
since 2004.

millions
barrels/day

68

4/0

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4/0

4/0

4/0 4/0