This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Average values for WTW GHG emissions for oilsands and other crudes, tight boundary. When the oilsands products refined in the United States are considered—a mixture of oilsands and lower-carbon blending components—the GHG emissions are, on average, 9% higher than the average crude processed in the US.
Mha (20%) of the peatlands of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in 2010, surpassing the area of Belgium and causing an annual carbon emission from peat decomposition of 230–310 Mt CO 2 e. Slightly more than half of the GHG emissions for these biofuels in the EPA’s analysis came from land use change. Earlier post.). —Dr.
TransCanada Corporation said that its 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity Keystone Pipeline system resumed transporting oilsands crude on Sunday, 5 June, after a shutdown 29 May following an above-ground spill at a pump station in Kansas involving less than 10 barrels of oil. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.)
Total will not use carbon capture technology in the first phase of its Joslyn North Mine oilsands project, citing excessive cost. In 2009, the company suggested it was considering carbon capture and storage in its oilsands projects in Canada. In July, Total E&P Canada Ltd. Earlier post.).
The carbon intensity (CI) of Alberta oilsands production has significantly decreased over the last 40 years, according to a new study by a team from Stanford University published as an open access paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
million) to the Petroleum Technology Research Centre ( PTRC ) in Regina, Saskatchewan and StatoilHydro Canada for a project to reduce water use and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions for in situ oilsands recovery by steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Burning natural gas produces CO 2 emissions. Other SDTC awards.
an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC, will acquire oilsands producer OPTI Canada Inc for approximately US$2.1 The principal asset of OPTI consists of a 35% working interest in the Long Lake and three other oilsands project areas located in the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta. CNOOC Luxembourg S.a
Growth of production of Canadian oilsands. The Canadian oilsands are now poised to become the number one source of US crude oil imports in 2010, according to new research from the IHS CERA Canadian OilSands Dialogue. The Role of Canadian OilSands in US Oil Supply”.
Examples of emerging oilsands related technologies and trade-offs. The paper is an examination of how various choices about the scale of the life cycle analysis applied to oilsands (i.e., The source material is neither oil nor tar but bitumen, but is most generally described as an example of ultraheavy oil.”.
a Canadian integrated oil company, reported an increase in third quarter crude oil production year-on-year of about 4% due to oilsands production that was 14% higher compared with the same period a year earlier. Conventional oil production slightly declined due to a combination of factors. Cenovus Energy Inc.,
Imperial Oil Limited has begun the initial development of the Kearl oilsands project ( earlier post ), which incorporates technology innovations to enhance environmental performance. Kearl will be the first oilsands mining operation that does not require an upgrader to make a saleable crude oil.
Suncor is targeting 1 million barrels per day output in 2020, with its growth in the oilsands underpinned by its alliance with Total. Approximately 80% of that production will be from the oilsands. The agreement with Total is an important element of Suncor’s plans to more than double our oilsands production.
JAPEX), will postpone making a final investment decision (FID) for the Hangingstone OilSands Expansion Project ( earlier post ) in Alberta Province, Canada, based on a longer-than-expected approval process with the Alberta authorities. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., operations by more than 300%.
The provincial government of Alberta and the federal government of Canada will invest C$865 million (US$822 million) in a large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the Athabasca oilsands. Two injection wells are in the test phase until early 2010. The project will capture and store up to 1.2 billion (US$1.28
An analysis of the US refining sector, based on linear programming (LP) modeling, finds that refining plausibly high volumes of Canadian oilsands crudes in US refineries in 2025 would lead to a modest increase in refinery CO 2 emissions (ranging between 5.4% to 9.3%) from a 2010 baseline, depending upon the supply scenario.
Athabasca OilSands Corp. has exercised its option to divest its 40% interest in the MacKay River oilsands project to Cretaceous Oilsands Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina International Investment Limited, for C$680 million (US$672 million) in cash. Earlier post.) Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
Exxon Mobil Corporation’s new The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 , released last week, projects that global energy demand in 2040 will be about 30% higher than it was in 2010 as population grows to 9 billion and global GDP doubles. By 2040, heavy duty fuel demand will be up about 60 percent versus 2010. L/100 km) by 2040.
Williams plans to build a pipeline in Alberta, Canada, to transport natural gas liquids (NGL) and olefins from its extraction plant in Fort McMurray to its Redwater processing facility. The new 12-inch proposed pipeline will provide additional capacity for Suncor liquids, as well as natural gas liquids from other oil-sands producers’ off-gas.
A team at the University of Calgary (Canada) has compared the energy intensities and lifecycle GHG emissions of unconventional oils (oilsands and oil shale) alongside shale gas, coal, lignite, wood and conventional oil and gas. Earlier post.). —Nduagu & Gates.
Increasing crude processing intensity and energy intensity with worsening oil quality. OQ: Crude feed oil quality. Switching to heavy crude oil and synthetic crude oil derived from oilsands bitumen in refineries could double or triple refinery emissions and add 1.6-3.7 PI: Crude processing intensity.
By 2040, hybrids are expected to account for about 35% of the global light-duty vehicle fleet, up from less than 1% in 2010. In 2010, about 75% of the world’s vehicles were in OECD countries. liters per 100 km) in 2010. China will see the largest increase—more than 4 million oil-equivalent barrels per day.
Royal Dutch Shell plc will proceed with its Carmon Creek project in Alberta, Canada, expected to produce up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day. Once the project is up and running the aim is to virtually eliminate the need for freshwater use for steam generation through recycling of water produced with the oil.
When it takes up to four million pounds of sand to frack a single well, it’s no wonder that demand is outpacing supply and frack sand producers are becoming the biggest behind-the-scenes beneficiaries of the American oil and gas boom. says the output of wells is up to 30% higher when they are blasted with more sand.
Dashed red line shows 2010 consumption of 87 MMbbl/d. Crude and lease condensate includes tight oil, shale oil, extra-heavy crude oil, field condensate, and bitumen (i.e., oilsands, either diluted or upgraded). oil shale), and refinery gain. Source: EIA. Click to enlarge.
Tillerson said that even with significant efficiency gains, ExxonMobil expects global energy demand to increase by 30% by 2040, compared to 2010 levels. Demand for electricity will make natural gas the fastest growing major energy source and oil and natural gas are expected to meet 60% of energy needs over the next three decades.
BP Egypt announced a “significant” gas discovery in the East Nile Delta. It is the first well in the North Damietta Offshore concession granted in February 2010 and operated by BP. The wireline logs, fluid samples and pressure data confirmed the presence of gas and condensate in 38m (125 feet) net of Oligocene sands in Salamat.
to continue to import roughly half of its crude oil supply for the foreseeable future, despite strong growth in renewable biofuels supply. In the case of residual oil, there is also relatively strong potential for near term economic impacts. Demand for liquid fossil fuels will require the US. Unconventional Fossil Energy”.
The Alberta government has successfully negotiated contracts for two projects that will advance the upgrading and refining of oilsands bitumen to diesel fuel. billion barrels of oil from conventional reservoirs throughout the province, potentially generating up to $25 billion in additional provincial royalties and taxes.
Flowback water treatment is a critical sustainability issue for the oil and gas industry. One to five million gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals are required for the fracking of each well. Using biochar could help oil and gas companies save money and responsibly treat flowback water for reuse.
Russian oil and gas major Rosneft, 75% owned by the government, will invest $16 billion in a planned joint venture project with Venezuela’s state oil and gas company PDVSA to develop the Carabobo 2 block in the southern Orinoco extra-heavy crude belt in Venezuela, according to Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. oilsands).
Based on the interim results of a new study, MIT researchers are warning smaller nations to proceed with caution in pursuing the development of their natural gas resources. The interim report analyzed the economics of natural gas project development options in Cyprus with a focus on exports. —Sergey Paltsev. Click to enlarge.
Comparison of GHGenius, JACOBS, TIAX, and the new PRELIM gasoline greenhouse gas (GHG) estimates using base case estimates and variations from the scenario analysis. In the US, GHG emissions from refineries in 2010 represented nearly 12% of US industrial sector emissions or 3% of the total US GHG emissions. Click to enlarge.
As the world population increases by the estimated 30% from 2010 to 2040, ExxonMobil sees global GDP rising by about 140%, but energy demand by only about 35% due to greater efficiency. Across OECD nations, the Outlook assumes the implied cost of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will reach about $80 per tonne in 2040.
Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of Encana Corporation, says it strongly disagrees with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) preliminary conclusions on fracking in its draft report related to the groundwater study in the Pavillion natural gas field of Wyoming. Earlier post.)
However, both cases result in global CO 2 emissions well above the IEA 450 scenario—a back-cast which illustrates what is required to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at 450 ppm. Between 2010 to 2030 the contribution to energy growth of renewables (solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels) is seen to increase from 5% to 18%.
Readily available reserves of oil and gas are sufficient to take atmospheric CO 2 to at least 400 ppm. Oil and gas are such convenient fuels, and the world has developed such a strong dependence on them, that it is very likely that the large readily available pools of these fuels will be exploited. Kharecha et al.
Hardy Oil and Gas plc, an oil and gas exploration and production company with assets predominantly in India, has temporarily suspended drilling on the KGV-D3-W1 exploration well due to unresolved mechanical issues associated with the blow out preventer (BOP) of the Transocean Deepwater Expedition drilling rig. “In
Chevron’s focus on optimizing the thermal management of the Kern River field has resulted in a steady drop in the steam:oil ratio (barrels steam water per barrel oil), resulting in improved economics of the field even with slowly declining production. Data: California DOGGR. Click to enlarge. Source: Chevron. Click to enlarge.
Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is a process in which large volumes of water, sand and chemicals are injected at high pressures to extract oil and natural gas from underground rock formations. During the past few years, the use of hydraulic fracturing has expanded across much of the country. Earlier post.).
To be sited at Jie Yang City, Guangdong Province, the Nanhai refinery will be operational in early 2015, with a capacity to process 400,000 barrels of heavy and extra heavy crude oil per day (400 kbd) from the Orinoco Oil Belt. Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ) pegged Venezuela’s 2011 reserves at 211 billion barrels, up from 99.4
Argentina and Venezuela will form a joint venture targeting production of 100,000 barrels of extra-heavy oil per day in the Junin field area of the Orinoco Oil Belt. The US Geological Survey (USGS) characterizes extra-heavy oil as having an API gravity of less than 10°. billion project will also include a refinery. Source: EIA.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process that drills vertical and horizontal cracks underground that help withdraw gas, or oil, from coalbeds, shale and other geological formations. Hydraulic fracturing is emerging as an important technology in accessing natural gas.
BP also confirmed the recently-announced Pitu oil discovery in the frontier deepwater of the Potiguar basin off Brazil’s equatorial margin, announced by Petrobras. The well, which penetrated multiple Paleogene-aged reservoir sands, was drilled to a total depth of 29,221 feet (8,907 meters). Click to enlarge. Click to enlarge.
These forces could snap offshore oil pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico and other hurricane-prone areas, the study suggests. The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region provides nearly 30% of the United States oil supply and 20% of its natural gas. Major oil leaks from damaged pipelines could have irreversible impacts to the ocean environment.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 5,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
388 
Let's personalize your content