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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.
New research by the IHS Markit Canadian OilSands Dialogue shows that the combined greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of Canadian oilsands projects has declined 20% from 2009 levels. The latest data show that the greenhouse gas intensity of Canadian oilsands going down further, continuing a decade-long trend.
Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas emissions for in situ SAGD and surface mining pathways generated employing GHOST/TIAX/ GHGenius combination and comparison with SAGD, mining and conventional crude oil literature pathways (all results are on a HHV basis). 74% of WTW emissions in our oilsands pathways. Click to enlarge.
The majority (62%) of the plantations were located on the island of Sumatra, and more than two-thirds (69%) of all industrial plantations were developed for oil palm cultivation, with the remainder mostly being Acacia plantations for paper pulp production. Earlier post.). —Dr.
Bitumen production from the Canadian oilsands provides a point of reference that could be used to observe and better manage the land and water impacts of a rapid transition to unconventional fuels, suggests Dr. Sarah Jordaan of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
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. Trends in well-to-wheel pathway-specific CI. Click to enlarge.
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC)—the country’s national academy of the arts, humanities and sciences—has released an expert panel report on the environmental and health impacts of the Canadian oilsands industry. Impacts of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Impacts of contaminants on downstream residents.
Transmitting oilsands production. Synthetic crude is produced by upgrading bitumen and is a blend of naphtha, distillate and gasoilrange materials produced by hydrotreating the naphtha, distillate and gasoil generated in a delayed coking unit.).
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”.
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.
A plot from the TIAX study of the ranges of well-to-wheel emissions for different types of crudes in different refinery areas in the US for gasoline production. The yellow bar is the range calculated for different conventional crudes. GHG emissions for oilsands crudes will further decrease through technological advances.
Devon and BP will also form a heavy oil joint venture to develop BP’s Kirby oilsands leases in Alberta, Canada. In order to facilitate the oilsands joint venture, Devon will acquire 50% of BP’s interest in the Kirby oilsands leases. The Whiting upgrade is planned to come on-stream in 2012.
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.
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline for transporting oilsands-derived crude to Gulf Coast refineries would have “ no material impact ” on US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a new Insight report by IHS CERA. This indicates that oilsands can grow using rail; it is already happening. Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
Depending on operating conditions, the system can produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide at pressures up to 2000 psig; or synthesis gas (i.e. In hydrogen mode, a high-pressure hydrogen stream, separated from the product gas, can be fed directly to an upgrading or refining process with little or no compression.
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.
In a new, comprehensive study, a team from Argonne National Laboratory, Stanford University and UC Davis ITS has estimated the well-to-wheels (WTW) GHG emissions of US production of gasoline and diesel sourced from Canadian oilsands. This range can be compared to ∼4.4 g CO 2 e/MJ for US conventional crude oil recovery.
Comparison of the percent differential for WTW (well-to-wheel) GHGs from gasoline produced from WCSB oilsands using different production processes relative to gasoline produced from reference crudes. The proposed Project is not likely to impact the amount of crude oil produced from the oilsands.
Gasoline section shows results for fuel derived from both conventional oil and oilsands. However, the range in values for shale and conventional gas overlap, so there is a statistical uncertainty whether shale gas emissions are actually lower than those of conventional natural gas. Click to enlarge.
Exxon Mobil has started production at its Kearl oilsands expansion project in Alberta, Canada ahead of schedule; the expansion is expected to double overall capacity to 220,000 barrels of bitumen a day, with the expansion itself ultimately expected to reach 110,000 barrels per day. Kearl will access approximately 4.6 Earlier post.).
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.
The study was commissioned by the European Oilseed Alliance (EOA), the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) and the European Vegetable Oil and Proteinmeal Industry (FEDIOL). Even for conventional oil production fields, because larger existing fields get depleted, the extraction efforts increase while smaller fields are taken in operation.
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. OPEC oil producers are the largest source of additional liquid fuel supply between 2010 and 2040.
ExxonMobil projects that meeting future energy demand will be supported by more efficient energy-saving practices and technologies; increased use of less-carbon-intensive fuels such as natural gas, nuclear and renewables; as well as the continued development of technology advances to develop new energy sources. Source: ExxonMobil.
announced a natural gas discovery at the Karish prospect offshore Israel. The discovery well was drilled to a total depth of 15,783 feet (4,811 meters) and encountered 184 feet (56 meters) of net natural gas pay in high-quality lower Miocene sands. Co-owners are Avner Oil and Delek Drilling each with a 26.47% interest.
Comparison of GHGenius, JACOBS, TIAX, and the new PRELIM gasoline greenhouse gas (GHG) estimates using base case estimates and variations from the scenario analysis. The configurations are differentiated by the presence of gasoil hydrocracking; fluid catalytic cracking (FCC); delayed coking; and residual hydrocracking.
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.
A University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters. Water from mining of oilsands and oil shale. Heavy metals in soil.
Oil and gas services company Schlumberger defines artificial lift as any system that adds energy to the fluid column in a wellbore with the objective of initiating and improving production from the well. Artificial-lift systems use a range of operating principles, including rod pumping, gas lift and electric submersible pumps.
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).
An innovative oil-upgrading technology that can increase the economics of unconventional petroleum resources has been developed under a US Department of Energy-funded project. In the case of oilsands bitumen, the API gravity is increased from 8 API to more than 20 API, eliminating the need for diluent for pipeline transportation.
Gas-to-liquids (GTL) process systems boundary with co-product displacement. They considered a single product slate from raw gas: LPG, 8.4%; condensate, 17.8%; GTL Naphtha, 23.1%; GTL diesel, 40.7%; GTL normal paraffin, 2.4%; and GTL lubricant base oils, 7.5%. Credit: ACS, Forman et al. Click to enlarge. Condensate and LPG.
The development will utilize a dry tree Extended Tension Leg Platform with an on-board drilling rig and have production capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. First oil is anticipated in 2014. Chevron, through its subsidiary Chevron USA Inc.,
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.
Map of the assessment units (AUs) of the CARA is color-coded for mean estimated undiscovered oil. The US Geological Survey (USGS) has completed a geologically-based assessment of the oil and gas resource potential of the Arctic, the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). Black lines indicate AU boundaries. Source: USGS CARA.
The five different fuel groups were those derived: from conventional petroleum; from unconventional petroleum; synthetically from natural gas, coal, or combinations of coal and biomass via the FT process; renewable oils; and alcohols. million bpd. Reduced GHG impact. For CTL, life-cycle GHG emissions would roughly double.
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.
A team from Stanford University and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has developed a new open-source lifecycle analysis (LCA) tool for modeling the greenhouse gas emissions of oil and gas production using characteristics of specific fields and associated production pathways. —El-Houjeiri et al.
Noble’s discovered resources in the Eastern Mediterranean now totals nearly 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Tamar SW well offshore Israel, testing a new exploration prospect, encountered approximately 355 feet of net natural gas pay within the targeted Miocene intervals. Noble Energy, Inc. with 20 percent.
Shell Canada Energy’s Scotford Upgrader, close to its refinery near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, uses hydrogen to upgrade high viscosity extra heavy crude oil (bitumen) into a wide range of synthetic crude oils. will use Air Products’ hydrogen to treat certain olefinic synthetic gas liquids at its Redwater Fractionation facility.
Russian oil and gas major Rosneft, 75% owned by the government, and the Venezuelan Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo (CVP), a subsidiary of PDVSA, signed an agreement to create a joint venture to develop heavy oil reserves in Venezuela in the framework of the Carabobo-2 project. oilsands). Earlier post.
billion oil-equivalent barrels—the bulk of it from Canadian oilsands—replacing 103% of production. Reserves additions from the Kearl Phase 1 oilsands project in Canada totaled 1.1 billion oil-equivalent barrels. billion oil-equivalent barrels. Asset sales in 2008 reduced proved reserves by 0.1
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.
Backed by a $25-million US Department of Energy (DOE) award, the Honeywell UOP Integrated Biorefinery will utilize rapid thermal processing (RTP) technology ( earlier post ) to convert biomass into a pourable, liquid bio-oil (pyrolysis oil). approx 75 wt%) of liquid bio-oil from residual forestry or agricultural biomass.
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