Oil: Black Gold

Oil Formation

• Microscopic aquatic protists die pressurized & heated

• Seeps through porous rock and trapped under non-porous

• Many C-H chains

Crude Oil Recovery

• Primary Oil Recovery: Drill well, pump out oil

• Secondary Oil Recovery: Injection of H2O into nearby well, force heavy oil into

well

Off-shore Oil Platforms

• Dangerous to work on• Require constant maintenance

Santa Barbara Oil Platforms

Crude Oil Refined?Mix of diff. HC’s that are separated w/

distillation: purifying a liquid by evaporation and condensation.

Crude oil delivered by oil tanker

Distilled at a Refinery

(LBC, San Pedro)

NA NA ReservesReserves

• Org. of Petroleum Exporting Countries

• 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

• Determines best means for protecting their oil interests…price stabilizing

Case Study: OPEC Embargo

• OPEC stops supplies of oil to US b/c we supplied Israel w/ weapons during Yom Kippur War.

• Odd-even rationing• Flag System• Ended in ’74 with

Kissinger negotiations.

Pricing1. How much oil is

pumped?

2. How much oil is being refined?

3. Operational costs of gas stations

**NOT FULL COST Pricing-doesn’t include externalities

Shale Oil

• Fine-grained rock, has HCs called kerogen

• Is crushed & heated, vaporizing kerogen condensed to shale oil

Tar Sands

• Mix of clay, sand, water

and bitumen (a high sulfur

oil)• Heat sand until bitumen softens, floats to surface Refined into

crude oil

Canada #1!

Pros of Crude Oil: Easy to Transport

Pros of Crude Oil: Cheap!

Pros of Crude

Oil: High Net

Energy Yield

Pros of Crude Oil: Platforms make artificial reefs

Cons of Crude OilCons of Crude Oil• 1) Air pollution (combustion)

–increased CO2 levels global warming

–acid deposition

Downside of All Fossil Fuels:Production of CO2

Cons: MTBECons: MTBE• Methyl tertiary butyl

ether• C5H12O• Fuel additive in gas,

enhances octane (helps burn gas completely reduces NOx and VOC emissions)

• Groundwater pollutant from LUSTS carcinogen?

• Banned in 2004

Con: Oil SpillsCon: Oil Spills• 1989, Exxon Valdez spilled

10.9mill. barrels of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska

Prince William SoundPrince William Sound

Exxon ValdezExxon Valdez

CLEAN UP!

• Large booms contain oil

CLEAN UP!CLEAN UP!

• Skimmer boats scrape off oil

CLEAN UP!CLEAN UP!

• GE bacteria eats oil!

CLEAN UP!CLEAN UP!

CLEAN UP!CLEAN UP!

• High pressure washing

Con: Wars!Con: Wars! • Gulf War 1991: Iraq invaded

Kuwait; US attacked to protect its oil supply

Peak OilPeak Oil

• M.K. Hubbert, 1956• Theory: Crude oil reserve and production will peak in 1970’s and

decline there after• Show Hubbert Curve

• US Oil Production peaked in 1971