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Oil Recovery
Primary Oil Recovery drilling a well and
pumping oil that flows by gravity into the bottom
of a well.
Secondary Oil Recovery After primary, water
is injected into nearby wells to force some of the
remaining oil to the surface.
Tertiary Oil Recovery (Enhanced Oil Recovery)
after primary and secondary, CO2 gas is used to
force some of the heavy oil into the well cavity so
it can be pumped to the surface.
OIL DRILLING
Distillation
Then it is distilled and
separated into
components with
different boiling points.
Some of the products
called petrochemicals
are used as raw
materials in industrial
organic chemicals,
pesticides, plastics,
synthetic fibers, paints,
and medicines.
Fractional Distillation
Aviation Fuel
Heating Oil
OPEC Nations
Advantages of Oil
Relatively inexpensive
Easily transported via
pipelines, trucks and
tankers.
High net energy yield
Ample supply for
immediate future
Large US government
subsidies in place.
Disadvantages of Oil
World oil reserves limited and declining.
Produces pollution SO2, NO, NO2, CO2
Drilling causes land disturbances which
accelerates erosion.
Oil spills (Exxon Valdez)
Extraction releases contaminated wastewater and
brine
Disruption to wildlife habitats (ANWR)
Artificially low prices encourage waste
ANWR
Oil Sand
Oil sand (tar sand) is a mixture of clay, sand,
water and combustible bitumen (heavy oil with high
sulfur content).
They are dug up by giant shovels, mixed with hot
water and steam to extract the bitumen, which is
heated and converted to a low-sulfur synthetic crude
oil suitable for refining.
Exists mostly in Canada (70% known reserves)
Severe environmental degradation to air, water
and land.
Shale Oil
Oil shales contain kerogen which can be extracted from
crushed oil shales by heating them to yield a distillate called
shale oil.
Before it can be sent by pipeline to a refinery, it must be
heated to increase its flow rate and processed to remove
sulfur, nitrogen, and impurities.
Net energy loss
Tar Sand - bitumen
Natural Gas
Natural gas is a mixture of 50-90% by volume of methane
(CH4) and smaller amounts of ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8),
and butane (C4H10).
Conventional Natural Gas lies above most reservoirs of
crude oil, but can only be used if a pipeline is put in place.
Many times it is considered waste and is burned off adding
CO2 to the atmosphere.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) propane and butane gases
liquefied when a natural gas field is tapped. Stored in
pressurized tanks for use in rural areas.
At very low temperatures LPG can be converted to
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) can be shipped in refrigerated