...Oil, the staple that provides energy for just about everyone on earth today, is a current hot topic of discussion among politicians, engineers, scientists, environmentalists, and everyday citizens. Oil has been around since ancient times but oils potential was never realized until the nineteenth century. Is oil starting to be overrun by environmentalists? How long will current oil reserves last? Is oil currently the best and most efficient means of energy production? Should we worry about expanding oil production around the world? These questions and many more are dominating the conversations of energy producers and politicians worldwide. The oil we use today is a byproduct of ancient fossilized organic material. Most oil deposits are found where ancient oceans, seas and lake beds existed. As material such as: zooplankton, algae and other organic materials fell to the floor it was trapped under mud and sand. The speed at which the organic material covered the floor did not allow for its proper decomposition before it was covered with layers of sand or mud. Over time, the areas were buried under sedimentary rock, which caused extreme pressures and heat. This heat and pressure exerted as time passed developed the crude oils we see today. The quality and composition of the crude oil varies based upon the hydrocarbon makeup of the petroleum. Petroleum was first used to provide kerosene for lighting in the mid nineteenth century. Demand for the less expensive...
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...Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Be Opened to Oil Drilling? SCI207 Dependence of Man on the environment July 11, 2010 Abstract The rising cost of gas has been a great debate for consumers and congress. Currently the price of gas is between $2.71 to 3.39 depending on what state you live in. Consumers are finding it more and more disturbing that gas is increasing what is it going to take to make the prices decrease? Is oil drilling here in the United Stated the best thing to do? Oil Drilling has been a topic for our government for years. It seems that the debate is that oil should be drilled hear in our United States. Some have stated that oil drilling would be costly. But it would also reduce the amount we consumers spend on gas. If drilling was to take place there is an area in Alaska where the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is. I hope to show the positive side of oil drilling in Alaska and the negative affects it will have on oil drilling. Currently, I understand both sides of drilling oil but it is not fair to kill off wildlife if oil drilling could be possibly found in areas where there aren’t any wildlife would be good or if the government could provide proof that if oil drilling was to take place that the wildlife would not be hurt. As we look at both sides of why to drill and why not we can explore just what seems to be the big problem we and what the decision should...
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...Student ID# Deep Impact: Fracturing Planet Earth for Clean Energy 2 Shale gas has been acclaimed as the solution for a clean energy alternative. It burns cleaner than both coal and oil. There are vast quantities located in several shale formations domestically, in the United States (U.S.). Natural gas is an odorless, colorless hydrocarbon composed mostly of methane found deep in the earth in formations known as shale. In mid-1997, George Mitchell, an independent prospector made a discovery that would change the natural gas exploration industry for the twenty-first century. (Hinton, 2012). The modification of the well completion technology known as hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling allowed the oil and gas industry the ability to tap into natural gas reserves trapped in shale deposits miles beneath the earths’ surface. (Hinton, 2012). Mitchell found that forcing fracking fluid at extremely high pressure into the shale formations created fissures in surrounding rock releasing the hydrocarbons and capturing them in the well head. The fracking fluid, also referred to as slick water, is made up of water, chemicals, and sand. Heywood (2012) reports that members of the energy and commerce committee of the U.S. House of Representatives said that between 2005 and 2009 the oil and gas service companies were using over 2,500 fracking products with 750 different chemicals. Some of these chemicals are harmless including salt and citric acid. However, some are extremely...
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...What is fracking? Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc., so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas. Many believe in Oklahoma that fracking or hydraulic fracturing have been causing more and stronger earthquakes. I don’t believe fracking is causing earthquakes, but is dangerous for the environment. In the article provided by the USGS (United States Geological Survey), fracking is not the cause the of earthquakes. Wastewater disposal is the primary cause in the rise of seismic activity in the U.S. and Oklahoma. As stated in the article by the USGS “Wastewater disposal, runs longer than hydraulic fracturing and injects more liquids as well.” Another thing stated in the article is “Wastewater disposal wells not always induce earthquakes other factors like injection rate and the total amount of wastewater injected help induce the quake.” Also wastewater isn't only produced at hydraulic fracturing sites, but at oil well sites...
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...litigation on land rights related to the subject will be covered. The paper will end with the author’s opinion on the subject and of the potential future of the industry. Background Hydraulic Fracturing is a method of simulating well production in both natural gas and oil wells. It was first introduced in 1947, and was adopted for commercial applications as early as 1949.15 The process involves drilling wells deep into ground rock formations, then injecting fluids at high pressure into the ground. The high pressure causes fracturing of the rocks that release gas or oil into the wells that may then be extracted. In 1968 high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) was introduced, in an effort to tap into the large shale basins containing deposits of natural gas. The main difference between this and conventional hydraulic fracturing is tremendous volume of fracturing fluids that are pumped underground. Conventional fracturing typically uses around 100 thousand gallons versus high volume’s 1 million gallons of fluids for a single fracture. 16 Around 1980, horizontal drilling was introduced, in which wells are drilled to desired depths and then drilled horizontally, sometimes for distances of 1 mile or more. By drilling horizontally for long distances, well production...
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...Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, as it is commonly referred to, is a method of oil and gas extraction that has been in use for well over 60 years. This is a method that is centered on injecting a mixture of a proppant such as sand, chemicals and water into an oil or gas well. The injection of this fluid is responsible for creating fractures in the pre-drilled well, thereby allowing greater permeability of the stone. The small cracks in the stone are filled by the proppant, in this case sand, to keep them open even after the water flows back out. Among the chemicals used are gelling agents. The purpose of these gelling agents is to ensure that the proppant remains suspended in the mixture, and does not sink. Other chemicals in the mixture increase the fracturing ability of the solution. Once this has been achieved, the small pores and air spaces between the rocks are filled with the proppant and cause the natural gas trapped within the natural spaces to escape. This gas is then collected. The use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing has also been instrumental in the extraction of oil. The use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing has increased profitability and efficiency in the extraction of oil, when compared to the predominantly used vertical drilling methods. By increasing the extraction of natural gas from sources that were originally considered unproductive, this process has resulted in more profits for oil extraction companies not only in the United States, but also across the globe...
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...Underbalanced Drilling Methods as an Effective Solution for Drilling Issues Rodrigo H. Ruschel Bridging Course Centre for English Language Teaching, University of Western Australia Semester 1, 2013 Introduction The Oil and Gas industry is looking for new methods of exploration and production. Currently, the oil and gas reservoirs are becoming more difficult to access because the operators are required to deal with complex and depleted reservoirs, such as low pressure zones, sub salt formations and tar zones. This is a challenge for both the on onshore and the offshore environment. These complications are directly related to drilling engineering because these professionals have to deal with complex situations involved in risks and pressure in order to keep operations under control. In order to avoid problems during drilling operations might causing financial and environmental issues, underbalanced drilling (UBD) methods have been implemented. These methods are based in which both hydrostatic and dynamic pressures in the circulating down-hole fluid system are intentionally kept below or the same as the pressure of the formation being drilled UBD methods have been used in order to defeat issues such as avoid formation damage, lost circulation, differential sticking and reduction of non-productive time. Also, it might improve productivity, reduce drilling time, bit life and also indicate reservoir zone productivity. UBD methods are appearing as an effective solution...
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...world’s ninth largest economy, surpassing many developed nations with an annual GDP exceeding two trillion Dollars, according to a report by CNN last year.1 California’s crude oil and natural gas deposits are located in six geological basins in the Central Valley and along the coast. California has more than a dozen of the United States' largest oil fields, including the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the second largest oil field in the contiguous United States. California is sitting on a massive amount of shale oil and could become the next oil boom state. But only if the industry can get the stuff out of the ground without upsetting the state's powerful environmental lobby. Running from Los Angeles to San Francisco, California's Monterey Shale is thought to contain more oil than North Dakota's Bakken and Texas's Eagle Ford, both scenes of an oil boom that's created thousands of jobs and boosted U.S. oil production to the highest rate in over a decade. In 2010, California produced 12% of the natural gas, 71% of the electricity, and 38.11% of the crude oil it consumes. The remaining electricity and natural gas was purchased from Canada, the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain States and the Southwest. Remaining crude oil was imported from Alaska and abroad.2 California is therefore a net importer of oil and petroleum based fuels account for up to 96% of the state’s transportation needs. Transportation is the single largest emitter of greenhouse gasses and although the state is...
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...Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon off-shore rig-yung machine sa planta nagkukuha ng oil sa sea in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in a ball of flames on April 20, 2010, killing 11 employees, it set in motion frantic efforts to stop the flow of oil and to initiate the long and arduous cleanup process. Although the impacts of the explosion and oil spill were felt most intensely by businesses and residents along the coast and by coastal wildlife, those of us inland who watched the disaster unfold were also stunned and dismayed by what we saw happening. What led to this disaster and what can BP do to ensure that the likelihood of it ever happening again is minimized? One thing that has come to light in the disaster investigation is that it’s no surprise that something like this happened. After Hurricane Dennis blew through in July 2005, a passing ship was shocked to see BP’s new massive $1 billion Thunder Horse oil platform “listing precariously-hindi nasa ayos yung thunder horse oil platform to one side, looking for all the world as if it were about to sink.” Thunder Horse “was meant to be the company’s crowning glory, the embodiment of its bold gamble to outpace its competitors in finding and exploiting the vast reserves of oil beneath the waters of the gulf.” But the problems with this rig soon became evident. A valve installed backwards caused it to flood during the hurricane even before any oil had been pumped. Other problems included a welding job so shoddy badly made or done...
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...that hydroelectric and nuclear power are on the rise, but the first one does not produce large scale amounts of energy and the latter requires a huge initial investment with long waits until returns and profits; all the previous makes these sources not really convenient in developing countries, the ones that ironically need is the most. That’s why fossil fuel sources will continue to dominate the energy scene for the next decades, at least. In this context, I want to focus my paper on hydraulic fracturing, fracking. Actually, more specifically, the absolute focus will be to relate this modern method of oil and natural gas extraction with the Eagle Ford Shale, located in South Texas. Specifications and characteristics that make this shale so appealing for fracking will be a part of the following analysis. Overall, the shale is one that could be the biggest production center of oil and natural gas of the US and bring lots of economic benefits to the region. The objective of this paper is demonstrated how the nature of fracking is the appropriate one to make this true, and to estimate the extents of these benefits in terms of both production and revenue. Hydraulic Fracturing The formal definition of hydraulic fracturing, conceived and patented by R. F. Farris in 1953, describes it as “a method for increasing...
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...Dangers of Fracking Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is a process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are handled and sometimes spilled on the surface. Extracting gas from shale increases the availability of this resource, but the health and environmental risks are, in my opinion, too high. Before I get rolling on the impacts of fracking, let me first present you with a little history behind it. Hydraulic fracturing of wells was first introduced in 1947 by Stanolind Oil. 1,000 gallons of naphthenic-acid and-palm-oil-thickened gasoline was injected, followed by a gel breaker, to stimulate a gas producing limestone form at 2,400 ft. Although there wasn’t a tremendous increase in production, this was a start. In 1974, Congress passed the safe drinking water act to protect underground sources of drinking water and the Environmental Protection Agency required Underground Injection Control permits under the SDWA for any injection of a fluid. The Environmental Protection Agency also banned the injection of most hazardous materials and mandated regulation for all injected materials. However, hydraulic fracturing was unhindered by these new regulations because, the same year, the Environmental Protection Agency...
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...Apache Corporation was conceived over 50 years ago. Its growth has created a company that is built to last. Apache was formed in 1954 with $250,000 of investor capital with the simple concept of becoming a significant and profitable oil company. Today, Apache Corporation is one of the world's top independent oil and gas exploration and production companies. Apache Corporation engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations are in the United States, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea, Australia and Argentina. The values Apache was founded upon are still the same values the company instills in its employees today- integrity, respect, dignity, innovation, initiative and environmental responsibility. The company’s continued success and growth are due to these values as they guide business decisions and actions. Apache’s mission is to grow a profitable global exploration and production company in a safe and environmentally responsible manner for the long-term benefit of our shareholders. Apache is very much involved in the global market; along with operating in several countries around the world, the company also contributes by funding to educational, social, health programs in those countries. In 2012 the company generated $17.1 billion in revenue. Apache Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and its demand on the New York Stock Exchange has been increasing over the years as business production...
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...BHP BILLITON Petroleum Sector BHP Billiton is one of Australia’s greatest corporate success stories; having grown from humble beginnings in Melbourne, BHP is now a multinational commodities powerhouse and claims to be the world’s largest national resources company. (Annual Report, 2009 pp. B) The BHP Billiton Petroleum sector has been the focus of big BHP investment dollars of late as the company looks to expand their operations. BHP-B Petroleum produced over 376,000 barrels of oil per day in 2009 and has maintained an impressive 9% annual growth rate since 2007. (Petroleum Annual Review, 2009 pp 5) BHP Petroleum operates in many countries across the world and is currently undertaking oil and gas projects in Australia, The Gulf of Mexico, Algeria, the UK, Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago with the intention to expand into Malaysia, the Fawklands and Canada in the near future. (PAR, 2009 pp 5) The market for petroleum and indeed the mining industry as a whole was unsure what effect the global financial crisis would have and what action affected parties would take during the period. Regardless of the changes, such a large and important company as BHP would have to study the potential changes and start, if necessary, reformatting their financial planning/strategies and other control processes. These would have to be looked at on a whole organisational level; ranging from the BHP hierarchy all the way down to the smaller subsidiaries in order to accurately gauge the potential...
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...BP bears brunt of blame for the deepwater horizon catastrophe for Report says oil company is 'ultimately responsible' for oil spill but rig contractors also implicated in some areas BP’s share prices rose almost 5% but fell back after report was published Photograph: Molly Riley/REUTERS A key US federal report has focused the blame for the worst offshore oil spill in US history on BP, but criticised its contractors sufficiently for the markets to push BP's share price up. Amid a string of failures, BP's "cost or time-saving decisions… were contributing causes of the blowout," the report concluded. Assigning ultimate responsibility for the disaster – and the billions of dollars of clean-up and compensation costs – will take years of legal action, but Wednesday's investigation report was seen as a significant indicator as it was conducted by the regulator responsible for offshore activities. The blowout at the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 killed 11 people and led to almost 5 million barrels of oil being spilt into the ocean. BP's share price rose almost 5% in London on rumours the report would help avert the company being found grossly negligent in future, which would increase its financial liabilities hugely. But it fell back after the report was published, finishing the day up 3.5% at 395.1p. The investigation, jointly conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (Boemre) and the US Coast Guard, stated that a...
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...1.0 Environmental and Social Issues in Oil and Gas Industry 2.1 Safety Safety is one of the biggest concerns in every manufacturing industry, especially in petroleum industry. Petroleum industry easily identified as very dangerous industry especially those working at a oil rig. Petroleum companies are drilling oil in the mid desert, shores, and even at Artic seas. The condition of the sea bed is a huge concern on safety as well as the ice on the Artic region which can melt at any time causing death and injuries to thousands of workers. Its dangerous level is best represented by the wages in Petroleum Industrial which is soaring high tremendously. High wages paid to compensate the dangerous activities the workers involved in this Oil and Gas industry. Besides that, human errors such as carelessness or recklessness, delays in equipment maintenance or repair, failure to give proper training, failure to properly communicate, and incompetent safety procedures are also main reason of safety concerns in petroleum sector. Meanwhile, the nature of industry itself might cause the accidents involving explosions, mishaps while raising pipeline, oil rig, salt dome accidents, and contamination in storage and derrick safety violations. The safety in oil and gas industry is growing but at the same time increases in oil and gas activity correlate with an increase in the rate of fatal occupational injuries, particularly when inexperienced workers are not sufficiently trained in...
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