Unconventional Petroleum Sources

Name: Unconventional Petroleum Sources
Author: KnowledgeCity

Discover alternatives to crude oil and natural gas as well as new techniques being developed to access these new energy sources

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Course: On-Demand

Due to high demand for petroleum products, many unconventional sources are being explored as viable options. Tar sand, shale, tight oil, heavy oil and deep-water oil are currently considered for filling this ever-growing demand. Tar sand is also known as oil sand or bituminous sand. This is composed of either loose or partially solid sandstone with a naturally occurring mix of clay, sand, and water that is saturated with heavy viscous tar. This bituminous sand is typically too thick to flow unless heated or diluted with lighter crude oil or condensed natural gas. Tar sand is considered a source of unconventional petroleum due to rising oil prices and advances in extraction technology. Most tar sand reserves are found in Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Venezuela Alberta, Canada, estimates that 10% of their tar sands are recoverable, equating to roughly 200 billion barrels. The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin was formed near the Rocky Mountains by the Pacific Plate over-thrusting the North American Plate as it pushed from the West. As mountain ranges were formed. Sedentary rock was buried under deep layers and created higher subsurface temperatures. This effectively became a giant pressure cooker where layers of kerogen were converted to petroleum deposits. Most of these oil sand deposits ended up in three major deposits near Alberta. Production and processing in this area began as far back as 1967. By 2013, there were nine large oil sand mining projects. In 2011 alone, over 52 million cubic meters were produced. Currently, Canada is the only country in the world with large-scale oil sand extraction operations. Venezuela estimates it has 267 billion barrels in oil sand reserves, located mostly in the Eastern Venezuelan basin. Source rocks that generate this petroleum were buried deep by the rise of the Sierra Oriental Mountains. This produced a light oil that moved up slope toward a southbound dip until it was eventually immobilized and thickened due to biodegradation near the surface. Most oil sands must be extracted through strip mining or using sophisticated heating and mixing techniques to cause the oil to flow into available crude oil wells. Strip mining is a broad term for a variety of different mining methods that remove soil and rock overlaying the oil sand deposits in contrast to underground mining, where shafts and tunnels are built to remove just the deposits. The primary method of extracting oil sand involves drilling oil wells into a crude oil reservoir, which allows oil to flow under natural pressure. Other methods, like water flooding and gas injection, are often required to keep these wells flowing continuously. This primary method of production is used in Venezuela where the heavy oils are typically at 50 degrees Celsius. The Athabaska Oil Sands in Alberta are shallow and abundant enough that surface mining can easily be used for extraction. Oil sands tailing ponds are the dam and dike systems that contain salt, water, silt, suspended solids, and other chemicals that dissolve into crude oil. These tailing ponds are a byproduct of surface mining and a major concern for environmental pollution. Cyclic Steam Stimulation or CSS is another common means of extracting oil sand. With CSS, the drilled well is sent through several cycles of steam injection, soaking, and oil production. First, steam is injected into the well at around 300 to 340 degrees Celsius for a period of weeks to months. Second, the wells soaks at this temperature for days or weeks to allow the oil to uniformly heat up and become more liquid. Third, the hot oil is pumped out of the well for days to weeks. This process repeats until the cost of steam injection becomes higher than the revenue from well production. There are several other methods of oil sand recovery, but we've covered the primary methods, as well as where and how oil sand is formed.

Essential Provider : KnowledgeCity 6 Lessons · 19m in Arabic, English

Course Description

Society currently depends on crude oil and natural gas for survival and advancement, so drilling will continue for as long as reserves linger underneath the Earth’s surface. The good news is that there are measures being taken to improve the extraction processes and lessen their impact on our planet, as well as to find alternatives to our dependence on oil. Due to high demand for petroleum products, many unconventional sources are being explored as viable options. Tar sand, shale, tight oil, heavy oil, and deep-water oil are currently considered for filling this ever-growing demand. Tapping new and less conventional sources can reduce environmental impact as technology advances, using less land and energy in the process, with less waste produced.

In these lessons on Unconventional Petroleum Sources, we’ll explore nontraditional petroleum resources and the innovative methods being developed to tap into these new options. We’ll also look at the impact, both positive and negative, that these new resources and techniques have on the environment.

What You'll Learn

Discover alternatives to conventional petroleum extraction and refining
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of tar sand, oil shale, tight oil, heavy oil, and deep-water oil
Examine the innovative methods being developed to tap unconventional petroleum resources
Evaluate both the positive and negative environmental impacts of these new resources and techniques
Explore deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil extraction

Key Takeaways

Society currently depends on crude oil and natural gas, so drilling will continue as long as reserves remain underground.
High demand for petroleum products is driving the exploration of unconventional sources such as tar sand, shale, tight oil, heavy oil, and deep-water oil.
Tapping new and less conventional sources can reduce environmental impact by using less land and energy and producing less waste as technology advances.
Even alternative petroleum sources and techniques carry environmental impacts, both positive and negative.

Frequently Asked Questions

What unconventional petroleum sources does this course cover?

The course covers tar sands, oil shale, tight oil, heavy oil, and deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil, along with the environmental impact of these new oils.

What will I learn in this course?

You will discover alternatives to petroleum extraction and refining, learn the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives such as tar sand, shale, tight oil, heavy oil, and deep-water oil, and understand that even alternatives have positive and negative impacts on the environment.

Does the course address environmental impact?

Yes. It looks at both the positive and negative impacts that these new resources and techniques have on the environment, including a dedicated lesson on the environmental impact of new oils.

What skills does this course relate to?

It relates to alternative fuels, conventional oil, developing unconventional gas (DUG), petroleums, the petroleum industry, and unconventional oil.