heavy hydrocarbon resources: their production and the ......summary • the world needs energy, and...

Heavy Liquid Hydrocarbons: Their Production and the Resulting CO2 Footprint

Tony KovscekStanford UniversityEnergy Resources Engineeringemail:[email protected]

First, a little quiz …

Where does imported oil originate?Jan - Jul 2007

3 6 %

1 2 %9 %

9 %

7 %

6 %3 %

3 %4 %1 %1 %1 %1 %1 %1 %0 % 4 %

Domestic Production

Energy Information Administration, www.eia.doe.gov

Where does imported oil originate?

36%

12%9%

9%

7%

6%3%

3%4%1%1%1%1%1%1%0% 4%

DomesticCanadaMexicoSaudi ArabiaVenezuelaNigeriaAlgeriaIraqAngolaColombiaKuwaitLibyaUnited KingdomEcuadorBrazilEquatorial GuineaOther

Energy Information Administration, www.eia.doe.gov

CanadaMexicoSaudiArabia

0

50

100

150

200

250

300re

serv

es (B

bbl)

Who has large proved oil reserves?Oil and Gas J., 2003

Reserve≠ResourceReserve is energy that you can recover economically with existing technology.

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i Ara

bia

Can

ada

Iraq

Iran

Kuw

ait

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Rus

sia

Vene

zuel

a

Liby

a

Nig

eria

Uni

ted

Stat

es

0

50

100

150

200

250

300re

serv

es (B

bbl)

Who has large proved oil reserves?Oil and Gas J., 2003

Today’s Presentation

• What has Canada got?– What is heavy oil?– What is heavy oil?– Why do you care about heavy oil?

• Heavy-oil recovery methods are energy intensive– Alberta Canada Oil Sands– Kern River, CA

• CO2 foot print for heavy oil production– energy needed to produce heavy oil– implications for CO2 production

• Summary

Wha

t has

Can

ada

Got

?H

eavy

-Oil

Res

ourc

e

Venezuela 700-3000 Bbbl

Canada 2732 Bbbl

USA-Continental 137 Bbbl

USA-Alaska 80 Bbbl

Middle East 1400 Bbbl conventional oil

Say that world consumption is 25 Bbbl/yr, R/P = 240 years

What is heavy oil?

• heavy oil: about as dense as water (1000 - 930 kg/m3)tar or bitumen: more dense than water (> 1000 kg/m3)

• rules of thumb -water 1 cP-100,000 cP for 10°API at 30°C-100 cP for 20 °API at 30 °C

• well productivity

J ~1

µoil

http

://w

ww.

sync

rude

.com

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100 2150year

conservativepredictionbest prediction

actual data

Why do you care about heavy oil ?

2001

2020

World oil production, Hubbert-Style peak oil

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.mill

ion

bbl/d

World oil consumption

Shell Global Scenarios to 2025,www.shell.com

Why do you care about heavy oil?Sustained Growth Scenario (Shell)

World Population

Heavy Oil Fills the GapHow do we recover heavy oil?

• Primary (heavy-oil solution gas drive)• Secondary (water injection)• Tertiary

-steam injection-in-situ combustion-vapor extraction-electrical heating

• Strip mining

moredesirable?

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Aurora Mine

Oil Sands Development

Syncrude:•Base mine–3.1 miles by 4.3 miles by 197 ft. deep•North mine–9 miles by 1.2 miles by 262 ft. deep•Aurora mine–3 miles by 1 mile by 229 ft. deep

http://www.syncrude.comopen-pit mine

2 tonnes oil sand (basis)

open-pit mine

http://www.syncrude.com


open-pit mine

truck to a roll crusher

240-400 tonne capacity



open-pit mine


reject some solids,slurry and pipeline



open-pit mine



extraction

Extraction:• hot water• NaOH• vigorous mixing• get about 75% of OBIP


sand

bitumen

water


open-pit mine



extraction

separation

sand

bitumen



open-pit mine



extraction

separation

pipeline to upgraderUpgrading and hydrotreating:• cracking (add H2 using CH4)• coking (carbon rejection)• S and N2 removal



open-pit mine



extraction

separation

pipeline to upgrader

1 barrel of syncrude(1 bbl = 42 gal=0.16m3)

• Light sweet crude •>1 MMbbl/day output total Canada (Syncrude, Suncor, PetroCanada)• 39% of Canadian oil production (2005) • 1/8 gasoline in Canada, Syncrude• Syncrude cumulative > 1 Bbbl

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor


Canada Oil Sands Trust, http://cos-ar.beta.zu.com/annual_report/2006/

Operating Costs and Oil ProductionSyncrude only

Oil and CO2 Production

2 tonnes sand = 1 barrel

220 lbs CO2 / bbl4.4 BTU of oil / BTU CH4


Prod

uctio

n

CO

2Em

issi

ons

0.4 tonne CO2/bbl940 lbs CO2/bblcrude

oil

Where will the natural gas come from?

Image source unknown

CO2 Implications

• By 2015, annual CO2 emissions from upgrading operations are estimated to be 94 Mt

• By 2050, perhaps 2000 Mt per year• Canada’s Kyoto emissions goal is

about 500 Mt per year• Alternative to natural gas for

processing is nuclear power (hydrogen and steam), Alberta Energy Corporation 5 Mar 07 press release, CANDU reactor for N. Alberta

Kern River (Kern Co., CA)

Stanford

Bakersfield

99I-5

Bakersfield

0 16

58

MWSS

Buena Vista

Elk Hills

Lost Hills

N. B.

Cymric

SouthBelridge

miles

Kern River

Kern River• Discovered 1899 by a farmer digging a water well.

Hit oil at 40 ft (or 70 ft) below ground (bgs)• Original oil = 3.8 Bbbl• Producing interval: 500-1300 ft• Geology:

– Alternating sand and shale sequences– at least 7 major units– Dispersed silt in the sand zones

• Thickness: 30-90 ft net• Dip: 4 ° to the southwest

1

10

100

1000

10000

0 100 200 300 400temperature (°F)

Viscosity(cP)

Why heat a heavy oil reservoir?Oil viscosity versus temperature

productivity ~ 1µoil

Steam Injection

acknowledgement: U.S. DOE, SCNGO, http://www.netl.doe.gov/scngo/index.html

http://www.bakersfield.com/static/special/oil100/graphics.asp

Oil-Steam Ratio (OSR)

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

field

OSR

calculated OSR

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iver

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Tatums

OSR = (Voil)/(Vsteam)Vsteam is at 60°F

CO2 Footprint for Steam Injection

• practical range of OSR: 0.2 - 0.5• psteam = 250 psi, quality = 0.7• boiler efficiency = 90%

• 3.48 to 8.70 BTUoil / BTUsteam

• CO2 production: 84 to 210 lbs CO2 / bbl oil– steam is supplied by burning natural gas

0.4 tonne CO2/bbl940 lbs CO2/bblcrude

oil

Whose CO2 is this really?

• it’s a combined heat, power, and irrigation operation

Natural Gas

Statewide:• 2036.7 MWe

installed oilfield cogen capacity

• gas-fired• net electricity

into grid is sufficient for 1.5 million homes out of 11.5 million total

• 2004, 2005 Annual Report CalDOGGR

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor


Kern River Oil Field

US Patent 20060048770

Heavy-oil production of the future?

Summary• the world needs energy, and a portfolio of

options– conservation -nuclear– renewables -fossil fuels

• there are plenty of heavy hydrocarbons to meet world oil demand, but extraction is difficult, more expensive than conventional sources, and may leave a greater environmental footprint

• process integration (polygeneration) and in-situ processes reduce footprint: 110 lbs/bbl (Kern River) versus 220 lbs/bbl (Syncrude) Not well to gas pump, just crude production

CO2 Management: Kaya IdentityA form of Paul Ehrlich’s IPAT IdentityA result of dimensional analysis

CO2 Emissions = (Population)(GDP/person)

(Energy/GDP)(CO2/energy)

per nation, city, etc.

carbon intensityenergy intensity

standard of living

“Kaya Identity”: Kaya, Y, Energy Conversion and Management, 36, 375-380, 1995..

What are our options?CO2 Emissions = (Population)

(GDP/person)(Energy/GDP)

(CO2/energy)• Control population• Reduce standard of living (GDP/person)• Energy intensity (i.e., efficiency)• Carbon Intensity

=>There are no first order solutions

CO2 Emissions = (Population)(GDP/person)

(Energy/GDP)(CO2/energy)

(CO2 emitted/CO2)

Carbon Sequestration

Some questions:• Is it a green energy technology?• Is it sustainable?• Is it a technology in competition with

renewables?

Summary• Resource/World Production = 240 years• Heavy-oil recovery technologies do exist• Oil Production–CO2 generation

• not well to gas pump numbers– Kern River 110 lbs per barrel, but this is CHP

(whose CO2 is it?)– Syncrude: 220 lbs per barrel

• Geological sequestration is a CO2 mitigation option

heavy hydrocarbon resources: their production and the ......summary • the world needs energy, and...

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