Nuclear + Tar Sands = All The Oil You Will Need

Canadian tar sands are a vast petroleum resource, containing much of the oil that the US is likely to be using over the next 30 years. Of course, a better US Congress would open up shale oil in the Green River Basin for development--with more oil resource than in all of Saudi Arabia. As it is, the inept current US Congress is on the verge of making Canadian tar sands off limits to US refiners and distributors. Yes, they are that stupid now in Washington DC.

Just when better ways of extracting Canadian tar sands are coming along. Like the new Hyperion nuclear battery, that can be used for in situ tar sand extraction.

Image Source

Since it is portable, the reactor can be deployed virtually anywhere power is needed -- remote industrial operations such as the Alberta oil sands, military installations or communities looking to supplement grid-supplied power. Once deployed, the Hyperion module delivers approximately 70 megawatts (MW) of heat (thermal energy) and 25 megawatts (MW) of electrical power via steam turbine. This is enough power to provide electricity for a community of 20,000 average-sized, American-style homes. Hyperion modules can also be "ganged" to provide even more power.

...About 4,000 units of the initial design will be manufactured at a new U.S. site yet to be determined. The initial rector will be a compact, self-regulating, self-contained design with no moving parts and about the size of a hot tub. Sealed at the factory, the module is not opened until it is time for the unit to be refueled — at the factory — approximately every five years or so. This helps guard against tampering. __Source__via__NextBigFuture

While the US Congress is only interested in political power and pillage, most intelligent observers understand that nuclear energy is the key to a better long-term future. Nuclear batteries such as Hyperion are a small, unconventional form of fission power, but they can fit into incredibly important niches. Incrementally larger and more conventional nuclear fission reactors can provide reliable baseload power for large towns and small cities, large industrial facilities and developments, and could be ganged together to provide larger quantities of power if needed.

We at Oynklent Green [OTC:OYNK] have become unhappily aware of the fact that the current US Congress is all about restricting energy--depriving the US citizen and resident of access to energy. That is why we developed our patented "corrupt politician to bio-energy" thermochemical process. We believe that if an elected official betrays his duty to the public's trust, that he should be utilised for the benefit of the public in one way or another. At OYNK, we are all about a better future, no matter what the politicians want. ;-)

Previously published at Al Fin Energy

Peak Oil: Meet Bakken Formation

The Bakken geologic formation straddling the border of the US with Canada, contains a lot of oil shale, and sweet crude. Brian Wang at NextBigFuture looks at the possibility that there may be another "Saudi Arabia's worth" of oil under the plains of Saskatchewan and North Dakota.

Estimates are anywhere from a conservative 25 billion barrels of oil in place, to a high estimate by the United States Geological Survey of 400 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken formation. Not only is the oil plentiful, but it's high quality too, 41 degree light sweet crude. The Bakken formation is a formation of black shale, siltstone, and sandstone. The formation lies beneath the Mississippian formation, Saskatchewan's current source of light sweet crude. The Bakken formation is situated beneath southeastern Saskatchewan, southwestern Manitoba, and North Dakota.

In 2007, EOG Resources out of Houston, Texas reported that a single well it had drilled into an oil-rich layer of shale below Parshall, North Dakota is anticipated to produce 700,000 barrels of oil.____>Brian Wang (much more with links)

No one expects such regional oil deposits to give North America independence from the "dictator's oil" of Russia, the Persian Gulf, Africa, or Venezuela any time soon. Industrial economies necessarily draw their energy from a wide variety of sources--particularly in the age of a booming India and China, with their huge, growing energy demands.

It is interesting to note that Saskatchewan has huge deposits of tar sands farther north, in addition to the potentially enormous deposits of oil shale and sweet crude within Bakken. Will Regina and Saskatoon begin taking on some of the more affluent aspects of Dubai?

Here is a pdf document looking at the estimate of oil within Bakken

It is important for those who truly wish to understand the current energy situation, to know that there is a tremendous shortage of skilled and trained manpower to develop all of the reserves known to exist--and a much greater shortage of trained and skilled manpower needed to explore and discover the huge oil fields likely to exist, but remaining undiscovered. Peak oil is actually a euphemism for the shortage of trained and skilled workers.

Peak Oil: Meet the Microwave Oil Extractor

US defense contractor and electronics company Raytheon has developed oil extraction technology that may send "Peak Oil" packing, for a decade or two. At least, giant oil and gas developer Schlumberger thinks so:

Much as a microwave oven heats food, Raytheon Co.‘s (NYSE:RTN) technology relies on microwaves to generate underground heat and melt a waxy substance in the shale called kerogen so it can be converted into oil...Carbon dioxide heated and pressurized into a liquid form is then used to extract the oil from the rock and carry it to a well.

Raytheon and oil companies began exploring ways to extract oil from shale decades ago, but many efforts were shelved in the 1980s as oil prices and supplies stabilized. Some projects _ including Raytheon‘s _ were revived in recent years because of spiking prices, technological improvements and hopes of decreasing U.S. dependency on foreign oil....Most of the attention is focused on oil shale reserves scattered across U.S. federal lands in Colorado, Utah and southwest Wyoming _ an area estimated to contain up to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale, or three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia.

Oilweek

This technology can also be used for extracting oil from tar sands in Canada, and for extracting heavy oils.

The RF/CF combination is more economical and environmentally responsible than older oil shale extraction techniques as it uses less power, does not severely disrupt the landscape or leave behind residue that can enter groundwater supplies....For tar sands and heavy oil, the Raytheon process could yield 10 to 15 barrels of oil equivalent per barrel consumed, due to the lower heating temperatures required. When applied in tar sands, the combined RF/CF technology performs a mild upgrading in-situ, yielding an attractive light sweet crude oil. The process is “tunable”, facilitating production of various product slates.

The use of RF technology in shale processing would enable the fuel to be extracted from the earth in only one to two months. In-ground heating methods that do not employ radio waves, by contrast, require three to four years to replicate the natural conversion process.

Green Car Congress

While efforts to produce sustainable biofuels gear up, the ability to economically and cleanly produce petroleum from regional deposits should make the transition to renewable energy easier.

Canadian Oilmen Learning to Like THAI Takeout?

Recent posts at Advanced Nanotechnology and Energy Blog shine a spotlight on Toe to Heel Air Injection (THAI) technology for extracting oil from tar sands deposits.

THAI™ uses a system where air is injected into the oil deposit down a vertical well and is ignited. The heat generated in the reservoir reduces the viscosity of the heavy oil, allowing it to drain into a second, horizontal well from where it rises to the surface.

THAI™ is very efficient, recovering about 70 to 80 per cent of the oil, compared to only 10 to 40 per cent using other technologies.

Duvernay Petroleum’s heavy oil field in Peace River contains 100 million barrels and this will be a first test of THAI™ on heavy oil, for which THAI™ was originally developed. Duvernay Petroleum has signed a contract with the Canadian firm Petrobank, which owns THAI™, to use the process.

The THAI™ process was first used by Petrobank at its Christina Lake site in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Canada, in June 2006 in a pilot operation which is currently producing 3,000 barrels of oil a day. This was on deposits of bitumen - similar to the surface coating of roads - rather than heavy oil.

Petrobank is applying for permission to expand this to 10,000 barrels a day though there is a potential for this to rise to 100,000.

The 50,000 acre site owned by Petrobank contains an estimated 2.6 billion barrels of bitumen. The Athabasca Oil Sands region is the single largest petroleum deposit on earth, bigger than that of Saudi Arabia.

Source

THAI promises much better efficiencies for tar sands recovery which converts to better profitability for investors. The huge deposits of tar sands in Canada and Venezuela dwarf the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. For tar sands, the future is now.

Toe to Heel Air Injection recovery is not suitable for shale oils, but other in situ processes for shale oil recovery are being perfected which should make those resources available for substantial recovery within 15 years.

Peak Oil: Meet Athabasca Oil Sands

The Athabasca oil sands region lies in northern Alberta Province, in Canada. The Chevron oil company has been involved in oil recovery efforts in Athabasca for several years. Now Chevron is moving into the region in a big way, having recently acquired several oil sands leases, for land with over 7 billion barrels of oil in place.

The new leases are approximately 76 miles west of Fort Mackay in northern Alberta, and 24 miles south west of AOSP.

Chevron will use Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), an in-situ technology that uses steam and horizontal drilling to extract the bitumen. Shell Canada and Western Oil Sands will each have the right to elect to acquire a 20% working interest in these leases.

The SAGD process involves drilling pairs of horizontal wells in the oil sands reservoir. Steam is injected through an upper well—about 3 to 10 meters above the lower—and contacts the bitumen. The heated bitumen becomes mobile and flows with condensed water from the steam chamber to the lower well through gravity drainage. Thence it is lifted to the surface for upgrading.

Each well pair is typically 2,500 to 3,000 feet in length, and optimally produces 1,000 to 1,500 barrels per day. Well pairs are drilled parallel to one another, and spaced 300 to 650 feet apart.

Read the full article here.

Oil sands are a heavy oil resource, requiring special refining methods, and not nearly as well suited for gasoline production as sweet crude oil. Along with shale oil, oil sands represent a huge and relatively untapped oil resource.

In addition to oil sands and shale oil, coal is another fossil fuel that can be converted to liquid hydrocarbon fuel form. Cleaner methods of processing and buring coal are a top priority in the industrial nations.

Peak Oil Debunked is an excellent source of information about Peak Oil Hype. Go on over and give them a look.

I am a big fan of renewable energy, having helped install a number of solar and wind home energy systems. Fossil fuels and nuclear fission should be seen as only a stopgap measure until renewable methods of energy production can take over.

One other source of gasoline that I should mention--cow dung! Japanese scientists have learned to make gasoline from the dung of cattle. They are a bit short on details at the moment, but it seems they are in earnest.

Update 6 March 06: Here is an update on the Chevron oil sands venture:

On Friday I was at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research’s Economic Summit (some videos available), where among other things I learned that the oil sands of Canada are, unfortunately, more accurately thought of as “tar sands”. But Chevron has announced a $60 million deal to develop these sands. The Motley Fool’s Jack Uldrich speculates on why they are willing to take this big project on:

“The risky venture could ultimately cost tens of billions of dollars and take up to a decade to develop, since the tar in the oil sands isn’t easily converted to usable oil. But Chevron may have a very tiny ace up its sleeve, thanks to its involvement with nanotechnology…

“Chevron’s work in creating new nanoparticles offers the greatest promise. If the company can produce new nanoparticles with unique catalytic capabilities, it may be able to more effectively and efficiently refine the thick, gooey tar-sands into highly refined — and profitable –oil.

“Headwaters (NYSE: HW) is already developing nanocatalysts to convert heavy oils into higher-yield oils, and I have reason to believe that Chevron is doing the same. If the company succeeds, these powerful new nanocatalysts could make extracting oil from the tar sands profitable, even at prices lower than $35 a barrel. And if oil prices stay high, a cheaper extraction process will only bolster Chevron’s profit margins. It’s yet another small solution to a potentially big risk.”

The use of nanoparticles as catalysts to make the oil sands more productive, is just one timely synergy of technological development. There will be many more, that improve both the economy and the environment. The key is for the active members of society to think like problem solvers, rather than doomsayers.