Lesson 12: Unconventional Fossil Fuels Flashcards
What are tar sands?
Also known as oil sands. Naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water and a dense viscous form of petroleum called bitumen
What % of tar sands does Canada have?
73%
What is oil shale?
Deposits of organic compounds called kerogen in sedimentary rocks that have not undergone sufficient pressure, heat or time to become conventional oil
What % of oil shale does the USA have?
77%
What is shale gas?
Usually methane in coal seams, or natural gas trapped in fractures and pores of sandstones and shales
What is deepwater oil?
Accessible reserves (e.g. North Sea oil) run out, prospecting companies have to look into deeper ocean waters with greater risks and costs
Where is deepwater drilling occuring
Gulf of Mexico and Brazil’s off-shore reserves
Define peak oil
When oil production will reach a global peak, before declining sharply
What is predicted to be the most used fossil fuel by 2030?
Unconventional gas
How many barrels of unconventional gas will there be by 2030?
10 million barrels (equivalent) per day
Where is deepwater drilling occurring?
200-300km off the coast of Brazil
Where are specific location of deepwater drilling in Brazil?
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
Which state company has developed these oil rigs?
Petrobras
How deep is drilling going down?
2000m below the surface of the water and thousands below the sea bed
How much do the special fleet of storage and offloading ships cost?
US$2 billion each
How much do investments in deepwater drilling amount to?
2014-2018 reached $221billion
How many barrels a day would Petronas produce from drilling?
500,000 barrels of oil
What are the social benefits?
More jobs
More energy secure in Brazil
Improved standards of living for people
What are the economic benefits?
Income from the exports of oil
Brazil is catching up with world’s leading economies
Greatest stock valuation
Implications to the environment from deepwater drilling
-Polluted sea water - to dirty to swim in
-Landscape is being scarred by the petrochemical oil stations
-Marine wildlife is under threat which is having a knock-on effect to biodiversity loss and food security
-Contribution to climate change and pollution of the atmosphere
Where is shale gas being extracted from in the US?
New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia
How is shale gas extracted?
-Drilling vertically down into the rock more than 1 km below the surface
-liquid solution made to force fissures and lines of weakness apart in order to free the trapped shale gas
What % of US gas did shale increase by between 2000 and 2015
1-25%
What are the economic benefits of shale gas?
-Reduces the need for imports
-Increases energy security
-Use as energy exporter
In 2017 how many barrels of shale gas in surplus were exported?
1 million barrels
Implications to the environment from shale gas
-Contamination of water supplies by the chemicals
-Produces airborne pollutants such as methane and sulphur dioxide
-Large amounts of water are consumed
How much water is used for each gas well in New York?
20,000 cubic metres
Where are tar sands extracted from in Canada?
Alberta
How are tar sands extracted?
Open cast mining
Material is crushed and mixed with water and bitumen separated before use
What companies are involved in tar sands?
Syncrude, Shell, ExxonMobil, BP
Which environmental group called for an end to tar sand extraction?
Greenpeace
A what cost is tar sands viable?
$40 a barrel
How much does it cost to extract bitumen from tar sands?
$10-12 a barrel
What is the cost of conventional oil extraction?
$2 a barrel
How many barrels of conventional oil does it take to produce how many barrels of oil form tar sands?
1 barrel conventional oil
Produces 3 barrels from tar sands
How many barrels of water for 1 barrel of oil in tar sands?
2-5 barrels
How much toxic waste is produced from tar sands every day?
1.8 million tonnes
How much of Alberta’s taiga forest has been removed?
470km squared
What % of North America’s oil needs could tar sands meet by 2030?
16%
What is the impact on local communities from tar sands extraction?
- New jobs
- Disruption to traditional way of life for indigenous people
-Gambling, substance abuse and crime have increased - Housing crisis - many workers shipped in
- Energy security
What % of forest have company Syncrude claimed to have replanted? What is more likely the real figure?
12%
Less than 1%
Where in the UK is a nuclear power plant being built?
Hinkley Point
What is the cost of the nuclear power plant in the UK?
£18 billion
How many years will the power plant provide energy for? How many jobs will it provide?
60 years
25 000 jobs
What is the wind power project located off the coast of Yorkshire called?
Hornsea Project 1
How high are the wind turbines?
190m high
How many homes will the wind farm provide for?
1 million homes in 2020
How many construction jobs will the wind farm provide?
2000
Where is a solar power farm located in Bournemouth?
Chapel Lane Solar Farm, Christchurch
How much did the solar farm cost?
£50 million
How many households does this solar farm provide for?
60 000 or 75% of Bournemouth
What % of UK energy is imported?
60%
