Unconventional fossil fuels

Question 1

Name four unconventional fossil fuels

Answer 1

• Tar sands
• Oil shale
• Shale gas
• Deep water oil

Question 2

What are the ingredients and extraction process of tar sands?

Answer 2

Clay, sand, bitumen and water

Mining and processing

Question 3

What are the ingredients and extraction process of oil shale?

Answer 3

Bituminous material, silt and organic matter

Mining and high temperatures

Question 4

What are the extraction process of shale gas?

Answer 4

Hydraulic fracking

Question 5

What are the extraction process of deep water oil?

Answer 5

Underwater drilling and extraction

Question 6

What are the socio-economic issues of tar sands?

Answer 6

2015 depression of oil prices as bitumen is expensive to extract

Question 7

What are the socio-economic issues of shale gas?

Answer 7

• Industrial explosions
• Workers at high risk of disease
• Carcinogenic

Question 8

What are the socio-economic issues of deep water oil?

Answer 8

• Storage and off-loading ships cost $2bn each

- Hard to access and so helicopters required

Question 9

What are the environmental issues of tar sands?

Answer 9

• Alberta; 220sqkm of unlined toxic waste pools

- Greenhouse gas emissions

Question 10

What are the environmental issues of oil shale?

Answer 10

• Over 1 tonne of waste rock per barrel

- Two barrels of water needed per barrel of oil

Question 11

What are the environmental issues of shale gas?

Answer 11

Contamination of ground water by chemicals in pumping fluids as well as greenhouse gas emissions

Question 12

What are the environmental issues of deep water oil?

Answer 12

Leakages and spills

Question 13

What are the significant locations of tar sands?

Answer 13

Canada and Venezuela

Question 14

What are the significant locations of oil shale?

Answer 14

Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

Question 15

What are the significant locations of shale gas?

Answer 15

New York, Texas and West Virginia

Question 16

What are the significant locations of deep water oil?

Answer 16

Brazil and Mexico

Question 17

Tar sands:

• Produce (1)% of Canada’s oil output
• More than (2) barrels of oil in the form of tar sands
• Requires (3) barrels of water per barrel of oil

Answer 17

1 - 40
2 - 2 trillion
3 - 7

Question 18

How does Royal Dutch Shell try to prevent the leak of kerogen in oil shale productions?

Answer 18

Heats the shale underground in a freeze wall

Question 19

Shale gas produced (1)% of the USA’s gas in 2015

Answer 19

Nearly 25

Question 20

Deep water oil:

• Brazil’s operations invested in by (1)
• Plants are (2)km offshore
• Drill a depth of (3)

Answer 20

1 - China
2 - 200-300
3 - 2km