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CNOOC Limited—China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world—is acquiring all of the Common Shares of Canada-based energy company Nexen Inc. billion cash. The price represents a premium of.
Canadian researchers have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen from oilsands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oilsands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in Canada and Venezuela. Proton Technologies is commercializing the process.
Researchers at the University of Calgary are developing ultra-dispersed (UD) nanocatalysts for the in situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen from deep reservoirs. One of the challenges of such an approach is the placement of the catalyst deep into the heavy oil plume by transporting a catalyst suspension through the sand medium.
Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas emissions for in situ SAGD and surface mining pathways generated employing GHOST/TIAX/ GHGenius combination and comparison with SAGD, mining and conventional crude oil literature pathways (all results are on a HHV basis). 74% of WTW emissions in our oilsands pathways. Click to enlarge.
University of Saskatchewan geoscientist Lee Barbour has been awarded a $2.6-million Syncrude will provide half the funding for Barbour’s Chair in Hydrogeological Characterization of OilSands Mine Closure Landforms, investing more than $1.3-million million over the five-year research project, with another $1.3-million
The majority (62%) of the plantations were located on the island of Sumatra, and more than two-thirds (69%) of all industrial plantations were developed for oil palm cultivation, with the remainder mostly being Acacia plantations for paper pulp production. Earlier post.).
A team at the University of Calgary (Canada) has compared the energy intensities and lifecycle GHG emissions of unconventional oils (oilsands and oil shale) alongside shale gas, coal, lignite, wood and conventional oil and gas. Earlier post.).
In a paper published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , Stanford University assistant professor Adam Brandt reviews a number of recent life cycle assessment (LCA) studies calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oilsands extraction, upgrading, and refining pathways—the results of which vary considerably.
has secured what it calls a critical patent for its innovative technology which recovers hydrocarbon diluents (solvents) from oilsands tailings. Heavy minerals exist in Alberta’s oilsands in minor quantities. Peng of the University of Saskatchewan. Titanium Corporation Inc. Earlier post.).
Bitumen production from the Canadian oilsands provides a point of reference that could be used to observe and better manage the land and water impacts of a rapid transition to unconventional fuels, suggests Dr. Sarah Jordaan of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.
The carbon intensity (CI) of Alberta oilsands production has significantly decreased over the last 40 years, according to a new study by a team from Stanford University published as an open access paper in the journal Environmental Research Letters. In situ production began in 1974, so no value is computable for 1970.
Examples of emerging oilsands related technologies and trade-offs. The paper is an examination of how various choices about the scale of the life cycle analysis applied to oilsands (i.e., The source material is neither oil nor tar but bitumen, but is most generally described as an example of ultraheavy oil.”.
The width of the pipeline network (green lines) is proportional to CO 2 flow; the largest CO 2 flow is approximately 36 MtCO 2 / yr for the $155/tCO 2 scenario (pipeline leaving the Athabasca oilsands area). The Alberta oilsands industry is expected to rapidly expand in coming decades; production could double or more in the next 10?15
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC)—the country’s national academy of the arts, humanities and sciences—has released an expert panel report on the environmental and health impacts of the Canadian oilsands industry. Impacts of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Impacts of contaminants on downstream residents.
the developer of a process for harvesting algae and cleaning up oil & gas water, announced that its second original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) agreement will target oil service companies in the Canadian oilsands market. LH was an early private investor in Athabasca Oil Corporation. OriginOil, Inc.,
The University of Alberta and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres signed a memorandum of understanding that will create a five-year agreement, the Helmholtz Alberta Initiative (HAI). The goal of the initiative is to transform oilsands production processes by developing technologies that address sustainability challenges.
A team from the University of Plymouth (UK) and Environment Canada has identified, for the first time, individual soluble naphthenic acids (NA) in the process water resulting from the oilsands industry in Canada. Frank (2011) Diamonds in the Rough: Identification of Individual Naphthenic Acids in OilSands Process Water.
Proposed anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation pathways in oilsands tailings. The researchers now report that higher molecular weight n -alkanes (C 14 , C 16 , and C 18 ) are also degraded under methanogenic conditions in oilsands tailings, albeit after a lengthy lag (180 days) before the onset of methanogenesis.
This C$11,584,423 project , led by Dr. Gerrit Voordouw at the University of Calgary, will sample and explore the biological processes at work in oil wells, oilssands, tailings ponds, and coal beds. Genome Alberta announced C$25.2 million (US$22.2 Metagenomics for Greener Production and Extraction of Hydrocarbon Energy.
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline for transporting oilsands-derived crude to Gulf Coast refineries would have “ no material impact ” on US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a new Insight report by IHS CERA. This indicates that oilsands can grow using rail; it is already happening. Earlier post.). Earlier post.).
GE is partnering with the University of Alberta (UA) and Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) on a $4 million CO 2 capture project supported by the Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation. The technology is based on naturally occurring zeolites identified by UA.
In a new, comprehensive study, a team from Argonne National Laboratory, Stanford University and UC Davis ITS has estimated the well-to-wheels (WTW) GHG emissions of US production of gasoline and diesel sourced from Canadian oilsands. g CO 2 e/MJ for US conventional crude oil recovery. This range can be compared to ∼4.4
Results of a Rice University laboratory study suggests that using foam may maximize enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Oil resides in formations of rock and sand in small cracks and crevices that have proved devilishly difficult to tap. Foam dislodged all but 25.1%
A research team led by The University of Texas at Austin has been awarded approximately $58 million to analyze methane hydrate deposits under the Gulf of Mexico. Methane hydrate—natural gas trapped in an ice-like cage of water molecules—occurs in both terrestrial and marine environments.
Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are using membrane distillation technology to enable drillers to filter and reuse the produced water in the oil and gas industry, in agriculture, and other beneficial uses. Shamlou, Elmira & Vidic, Radisav & Khanna, Vikas. Desalination. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2021.115513.
After a critical review of the literature on the air impacts of increased natural gas acquisition, processing, and use, a team of US researchers has determined that that actual measurement data on various individual segments of the natural gas life cycle are sparse or critically lacking. jobs vs environmental stewardship).
Oil and gas operations in the United States produce about 21 billion barrels of wastewater per year, with accompanying disposal costs of about $5 billion per year. Fracking refers to the process of injecting a slurry of water, sand and chemicals into wells to increase the amount of oil and natural gas produced by the well.
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected 11 research projects that will help find ways to extract more energy from unconventional oil and gas resources while reducing environmental risks for awards totalling $12.4 The selections include $10.3 The selections include $10.3
A University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters. Water from mining of oilsands and oil shale.
GOS is exclusively focused on large-scale mining and processing of the world’s kerogen rich oil shale deposits to oil, with potential for add-on electricity production and associated minerals extraction. Lifecycle GHG for oil shale. Initial oil shale projects for the collaboration include GOS’ 2.18 Earlier post.).
Researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have determined that biochar, a substance produced from plant matter, is a safe, effective and inexpensive method to treat flowback water following hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. —Maoqi Feng, SwRI.
Estimated inventories of methane emissions from the natural gas production sector, excluding processing and transmission. A team of researchers from UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering and environmental testing firms URS and Aerodyne Research completed measurements at 190 natural gas production sites across the United States.
Comparison of GHGenius, JACOBS, TIAX, and the new PRELIM gasoline greenhouse gas (GHG) estimates using base case estimates and variations from the scenario analysis. Researchers at the University of Calgary (Canada) have developed the Petroleum Refinery Life-cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM). Credit: ACS, Abella and Bergerson.
The authors are Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies & Columbia University Earth Institute (GISS); Charles Kutscher from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Edward Mazria from 2030 Inc./ Architecture 2030.
Peabody Energy and GreatPoint Energy signed an agreement to pursue development of coal-to-gas and coal-to-hydrogen projects in the United States and around the world with carbon capture and storage (CCS) that would achieve near-zero carbon emissions, while increasing the production of stranded oil via enhanced oil recovery.
A team from Stanford University and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has developed a new open-source lifecycle analysis (LCA) tool for modeling the greenhouse gas emissions of oil and gas production using characteristics of specific fields and associated production pathways. —El-Houjeiri et al.
The environmental benefit of a large-scale deployment of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the Canadian province of Alberta could vary significantly, ranging from a 40% to a 90% reduction in greenhouse gases, according to a study by electrical engineers at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering.
Very broadly, they found that an LCFS would buffer the economy against global oil price spikes, trim demand for petroleum, and lessen upward pressure on gas prices. We did not shy away from controversy. We are not advocates.
The surfactant chemicals found in samples of fracking fluid collected in five states were no more toxic than substances commonly found in homes, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. —Thurman et al. —Michael Thurman, lead author.
Geologic storage is currently focused on five types of formations:(1) depleted oil and gas reservoirs, (2) deep saline formations, (3) unmineable coal seams, (4) oil- and gas-rich organic shales, and (5) basalts. Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford, Calif.) Arlington, Va.)
Houston-based Ingrain , a provider of digital rock physics services to oil and gas companies worldwide, is now using a Carl Zeiss SMT AURIGA CrossBeam workstation to improve the analysis of shale rock’s porosity and permeability in order to more accurately predict the shale’s suitability for the commercial extraction of oil or gas.
times as energy intensive to produce as conventional diesel, which restricts the current financial and environmental feasibility of algae production, according to a new life cycle analysis by a team from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford. Currently, algae-derived-biodiesel is up to 2.5 tons/ha/year).
In contrast to arguments that peak conventional oil production is imminent due to physical resource scarcity, a team from Stanford University and UC Santa Cruz has examined the alternative possibility of reduced oil use due to improved efficiency and oil substitution. 2010, to above 140 $/bbl in constant 2010 dollars).
Excelsior Energy Limited plans to test a proprietary in situ combustion bitumen-recovery process (Combustion Overhead Gravity Drainage, COGD) in a pilot project at its Hangingstone oilsands property in Alberta, Canada. Excelsior developed the COGD process in cooperation with Hot-Tec Energy Inc.,
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