Oil Transportation and Fracking

1. Bryson Savard Devan Sharma Sereena Rambaran Zach Adams Oil Transportation and Fracking

2. Crude Oil • Also called petroleum , it is a natural mineral made mostly of hydrocarbons • It makes up 38% of the world’s energy • Oil refineries split it into more useful substances such as gasoline, kerosene and bitumen (oil sands) • The oil can be transported by railway as well as by pipeline • Fracking is the removal of crude oil from the ground http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

3. Tank Cars • The DOT-111 (or CTC-111A in Canada) is the most common tank car used in North America • Others used are the DOT-112 and DOT-114 • Minimum plate thickness of 11.1 mm. • Max capacity of 131,000 L.

4. Regulations • Since 1979, DOT-112 or DOT-114 cars must be used for the transportation of gases such as propane, butane, or vinyl chloride. • DOT-111 tank cars “are not considered to provide the same degree of derailment protection against loss of product as the classification 112 and 114 cars, designed to carry flammable gases." • The Class 111 is still used for crude oil as it is largely not a gaseous product at standard temperature and pressure • It is also not required for railway operators to inform municipalities about any hazardous goods in transit.

5. Roughly 92,000 DOT-111 cars are used today in the transport of flammable liquids, with only around 14,000 of them built to latest industry standards • It is estimated that the cost to retrofit all cars to industry standard would be around one billion dollars

6. Pros • Easier to move oil to refineries • In a competitive market, it is the easier method of transport

7. Cons • Travels above ground through communities • Possibility of derailment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVI6r7tQVeo

8. Railway Transportation • The use of railways for oil transportation has become increasingly popular • In 2009, five hundred carloads were transported • This year it has grown to six hundred leading to about two hundred and thirty thousand barrels per day

9. Lac-Mégantic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93T7fnwU6js • On July 6, 2013, a 73-car oil transport train derailed in the city of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec • It caused a fire and explosion killing forty-two people with five missing and presumed dead • The blast had an estimated one kilometer radius • The accident was the fourth deadliest in Canadian history • The train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic was unmanned and had rolled down a hill, picking up speed before derailing

10. Pipelines • Pipeline transport is the transportation of crude oil by pipeline • There are 5.9 million kilometers of gas pipelines in the world • Fifty-seven thousand kilometers are in North America • They were developed around the end of the nineteenth century

11. Keystone XL Expansion Project • It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in the US in: • Steele City • Nebraska • Wood River • Patoka, Illinois • Gulf Coast in Texas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Pipeline

12. Pipeline Pros • Pipelines can be built around areas inhabited by people as well as bodies of water to avoid contamination • Pipelines can be built with extra safety precautions • The XL expansion project will be ensure that the pipeline is monitored 24 hours a day, buried 4 – 25+ feet deep and built with high strength steel for durability along with a fusion bonded epoxy coating with cathodic protection to prevent corrosion http://blog.zintro.com/2012/01/16/keystone-xl-pipeline-pros-and-cons/

13. Pipeline Cons • A buried pipe’s vibrations and potential heat may interfere with the temperature that the surrounding organisms need to be very precise • Pumping stations are needed every so often along the route of the pipeline http://blog.zintro.com/2012/01/16/keystone-xl-pipeline-pros-and-cons/

14. HYDRAULIC FRACKING

15. History of Fracking • First used rock fracturing methods to extract oil in the 1860s • Floyd Harris began research in 1947, improved on previous methods. • J.B Clark improved on his research and in 1949 his company acquired a patent for the process( Halliburn Oil Well and Cementing Company)

16. Many different types of sandstone and limestone were drilled in to • 1976 companies began fracking shale deposits • Was found to be the most economical source • US Canada and China are using shale gas

17. Protests • Companies are trying to explore land that belongs to the First Nations • Large public protest in Rexton • There is anti-fracking propaganda all over surrounding areas • David Alward revealed his support for fracking in an interview after this went down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gt7kBfDx5s

18. The Process of Fracking • The main goal of fracking is to extract gas which is entrapped inside shale rocks deep beneath the earth. • First, a deep hole is drilled far beneath the drinking water pool to the shale rocks. • Next, a pipe is placed through the hole. • A mix of water, sand, and various chemicals is pumped into the well at high pressure in order to create fissures in the shale through which the gas can escape. • Natural gas escapes through the fissures and is drawn back up the well to the surface, where it is processed, refined, and shipped to market

19. Benefits of Fracking • Economic growth. • Causes less air pollution • Carbon emissions have been slowly declining • Carbon plants are much less expensive than natural gas plants • Can supply the earth with hundreds of years of clean energy.

20. Cons of Fracking • 600 different known chemicals including radium and methane • 35%-50% never recovered • 40000 gallons of chemicals are used per well • Methane concentrations 17x higher near wells

21. More Cons • Know to cause small earthquakes • Water pollution • Causes pollution to go into the air and effect our ozone • This contamination has already been linked to 1000s of documented cases

22. Opinions Devan Bryson

23. Summary • Crude oil is a big part of our world • Our methods of extraction can have befits as well as harmful aspects • Our transportation systems, though efficient, are not always good for the environment