Effects ts of Dilute ted B d Bitume men o on t the E Environ - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Effects ts of Dilute ted B d Bitume men o

• n t

the E Environ ironme ment: t: A Comp

• mpara

rative Stu Study Commi mmitte ttee M Meetin ing

Th The e Beckman an C Center of the Nat atio ional A al Acad ademie ies

May y 4, 2015 4, 2015

• Dr. T

Tim N Nedwed ( d (ExxonM nMobi bil)

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Outline ine

• Background
• Oil sands of Alberta
• Oil spill prevention
• Oil Sands-Derived Crude Oil

(OSDC) Spill Behavior

• API Study Comparing OSDC to

Heavy Crudes

• Oil Spill Response Options
• Key to OSR for any spill

including OSDC is rapid detection and response

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Oil il Sa Sand nds of

• f Alb

Albert rta

• Third largest proven petroleum reserves in the world
• Oil sands bitumen is biodegraded conventional crude
• il
• Conventional crude oil migrated close to the earth’s

surface allowing biodegradation that increased its viscosity and density

• Oil sands bitumen is treated to allow transport by

pipeline to refineries

• Oil sands derived crudes have physical properties

similar to those of traditional heavy crude oils

• Crude oils derived from these oil sands have been

refined in North American refineries for decades

• Oil sands production could rise from 1.3 M barrels a

day to 3.7 M to 5.4 M barrels a day over next 20 yrs

• Next-generation technologies improving production

efficiency, reducing environmental footprint

• Economic and energy security benefits for both Canada

and the U.S. through jobs and nearby, reliable supply

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Oil Spill P ll Preve vention tion

• Along with safety, oil spill prevention will

always be industry’s top priority

• Oil sands-derived crudes (OSDC) can be

transported through the same equipment used for other crudes

• Unfounded speculation that oil sands

products have increased likelihood of spills

• A National Academy of Science (2013) study

showed that OSDC do not increase the risk of pipeline failures

• “NAS committee does not find any causes of

pipeline failure unique to the transportation of diluted bitumen”

• “NAS committee does not find evidence of

chemical or physical properties of diluted bitumen that are outside the range of other crude oils”

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OS OSDC DC Spill ll Behavi avior

• r
• OSDC do not immediately sink

in fresh/marine water

• All OSDC transmitted by

pipeline will float when fresh

• Sinking can be an issue with

all oil spills

• Sinking will depend on many

variables

• For any spill, speed is the key

to response!

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Initial Behavior of OSDC Spills

• Oil sands will not separate into bitumen and diluent
• Spilled oil (crude or fuel) will immediately begin to weather
• Fuel oils may weather more slowly than OSDC
• Crudes may weather faster or slower
• OSDC tend to weather to become near the density of fresh water
• Densities for heavy petroleum products (such as slurry oils, No. 6

fuel oils, Bunker C) can be as low as an API gravity of 5

OS OSDC DC Spill ll Behavi avior

• r

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API S Study C dy Compa paring O OSDC DC to Heavy C vy Crude des

API commissioned study (2012) to compare physical properties of two conventional heavy crude oils with three oil sands-derived crude oils Findings:

• Three OSDC tested generally evaporated more

quickly than the conventional heavy crude oils

• All oils tested formed unstable emulsions
• 5 days in a circulating weathering flume
• No oil sank in sediment-free saltwater
• Two OSDC and both crude samples floated in

sediment-free freshwater

• Only part of the third OSDC sample sank
• 27% in the warm fresh water
• 8% in the cold fresh water
• The viscosities of the OSDC samples increased

faster and ended higher than the heavy crudes samples

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API S Study C dy Compa paring O OSDC DC to Heavy C vy Crude des

Findings:

• River simulating flume
• No difference in the behavior of the fresh un-evaporated oils ―

no sinking observed

• Differences were noted with the evaporated oils
• Portion of one of the OSDC samples submerged and rolled
• n the bottom
• The other OSDC and heavy crude sample behaved similarly

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Oil Spill R ll Respon

• nse Options

ions

• Conventional response options can be used on oil sands-derived

crudes (OSDC) because fresh OSDC are similar to heavy conventional crude and fuel oils

• Detection of Sunken Oil
• Sinking is not unique to OSDC
• Detection is a challenge
• A variety of techniques are available
• Recovery of Sunken Oil at the Bottom of a Water Body
• Systems are available
• Slow process

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Conclu

• nclusion
• ns
• OSDC are heavy crude oils with physical characteristics similar to

conventional heavy crude and heavy fuel oils

• Conventional oil spill response techniques can be used while oil is

buoyant

• Like all oils, OSDC have the potential to become near neutrally

buoyant after weathering

• Suspended sediment can attach to any oil and cause it settle to the

bottom

• Sunken oil adds an additional level of complexity for response
• Knowledge of how any oil behaves when spilled will help in

developing realistic and robust oil spill contingency plans Rapid pid re respo ponse is is crit ritic ical t l to re redu duce t the e enviro ronmental imp mpacts ts f from

• m

any s spill, pill, and d spills pills o

• f oil

il sands ds-der erived ed crud udes a are no no different nt

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Subsea Dispersants – D3

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Out utlo look for k for Ene Energ rgy

• Most of the world’s energy comes from hydrocarbons
• Global energy demand seen rising about 35 percent from 2010 to 2040
• Growth in all sources of energy are needed to meet this demand
• Development of Alberta oil sands in a thoughtful and responsible way

will ensure industry meets global energy demands now and in the future