The Energy Information Administration (EIA), an agency of the Department of Ener
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Question
The Energy Information Administration (EIA), an agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), has a website that is filled with information. Check out the site at www.eia.gov .
Starting on the homepage, find the search bar to enter ?Energy Basics 101? onhttp://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=us_energy_home and explore that page. Using the information on that page, do the following:
1) Primary U.S. Energy Sources
Construct a table in a text document listing the U.S. primary energy sources. For each source, list the amount of energy consumed in quads (quadrillion Btu = 10^15 Btu). Tally the list to obtain the total energy consumed by the U.S.
2) Petroleum Consumption and Foreign Sources
Where does the U.S. petroleum consumed each day come from? The EIA publishes the Annual Energy Review, a compendium of energy information.http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pdf/aer.pdf
Visit the site and use the data in figure 5.4 to make a list of the six largest foreign suppliers of petroleum (as of 2011), along with the daily amounts they provide. Using the daily U.S. consumption rate of 19.2 million barrels per day (MBD), determine the percentage of the U.S. consumption that is provided by each of the foreign supplier. Provide your answer in a tabular form, but do not use an Excel file when submitting your answers to this question. Use a Word file.
3) Tar sands and shale are often mentioned as non-conventional sources of oil and natural gas that will be available to extend the use of fossil fuels into the future. Find out what these substances are, where they are located in abundance and how oil and gas are extracted from them. Write a brief paragraph or two on each. Include comments about concerns regarding economical and environmental issues in obtaining oil and gas from these substances.
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Note: Two articles by and about Daniel Yergin are listed in the Table of Contents of this Session. Yergin does not accept the assertions about "peak oil," also known as Hubbert's Peak. Please read them. If you wish to post a comment about the contents of the articles or about Hubbert's Peak, please go to the Discussion Board and find the blog on Yergin and Hubbert's Peak. Enter your comment there.
Additional Note: Another entry in the Table of Contents of this session is about a book by Amory Lovins, Reinventing Fire. Lovins shows data that is more in line with Hubbert's prediction of a peak. If you wish to post a comment about Lovins' ideas, please go to the Discussion Board and find the blog on Lovins and Reinventing Fire. Enter your comment there.
Explanation / Answer
Tar sands : These are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil.
Tar sands deposits: The largest deposits in the world are found in Canada (Alberta) and Venezuela, and rest is found in various countries in the Middle East
Extraction of oil and gas from Tar Sands: Tar sands deposits are extracted by using large hydraulic and electrically powered shovels to dig up tar sands and load them into enormous trucks. After mining, the tar sands are transported to an extraction plant, where a hot water process separates the bitumen from sand, water, and minerals. Further processing removes residual water and solids. The bitumen is then transported and eventually upgraded into synthetic crude oil.
About two tons of tar sands are required to produce one barrel of oil. Roughly 75% of the bitumen can be recovered from sand. After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine.
Environmental Impacts: Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, disturbance of mined land; impacts on wildlife and air and water quality.
Oil Shale: These are sedimentary rocks that contains solid bituminous materials (called kerogen).
Oil Shale Deposits: These are found in the United States in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
Extraction of oil and gas from Oil Shales: Oil shale can be mined using one of two methods: underground mining or surface mining. After mining, the oil shale is retorted in which a heating process takes place that separates the oil fractions of oil shale from the mineral fraction. After retorting, the oil is upgraded by further processing and the spent shale is disposed of in surface impoundments, or as fill in graded areas.
Environmental Impacts: Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, disturbance of mined land, disposal of spent shale, use of water resources, and impacts on air and water quality
US energy consumption by energy source Source Energy consumption in % Energy consumption in quadrillion Btu Petroleum 35% 34.405 Natural Gas 28% 27.524 Coal 18% 17.694 Nuclear Electric Power 8% 7.864 Renewable energy 10% 9.83 Total 99% 97.317 Supplier Thousands barrels per day Percentage of the U.S. consumption that is provided by each of the foreign supplier Canada 2706 14.09375 Saudi Arabia 1195 6.223958333 Venezuela 944 4.916666667 Nigeria 817 4.255208333 Russia 621 3.234375 Iraq 460 2.395833333Related Questions
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