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DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS. · MEROX UNIT ISOMERIZATION HYDROCRACKING HYDROTREATING...

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DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS. Conventional oil resources are dwindling while alternative oils in once- unreachable areas are becoming viable. These different oils have different climate impacts. Measuring oils’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through- out the oil supply chain is necessary to design effective strategies to combat climate change. From upstream production to midstream refining to downstream end use, see where oils’ GHG emissions occur. DEBORAH GORDON AND EUGENE TAN GAS CONTENT Oil can be mixed (or associated) with natural gas underground. If infrastructure doesn’t exist on-site to collect and transport methane, the resource must be burned at the surface—a process called flaring— releasing GHGs. Associated gas that’s not burned may be released into the atmosphere, or vented, also emitting GHGs. WATER CONTENT The ratio of water to oil in reservoirs increases as they age and become depleted. Water is also introduced into reservoirs through injection to maintain pressure and increase oil recovery. The more water, the heavier each barrel of oil extracted is, the more energy it takes to lift the resources out of the ground, and the more GHGs are produced. Separating oil from water, gas, and other impurities can require significant energy inputs. Upgrading heavier oils to remove excess carbon or diluting them for transport to refineries produces emissions. The gassier, waterier, or heavier the oil, the greater the impact on the climate. After extraction, crude oils are transported to refineries. The energy needed to move these resources and GHGs emitted vary with distance traveled and modes used (including pipelines, ocean tankers, trains, trucks, and barges). Producing oil by extracting it from the ground with techniques like drilling, pumping, fracking, mining, or injecting substances consumes fuel and disrupts land use. Each extraction technique has different impacts on the climate, and the effects depend on a range of factors.* EXPLORATION EXTRACTION SURFACE PROCESSING TRANSPORTATION TO THE REFINERY The clearing of land for seismic surveys, the operation of survey equipment, the drilling of exploratory wells, and leaks of fugitive emissions during drilling operations are all aspects of petroleum exploration that produce emissions. Exploration in extreme environments has greater climate impacts than conventional oil activities. STATE OF FEEDSTOCK Conventional oil is a liquid, but unconventional oil can be found naturally in a semi-solid, solid, or highly gaseous form, such as oil sands, kerogen oil shale, or conden- sates. These resources may have to be mined, heated, injected with steam, or otherwise treated to be extracted. These processes require large amounts of energy and result in GHG emissions from leakage. LAND USE Changes in land use that occur during the extraction process can disrupt landscapes that sequester carbon, like forests and permafrost. This releases carbon into the atmo- sphere and reduces the earth’s natural sequestration capacity. OIL FIELD AGE An oil field’s conditions tend to change as the field ages and as its time under active production increases. To produce oil from aging fields, different techniques with different energy requirements (like water flooding, enhanced oil recov- ery, and bitumen removal) are used to artificially lift oil, inject fluid and gas into a field, or employ steam to assist in recovery. UPSTREAM Source: Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) version 1.1 draft D, pangea.stanford.edu/researchgroups/eao/research/opgee-oil-production-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator 0.010 PIPELINE 0.003 OCEAN TANKER 0.02 TRAIN 0.042 BARGE TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of crude oil transported) *More factors than are listed have a climate impact.
Transcript
Page 1: DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS. · MEROX UNIT ISOMERIZATION HYDROCRACKING HYDROTREATING HYDROTREATING ALKYLATION DELAYED COKING OR HYDROCRACKING FLUID CATALYTIC CRACKING

M I D S T R E AM

P R O D U C T C O M B U S T I O N — G R E E N H O U S E G A S E M I S S I O N S

DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS.

Conventional oil resources are dwindling while alternative oils in once-unreachable areas are becoming viable. These di�erent oils have di�erent climate impacts. Measuring oils’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through-out the oil supply chain is necessary to design e�ective strategies to combat climate change. From upstream production to midstream refining to downstream end use, see where oils’ GHG emissions occur.

D E B O R A H G O R D O N A N D E U G E N E T A N

GAS CONTENTOil can be mixed (or associated) with natural gas underground. If infrastructure doesn’t exist on-site to collect and transport methane, the resource must be burned at the surface—a process called flaring—releasing GHGs. Associated gas that’s not burned may be releasedinto the atmosphere, or vented, also emitting GHGs.

WATER CONTENTThe ratio of water to oil in reservoirs increases as they age and become depleted. Water is also introduced into reservoirs through injection to maintain pressure and increase oil recovery. The more water, the heavier each barrel of oil extracted is, the more energy it takes to lift the resources out of the ground, and the more GHGs are produced.

Separating oil from water, gas, and other impurities can require significant energy inputs. Upgrading heavier oils to remove excess carbon or diluting them for transport to refineries produces emissions. The gassier, waterier, or heavier the oil, the greater the impact on the climate.

After extraction, crude oils are transported to refineries. The energy needed to move these resources and GHGs emitted vary with distance traveled and modes used (including pipelines, ocean tankers, trains, trucks, and barges).

Producing oil by extracting it from the ground with techniques like drilling, pumping, fracking, mining, or injecting substances consumes fuel and disrupts land use. Each extraction technique has di�erent impacts on the climate, and the e�ects depend on a range of factors.*

E X P L O R A T I O N

E X T R A C T I O N

R E F I N I N G

S U R F A C E P R O C E S S I N G

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O T H E R E F I N E R Y

The clearing of land for seismic surveys, the operation of survey equipment, the drilling of exploratory wells, and leaks of fugitive emissions during drilling operations are all aspects of petroleum exploration that produce emissions. Exploration in extreme environments has greater climate impacts than conventional oil activities.

Crude oil must be transformed into marketable petroleum products using energy to separate and rearrange intermediary hydrogen and carbon components. Di�erent amounts of heat, steam, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, refinery fuel gas, and other energy inputs are needed for these processes, resulting in varying amounts of GHG emissions.

Petroleum products are used upstream, midstream, and downstream in the oil supply chain or marketed to di�erent consumers. Combusted petroleum products release varying amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere. The heaviest, residual, bottom-of-the-barrel products emit the most GHGs when burned. Products that are not combusted or vented do not produce GHG emissions.

DESALTER

HYDROTREATING

MEROX UNIT

ISOMERIZATION

HYDROCRACKING

HYDROTREATING

HYDROTREATING

ALKYLATION

DELAYEDCOKING OR

HYDROCRACKING

FLUID CATALYTICCRACKING

CATALYTIC REFORMING

Some residuals move on to further processing in a vacuum distillation unit.

Some very heavy residuals move on to a delayed coking or hydrocracking unit.

AT

MO

SPH

ERIC

DIS

TIL

LAT

ION

UN

ITV

AC

UU

MD

IST

ILLA

TIO

N U

NIT

CRUDE

HY

DRO

SKIM

MIN

G

MED

IUM

CO

NV

ERSION

DEEP C

ON

VERSIO

N

Di�erent types of oil require di�erent refining techniques, including hydroskimming, medium conversion, and deep conversion. Heavier oils generally require more energy-intensive deep conversion refining; lighter oils use less energy-intensive hydroskimming.

R

R

R

H2

RFG

RFG

0HYDROGENPETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKASPHALT

205REFINERY FUEL GAS

(in kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel)

370GASOLINE

411JET FUEL

430DIESEL

475HEAVY FUEL OIL(BUNKER C)

645COKE

462HEATING FUEL OIL

LIGHTER PRODUCTS MEDIUM PRODUCTS HEAVIER PRODUCTS

HYDROGEN

The lightest of all gases is converted into petrochemical feedstock, used in the refining process for heavier oils to turn them into products, or sold as an industrial by-product.

REFINERY FUEL GAS

A wide range of gases like ethane, propane, and butane that can either be used for fuel in refineries or other commercial applications, or sold as petrochemical feedstock.

GASOLINE

A complex mixture of top-of-the-barrel, light, volatile hydrocarbons used primarily in motor vehicles with spark-ignition engines.

JET FUEL

A mixture of a large number of middle distillate hydrocarbons used in aircraft with gas-turbine engines.

DIESEL

A fuel composed of middle-of-the-barrel distillates blended with bottom-of-the-barrel residual oil used in trucks and other compression-ignition engines.

HEAVY FUEL OIL

A general classification for heavier oils that remain after removing middle distillate fuel oils during refining; they are used in maritime vessels (as bunker C), for electric power generation, and for industrial purposes.

COKE

Also known as petroleum coke or petcoke, this residue is low in hydrogen and high in carbon, sulfur, and heavy metals; it is used to generate power and as an industrial process input.

HEATING FUEL OIL

A liquid petroleum product that is heavier than gasoline and diesel and is used primarily for heating and other non-transport purposes.

OTHER RESIDUALS

Residue forms when refining the heaviest oil components and can be used as asphalt for road construction or other industrial purposes.

H2

H2

H2

RFG

RFG

RFG

RFG

To see how these factors impact the GHG emissions of a selection of oils currently in production, read the report Know Your Oil: Creating a Global Oil-Climate Index by

Deborah Gordon, Adam Brandt, Joule Bergerson, and Jonathan Koomey and explore the web tool at OCI.CarnegieEndowment.org

STATE OF FEEDSTOCKConventional oil is a liquid, but unconventional oil can be found naturally in a semi-solid, solid, or highly gaseous form, such as oil sands, kerogen oil shale, or conden-sates. These resources may have to be mined, heated, injected with steam, or otherwise treated to be extracted. These processes require large amounts of energy and result in GHG emissions from leakage.

LAND USEChanges in land use that occur during the extraction process can disrupt landscapes that sequester carbon, like forests and permafrost. This releases carbon into the atmo-sphere and reduces the earth’s natural sequestration capacity.

OIL FIELD AGEAn oil field’s conditions tend to change as the field ages and as its time under active production increases. To produce oil from aging fields, di�erent techniques with di�erent energy requirements (like water flooding, enhanced oil recov-ery, and bitumen removal) are used to artificially lift oil, inject fluid and gas into a field, or employ steam to assist in recovery.

RFG

Petroleum products may have to travel long distances to get to market. Modes of transportation vary depending on product, location, and demand. Trucks and ocean tankers are the most common; trucks and inland water barges require the most energy and produce the highest GHG emissions for each kilogram-kilometer or ton-mile transported.

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of product transported)

0.017PIPELINE

0.005OCEAN TANKER

0.105HEAVY-DUTY

TRUCK

0.030TRAIN

0.042BARGE

Sources: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories,” last modified April 4, 2014, www.epa.gov/climateleadership/documents/emission-factors.pdf

U P S T R E AM

Source: Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) version 1.1 draft D,pangea.stanford.edu/researchgroups/eao/research/opgee-oil-production-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator

DOWN S T R E AM

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O M A R K E T

C O M B U S T I O N A N D E N D U S E

Note: Refinery schematic does not reflect exact nature of refining process units.Source: Petroleum Refinery Life-Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM), version 1.0, www.ucalgary.ca/lcaost/prelim

0.010PIPELINE

0.003OCEAN TANKER 0.02

TRAIN

0.042BARGE

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of crude oil transported)

RFGH2

R

Hydrogen RefineryFuel Gas

Gasoline Diesel Jet Fuel HeatingFuel Oil

HeavyFuel Oil

Coke OtherResiduals

RFG

H2

Source: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM

*More factors than are listed have a climate impact.

Page 2: DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS. · MEROX UNIT ISOMERIZATION HYDROCRACKING HYDROTREATING HYDROTREATING ALKYLATION DELAYED COKING OR HYDROCRACKING FLUID CATALYTIC CRACKING

M I D S T R E AM

P R O D U C T C O M B U S T I O N — G R E E N H O U S E G A S E M I S S I O N S

DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS.

Conventional oil resources are dwindling while alternative oils in once-unreachable areas are becoming viable. These di�erent oils have di�erent climate impacts. Measuring oils’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through-out the oil supply chain is necessary to design e�ective strategies to combat climate change. From upstream production to midstream refining to downstream end use, see where oils’ GHG emissions occur.

D E B O R A H G O R D O N A N D E U G E N E T A N

GAS CONTENTOil can be mixed (or associated) with natural gas underground. If infrastructure doesn’t exist on-site to collect and transport methane, the resource must be burned at the surface—a process called flaring—releasing GHGs. Associated gas that’s not burned may be releasedinto the atmosphere, or vented, also emitting GHGs.

WATER CONTENTThe ratio of water to oil in reservoirs increases as they age and become depleted. Water is also introduced into reservoirs through injection to maintain pressure and increase oil recovery. The more water, the heavier each barrel of oil extracted is, the more energy it takes to lift the resources out of the ground, and the more GHGs are produced.

Separating oil from water, gas, and other impurities can require significant energy inputs. Upgrading heavier oils to remove excess carbon or diluting them for transport to refineries produces emissions. The gassier, waterier, or heavier the oil, the greater the impact on the climate.

After extraction, crude oils are transported to refineries. The energy needed to move these resources and GHGs emitted vary with distance traveled and modes used (including pipelines, ocean tankers, trains, trucks, and barges).

Producing oil by extracting it from the ground with techniques like drilling, pumping, fracking, mining, or injecting substances consumes fuel and disrupts land use. Each extraction technique has di�erent impacts on the climate, and the e�ects depend on a range of factors.*

E X P L O R A T I O N

E X T R A C T I O N

R E F I N I N G

S U R F A C E P R O C E S S I N G

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O T H E R E F I N E R Y

The clearing of land for seismic surveys, the operation of survey equipment, the drilling of exploratory wells, and leaks of fugitive emissions during drilling operations are all aspects of petroleum exploration that produce emissions. Exploration in extreme environments has greater climate impacts than conventional oil activities.

Crude oil must be transformed into marketable petroleum products using energy to separate and rearrange intermediary hydrogen and carbon components. Di�erent amounts of heat, steam, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, refinery fuel gas, and other energy inputs are needed for these processes, resulting in varying amounts of GHG emissions.

Petroleum products are used upstream, midstream, and downstream in the oil supply chain or marketed to di�erent consumers. Combusted petroleum products release varying amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere. The heaviest, residual, bottom-of-the-barrel products emit the most GHGs when burned. Products that are not combusted or vented do not produce GHG emissions.

DESALTER

HYDROTREATING

MEROX UNIT

ISOMERIZATION

HYDROCRACKING

HYDROTREATING

HYDROTREATING

ALKYLATION

DELAYEDCOKING OR

HYDROCRACKING

FLUID CATALYTICCRACKING

CATALYTIC REFORMING

Some residuals move on to further processing in a vacuum distillation unit.

Some very heavy residuals move on to a delayed coking or hydrocracking unit.

AT

MO

SPH

ERIC

DIS

TIL

LAT

ION

UN

ITV

AC

UU

MD

IST

ILLA

TIO

N U

NIT

CRUDE

HY

DRO

SKIM

MIN

G

MED

IUM

CO

NV

ERSION

DEEP C

ON

VERSIO

N

Di�erent types of oil require di�erent refining techniques, including hydroskimming, medium conversion, and deep conversion. Heavier oils generally require more energy-intensive deep conversion refining; lighter oils use less energy-intensive hydroskimming.

R

R

R

H2

RFG

RFG

0HYDROGENPETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKASPHALT

205REFINERY FUEL GAS

(in kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel)

370GASOLINE

411JET FUEL

430DIESEL

475HEAVY FUEL OIL(BUNKER C)

645COKE

462HEATING FUEL OIL

LIGHTER PRODUCTS MEDIUM PRODUCTS HEAVIER PRODUCTS

HYDROGEN

The lightest of all gases is converted into petrochemical feedstock, used in the refining process for heavier oils to turn them into products, or sold as an industrial by-product.

REFINERY FUEL GAS

A wide range of gases like ethane, propane, and butane that can either be used for fuel in refineries or other commercial applications, or sold as petrochemical feedstock.

GASOLINE

A complex mixture of top-of-the-barrel, light, volatile hydrocarbons used primarily in motor vehicles with spark-ignition engines.

JET FUEL

A mixture of a large number of middle distillate hydrocarbons used in aircraft with gas-turbine engines.

DIESEL

A fuel composed of middle-of-the-barrel distillates blended with bottom-of-the-barrel residual oil used in trucks and other compression-ignition engines.

HEAVY FUEL OIL

A general classification for heavier oils that remain after removing middle distillate fuel oils during refining; they are used in maritime vessels (as bunker C), for electric power generation, and for industrial purposes.

COKE

Also known as petroleum coke or petcoke, this residue is low in hydrogen and high in carbon, sulfur, and heavy metals; it is used to generate power and as an industrial process input.

HEATING FUEL OIL

A liquid petroleum product that is heavier than gasoline and diesel and is used primarily for heating and other non-transport purposes.

OTHER RESIDUALS

Residue forms when refining the heaviest oil components and can be used as asphalt for road construction or other industrial purposes.

H2

H2

H2

RFG

RFG

RFG

RFG

To see how these factors impact the GHG emissions of a selection of oils currently in production, read the report Know Your Oil: Creating a Global Oil-Climate Index by

Deborah Gordon, Adam Brandt, Joule Bergerson, and Jonathan Koomey and explore the web tool at OCI.CarnegieEndowment.org

STATE OF FEEDSTOCKConventional oil is a liquid, but unconventional oil can be found naturally in a semi-solid, solid, or highly gaseous form, such as oil sands, kerogen oil shale, or conden-sates. These resources may have to be mined, heated, injected with steam, or otherwise treated to be extracted. These processes require large amounts of energy and result in GHG emissions from leakage.

LAND USEChanges in land use that occur during the extraction process can disrupt landscapes that sequester carbon, like forests and permafrost. This releases carbon into the atmo-sphere and reduces the earth’s natural sequestration capacity.

OIL FIELD AGEAn oil field’s conditions tend to change as the field ages and as its time under active production increases. To produce oil from aging fields, di�erent techniques with di�erent energy requirements (like water flooding, enhanced oil recov-ery, and bitumen removal) are used to artificially lift oil, inject fluid and gas into a field, or employ steam to assist in recovery.

RFG

Petroleum products may have to travel long distances to get to market. Modes of transportation vary depending on product, location, and demand. Trucks and ocean tankers are the most common; trucks and inland water barges require the most energy and produce the highest GHG emissions for each kilogram-kilometer or ton-mile transported.

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of product transported)

0.017PIPELINE

0.005OCEAN TANKER

0.105HEAVY-DUTY

TRUCK

0.030TRAIN

0.042BARGE

Sources: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories,” last modified April 4, 2014, www.epa.gov/climateleadership/documents/emission-factors.pdf

U P S T R E AM

Source: Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) version 1.1 draft D,pangea.stanford.edu/researchgroups/eao/research/opgee-oil-production-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator

DOWN S T R E AM

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O M A R K E T

C O M B U S T I O N A N D E N D U S E

Note: Refinery schematic does not reflect exact nature of refining process units.Source: Petroleum Refinery Life-Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM), version 1.0, www.ucalgary.ca/lcaost/prelim

0.010PIPELINE

0.003OCEAN TANKER 0.02

TRAIN

0.042BARGE

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of crude oil transported)

RFGH2

R

Hydrogen RefineryFuel Gas

Gasoline Diesel Jet Fuel HeatingFuel Oil

HeavyFuel Oil

Coke OtherResiduals

RFG

H2

Source: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM

*More factors than are listed have a climate impact.

Page 3: DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS. · MEROX UNIT ISOMERIZATION HYDROCRACKING HYDROTREATING HYDROTREATING ALKYLATION DELAYED COKING OR HYDROCRACKING FLUID CATALYTIC CRACKING

M I D S T R E AM

P R O D U C T C O M B U S T I O N — G R E E N H O U S E G A S E M I S S I O N S

DIFFERENT OILS. DIFFERENT CLIMATE IMPACTS.

Conventional oil resources are dwindling while alternative oils in once-unreachable areas are becoming viable. These di�erent oils have di�erent climate impacts. Measuring oils’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through-out the oil supply chain is necessary to design e�ective strategies to combat climate change. From upstream production to midstream refining to downstream end use, see where oils’ GHG emissions occur.

D E B O R A H G O R D O N A N D E U G E N E T A N

GAS CONTENTOil can be mixed (or associated) with natural gas underground. If infrastructure doesn’t exist on-site to collect and transport methane, the resource must be burned at the surface—a process called flaring—releasing GHGs. Associated gas that’s not burned may be releasedinto the atmosphere, or vented, also emitting GHGs.

WATER CONTENTThe ratio of water to oil in reservoirs increases as they age and become depleted. Water is also introduced into reservoirs through injection to maintain pressure and increase oil recovery. The more water, the heavier each barrel of oil extracted is, the more energy it takes to lift the resources out of the ground, and the more GHGs are produced.

Separating oil from water, gas, and other impurities can require significant energy inputs. Upgrading heavier oils to remove excess carbon or diluting them for transport to refineries produces emissions. The gassier, waterier, or heavier the oil, the greater the impact on the climate.

After extraction, crude oils are transported to refineries. The energy needed to move these resources and GHGs emitted vary with distance traveled and modes used (including pipelines, ocean tankers, trains, trucks, and barges).

Producing oil by extracting it from the ground with techniques like drilling, pumping, fracking, mining, or injecting substances consumes fuel and disrupts land use. Each extraction technique has di�erent impacts on the climate, and the e�ects depend on a range of factors.*

E X P L O R A T I O N

E X T R A C T I O N

R E F I N I N G

S U R F A C E P R O C E S S I N G

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O T H E R E F I N E R Y

The clearing of land for seismic surveys, the operation of survey equipment, the drilling of exploratory wells, and leaks of fugitive emissions during drilling operations are all aspects of petroleum exploration that produce emissions. Exploration in extreme environments has greater climate impacts than conventional oil activities.

Crude oil must be transformed into marketable petroleum products using energy to separate and rearrange intermediary hydrogen and carbon components. Di�erent amounts of heat, steam, electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, refinery fuel gas, and other energy inputs are needed for these processes, resulting in varying amounts of GHG emissions.

Petroleum products are used upstream, midstream, and downstream in the oil supply chain or marketed to di�erent consumers. Combusted petroleum products release varying amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere. The heaviest, residual, bottom-of-the-barrel products emit the most GHGs when burned. Products that are not combusted or vented do not produce GHG emissions.

DESALTER

HYDROTREATING

MEROX UNIT

ISOMERIZATION

HYDROCRACKING

HYDROTREATING

HYDROTREATING

ALKYLATION

DELAYEDCOKING OR

HYDROCRACKING

FLUID CATALYTICCRACKING

CATALYTIC REFORMING

Some residuals move on to further processing in a vacuum distillation unit.

Some very heavy residuals move on to a delayed coking or hydrocracking unit.

AT

MO

SPH

ERIC

DIS

TIL

LAT

ION

UN

ITV

AC

UU

MD

IST

ILLA

TIO

N U

NIT

CRUDE

HY

DRO

SKIM

MIN

G

MED

IUM

CO

NV

ERSION

DEEP C

ON

VERSIO

N

Di�erent types of oil require di�erent refining techniques, including hydroskimming, medium conversion, and deep conversion. Heavier oils generally require more energy-intensive deep conversion refining; lighter oils use less energy-intensive hydroskimming.

R

R

R

H2

RFG

RFG

0HYDROGENPETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKASPHALT

205REFINERY FUEL GAS

(in kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel)

370GASOLINE

411JET FUEL

430DIESEL

475HEAVY FUEL OIL(BUNKER C)

645COKE

462HEATING FUEL OIL

LIGHTER PRODUCTS MEDIUM PRODUCTS HEAVIER PRODUCTS

HYDROGEN

The lightest of all gases is converted into petrochemical feedstock, used in the refining process for heavier oils to turn them into products, or sold as an industrial by-product.

REFINERY FUEL GAS

A wide range of gases like ethane, propane, and butane that can either be used for fuel in refineries or other commercial applications, or sold as petrochemical feedstock.

GASOLINE

A complex mixture of top-of-the-barrel, light, volatile hydrocarbons used primarily in motor vehicles with spark-ignition engines.

JET FUEL

A mixture of a large number of middle distillate hydrocarbons used in aircraft with gas-turbine engines.

DIESEL

A fuel composed of middle-of-the-barrel distillates blended with bottom-of-the-barrel residual oil used in trucks and other compression-ignition engines.

HEAVY FUEL OIL

A general classification for heavier oils that remain after removing middle distillate fuel oils during refining; they are used in maritime vessels (as bunker C), for electric power generation, and for industrial purposes.

COKE

Also known as petroleum coke or petcoke, this residue is low in hydrogen and high in carbon, sulfur, and heavy metals; it is used to generate power and as an industrial process input.

HEATING FUEL OIL

A liquid petroleum product that is heavier than gasoline and diesel and is used primarily for heating and other non-transport purposes.

OTHER RESIDUALS

Residue forms when refining the heaviest oil components and can be used as asphalt for road construction or other industrial purposes.

H2

H2

H2

RFG

RFG

RFG

RFG

To see how these factors impact the GHG emissions of a selection of oils currently in production, read the report Know Your Oil: Creating a Global Oil-Climate Index by

Deborah Gordon, Adam Brandt, Joule Bergerson, and Jonathan Koomey and explore the web tool at OCI.CarnegieEndowment.org

STATE OF FEEDSTOCKConventional oil is a liquid, but unconventional oil can be found naturally in a semi-solid, solid, or highly gaseous form, such as oil sands, kerogen oil shale, or conden-sates. These resources may have to be mined, heated, injected with steam, or otherwise treated to be extracted. These processes require large amounts of energy and result in GHG emissions from leakage.

LAND USEChanges in land use that occur during the extraction process can disrupt landscapes that sequester carbon, like forests and permafrost. This releases carbon into the atmo-sphere and reduces the earth’s natural sequestration capacity.

OIL FIELD AGEAn oil field’s conditions tend to change as the field ages and as its time under active production increases. To produce oil from aging fields, di�erent techniques with di�erent energy requirements (like water flooding, enhanced oil recov-ery, and bitumen removal) are used to artificially lift oil, inject fluid and gas into a field, or employ steam to assist in recovery.

RFG

Petroleum products may have to travel long distances to get to market. Modes of transportation vary depending on product, location, and demand. Trucks and ocean tankers are the most common; trucks and inland water barges require the most energy and produce the highest GHG emissions for each kilogram-kilometer or ton-mile transported.

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of product transported)

0.017PIPELINE

0.005OCEAN TANKER

0.105HEAVY-DUTY

TRUCK

0.030TRAIN

0.042BARGE

Sources: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories,” last modified April 4, 2014, www.epa.gov/climateleadership/documents/emission-factors.pdf

U P S T R E AM

Source: Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) version 1.1 draft D,pangea.stanford.edu/researchgroups/eao/research/opgee-oil-production-greenhouse-gas-emissions-estimator

DOWN S T R E AM

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O M A R K E T

C O M B U S T I O N A N D E N D U S E

Note: Refinery schematic does not reflect exact nature of refining process units.Source: Petroleum Refinery Life-Cycle Inventory Model (PRELIM), version 1.0, www.ucalgary.ca/lcaost/prelim

0.010PIPELINE

0.003OCEAN TANKER 0.02

TRAIN

0.042BARGE

TRANSPORTATION—GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS(in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram-kilometer of crude oil transported)

RFGH2

R

Hydrogen RefineryFuel Gas

Gasoline Diesel Jet Fuel HeatingFuel Oil

HeavyFuel Oil

Coke OtherResiduals

RFG

H2

Source: Oil Products Emissions Module (OPEM), version 1.0, www.CarnegieEndowment.org/OPEM

*More factors than are listed have a climate impact.


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