Diluted bitumen has been transported by pipeline in the United States for more than 40 years, with the amount increasing recently as a result of improved extraction technologies and resulting increases in production and exportation of Canadian diluted bitumen. The increased importation of Canadian diluted bitumen to the United States has strained the existing pipeline capacity and contributed to the expansion of pipeline mileage over the past 5 years. Although rising North American crude oil production has resulted in greater transport of crude oil by rail or tanker, oil pipelines continue to deliver the vast majority of crude oil supplies to U.S. refineries. Spills of Diluted Bitumen from Pipelines examines the current state of knowledge and identifies the relevant properties and characteristics of the transport, fate, and effects of diluted bitumen and commonly transported crude oils when spilled in the environment. This report assesses whether the differences between properties of diluted bitumen and those of other commonly transported crude oils warrant modifications to the regulations governing spill response plans and cleanup. Given the nature of pipeline operations, response planning, and the oil industry, the recommendations outlined in this study are broadly applicable to other modes of transportation as well.

Natural gas and crude oil production from hydrocarbon rich deep shale formations is one of the most quickly expanding trends in domestic oil and gas exploration. Vast new natural gas and oil resources are being discovered every year across North America and one of those new resources comes from the development of deep shale formations, typically located many thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth in tight, low permeability formations. Deep Shale Oil and Gas provides an introduction to shale gas resources as well as offer a basic understanding of the geomechanical properties of shale, the need for hydraulic fracturing, and an indication of shale gas processing. The book also examines the issues regarding the nature of shale gas development, the potential environmental impacts, and the ability of the current regulatory structure to deal with these issues. Deep Shale Oil and Gas delivers a useful reference that today's petroleum and natural gas engineer can use to make informed decisions about meeting and managing the challenges they may face in the development of these resources. - Clarifies all the basic information needed to quickly understand today's deeper shale oil and gas industry, horizontal drilling, fracture fluids chemicals needed, and completions - Addresses critical coverage on water treatment in shale, and important and evolving technology - Practical handbook with real-world case shale plays discussed, especially the up-and-coming deeper areas of shale development

Since the early 1970s, experts have recognized that petroleum pollutants were being discharged in marine waters worldwide, from oil spills, vessel operations, and land-based sources. Public attention to oil spills has forced improvements. Still, a considerable amount of oil is discharged yearly into sensitive coastal environments. Oil in the Sea provides the best available estimate of oil pollutant discharge into marine waters, including an evaluation of the methods for assessing petroleum load and a discussion about the concerns these loads represent. Featuring close-up looks at the Exxon Valdez spill and other notable events, the book identifies important research questions and makes recommendations for better analysis ofâ€"and more effective measures againstâ€"pollutant discharge. The book discusses: Inputâ€"where the discharges come from, including the role of two-stroke engines used on recreational craft. Behavior or fateâ€"how oil is affected by processes such as evaporation as it moves through the marine environment. Effectsâ€"what we know about the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on marine organisms and ecosystems. Providing a needed update on a problem of international importance, this book will be of interest to energy policy makers, industry officials and managers, engineers and researchers, and advocates for the marine environment.

Phase Behavior provides the reader with the tools needed to solve problems requiring a description of phase behavior and specific pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) properties.

The last three chapters of this book deal with application of methods presented in previous chapters to estimate various thermodynamic, physical, and transport properties of petroleum fractions. In this chapter, various methods for prediction of physical and thermodynamic properties of pure hydrocarbons and their mixtures, petroleum fractions, crude oils, natural gases, and reservoir fluids are presented. As it was discussed in Chapters 5 and 6, properties of gases may be estimated more accurately than properties of liquids. Theoretical methods of Chapters 5 and 6 for estimation of thermophysical properties generally can be applied to both liquids and gases; however, more accurate properties can be predicted through empirical correlations particularly developed for liquids. When these correlations are developed with some theoretical basis, they are more accurate and have wider range of applications. In this chapter some of these semitheoretical correlations are presented. Methods presented in Chapters 5 and 6 can be used to estimate properties such as density, enthalpy, heat capacity, heat of vaporization, and vapor pressure. Characterization methods of Chapters 2-4 are used to determine the input parameters needed for various predictive methods. One important part of this chapter is prediction of vapor pressure that is needed for vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations of Chapter 9.