Im really not sure what the additives are that go into it. From what I understand you have a basic gasoline product and each company adds there own chemicals into it. It used to be years ago the guys would draw 10 or 15 gallons out of there barges for there vehicles (Yes this is stealing, and No I didnt participate) by the time I started this job the oil companies had cracked down on this. Naptha is one of the ingredients, which is basically lighter fluid. We also carry this stuff. Imagine 150,000 bbls of Lighter Fluid. That's why you really need to know your job and be very careful handling this stuff. Doesn't matter if it's tug and barge, platform, refinery, or whatever. As much of this stuff is moved in a day says something about the professionalism of the guys that do this kind of work.
Oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico
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You are correct. Straight run gasoline is typically the same industry wide; the difference comes with the different additives. We have a truck loading facility in the refinery that contains the additives for Exxon, Shell, etc. The drivers coming in know what to get, so they push the right buttons to get a few gallons of whatever brand's additive they need, then the truck is filled with gasoline at that point. I'm not sure how the additives are put in for pipeline service. I would imagine it's all mixed in one or more storage tanks, then pumped through the pipeline. I do know that 87 and 91 octanes are the only ones we produce. 89 octane is made by mixing half and half of 87 and 91 into one storage tank.
Our additive is produced at a company owned chemical plant, then shipped to our refinery. I'd guess that other companies produce theirs in a similar fashion. Most refineries will produce naptha through the refining process. I've never heard about us using naptha as an additive, but it very well could be added in our mix.
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That's what i figured was happening with the Naptha we bring in, store it in a holding tank. Then add the proper amount as needed. They usually call the stuff we bring in CBOB which stands for Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending. Apparently as its traveling down the pipeline the additives are added along the way. Which refinery do you work for? My boat might have been there.
Thomas Edison almost killed big oil.
Until his invention of the incandescent bulb most of America's interior lighting was supplied by kerosene. That was the primary driver for oil exploration. Gasoline was an unwanted byproduct resulting from the refining of petroleum into kerosene.
And then Henry Ford came along with his automobile to consume all that gasoline.
I recommend all my B&B brothers read Daniel Yergin's "The Prize"... and look upon Mr. Borowitz with a jaundiced eye.
Until his invention of the incandescent bulb most of America's interior lighting was supplied by kerosene. That was the primary driver for oil exploration. Gasoline was an unwanted byproduct resulting from the refining of petroleum into kerosene.
And then Henry Ford came along with his automobile to consume all that gasoline.
I recommend all my B&B brothers read Daniel Yergin's "The Prize"... and look upon Mr. Borowitz with a jaundiced eye.
I work for the big refinery in Pascagoula, Miss. They don't like us using their name on web forums.
Yep! Don't forget the part about the oil industry ending mass whaling, though. Kerosene was the replacement for whale oil. Environmentalists don't like us talking about that, though....
There are some folks in this thread with vast amounts more knowledge about this topic than I - so I'll wade in with two questions
1. What's this I hear about an acoustic switch that may have prevented this incident?
2. Isn't all oil just oil? Not "foreign oil" or "domestic oil"? Isn't it all sold on the same international markets/exchanges regardless of where it is drawn from - with no hometown discount?
1. What's this I hear about an acoustic switch that may have prevented this incident?
2. Isn't all oil just oil? Not "foreign oil" or "domestic oil"? Isn't it all sold on the same international markets/exchanges regardless of where it is drawn from - with no hometown discount?
I can't comment on acoustic switches, but there are numerous types of oil from around the globe. The refinery I work in specializes in using heavy, sour crude in comparison to the light, sweet crude that is normally shown on the news channels when they are showing crude oil prices. The company that owns my refinery has wells that produce light, sweet crude. In a perfect world, heavy, sour crude is half price of light, sweet. They sell crude at top dollar, then buy the other crude cheap, then refine it. Heavy sour means it is high in sulfur. Normal refineries would shut down very quickly using heavy, sour crude. Multi-million dollar improvements must be done to run heavy, sour crude. Even with the specialized nature of our refinery, there are some crudes that are difficult for us to refine. Before I worked in a refinery, I whined about gas prices like the rest of the country. After seeing what all is involved, I'm surprised we get it as cheap as we do, even if it is 4.00 a gallon.
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This accident just proves that we should have started getting off the oil teet back in the 1970s.
We've been there alot. I don't know if your a dockman or not but if so and you see the Tug Christiana and the DS-143 feel free to come onboard for a cup of coffee. If i'm on the boat ot not (I'm home right now as we do 2-week rotations) just tell them Walker sent you, there a bunch of great guys (my crew and the other crew)
I appreciate the invite, but I work just on the other side of the road! I'll wave at you from the sulfur plant next time you're in port here...
The reasons for domestic drilling have less to do about immediate economic benefits and more to do with long-term security benefits. At present, the top three countries we import oil from are Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. While relations with Canada and Mexico probably aren't going to tank any time soon, Mr. Chavez in Venezuela is a bit more of a loose cannon. The more dependent on him we are, the more he can hurt us if he chooses to suddenly cut off supply or raise the price. Then again, he's only been able to accrue his political power by buying off voters with the money earned from exporting oil to the U.S., so it's a twisted symbiotic relationship.
A more practical example might be the 1970s oil shortage crisis due to the Arab oil embargo, when a political disagreement turned into a major economic and practical crisis for the US. Gaining the ability to meet most or all of our energy needs on our own would be a huge boost in terms of national security and both international and domestic policy freedom.
That being said, I think oil is a dead end - literally and figuratively. It's only renewable on a very long time scale, is a filthy substance to burn, and is not our greatest long-term strength. It is, however, a very necessary substance at present.
We have vast stretches of this nation where the wind blows just perfectly for wind farms, but our power grid is too old to properly handle the complex routing that would be required to ensure the power generated is actually used. Otherwise unoccupied sections of desert in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico are perfect for the construction of massive solar energy fields - and yet again we lack the ability to properly store and distribute the electricity they would generate. Nuclear power is clean in terms of emissions, but we still don't know quite how to deal with the ridiculously long half-life of nuclear waste.
That stuff is going to kill a lot of fish, birds, mamals and plants and create a lot of pollution.
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With regard to cleaning it up. The earth is self regulating and absorbs and cleans up these sorts of things on it's own over time.
That ain't PSO.
Can anyone with specific knowledge comment on this? I read a similar story from a subscriber-only source as well.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19068
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19068
Mexico produces Mayan crude, a heavy, sour grade crude oil. They claim to have about twenty years of reserves left, but most experts are now saying it is more like ten years. Heavy, sour crude typically sells for less on the market because it takes a refinery that is highly specialized to refine it. Mexico is also starting to charge more for their oil because they realize they are running out quicker than they are admitting. Mexico may not be as big a player in the US market in the near future.
It is so. Crude oil has been seeping out of the ocean floor for centuries, including the Gulf south of Louisiana. I saw the figures the other day how many millions of barrels of oil naturally get into the ocean yearly, and this little accident is a fraction of that total.
In fairness, the oil that naturally gets into the ocean isn't in as big a concentrated area as this spill, but once the spill is stopped and the lions share of the oil is cleaned up, the Gulf will recover quicker than most people realize.
I've heard this as well and they may have less than ten years left. I've also heard that Mexico is fast becoming a failed state and it's just around the corner.
It is beginning to look that way. From the outside looking in, there appears to be de facto civil war starting there between the criminal element and the parts of their government that aren't heavily on the take.
Yeah but Venezuela is still pumping heavy sour and lots of it. My company's refinery has a fairly good pricing deal with the Venezuelans on heavy sour and manage to refine it pretty good, although they make a lot of sulphur and coke.
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