How much energy is used in the drilling oil; refining oil to gasoline; and distributing to consumers?

I doubt that number exists.





First you have to decide the extent of the envelope you are going to draw to encompass the full extent of the process.





Do you start at the very beginning with the geologists trying to decide which location they might run a seismic line on? Then follow up through the process of getting the necessary leases and permits. Do you include the energy for the drilling crew to drive to the well site each day or the energy for a chopper to fly them to the offshore platform?





For offshore locations, do you include the Coast Guard personnel and the energy they expend?





Do you include the federal auditors that look after the book keeping on federal leases?





Are the well free flowing or must they be pumped or gas lifted?





How do you address the produced water and associated natural gas?





Now we get to the pipeline. Do you start with the engineers when they begin laying out a route and getting rights-of-way and permits?





How do you address the energy associated with all the steel and other materials that go into every thing from one end of the process to the other.





I could go on but I think the idea is clear.How much energy is used in the drilling oil; refining oil to gasoline; and distributing to consumers?
about $3 worth per gallon





at 6 cents per kw-hr, that is 50 kw-hrs

dermatologist

In Oil Refining, what are the differences between Polymerization, Catalytic Reforming, and Alkylation?

These all seem to be the same thing. Taking the hydrocarbons, and combining them to make a longer hydrocarbon chain. But what is done differently? Who developed each would be awesome, but I'm not going to expect anyone to know that....In Oil Refining, what are the differences between Polymerization, Catalytic Reforming, and Alkylation?
Catalytic reforming doesn't make the hydrocarbons longer, it changes the structure to increase the octane rating and quite often breaks long chains down. Polymerization joins hydrocarbons and alkylation takes an alkyl (ie butyl, methyl) from one hydrocarbon chain and adds it to a different one. Hope it helps :)

Why do the same people who criticize outsourcing cause the US to outsource our oil refining?

Canada refine some of our gasoline because environmentalists have made it to hard to build new refineries in the US.Why do the same people who criticize outsourcing cause the US to outsource our oil refining?
Unions are probably the #1 cauase of outsourcing, but liberals are too stupid to realize it.





High wages + high benefits = factories in cheaper countriesWhy do the same people who criticize outsourcing cause the US to outsource our oil refining?
They don't.


There has been only 1 request in 30 years to build new refineries.


And that wasn't to build a new one but to expand an existing one.


Meanwhile many many smaller refineries have been shut down for ';maintenance'; and never reopened.





maybe you should get your facts straight.


Environmentalists are not to blame for a business deciding less supply would make them more money.

Can the oil refining be broken down into separate steps?

When refining oil into other byproducts, does it all have to be done at the same time or can the refinement process be interrupted and started again at a later time?Can the oil refining be broken down into separate steps?
Typically, the variety of unit operations in a petroleum refinery are designed to be continuous processes because they are more economical to run than batch processes. All of the processes can be run in a batch configuration, but not on the equipment in the petroleum refineries. Start-up and Shut-down of the continuous distillation systems, catalytic reaction systems, extractions, hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, etc. are usually the most energy intensive and potentially hazardous operations in a refinery. Once you get a continuous process operating and lined out to meet specifications, the best idea is to keep it running 24/7.

What happens to the waste products from oil refining?

what percentage is waste and are all the by-products, plastics etc, always extracted or is there an oversupply?What happens to the waste products from oil refining?
If you ever drove by an operating refinery at night, you would see what happens to the few waste products, they are burned in the flare. All other products in the refinery are used for a purpose. Some products are used for multiple purposes, and other products are stored until required. There is sufficient excess demand here in the US that the refined products never go to waste, except by us consumers.

How big is a oil refining industry?

What is the area of it, in square feet or any other measurements


How much gas is flared each day?How big is a oil refining industry?
The current global refining capacity is of about 88 million barrels a day.





Historically refining has been the low margin sector of the petroleum industry. Investment in refining, particularly upgrading existing simple refineries, has been conservative, especially so outside the United


States. The 1980鈥檚 and early 1990鈥檚 resulted in the reduction of surplus global refinery capacity. This trend has been reversed since the mid 1990鈥檚, with recent years showing some net capacity growth to keep pace with higher demands. Still, excess capacity is very small, which is why the oil price spikes when there are hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, where you have a number of refineries.