What is memory, and intelligence? Incautious claims of IQ genes

economics and money zone at abelard.org - government swindles and how to transfer money on the net

technology zone at abelard.org: how to survive and thrive on the web

France zone at abelard.org - another France

interesting site links at abelard's news and comment zone

orientation at abelard's news and comment zone

site map

news archives

oil 1- 2

oil archives
1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 III-2004: 03
IV-2004: 06

oil 1-2

15.12.2002

World oil resources (at the end of 2001)
country	known reserves		extraction
country	in billion barrels (000 million)	%age of world reserves	in 000 barrels daily	%age world extraction (rank)	%age of country's reserves in 2001	years before reserves exausted
The World	1050.0	100.0%	74,493	100%	2.59%	39 years
Saudi Arabia	261.8	24.9%	8,768	11.77% (1)	1.22%	82 years
Iraq	112.5	10.7%	2,414	3.24% (11)	0.78%	128 years
Kuwait	96.5	9.2%	2,142	2.88% (12)	0.81%	123 years
Iran	87.9	8.5%	3,688	4.95% (4)	1.53%	65 years
United Arab Emirates	97.8	9.3%	2,422	3.25% (10)	0.90%	111 years
Russian Federation	48.6	4.6%	7,056	9.47% (3)	5.30%	19 years
Venuzuela	77.7	7.4%	3,418	4.59% (6)	1.61%	62 years
China	24.0	2.3%	3,308	4.44% (8)	5.03%	19.9 yrs
Libya	29.5	2.8%	1,425	1.91% (15)	1.76%	56.8 yrs
Mexico	26.9	2.6%	3,560	4.78% (5)	4.83%	20.7 yrs
Nigeria	24.0	2.3%	2,148	2.88% (13)	3.27%	30.6 yrs
USA	30.4	2.9%	7,717	10.36% (2)	9.27%	10.8 yrs
Norway	9.4	0.9%	3,414	4.58% (7)	13.3%	7.5 years
Algeria	9.2	0.9%	1563	2.01% (14)	6.2%	16.1 yrs
UK	4.9	0.5%	2,503	3.49% (9)	18.6%	5.4 years
Data source: world oil reserves and oil-based fuel development

Notes:

Known reserves do not equate with actual reserves; a figure which is, of course, unknown. However, the general informed belief is that we know the considerable majority of accessible reserves.
As supply contracts, or demand increases, prices will rise. This is a feedback system. Thus, you will see that the current world draw-down (rate of extraction/consumption) simply means that, without further sources, in 40 years there will be no more oil. If shortages increase, the price of oil will rise, which will result in exploitation of more expensive source, or the reduction of consumption. Be aware that several billion peole do not yet have cars and would rather like to have one .... or two or three. This situation can well be called ‘unsustainable’.
That a country is currently drawing down its resources at a particular rate, does not mean that it will continue so to do. However, s teaches us that the human tendency is to rapaciously use resources until they are exausted, without concern for the future.

World oil reserves and oil-based fuel development
Oil technical information and data

the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/archive-oil1-2.htm#oi151202

advertising
disclaimer

Technical information arising from the Prestige oil spill

Heavy fuel oil
Major oil spills
Oil spills off Spanish coast

Heavy fuel oil, also known as residual fuel oil, the residue from refining, is too viscous for beach cleanup with industrial vacuum cleaners. Buckets, spades and gloved hands, as well as protective suits and face masks, are the tools required. This stuff is seriously filthy muck, the worst possible kind of oil spill. It is concentrated, sticky and contains very few volatiles, these having been recovered for use as motor and other fuels. Heavy fuel oil is destined as fuel in power stations or industrial heating. It is both hard to burn in the open and does not evaporate easily.

Although most spills listed in the table below are of marine origin, significant spills of land origin have also been included.
Major oil spills - the biggest spills Oil spill quantities can only be estimates.
Incident	Date	Location and incident details	’000 metric tonnes spilt	million barrels	million US gallons	Oil type
Saddam Hussein	1991 January	invasion of Kuwait: Persian Gulf	834 – 1,500	6 - 10.8	250 – 458	crude
Saddam Hussein	1991 January	A further estimated 67 million tonnes of crude oil was spilt and burnt on land		6 - 10.8	250 – 458	crude
Lakewater Gusher N°1	1910, March - 1911, Sept.	Maricopa, Ca.: well casing blew under very high pressure	1,250	9M, of which 4M was saved	375	crude
Ixtoc I	1979 14 Dec.	Gulf of Mexico exploratory well blowout	463	3.3	140	crude
Saddam Hussein	1983	Iraq-Iran War: Persian Gulf	280 – 500	2-3.6	83 – 150	crude
Atlantic Empress / Aegean Captain collision	1979 19 July - 2 Aug.	West Indies: Trinidad & Tobago / Barbados	combined total: 287	2.1	87	crude
Castillo de Bellver	1983 6 Aug.	South Africa: off Cape Town (tanker caught fire and split in two)	252	1.8	75.6	light crude
Amoco Cadiz	1978 16 March	France: Brittany coast (Portsall) 200 km of coastline affected	223	1.6	66.9	light crude
Haven	1991 11 Apr.	Italy: Genoa	144	1	43.2
Odyssey	1988 10 Nov.	Canada: 700 nm off Newfoundland	132	0.95	39.6
Torrey Canyon	1967 18 March	United Kingdom: Cornwall coast	119	0.86	35.7	crude
Sea Star	1972 19 Dec.	Oman: Gulf of Oman	115	0.83	35.3	crude
Hawaiian Patriot	1977 25 Feb.	North Pacific	103	0.74	30.9	not known
Urquiola	1976	Spain: La Coruna, Galicia	100	0.72	30
land pipeline	1994	Usink, Komi Republic (West Siberia) polluting the Pechora River basin	100+	0.72+	30	not known
Braer	1993	S.E. Shetland coast	87	0.63	26.3	light Gulfax crude oil & fuel/diesel oil
Prestige	2002 13 Dec.	North Spain: Gallician coast	77	0.59	23.1	residual fuel oil
Prestige	2002 13 Dec.	North Spain: Gallician coast	(cargo. amount spilt so far listed here.)			residual fuel oil
Sea Empress	1996	Pembrokeshire coast, S.W. Wales	72	0.52	21.7	North Sea crude oil
Smaller spills mentioned in article
Aegean Sea	1992 3 Dec.	North Spain: La Coruna, Galicia	74	0.53	22.2	not known
Exxon Valdez	1989 24 March	USA: Prince William Sound , Alaska	37	0.27	11.1	light crude
Erika	1999 13 Dec.	France: west Brittany coast	10	0.07	3	residual fuel oil

A longer, but less comprehensive, list of oil spills is available from Alertnet.org .

Oil spills off Spanish coast Oil spill quantities can only be estimates.

Incident Date Location and incident details
’000 metric tonnes spilt
million barrels million US gallons Oil type

Prestige 2002
13 Nov.
Gallician coast, west of La Coruna.
77 0.55 23.1 residual fuel oil

Leaking tanker towed along coast, then broke and sunk 350 km (220 miles) west of Cape Finisterre. (above amount is the listed cargo.
amount spilt so far listed here.)

Aegean Sea 1992
3 Dec. harbour port,
La Coruna, Galicia (double-hulled) 74 0.53
22.2

not known

Andros Patria 1978, 31 Dec. Cape Villano, Galicia
(90 km west of La Coruna) 49 0.35 14.6 not known

Urquiola 1976
12 May harbour port,
La Coruna, Galicia 100 0.72 30 not known

related material
The Prestige: Latest reports (Jan. 2003)
The Prestige debacle, part 2 (Nov. & Dec.2002)
The politics of irresponsibility (Jan 2003)
The politics of irresponsibility (Nov & Dec 2002)
Another potential ecological oil mess (Nov. 2002)

World oil reserves and oil-based fuel development
World oil resources

the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/archive-oil1-2.htm#oil091202-2

data upgraded 18.01.2003

related material

World oil resources

The Prestige: Latest reports (Jan. 2003)

The politics of irresponsibility (Jan 2003)

The politics of irresponsibility (Nov & Dec 2002)

The Prestige debacle, part 2 (Nov. & Dec.2002)

Another potential ecological oil mess (Nov. 2002)

World oil reserves and oil-based fuel development

an interesting analysis on the replacement of fossil fuels
with particular reference to the feasibility of substitution by photo-voltaic cells and bio-mass. With some calculations. There are, of course, several other routes to the production of power, such as coal and nuclear power, with forecasts of several hundred years supply.

Also a link to the alleged chicanery in the fuel industry

(Leads provided by D Lavigne.)

[There are two very different technologies for solar roof panels: one which first collects the sun’s heat and the other which collects light. With the first technology, used to heat water, generally the hot water is run through radiators for space heating (the heated water could also be used to generate electricity); while the light-collecting technology converts light directly into electricity.

Remember, almost all power systems originate from sunlight. The major exception is nuclear power.]

the web address for this article is
https://www.abelard.org/news/archive-oil1-2.htm#oi1211102

21.11.2002

another potential ecological oil mess
An oil tanker, the Prestige, carrying a cargo of some 77,000 metric tons of fuel oil is in trouble off an environmentally sensitive section of the Spanish coast, and it has spilled an undetermined amount of oil into the sea, currently estimated to be between three and five thousand tonnes [16.11.02].

Be warned that every time there is an incident like this, various conflicting figures will be quoted, caused by wild guesses and general innumeracy. Nor can you fully rely upon reports because of exaggeration by reporters or environmentalists attempting to hype a story, and by oil companies, ship owners etc, attempting to minimise the situation. Always consider the source of information, and attempt to obtain a full a range of information sources as possible.

There have been many larger spills than the potential of this incident.

However, this is a major incident for recent times. The number and the seriousness of spills has been steadily reducing, with a large improvement occurring after 1970.

There is much data here, but the page downloads very slowly an ordinary connection because of poor html.

Largest oil spills in millions of gallons (2011)
The very largest spills have been thanks to the benefactor of Baghdad, in both 1983 and 1991; and to a Mexican oil-well blow-out (about 140 million US gallons).

Some photos of major oil spills. This photo linked shows one of the largest spills, which are eclipsed only by the deliberate release of oil, from many different sources, during the 1991 Gulf War (estimated at 250 million US gallons), and by an incident during the Iran-Iraq fracas in 1983 (about 150 million US gallons).

what can be done? how large is the planetary spillage problem?
Some basic information.

This site looks like it has some useful links, but I have not checked out the links.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says a single [US] pint of oil can cover an acre of the water’s surface.”
Thus if the complete load from the tanker off Spain was shed, it could cover a maximum of 184,000,000 acres. This is about three times the land area of the UK.
So far, 3000 tonnes have been reported spilled. This quantity of oil is covering an area of 120 square miles—that would be about 100 pints per acre (quick check only!)

1 imperial gallon	8 (imperial) pints	4. 546 litres
1 US gallon	8 (US) pints	3.785 litres
1 US gallon	0.83 imperial gallons	1 imperial gallon	1.2 US gallons
Oil is often quoted in barrels and is also usually quoted in US dollars on the international market
1 barrel	0.139 tonnes	34.86 imperial gallons	42 US gallons

In many other countries than the USA, crude oil is measured in metric tonnes even though, on the fact of it, the tonne is a weight rather than volume measuement. Thus, the volume of oil is dependent on the density of the oil. The denser the oil, the heavier it is; thus it takes up a smaller volume in comparison to a lighter oil.

	metric tonnes	US barrels	US gallons	imperial gallons	litres
1 (metric) tonne	1	7.2	302	251	1,136
	metric tonnes	US barrels	US gallons	imperial gallons	litres
1 million US barrels	138,889	1,000,000	42,000,000	34,861,139	158,970,000
1 million US gallons	3,311	24,000	1,000,000	830,000	3,785,000
1 million imperial gallons	3,984	28,685	1,200,000	1,000,000	4,546,000
1 million litres	881	6,290	264,172	219,969	1,000,000

1 hectare	2.47 acres	0.01 square kilometre	0.004 square mile
1 acre	0.405 hectare	0.004 square kilometre	0.0016 square mile
1 square kilometre	0.385 square mile	100 hectares	247 acres
1 square mile	2.6 square kilometres	260 hectares	640 acres
1 nautical mile	1.1508 statute miles	1 statute mile	0.8684 nautical miles
1 kilometre (km)	0.625 (statute) miles	1(statute) mile	1.6 km
The definitions above do not strive for ‘absolute’ precision..