Essay: Oil Extraction Methods & Environmental Impacts" (52 Characters)

The 7 Steps of Oil and Natural Gas Extraction

The initial step involves drilling surface hole down to 100 feet depth below the deepest known aquifers and then cementing a steel casing is place to prevent pollution risk of the water aquifer. The hole is then steered directionally for turning it horizontally and out as per the same rock bed. The drill pipe is then removed upon reaching the target distance and steel pipe pushed to the lowest end, a process called well casing (Pearson, 2022.  The next process involves lowering a perforating gun into the rock and then fired in the layer of rock in the well deepest part leading to the creation of holes connecting the rock that holds natural oil and gas. In the next stage, fracking fluid is pumped via the perforating holes at high pressure creating thin cracks in the shale rock and freeing the natural gas and oil. The production of oil and natural gas then starts.

Detrimental environmental effects of both surface and subsurface mining

Surface and subsurface mining result in disruption of land, pollution of the air by fine particles alongside exhaust from the various heavy machinery that have been used. Other effects include visual and noise pollution. Sever pollution of water is also noted as a result of these mining methods. Surface mining has been noted to result in more land ecosystem destruction than underground mining (Machá?ek, 2019).

Why anthracite is a better fuel than peat

Anthracite has been noted to have the highest contents of carbon, highest energy density as well as the least number of impurity in comparison with the other types of coal, peat include and hence the reason for being a more efficient fuel

 Advantages and disadvantages of coal

Among the advantages of coal in comparison with other sources of energy include its abundance, cheap cost and low capital requirement for construction of a coal-burning plant. Coal is found in at least 70 countries globally, with its reserves having nearly 1 trillion tons of the energy resource leading to stable prices.

It has negative effects on the environment. Coal plants have been noted to be a key air pollution source and greenhouse gas emissions. Using coal also releases sulfur dioxide which is one of the harmful compounds. The process of extraction of coal is detrimental to the environment.

Surface mining is adopted when the mineral resource is close to the ground surface and can be achieved quickly with the aid of machinery. An advantage of surface mining is that it is financially cheaper (Zhai et al., 2020). A disadvantage is that it serves to present hazards the environment and human health.

Subsurface mining is applied during extraction of substances below the ground, enabling extraction without large damages to the environment and surface disruption. An advantage is that it is safe than surface mining. A drawback is that it is costly (Angel et al., 2018)

 Why it is important to account for energy cost of oil construction when determining whether to extract oil

To determine the profitability of the extraction as higher costs will mean very minimal or even not profits at all

Hydraulic fracturing involves extraction of oil and natural gas by opening cracks in and beneath the surface of the earth and widening by chemical, water and sand injection at high pressure (Fakcharoenphol et al., 2016).

How hydraulic fracturing increases the flow rate of natural gas or oil

The high pressure of injecting materials leads to the creation of small fractures in the tight shale formations leading to stimulation of the flow rate

 References

Angel, H. Z., Stovall, J., Williams, H. M., Farrish, K. W., Oswald, B. P., & Young, J. L. (2018). Surface and subsurface tillage effects on mine soil properties and vegetative response

Fakcharoenphol, P., Torcuk, M., Kazemi, H., & Wu, Y. S. (2016). Effect of shut-in time on gas flow rate in hydraulic fractured shale reservoirs. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 32, 109-121

Machá?ek, J. (2019). Typology of environmental impacts of artisanal and small-scale mining in African Great Lakes Region. Sustainability, 11(11), 3027

Pearson, M. (2022). The seven steps of oil and natural gas extraction. Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development. Retrieved 14 April 2022, from https://www.cred.org/seven-steps-of-oil-and-natural-gas-extraction/

Zhai, L., Zhang, H., Pan, D., Zhu, Y., Zhu, J., Zhang, Y., & Chen, C. (2020). Optimisation of hydraulic fracturing parameters based on cohesive zone method in oil shale reservoir with random distribution of weak planes. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 75, 103130