I hear and I forget, I do and I understand, I see and I remember
Category Archives: Petroleum Industry
Yellow is the color of caution
Yellow traffic lights function as a caution. Yellow in the energy industry is associated with sulfur.
As a result of the war with Iran a yellow flashing light is alerting us to challenges coming in the agricultural sector.
Bright yellow is the color of elemental sulfur, a bi-product of oil and natural gas and a key ingredient for making fertilizer.
The blockade of The Strait of Hormuz is disrupting the energy supply chain.
Less oil and natural gas, less sulfur, less fertilizer. Less fertilizer results in higher prices to farmers for fertilizer. Higher costs to grow crops will result in higher prices for food.
Rest assured the energy companies, refiners, shippers, chemical corporations agribusiness and grocers will be fine. They will pass the cost along. This increased cost will be paid for by ordinary people and families buying food at the grocery store.
You think the cost of gas is a problem and for most people it is.
But wait for it…higher cost of food in the grocery store is on the horizon.
It’s time to respond to the flashing yellow light and demand a stop to this war.
The increased cost of gas is not the only consequences of the war with Iran. Incres in the cost of sulfur is coming and with it increased costs of food
Map showing the Partitioned Neutral Zone of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Map Source: Wikipedia
Money has the power to enrich relationships or to destroy them. More often than not, the pursuit of wealth has pulled families, friends, and entire nations apart. Yet when shared intentionally, wealth can become a bridge that strengthens bonds rather than breaks them.
Bedouin watching over a herd of camels, sheep, and goats along a crude oil pipeline in the Neutral Zone shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Here’s a story that began long ago, on December 2, 1922. That was when the British designated 2,000 square miles of desert as a new border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait under the Uqair Convention. The goal was to accommodate the Bedouin tribes who roamed freely across the area. The agreement declared that the rights to this region would be shared equally between the governments of Kuwait and Najd (modern-day Saudi Arabia).
Rig pumping crude oil in the Partitioned Neutral Zone shared by Kuwait and Saudi ArabiaOil Transfer Unit, PNZ Neutral Zone, Shared Crude Oil Kuwait/Saudi Arabia
Then came 1938, when oil was discovered in the Burgan field of Kuwait, near the Neutral Zone. It was a moment that could have sown division, because potential riches often spark rivalry. Over the next decades, more oil was found, but rather than dispute, both nations decided to cooperate. As oil development expanded through the 1960s and 70s, they continued to share the profits and manage the resource together. On January 18, 1970, they ratified an agreement to formally partition the Neutral Zone while continuing to jointly extract its oil.
Years later, in 1991, Iraq invaded Kuwait, threatening both its sovereignty and its oil reserves. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United States said “no,” pushed back the invaders, and restored Kuwait’s independence—securing not just territory but the spirit of partnership that had endured for decades.
More than half a century later, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait continue to peacefully share and benefit from the oil resources of the Neutral Zone. Their story stands as a living example that cooperation can yield prosperity, and that a shared resource can unite rather than divide.
Safaniya Offshore Oil Rig, Arabian Gulf, Neutral Zone, Kuwait/Saudi ArabiaShip navigation map, Arabian Gulf, Port of Kuwait
Perhaps real wealth lies not only in what we possess, but in how we choose to share it.
These images will give you a sense of the enormous size of the Super Tankers moving through the Straits of Hormuz.
The first image shows a super tanker at Ras Laffan in Qatar being filled with LNG.
There are two types of LNG tankers used in Qatar: Q-Max with a capacity of 5.6 billion cubic feet of LNG and the Q-Flex with a capacity of 4.6 billion cubic feet of LNG.
A single Q-Max tanker can transport enough LNG to power approximately 70,000 homes for a whole year.
This image shows a tanker ready to be filled with crude oil in Kuwait. These tankers can carry between 2 and 3 million barrels of crude oil per voyage.
“Under normal conditions over 100 ships, including roughly 60-70% tankers and gas carriers, traverse the Strait of Hormuz daily. This represents approximately 20 million barrels of oil (20% of global consumption) and 20% of LNG trade”
Source: U.S. energy Information Administration
Sources for this post: American Petroleum Institute, Strauss Center, Mitsui O. S.K. Lines, Reuters, Industrial Info Resources, Nakilat, Qatar Energy LNG, Brand Finance, Wikipedia.
Abstract Images are a common feature in our minds and world
Abstract art can help us see parallels and sense echoes between our aesthetic expression and forms in science and nature.
Sonar Image, floor of the Gulf of Mexico
At first glance, these images appear to be abstract art. Under closer examination, we see that they are scientific images of the ocean floor indicating deposits of gas, crude oil, and voids.
Sonar image of oil and gas reserves, Gulf of Mexico
Imaging of the brain produces similar abstract images. We have a natural capacity to know these shapes and use them in abstract art. Upon deeper reflection, we realize that we have the capacity to understand and express these insights through art. The cognitive function of the brain is what we refer to as the mind. Therein lies a universe of symbols and archetypes that manifest as innate knowledge. This may be why we are touched by abstract art. The art does not objectively describe something that exists as an object. It expresses something that we feel and know, almost like a memory from a dream
Sonar Imaging showing oil and gas reserves, Gulf of Mexico
To see these images and others in my photographic archive, visit my website: WayneEastep.com
What it looks like to replace Russian oil and gas.
Internal view of a furnace used to “crack” heat crude oil in the refining process.
Turning away from the use of oil and gas from Russia can be accomplished. What is needed includes; finding other supply sources, building new receiving ports, retrofitting existing refineries, expanding production, marshaling major engineering capacity, major capital investment, and time. Putting in place what is needed cannot happen in a few months. It will take a year for the quick changes and a number of years for a major realignment.
Understanding the petroleum industry by reading about it with all its unique jargon: “upstream-downstream,” Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Floating Production Storage and Offloading, Crude Assay, Sweet and Sour Crude Oil, etc., quickly becomes confusing.
Images offer the possibility of getting our minds around what these words mean and how the energy industry works. So I’ve compiled a set of pictures showing what’s involved in the supply chain of oil and gas worldwide in order to understand what the challenges and costs are in creating an alternative to dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Finding the oil and gas.
Locating sources of oil and gas is an industry unto itself and requires significant investment, risk, and commitment of time.
A geologist working on exploration of oil and gas, KuwaitSonar imaging of oil sources, Gulf of Mexico
Crude Oil Exploration
More often than not, places, where crude oil is found, are deserts and oceans. Advanced technology today helps reduce some of the risks by quantifying possible amounts of oil and gas at specific locations. The exploration process still comes down to drilling a hole in the earth, often thousands of feet, to reach a crude oil or natural gas source. The drilling rigs on land and offshore are an industry unto themselves and include names like Schlumberger, Valaris, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Nabors, China Oilfield Services Limited, and Petrofac, to name a few.
Crude Oil Drilling Rig, KuwaitDrilling rigs North Sea, Scotland Offshore drilling rig, Gulf of Mexico
Roughnecks, Louisiana
Roughnecks, on land drilling rig, KazakhstanCrude oil pump, Saudi Arabia Offshore drilling rig, Persian Gulf Offshore crude oil drilling rig being built for exploration in the Caspian Sea, Baku, Azerbaijan.
All in One Operations
Then there are “all in one” exploration drilling, processing, and shipping operations like the Tension leg platform, Floating Production Storage, and Offloading operation at Kizomba, Angola. Basically, these operations drill for crude oil, process it onsite then load it onto supertankers at the offshore location. Off the supertanker goes to deliver oil to a client.
Drilling rig on the left, Floating Production Storage for processing crude oil and a supertanker being filled up. Kizomba, Angola.
Shipping and Storage
Crude oil must be moved from its source to refineries where it can be processed into usable products like gasoline and diesel.
Supertanker offshore waiting to unload crude oil at a refinery in Kuwait for processing into petroleum products.
Storage operation in Saint Lucia for unloading some of the largest supertankers which require deepwater ports. The crude oil is stored, then transferred to ships that can enter the port at a refinery in St. Croix.
Tankers offloading crude oil and loading refined petroleum products at a refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Processing crude oil into petroleum products; gas and diesel.
Turning crude oil into usable products like gasoline and diesel fuel is done at refineries like this one in St. Croix.
Construction of an LNG Train for converting natural gas into Liquefied Natural Gas, Ras Laffan, Qatar.
LNG refinery: Ras Laffan, Qatar. The plant converts natural gas into Liquified Natural Gas called LNG. The process uses three steps, gas treatment, gas compression, and refrigeration. LNG from Qatar could possibly become a source for Europe to replace the LNG they import from Russia.
An LNG pipeline connecting the Ras Laffan refinery to the port where special ships for transporting LNG take the gas and deliver it to customers worldwide. The LNG port at Ras Laffan, Qatar. A tanker designed specifically for transporting liquified natural gas.
Trains and Pipelines
Other methods used to transport crude oil and petroleum products include trains and pipelines.
Rail tanks are used to transport crude oil and processed petroleum products. Sarpom shipping yard, Trecate, Italy.
A train transporting gas from the Tengiz Refinery in Kazakhstan.
Oil Pipeline, northeastern Saudi Arabia near the Iraqi border
Crude oil pipeline, Kuwait.
A primary source of fact and insight about world energy can be found in the writings of Dr. Daniel Yergin, who is an American energy expert, economic historian, speaker, author, and Pulitzer Prize, winner. His most recent book, The New Map, is a timely read about geopolitics, the global economy, and energy. To learn more visit https://www.DanielYergin.com
Balancing energy needs for the short term and long term
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world was engaged in an existential struggle: how to deal with the accelerating negative impact of climate change. Countries are still in a struggle with each other about how best to shift from fossil fuels to clean, sustainable energy. The urgency to find alternatives to oil and gas from Russia must simultaneously be met with concrete actions by countries worldwide to respond to climate change. The world order is under threat as a result of Russia’s war, and the catastrophic effects of climate change threaten life in our home, the earth. The challenge is whether we choose law over force to respond to Russia’s invasion. We also have a challenge of consciousness. Can we acknowledge our interdependence and work for the common good?
Electricity Solar Water Wind
Text and Images by Wayne Eastep
To see more images visit the energy collection at my website WayneEastep.com
wayne eastep's blog 