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Exxon cleans up Arkansas oil spill; Keystone plan assailed

I don't think Canada is doing anything particularly different or unique that isn't happening in the US - it's probably a function of your country being 10 times the size of Canada and you're the largest economy in the world so you have the most oil transported in and out and around your country than anyone else and your pipeline infrastructure is probably a lot older than ours and has been used longer and more densely over time. It could also simply be a function of bad luck on your part and good luck on Canada's part.

There's a lot more politics in the Keystone delay, entirely related to Obama's reelection prospects and the delay in getting the permits approved are far more a function of that than any environmental concerns.


Fair enough on the context of oil production. However, I think it's a total miss characterization of the President's view on the Keystone pipeline. Oil isn't going anywhere for a while, and pipelines are the safest way to transport oil, and I think the President's administration knows that. For me the National Transporation Safety Board desribed the oil industries flaws very straightforwardly in 2010, after an oil spill in Michigan;
Pervasive organizational failures by a pipeline operator along with weak federal regulations led to a pipeline rupture and subsequent oil spill in 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.
Press Release July 10, 2012

In regards to Keystone particularly, the State Department is who as has the authority to review permit application and has discression on the informatioon needed to approve or deny the application. Keystone hasn't been nixed, the State department just asked for more information, which was at the time, estimated to be complete during this first quarter. All conspiracy theories aside, that sounds like a pretty reasonable request to me. You can read the official statement if you want;

Keystone XL Pipeline Project Review Process: Decision to Seek Additional Information
 
Initially, Exxon said that Lake Conway had been spared.
Reports from people in the area said otherwise.
Then Adam Randall shot aerial footage which showed that the local residents were correct and that Exxon was not.

Now, there's a no-fly zone around the area.

That stinks.

Mayflower is getting ****ed. Her corrupt little bosshogs are helping it get ****ed.

Even though I didn't even like Mayflower, it's still very sad.
 
Fair enough on the context of oil production. However, I think it's a total miss characterization of the President's view on the Keystone pipeline. Oil isn't going anywhere for a while, and pipelines are the safest way to transport oil, and I think the President's administration knows that. For me the National Transporation Safety Board desribed the oil industries flaws very straightforwardly in 2010, after an oil spill in Michigan;
Press Release July 10, 2012

In regards to Keystone particularly, the State Department is who as has the authority to review permit application and has discression on the informatioon needed to approve or deny the application. Keystone hasn't been nixed, the State department just asked for more information, which was at the time, estimated to be complete during this first quarter. All conspiracy theories aside, that sounds like a pretty reasonable request to me. You can read the official statement if you want;

Keystone XL Pipeline Project Review Process: Decision to Seek Additional Information

I would say that the calculations of this administration are purely political. Keystone has been "being studied" for years, and years now....It is the MOST studied pipeline in the history of the US. There is NO reason for it not being approved at this point other than political BS.
 
I would say that the calculations of this administration are purely political. Keystone has been "being studied" for years, and years now....It is the MOST studied pipeline in the history of the US. There is NO reason for it not being approved at this point other than political BS.

Except that they still don't have a legitimate clean up strategy for tar sands oil. The existing procedures for oil clean up are designed for crude oil and do not take into account the difference in the consistency difference and problem. All politics aside, that's a pretty import piece to be missing.
 
Except that they still don't have a legitimate clean up strategy for tar sands oil. The existing procedures for oil clean up are designed for crude oil and do not take into account the difference in the consistency difference and problem. All politics aside, that's a pretty import piece to be missing.

The API gravity on the heaviest Canadian crude is 19-20. Certain South American crudes are in the same gravity range and have been moved through US pipelines for years. LOOP's minimum operating API requirement is >20. The oil industry is no stranger to these crude consistencies. 20 API crude is still a liquid, much like pancake syrup. Unless there are other hazards besides consistency, the clean up of canadian crude will be the same as other crudes.


LOOP Information Portal - Distribution Information | Louisiana Offshore Oil Port Information Central


CrudeMonitor.ca - Canadian Crude Quality Monitoring Program
 
The API gravity on the heaviest Canadian crude is 19-20. Certain South American crudes are in the same gravity range and have been moved through US pipelines for years. LOOP's minimum operating API requirement is >20. The oil industry is no stranger to these crude consistencies. 20 API crude is still a liquid, much like pancake syrup. Unless there are other hazards besides consistency, the clean up of canadian crude will be the same as other crudes.


LOOP Information Portal - Distribution Information | Louisiana Offshore Oil Port Information Central


CrudeMonitor.ca - Canadian Crude Quality Monitoring Program

I will totally admit that I haven't looked into API, but as I understand it, tar sands is what will move through the Keystone Pipeline. I'm not sure it falls into the category, because it's a viscous material. It has weight. So when it encounters water, the sand sinks, making it imposible to skim. I don't know of any other way to clean oil out of water, not using skimmers and boom.

http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C08/E3-04-05.pdf
 
I will totally admit that I haven't looked into API, but as I understand it, tar sands is what will move through the Keystone Pipeline. I'm not sure it falls into the category, because it's a viscous material. It has weight. So when it encounters water, the sand sinks, making it imposible to skim. I don't know of any other way to clean oil out of water, not using skimmers and boom.

Tar sands oil when steam extracted maybe heavier than water (<10 API) at the point of extraction. From there, the "tar" will be upgraded and sand will be removed at the processing plant. In order to meet pipeline minimum operating API gravity it has to be thinned with lighter hydrocarbons (natural gas condensate), blended with lighter crude oil or processed into synthetic crude oil.


“According to Keystone, the following are a list of crude oils that could be transported through the proposed pipeline:

Synthetic crude oil, produced from the Alberta oil sands in Canada
Dilbit, produced from the Alberta oil sands
Synbit, produced from the Alberta oil sands
Dilsynbit, produced from the Alberta oil sands
Conventional light crude oil, produced from the Bakken Formation in Montana and North Dakota


Just The Facts | Keystone XL Pipeline

In the case of open pit mining tar sands, it is extracted in solid form, crushed, mixed with water, and pumped to a processing facility. Any leak/spill of the the tar sand/water slurry in that process would be difficult to clean with traditional methods But, those would be localized spills at the mine or processing plant.
 
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