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Gulf oil spill and our energy future

30 May 10 | Commentary

There is not much that I can add to the online discussion about the Gulf oil spill.  It is disheartening to say the lest, the oil spill will have environmental impacts for decades if not generations.  I have been gathering information from several websites, the most informed from an oil production standpoint seems to be The Oil Drum.  There, based on pressures and volumes of mud used in the failed top kill attempt, they have estimated the oil flow to be about 17,000 barrels (715,000 gallons) per day.  On this, the thirtieth day of May, that equates to 680,000 barrels (28,560,000 gallons) of oil spilled.  Add to this the hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical dispersant and the picture in the Gulf becomes bleak to put it mildly.

In all likelihood, this will continue until the relief well is completed in August.  By that time 1.7 million barrels (71.4 million gallons) of oil will have been released into the Gulf.

There are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Oil breaks down naturally in sunlight into mostly CO2 and water.  A great majority of oil formed in the past eons has seeped to the surface to evaporate and be broken down by the sun.  Only oil trapped under impermeable rock has formed reservoirs.  This is less than 5% of the hydrocarbons created.  The oil released into the Gulf will go the same course, over time.
  2. The US alone burns 19,498,000 barrels of oil per day.  To give some perspective 29 Gulf oil spills will be needed to equal one day of oil consumption in the US.
  3. An active Hurricane season may hasten the breaking up of oil globs and cause it to break down faster, so long as the storm surge does not push large amounts of oil inland and contaminate shore side marshes.

The bad news is that as the oil breaks down, especially the underwater oil plumes, they will rob oxygen from the surrounding water creating huge dead zones.  There will also be deposits of residual chemicals such as sulfur and heavy compounds that will settle to the bottom of the sea.  No one really knows what effect the chemical dispersant will have on life in the Gulf, but one can hazard a guess that it will not be positive.

So, what effects has this had on the energy discussion in the US?  Sadly, not much.  There are a number of outraged persons demonstrating in front of BP gas stations, that is true.  Unfortunately, unless members of congress can be swayed, nothing bad will happen to BP or the oil industry in general.  I would expect the oil lobby to contribute handily to many re-election campaigns this year, ’cause thats how business is done.  Once the spill is capped, everyone will calm down and it will be business as usual for the oil business.

As an energy and environmentally conscious individual, all I can do is turn inward and make sure that I and my family do everything possible to reduce our own use of fossil fuels.  That is all any of us can do.

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30 May 10 | Commentary
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