EXPLORATION, RECOVERY, AND TRANSPORTATION 97
Finally, it is also possible for bitumen to be emulsified and shipped
by pipeline as an emulsion. This particular idea has received some
attention, especially in regard to bitumen recovery by aqueous
flooding methods. The idea is to produce the bitumen from the formation as an oil-in-water emulsion at the remote site followed by
shipping of the emulsion to an oil recovery and upgrading site.
Seagoing vessels also transport natural gas. The gas is either
transported under pressure at ambient temperatures (e.g. propane
and butanes) or at atmospheric pressure but with the cargo under
refrigeration (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas). For safety reasons,
petroleum tankers are constructed with several independent tanks
so that rupture of one tank will not necessarily drain the whole
ship, unless it is a severe bow-to-stern (or stern-to-bow) rupture.
Similarly, gas tankers also contain several separate tanks.
Natural gas presents different transportation requirements problems. Before World War II its use was limited by the difficulty in
transporting it over long distances. The gas found in oil fields was
frequently burned off; and unassociated dry gas was usually abandoned. After the war new steel alloys permitted the laying of largediameter pipes for gas transport in the United States. The discovery
of the Groningen field in the Netherlands in the early 1960s and
the exploitation of huge deposits in Soviet Siberia in the 1970s and
1980s led to a similar expansion of pipelines and natural gas use in
Europe.
Because of its lower density natural gas is much more expensive
to ship than crude oil. Most natural gas moves by pipeline, but in
the late 1960s tanker shipment of cryogenically liquefied natural
gas (LNG) began, particularly from the producing nations in the
Pacific to Japan. Special alloys are required to prevent the tanks
from becoming brittle at the low temperatures (-161°C, -258°F)
required to keep the gas liquid.
3.6 Products and Product Quality
Conventional crude oil is a brownish green to black liquids of specific gravity in a range from about 0.810 to 0.985 and having a boiling range from about 20°C (68°F) to above 350°C (660°F), above
which active decomposition ensues when distillation is attempted.
The oils contain from 0 to 35% or more of gasoline, as well as varying proportions of kerosene hydrocarbons and higher boiling
Finally, it is also possible for bitumen to be emulsified and shipped
by pipeline as an emulsion. This particular idea has received some
attention, especially in regard to bitumen recovery by aqueous
flooding methods. The idea is to produce the bitumen from the formation as an oil-in-water emulsion at the remote site followed by
shipping of the emulsion to an oil recovery and upgrading site.
Seagoing vessels also transport natural gas. The gas is either
transported under pressure at ambient temperatures (e.g. propane
and butanes) or at atmospheric pressure but with the cargo under
refrigeration (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas). For safety reasons,
petroleum tankers are constructed with several independent tanks
so that rupture of one tank will not necessarily drain the whole
ship, unless it is a severe bow-to-stern (or stern-to-bow) rupture.
Similarly, gas tankers also contain several separate tanks.
Natural gas presents different transportation requirements problems. Before World War II its use was limited by the difficulty in
transporting it over long distances. The gas found in oil fields was
frequently burned off; and unassociated dry gas was usually abandoned. After the war new steel alloys permitted the laying of largediameter pipes for gas transport in the United States. The discovery
of the Groningen field in the Netherlands in the early 1960s and
the exploitation of huge deposits in Soviet Siberia in the 1970s and
1980s led to a similar expansion of pipelines and natural gas use in
Europe.
Because of its lower density natural gas is much more expensive
to ship than crude oil. Most natural gas moves by pipeline, but in
the late 1960s tanker shipment of cryogenically liquefied natural
gas (LNG) began, particularly from the producing nations in the
Pacific to Japan. Special alloys are required to prevent the tanks
from becoming brittle at the low temperatures (-161°C, -258°F)
required to keep the gas liquid.
3.6 Products and Product Quality
Conventional crude oil is a brownish green to black liquids of specific gravity in a range from about 0.810 to 0.985 and having a boiling range from about 20°C (68°F) to above 350°C (660°F), above
which active decomposition ensues when distillation is attempted.
The oils contain from 0 to 35% or more of gasoline, as well as varying proportions of kerosene hydrocarbons and higher boiling