20 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
Table 1.4 Current and projected energy consumption scenarios
(GRI, 1998).
Energy Consumption (quads)
Petroleum
Gas
Coal
Nuclear
Hydro
Other
1995
1996
Actual
34.7
22.3
19.7
7.2
3.4
3.2
36.0
22.6
20.8
7.2
4.0
3.3
2000
2005
2010
2015
Projected
37.7
23.9
22.3
7.6
3.1
3.7
40.4
26.3
24.1
7.4
3.2
4.0
42.6
28.8
26.2
6.9
3.2
4.8
44.1
31.9
29.0
4.7
3.2
5.2
and products will continue for several decades. As a result, fossil
fuels are projected to be the major sources of energy for the next
fifty years. In this respect, petroleum and its associates (heavy oil
and residua) are extremely important in any energy scenario, especially those scenarios that relate to the production of liquid fuels.
Indeed, over the past two decades the quality of crude oil has deteriorated (Swain, 1991,1993,1998,2000), which has caused the nature
of refining to change considerably. This, of course, has led to the
need to manage crude quality more effectively through evaluation
and product slates (Waguespack and Healey, 1998; Speight, 2007).
Indeed, the declining reserves of lighter crude oil have resulted in
an increasing need to develop options to desulfurize and upgrade
the heavy feedstocks, specifically heavy oil and bitumen (Speight,
2008). This has resulted in a variety of process options that specialise
in sulfur removal during refining. Though it will not be covered in
this text, it is worthy of note that microbial desulfurization is being
assiduously investigated as a recognised commercial technology for
desulfurization (Monticello, 1995; Armstrong et ai, 1997).
With the necessity of processing heavy oil, bitumen, and residua
to obtain more gasoline and other liquid fuels, there has been the
recognition that knowledge of the constituents of these higher boiling feedstocks is also of some importance. Indeed, the problems
encountered in processing the heavier feedstocks can be equated to
Table 1.4 Current and projected energy consumption scenarios
(GRI, 1998).
Energy Consumption (quads)
Petroleum
Gas
Coal
Nuclear
Hydro
Other
1995
1996
Actual
34.7
22.3
19.7
7.2
3.4
3.2
36.0
22.6
20.8
7.2
4.0
3.3
2000
2005
2010
2015
Projected
37.7
23.9
22.3
7.6
3.1
3.7
40.4
26.3
24.1
7.4
3.2
4.0
42.6
28.8
26.2
6.9
3.2
4.8
44.1
31.9
29.0
4.7
3.2
5.2
and products will continue for several decades. As a result, fossil
fuels are projected to be the major sources of energy for the next
fifty years. In this respect, petroleum and its associates (heavy oil
and residua) are extremely important in any energy scenario, especially those scenarios that relate to the production of liquid fuels.
Indeed, over the past two decades the quality of crude oil has deteriorated (Swain, 1991,1993,1998,2000), which has caused the nature
of refining to change considerably. This, of course, has led to the
need to manage crude quality more effectively through evaluation
and product slates (Waguespack and Healey, 1998; Speight, 2007).
Indeed, the declining reserves of lighter crude oil have resulted in
an increasing need to develop options to desulfurize and upgrade
the heavy feedstocks, specifically heavy oil and bitumen (Speight,
2008). This has resulted in a variety of process options that specialise
in sulfur removal during refining. Though it will not be covered in
this text, it is worthy of note that microbial desulfurization is being
assiduously investigated as a recognised commercial technology for
desulfurization (Monticello, 1995; Armstrong et ai, 1997).
With the necessity of processing heavy oil, bitumen, and residua
to obtain more gasoline and other liquid fuels, there has been the
recognition that knowledge of the constituents of these higher boiling feedstocks is also of some importance. Indeed, the problems
encountered in processing the heavier feedstocks can be equated to