Comments on: Keep Our Oil at Home – U.S. Exports Oil at Record Pace

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:58:29 +0000

I started looking for references about the Sulfur content of oil, and I found some interesting information. There is a document called the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, put out by the Energy Information Administration. The document for 29Aug2008, can be found at this link.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/current/pdf/wpsrall.pdf

This document shows that 1.711 Million Barrels were exported on average between Jan and July 2008, but of this ONLY 21 Million Barrels were crude oil. The rest was refined oil. However, we imported 13.054 Million Barrels over the same time period. This means that we are importing just under ten times more than we are exporting. On page 8 of this document the sulfur ppm (parts per million) are detailed. Please note the large amount that is over 500ppm. Now, the question that must be answered is: What is the limit of sulfur for American fuel?

http://www.clean-diesel.org/highway.html

The above link contains information about the requirements about sulfur in Diesel fuel. It requires that refineries have to produce 80% of their fuel with lower than 15ppm sulfur. Lower than 15ppm, and we are taking it out of the ground with over 500ppm! That is a big reduction in the amount of sulfer, and when the oil gets too much sulfur it just cannot be reduced to 15ppm.

So you may ask why don’t they just take the sulfur out of the fuel? Please see the references at the end of this for the answer. Also you may ask why is it just Diesel fuel with the requirement and not petroleum? The answer is that for most cars a catalytic converter can be installed to scrub the exhaust of the car before it is put out into the air. But this cannot be done for diesels yet, again see references at the end. Another question would be why don’t they just use petroleum instead of diesel? Well, one simple answer is that diesel is actually a by product of petroleum production. Also, it is more powerful than petroleum. See the following link for an explanation.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/oil.html

I hope that this sheds some light on the topic. Is is not a simple solution.

Below are some related journal/conference articles on this topic.

Plantenga F.L., Leliveld R.G. Sulfur in fuels: More stringent sulfur specifications for fuels are driving innovation(2003) Applied Catalysis A: General, 248 (1-2), pp. 1-7.

Orr, W.L. ; White, C.M. Geochemistry of sulfur in fossil fuels 1990 Jan 01 national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS); 9-14 Apr 1989; Dallas, TX (United States); DOE Project

Edwin A. Frame; Matthew G. Blanks. Exhaust Emissions From a 6.5L Diesel Engine Using Synthetic Fuel and Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel; Interim rept. Feb-Dec 2003, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INST SAN ANTONIO TXBELVOIR FUELS AND LUBRICANTS RESEARCH FACILITY

Knudsen K.G., Cooper B.H., Topsoe H. Catalyst and process technologies for ultra low sulfur diesel
(1999) Applied Catalysis A: General, 189 (2), pp. 205-215.

Mei H., Mei B.W., Yen T.F. A new method for obtaining ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel via ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization
(2003) Fuel, 82 (4), pp. 405-414.

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:58:30 +0000

Fascinating Tim. Do you have anywhere where this is documented/backed up?

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:39:49 +0000

The reason that we export a lot of our oil is because it has high sulfur content. Sulfur is one of those things that hurts the environment. Because of this we cannot use our own oil. So we export our oil to countries without the environmental regulations that the US has, and import oil with low amounts of Sulfur. This article is very one sided and does not tell the entire store. We cannot make laws to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels, and then complain because those same laws cause harm to the economy.

By: Len

Len — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:06:28 +0000

I believe that the Oil Cos. have been manipulating their prices all along, greed. When demand went down because consumers cut back, truckers lost jobs, etc., Exxon/Mobil considered reducing production because of the surplus. Americans really do need to get informed with facts, not what the government poses for with their controlled media stories. I don't believe there exists/ed any shortage of fuel or greed and they are going hand in hand! I was here when there was one. People are in crisis. Oil prices of Mass Destruction! This one is real, not fabricated like the war we are in.

By: Don’t Be Fueli

Don’t Be Fueli — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:32:19 +0000

[...]We consume 20.7 million barrels of oil a day, but only 40-percent of that is home grown. Considering we only own 3-percent of the world’s oil reserves, offshore contributions would barely be significant.[...]

By: Thomas Schueneman

Thomas Schueneman — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:25:45 +0000

My principal source, as linked to from the article, is from the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming: http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressr... The letter Chairman Markey sent to the president is here (pdf): http://globalwarming.house.gov/tools/2q08material...

By: Ruth Simerly

Ruth Simerly — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:44:33 +0000

Fascinating. What is the source(s) of the exported oil. Who is involved in the process?

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:30:58 +0000

Wow, this is incredible. Completely exposes the meaningless sham the ANWAR demands are. Thanks Tom.

By: Kurt Olney

Kurt Olney — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:33:12 +0000

I have heard this export number thrown around before. I have not been able to find the source of this information, nor the reason for it if it is true. I am holding judgment on this until know the complete story and the sources for the facts in this article.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:08:54 +0000

The claim is that we export heavy crude that isn't suitable for gasoline????? If thats the case, Why is diesel more exspensive than gasoline?

The high price of diesel has more to do with high food prices, than E85.

I'm not saying conspiracy, it just looks like business as usual for the stockholders.

These exports are way up in 2008, right along with the price of gas, and especially diesel.