Never a worry Deirdre .. am a total Amateur Sleuth myself re ‘the Big Picture Of Alberta Oil.. & my concern is how Canadian ‘perceptions -> lead to ‘Beliefs .. or worse - we’re subjected to Misinformation, Disinformation & ‘Conflicting NOISE’ via Candidates & Elected Public Servants.. served up via Partisan Political EDA’s - ‘Electoral District Associations
Pretending Danielle Smith is anything but a ‘Closet Separatist & Consummate Daily Deceiver is dangerous to the Health & Welfare of almost every Albertan currently.. This raises the Dire Issue of Big Vested Interest finding her a truly useful & loyal malignant narcissist pawn along with her ludicrous evangelical cabin boy David Parker.. & looky here eh ! Stephen Harper & his cabin boy Ray Novak .. suddenly gifted Control of AIMCO & the Pension Funds of Albertans ..
All this Endorsed to the Hilt by Pierre Poutine 4 Poilevre himself & the delightful Ms Jenni Byrne - his Common Law wife until the evening before launching the 2011 Live & RoboCall Election Fraud campaign that impacted some 240 + Federal Ridings.. as Documented In Court of Law Records available to the Public
Hmmmm… interesting dialogue on grades of oil… but more important to me is the US power dynamic. We’ve seen the cult-like toadying of people like the Speaker of the House. Will that change as the Trump Party loses its sway and the Republicans re-emerge? Will years 3 and 4 look quite different from the toadying of 2024-25? How will that affect the dilettante who actually shrugged at a podium and engaged/speculated in imperialism and cultural genocide? Makes his comments on Canada and Greenland almost benign.
Please attempt ‘factual accuracy.. Words & Terms do Matter .. ! The United States NATIONAL DEBT is some 32 Trillion.. but you ‘muddy the waters’ calling it ‘Deficit
Canadians do Nobody - any favours re THREE Specific Energy Sources & their Relative Value by Conflating Diluted Bitumen (dilbit) & Synthetic blends of Heavy Crude with Conventional Oil ‘a la Beverly Hillbillies - Black Gold - whether ‘Ethical - Blessed by the Pope.. or Danielle Smith’s stockbroker - aka - 2% of Canada’s ‘vast Oil Reserves.. Yes ! 98% is black, granular like ‘brown sugar & now primarily ‘steamed from the Bitumen Sands prior to Upgrading er Various Markets & Priced according to Benchmark Value.. That is NOT a ‘discount - unless one can believe that Canadian Margarine is ‘unfairly Discounted Texas Butter..
PS.. ‘get in the know’ re other sources of Heavy Crude extracts & upgrades from Bitumen eh !
Utah in the USA - Soon ?? - along with Venezuela especially - plus Trinidad & Tobago soon ?
I have no idea what Thomas’s weirdly capitalized unibomber manifesto means. But regarding crude types, it’s far too simplistic to say Canada produces “heavy crude” and that Venezuela’s “extra heavy” is an incompatible replacement. Canada produces many grades, which tend towards heavy, but are not exclusively. WCS is different than Bow River, which is different than Pembina, which is different than dilbit, which is different than synthetic, etc. The benefit of running heavier crude, is that it allows a refinery to squeeze in lighter barrels that they could ordinarily not run. By blending crudes that are both lower priced according to property limitations, the overall cost of feed is reduced. The key concept is that refineries run multiple grades of crudes so that the each crudes most constraining properties are diluted by one of the other grades in the slate. E.g. light crudes offset the worst qualities of the heavy. And heavy crudes offset the worst qualities of the light. Same goes for sourness, paraffin content, aromatics, etc, etc, etc. And by doing this, you increase the volume you can run up to some constraining equipment limit, and decrease your feed cost. I retired as a crude processing expert at one of the majors and am happy to offer I technical insight if you’d like.
Those are some very deep weeds lol, but I thank you for the info. A few years ago, I searched “what’s the difference between shale oil and bitumen?” And after a day of reading that took me from Alberta to the U.S., then to Britain, I have since summarized it this: shale oil is basically so light as to be useless and needs to be mixed with a heavier grade to produce anything useful. Therefore, the U.S. still needs our oil, but during the shale boom, they needed less.”
It works for me — I don’t pretend to be an expert in oil refinery, or even oil as a resource. I just needed to know how the shale boom affected our oil exports in 2018.
When a crude oil refining SME tells you about crude oil processing, refinery configuration, and refinery economics, chances are he’s right and might just actually know waaaay more than you do on those topics. That you don’t agree in “any way, shape or form” with my comments is only just laughable.
With respect - Are you confused ? The graphic hierarchy of substack comments can be deceptive. Have neither disputed a single word of yours.. or intend to - I’m most clearly responding to Our Host - Deirdre.. as her ‘summary earned my ‘response - unfortunately
I’m a ‘tough crowd’ re Factual Information as well as related Terminology - especially Topics of Such Consequential Impact
Thanks for your comment - I’ve a ‘refined sense of humour too - eh ! 🦎🏴☠️
Thanks for your detailed expert insights Garth.. feel free to lecture me re 2nd Narrows Shipping & Tides, Venezuelan SuperTankers & Houston Refineries, Utah Bitumen, Midwest Asphalt Markets, Sulphur Contents, Emissions Data Suppression, Diluent Pricing.. Have mucho Albertan & BC family in the biz, fabulous Contacts worldwide & was pushing boreal muck & clay in the oil fields late 70’s with heavy tracked machines & with tires far taller than me at 6’ 3”
I also Wrote The Script when the Toronto Stock Exchange went Public & Directed the IPO Video that was seen WorldWide in Languages I don’t pretend to even Spell Correctly .. Clients like Imperial Oil of Canada, Air Canada, Government of Canada don’t pay for ‘manifestos
My interest here is in Mainstream Media & Perceptions re Canadian Energy - whether Exported or consumed in Canada .. & not in the varying Sulphur content of Bitumen, Electro or Gas Welding specs of Pipelines or Cracking Towers or other minutia & thanks .. have shot on assignment in many North American Refineries & Ports & for clients with different interests.. including micro explosives during Refinery Turnarounds.. & been personally - shooting deeper under the earth’s crust than any horizontal drilling I’m currently aware of .. I did say ‘currently aware of’ ..
I’m a fan of Dr Andrew Leach at U of Alberta - aside from numerous others
& when the Topic is Polar Bears - Dr Andre Durocher U of A as well eh !
Am not trying to get deep into the ‘science of Petroleum
My point is more about current & immediate future of Exporting Canadian Energy Resources into the USA Markets - in context to Alternative Sources relative to Donald Trump eliminating Environmental Barriers.. & ‘Drill Baby Drill’. But Logistics of Shipping are also a huge part of the story re Venezuela as they can ship to many Nations that may desire their Conventional Oil as well as Bitumen. Last I looked many Nations have paved roads & highways - nobody moreso than the United States.. yes ‘asphalt is a huge Market too .. Are the Utah Bitumen Deposits now Viable with no Environmental regulations ?
The technical truth lies somewhere in between…. I could write 50 pages but I’ll spare everyone. The shale oil is indeed extremely light which means operational problems related to overhead cooling, heat transfer, pumping, etc., given that the refineries were built to process heavier (but not necessarily “heavy crude”). So the refineries either need massive, long term, expensive modification (which some are doing but this has a 5-10 year time frame) or to buy heavier crude to offset. But that definitely doesn’t mean by running shale oil they don’t need heavier crude. They just need it for different reasons now. And if a refinery can’t procure this crude in the short term, a massive rate cut is the only option to stay operational. Contrary to what some of the economists are saying, which is correct from a long term macro perspective, refinery economics are far more complex and drastic in the near term until crude and product prices equilibrate. It’s a very dynamic market even in normal times. Moreso now.
Not clear what is important to Deirdre re 2018 & Shale Oil - but perhaps I missed that earlier on ? It’s my belief Canadian Voters should at least be informed by Simple & Consistent Understandings - Grade 5 Level ? Re our Environment, Resources, Education, Healthcare, Governance etc etc - & surely it ain’t ‘too big an ask’ that our Elected Public Servants are capable & willing to embrace & actually Share such Simple & Consistent Facts
Never a worry Deirdre .. am a total Amateur Sleuth myself re ‘the Big Picture Of Alberta Oil.. & my concern is how Canadian ‘perceptions -> lead to ‘Beliefs .. or worse - we’re subjected to Misinformation, Disinformation & ‘Conflicting NOISE’ via Candidates & Elected Public Servants.. served up via Partisan Political EDA’s - ‘Electoral District Associations
Pretending Danielle Smith is anything but a ‘Closet Separatist & Consummate Daily Deceiver is dangerous to the Health & Welfare of almost every Albertan currently.. This raises the Dire Issue of Big Vested Interest finding her a truly useful & loyal malignant narcissist pawn along with her ludicrous evangelical cabin boy David Parker.. & looky here eh ! Stephen Harper & his cabin boy Ray Novak .. suddenly gifted Control of AIMCO & the Pension Funds of Albertans ..
All this Endorsed to the Hilt by Pierre Poutine 4 Poilevre himself & the delightful Ms Jenni Byrne - his Common Law wife until the evening before launching the 2011 Live & RoboCall Election Fraud campaign that impacted some 240 + Federal Ridings.. as Documented In Court of Law Records available to the Public
The more one digs.. the worse it gets .. 🦎🏴☠️🍁
Hmmmm… interesting dialogue on grades of oil… but more important to me is the US power dynamic. We’ve seen the cult-like toadying of people like the Speaker of the House. Will that change as the Trump Party loses its sway and the Republicans re-emerge? Will years 3 and 4 look quite different from the toadying of 2024-25? How will that affect the dilettante who actually shrugged at a podium and engaged/speculated in imperialism and cultural genocide? Makes his comments on Canada and Greenland almost benign.
Please attempt ‘factual accuracy.. Words & Terms do Matter .. ! The United States NATIONAL DEBT is some 32 Trillion.. but you ‘muddy the waters’ calling it ‘Deficit
Canadians do Nobody - any favours re THREE Specific Energy Sources & their Relative Value by Conflating Diluted Bitumen (dilbit) & Synthetic blends of Heavy Crude with Conventional Oil ‘a la Beverly Hillbillies - Black Gold - whether ‘Ethical - Blessed by the Pope.. or Danielle Smith’s stockbroker - aka - 2% of Canada’s ‘vast Oil Reserves.. Yes ! 98% is black, granular like ‘brown sugar & now primarily ‘steamed from the Bitumen Sands prior to Upgrading er Various Markets & Priced according to Benchmark Value.. That is NOT a ‘discount - unless one can believe that Canadian Margarine is ‘unfairly Discounted Texas Butter..
PS.. ‘get in the know’ re other sources of Heavy Crude extracts & upgrades from Bitumen eh !
Utah in the USA - Soon ?? - along with Venezuela especially - plus Trinidad & Tobago soon ?
🦎🏴☠️🧨
Venezuela has “extra heavy”, which may be incompatible with their machinery which is set up to refine “heavy” crude, that they import mostly from AB.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54199
$36 trillion https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-national-debt-hits-new-record-36-trillion
good catch on the deficit/debt, though. Cheers.
I have no idea what Thomas’s weirdly capitalized unibomber manifesto means. But regarding crude types, it’s far too simplistic to say Canada produces “heavy crude” and that Venezuela’s “extra heavy” is an incompatible replacement. Canada produces many grades, which tend towards heavy, but are not exclusively. WCS is different than Bow River, which is different than Pembina, which is different than dilbit, which is different than synthetic, etc. The benefit of running heavier crude, is that it allows a refinery to squeeze in lighter barrels that they could ordinarily not run. By blending crudes that are both lower priced according to property limitations, the overall cost of feed is reduced. The key concept is that refineries run multiple grades of crudes so that the each crudes most constraining properties are diluted by one of the other grades in the slate. E.g. light crudes offset the worst qualities of the heavy. And heavy crudes offset the worst qualities of the light. Same goes for sourness, paraffin content, aromatics, etc, etc, etc. And by doing this, you increase the volume you can run up to some constraining equipment limit, and decrease your feed cost. I retired as a crude processing expert at one of the majors and am happy to offer I technical insight if you’d like.
Those are some very deep weeds lol, but I thank you for the info. A few years ago, I searched “what’s the difference between shale oil and bitumen?” And after a day of reading that took me from Alberta to the U.S., then to Britain, I have since summarized it this: shale oil is basically so light as to be useless and needs to be mixed with a heavier grade to produce anything useful. Therefore, the U.S. still needs our oil, but during the shale boom, they needed less.”
With respect - cannot agree with this ‘summary’ in any way shape or form
My suggestion is simply delete it .. 🦎🏴☠️🍁
It works for me — I don’t pretend to be an expert in oil refinery, or even oil as a resource. I just needed to know how the shale boom affected our oil exports in 2018.
When a crude oil refining SME tells you about crude oil processing, refinery configuration, and refinery economics, chances are he’s right and might just actually know waaaay more than you do on those topics. That you don’t agree in “any way, shape or form” with my comments is only just laughable.
With respect - Are you confused ? The graphic hierarchy of substack comments can be deceptive. Have neither disputed a single word of yours.. or intend to - I’m most clearly responding to Our Host - Deirdre.. as her ‘summary earned my ‘response - unfortunately
I’m a ‘tough crowd’ re Factual Information as well as related Terminology - especially Topics of Such Consequential Impact
Thanks for your comment - I’ve a ‘refined sense of humour too - eh ! 🦎🏴☠️
Thanks for your detailed expert insights Garth.. feel free to lecture me re 2nd Narrows Shipping & Tides, Venezuelan SuperTankers & Houston Refineries, Utah Bitumen, Midwest Asphalt Markets, Sulphur Contents, Emissions Data Suppression, Diluent Pricing.. Have mucho Albertan & BC family in the biz, fabulous Contacts worldwide & was pushing boreal muck & clay in the oil fields late 70’s with heavy tracked machines & with tires far taller than me at 6’ 3”
I also Wrote The Script when the Toronto Stock Exchange went Public & Directed the IPO Video that was seen WorldWide in Languages I don’t pretend to even Spell Correctly .. Clients like Imperial Oil of Canada, Air Canada, Government of Canada don’t pay for ‘manifestos
My interest here is in Mainstream Media & Perceptions re Canadian Energy - whether Exported or consumed in Canada .. & not in the varying Sulphur content of Bitumen, Electro or Gas Welding specs of Pipelines or Cracking Towers or other minutia & thanks .. have shot on assignment in many North American Refineries & Ports & for clients with different interests.. including micro explosives during Refinery Turnarounds.. & been personally - shooting deeper under the earth’s crust than any horizontal drilling I’m currently aware of .. I did say ‘currently aware of’ ..
I’m a fan of Dr Andrew Leach at U of Alberta - aside from numerous others
& when the Topic is Polar Bears - Dr Andre Durocher U of A as well eh !
Am not trying to get deep into the ‘science of Petroleum
My point is more about current & immediate future of Exporting Canadian Energy Resources into the USA Markets - in context to Alternative Sources relative to Donald Trump eliminating Environmental Barriers.. & ‘Drill Baby Drill’. But Logistics of Shipping are also a huge part of the story re Venezuela as they can ship to many Nations that may desire their Conventional Oil as well as Bitumen. Last I looked many Nations have paved roads & highways - nobody moreso than the United States.. yes ‘asphalt is a huge Market too .. Are the Utah Bitumen Deposits now Viable with no Environmental regulations ?
The technical truth lies somewhere in between…. I could write 50 pages but I’ll spare everyone. The shale oil is indeed extremely light which means operational problems related to overhead cooling, heat transfer, pumping, etc., given that the refineries were built to process heavier (but not necessarily “heavy crude”). So the refineries either need massive, long term, expensive modification (which some are doing but this has a 5-10 year time frame) or to buy heavier crude to offset. But that definitely doesn’t mean by running shale oil they don’t need heavier crude. They just need it for different reasons now. And if a refinery can’t procure this crude in the short term, a massive rate cut is the only option to stay operational. Contrary to what some of the economists are saying, which is correct from a long term macro perspective, refinery economics are far more complex and drastic in the near term until crude and product prices equilibrate. It’s a very dynamic market even in normal times. Moreso now.
Not clear what is important to Deirdre re 2018 & Shale Oil - but perhaps I missed that earlier on ? It’s my belief Canadian Voters should at least be informed by Simple & Consistent Understandings - Grade 5 Level ? Re our Environment, Resources, Education, Healthcare, Governance etc etc - & surely it ain’t ‘too big an ask’ that our Elected Public Servants are capable & willing to embrace & actually Share such Simple & Consistent Facts
We had a bit of a build in oil sales after 2014 and then it dropped during the shale boom in the u.s.