Energy Part 1: Oil and Natural Gas

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the formation, extraction methods (including fracking and tar sands), and socio-environmental trade-offs of oil and natural gas.

Fossil fuels

A valuable but nonrenewable resource formed from dead organisms that sank into sediments millions of years ago.

Nonrenewable resource

A resource that is finite and not replenished on a human timescale, such as oil and natural gas.

Conventional reserves

Liquid oil or natural gas deposits that are contained within reservoir rock and can be extracted by traditional drilling and pumping.

Unconventional reserves

Fossil fuel deposits that are trapped in rock or mixed with sand or clay, requiring non-traditional extraction methods like fracking or mining.

Tight oil

Light crude oil contained in petroleum-bearing formations of low permeability, often shale or tight sandstone, extracted via fracking.

Proven conventional reserves

The amount of a fossil fuel that is known to exist and is economically feasible to extract with current technology.

Peak oil

The point in time when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum is reached, after which production enters a terminal decline.

Primary Production

The first phase of oil extraction where oil flows freely at first and is later pumped out as the flow diminishes.

Secondary Production

An extraction method where water is pumped into the deposit via injection wells to force out more oil.

Tertiary Production

A recovery method where steam, natural gas, or $CO_2$ is pumped into a deposit to force out additional oil.

Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing)

A process where a slurry of sand, water, and chemicals is pumped into a well to enlarge rock fractures, allowing tight oil or natural gas to escape.

Methane

A potent greenhouse gas that is a primary component of natural gas and produces $CO_2$ emissions when burned.

Tar sands oil

An unconventional source of oil extracted through mining that has the highest carbon footprint of any fossil fuel extraction method.

Bakken Oil Boom

A surge in oil production fueled by fracking technology, raising questions about its role in achieving energy independence.

Wastewater injection wells

Wells used for the permanent disposal of toxic fracking fluid, which have been linked to the occurrence of earthquakes.