I only recently learned that crude oil, indeed, has varying qualities. As examples, its density is deemed either "Light" or "Heavy," while its sufuric content is deemed either "sweet" (less than 0.5%) or "sour" (0.5% and above).
These references determine its degree and ease of transport and refinement, with lighter crude being closer to many finished products at the consumer level, i.e., gasoline, diesel, obviously, requiring less processing and, possibly, bringing it to market faster.
Alternatively, heavier crude has the opposite elements with transportation and refinement, but is normally cheaper to both buy and extract, bar crude being extracted from tar sands, which can in itself cost twice as much as conventional drilling.
My questions are:
* Is anyone aware of the nature of crude oil in Texas and, specifically, crude oil in and around Leon County, Texas?
* Is there a preference or favored version of most oil producers and operators?
* Can there exist both entities in the same general location?
* Overall, can one version be bargained/negotiated better than the other?
Thanks in advance,
kl
This will be a good topic for a blog.
Oil and Gas are minerals. A diamond is a mineral. Just as diamonds have varying grades, so do oil and gas. Gas is graded on impurities and the heating content. 1 mmbtu should be equal to 1mcf at standard pressure and temperature. It could have less heating content because of impurities – such as h2s or water vapor. It could have a higher heating content based on the richness of the hydrocarbons because of he quantity of condensate.
Oil, likewise has its impurities, such as paraffin and hydrogen sulfide. Oil is generally sold based on various benchmarks. In Texas, it is West Texas Intermediate. There are also gravity adjustments to price, based on how heavy or light it the product is. Heavy oils are more suitable for refining to lubes, heating oils, etc (Venezuela and Canada are famous for their heavy crudes). Lighter oils are more suitable to refining into gasoline and jet fuels. As a matter of fact, there is sometimes a natural refining of hydrocarbons in the reservoir itself, so that the product produced is a natural gasoline that you could run in your truck.
Can one county have more than one grade of crude oil. Of course. It really depends on the depositional characteristics and property of the source rock. I want to say that Live Oak County has both sweet and sour gas, depending on the formation produced from, for example.