U.S. Bakken oil more flammable than others, regulator says

CBC News ^ | Jan 02, 2014 | CBC News

[ptsal]

MASTERS IN Harmonic Motion

[ptsal]

I like that... head gas....

[andyk]

Flammable means inflammable? What a country!

[GATOR NAVY]

I saw a bottle of Bakken crude, it was crystal clear, light brown/green, and about the same viscosity as #2 diesel. It smelled like #2 diesel too. It’s so good some people in the Bakken fields run the crude in their diesel engines straight out of the wells.

Due to a lack of tankers to transport unrefined crude from the East Indies to refineries in Japan, the Japanese Navy towards the end of the Pacific War put the stuff straight into their ships. It worked, but the crude was extremely volatile and some ships were lost from catastrophic explosions when fuel tanks were damaged and leaked vapors.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Flammability could also be tagged to the volatility of some of the chemicals used in fracking.

[thackney]

The key is not in the headline that leaves out the essential descriptive term of the article.

more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil

Bakken Crude is not a heavy oil. It is a light oil, with more light, easier to ignite components. Essentially all lighter oils are more flammable than heavy oils.

= = = = =

Bakken crude oil gravity ranges from 36 to 44 degrees API.
http://www.ndoil.org/?id=78&offset=5&advancedmode=1&category=Bakken%20Basics

The quality of this oil is excellent, almost identical to WTI. The benchmark crude oil is West Texas Intermediate, which is 40 degrees API sweet crude. It is the benchmark because it requires the least amount of processing in a modern refinery to make the most valuable products, unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel.

[MaxMax]

Another pig headed narcissistic do-gooder regulator trying to make a name for his career.
Our Gov are full of these people deserving a punch in the nose.

[Newtoidaho]

Bookmark

[Rodamala]

As of now... Crude oil is all placarded the same... as... uh... Crude oil.

[lafroste]

Most crudes seem to be full of straight run gasoline and lighter stuff.

If the crude has a lower flashpoint than "normal", that would lead me to believe that the oil is rich in lighter more volatile fractions. That means it will be a great feed stock for fuel plant. Sounds like good stuff, but treat it with respect.

[minnesota_bound]

I figure if you hit anything with a train it is gonna explode!

[gitmo]

Does this mean its a higher rade crude oil with better yields?

[clearcarbon]

Is this a little like what they haul around the city in tanker trucks?

[Dusty Road]

“Is this a little like what they haul around the city in tanker trucks?”

No that is far more volatile.