Part of the problem with the tar sands oil transport is that it has to be mixed with volatile chemicals to dilute it enough to allow it to flow. The end result is Dilbit, a sandy, chemical, oil slurry that is much more abrasive and corrosive to pipes than ordinary oil. In 2010, when a 6 ft. diameter pipe cracked on a Kalamazoo, MI tributary, it took 24 hours for the company, Enbridge to realize there was a break. They have since spent over a $billion cleaning it up and are not finished yet.
It has just been brought to my attention that there are huge reserves in Utah of oil sands. Is it possible that not only will the price of oil affect the feasibility of building the Keystone Pipeline, but also the interests of Utah politicians who want their oil sands to avoid competition with Canada’s? Utah’s tar sands are estimated to hold 12 to 19 billion barrels of oil.
Here is an interesting article covering both Canada and Utah tar sands oil. http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/tarsands/
Volatile chemicals? like Naphtha, Pentane Plus, etc?
The stuff that normally exists in light crude oil we pump with no additional concerns?
It is not more abrasive or corrosive than crude oil.
Federal scientists: Diluted oil sands crude poses no higher pipeline risk
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/06/25/federal-scientists-diluted-tar-sands-crude-poses-no-higher-pipeline-risk/
The heavy oil sands crude that would flow through Keystone XL is no more likely to cause pipelines to corrode and fail than other crudes, according to a government study Tuesday that could give a boost to the controversial TransCanada Corp. project...
The academy’s study concluded that “diluted bitumen does not have unique or extreme properties that make it more likely than other crude oils to cause internal damage to transmission pipelines from corrosion or erosion.” Because diluted bitumen — also known as “dilbit” — is comparable in viscosity and density to other crude oils, it moves through pipelines in a similar manner, the scientists found.
Additionally, organic acids in diluted bitumen are not corrosive to steel under pipeline operating temperatures, the researchers said.
They also found that diluted bitumen does not have any unique properties making it more likely to cause damage to transmission pipelines, either by external corrosion and cracking or from mechanical forces:
> In 2010, when a 6 ft. diameter pipe cracked on a Kalamazoo, MI tributary, it took 24 hours for the company, Enbridge to realize there was a break. They have since spent over a $billion cleaning it up and are not finished yet.
They are finished, as was pointed out to you before.
> Portions of the river were dredged and riverbank was restored with native plantings along the entire 35-mile stretch of waterway in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties. Dredging near Ceresco and Morrow Lake is being completed. On Oct. 9, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported that all sections of the river had reopened for public use.