Naturally occuring oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico

[Anti Federalist]

Releases of oil from naturally occurring seeps on the sea floor amount to over 43 million gallons each year.

140,000 metric tonnes x 7.33 to convert to barrels = 1,026,200 bbls.

1,026,200 x 42 (gallons per barrel) = 43,100,400

Granted, it's not as concentrated, but still, a little perspective is in order here.


[N]ew technologies, particularly remote sensing techniques, have provided better means of natural seep detection and assessment. Studies in parts of the Gulf of Mexico (MacDonald et al., 1993; MacDonald, 1998; Mitchell et al., 1999), using these new technologies, have resulted in an estimated seepage rate for the entire Gulf of Mexico of 140,000 tonnes per year (range of 80,000 to 200,000 tonnes per year).

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10388&page=70

[idirtify]

So 3.3 million gallons of PURE CRUDE leak into the gulf each month?

[Anti Federalist]

So 3.3 million gallons of PURE CRUDE leak into the gulf each month?

Across the whole thing, yep.

I've seen the seep slicks a hundred times.

It's just not concentrated, so it mostly evaporates.

[idirtify]

Across the whole thing, yep.

I've seen the seep slicks a hundred times.

It's just not concentrated, so it mostly evaporates.

I’m no oil expert; but...

First, if it’s concentrated enough to form a slick in a certain spot, it’s not exactly “not concentrated”.

Second, if it evaporates, it’s not pure crude.

[Anti Federalist]

Second, if it evaporates, it’s not pure crude.

Oh, light sweet crude, which is what this is, most certainly evaporates, it's loaded with high end VOCs. That's what makes it more valuable than heavy, black crude.

You get around the stuff, it's like sticking your head in a gasoline can.

Which is why the stuff on the beach has no value anymore, it's mostly just sludge.

[idirtify]

Oh, light sweet crude, which is what this is, most certainly evaporates, it's loaded with high end VOCs. That's what makes it more valuable than heavy, black crude.

You get around the stuff, it's like sticking your head in a gasoline can.

Which is why the stuff on the beach has no value anymore, it's mostly just sludge.

That’s what I suspected. It’s not the same kind of “pure crude”. So obviously this contradicts your OP which attempted to minimize the ecological impact of the current spill. Since those 3.3 million natural gallons per month evaporate away and are NOT the same kind of pure crude, it says nothing about the environmental impact of the BP spill. Right?

If I’m right, I must press you about your OP. Since you obviously knew the naturally leaked oil is only the volatile fraction that quickly evaporates, why did you make such a misleading post? “Less concentrated” and “a little perspective” are both blatantly misleading terms in context of this spill. “Less concentrated” is a dishonest way to characterize the highly volatile fraction of crude oil, and it offers NO "perspective" of less damage to the environment. Right?

[libertythor]

I thought that petroleum was 100% natural and organic. :D

[idirtify]

I thought that petroleum was 100% natural and organic. :D

Yeah, so are extinction-event asteroids.:D

[Anti Federalist]

That’s what I suspected. It’s not the same kind of “pure crude”. So obviously this contradicts your OP which attempted to minimize the ecological impact of the current spill. Since those 3.3 million natural gallons per month evaporate away and are NOT the same kind of pure crude, it says nothing about the environmental impact of the BP spill. Right?

If I’m right, I must press you about your OP. Since you obviously knew the naturally leaked oil is only the volatile fraction that quickly evaporates, why did you make such a misleading post? “Less concentrated” and “a little perspective” are both blatantly misleading terms in context of this spill. “Less concentrated” is a dishonest way to characterize the highly volatile fraction of crude oil, and it offers NO "perspective" of less damage to the environment. Right?

Crude is crude.

There is black heavy crude and there is light sweet crude, with every shade of variation between the two.

You are wrong, crude of any type evaporates, some types more readily than others.

Less concentrated means that the natural seeps occur over a huge area rather than a drilled well.

But what comes out of the ground naturally and what comes out of the drilled hole is the exact same thing.

Now, what is the ecological impact and over how long a term of time?

In 1979 the Ixtoc 1 well blew out off the gulf coast of Mexico, spilling over 140 millions gallons over a period of 9 months.

Was that the end of the ecosystem forever, or did the natural forces of nature break down a naturally occurring substance (that leaks at an astounding rate each year on it's own) within a few years to the point where nobody would know anything had ever happened?