IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v122y2018icp63-74.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The metabolism of oil extraction: A bottom-up approach applied to the case of Ecuador

Author

Listed:
  • Parra, Rony
  • Di Felice, Louisa Jane
  • Giampietro, Mario
  • Ramos-Martin, Jesus

Abstract

The global energy system is highly dependent on fossil fuels, which covered approximately 90% of primary energy sources in 2016. As the quality and quantity of oil extracted changes, in response to changes in end uses and in response to biophysical limitations, it is important to understand the metabolism of oil extraction – i.e. the relation between the inputs used and the output extracted. We formalize a methodology to describe oil extraction based on the distinction between functional and structural elements, using the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) to generate a diagnostic of the performance of oil extraction and to build scenarios. The analysis allows generating modular benchmarks which are applicable to other countries. It is shown that oil extraction in Ecuador consumes, per cubic meter of crude oil extracted, over 100 kWh of electricity and 1.5 GJ of fuels, requiring 3 kW of power capacity and 2 h of human activity. A scenario is developed to check the effects on Ecuador's metabolic pattern of an increase in oil production over the next five years. The strength of the proposed methodology is highlighted, focusing on the adaptability of the method for dealing with policy issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Parra, Rony & Di Felice, Louisa Jane & Giampietro, Mario & Ramos-Martin, Jesus, 2018. "The metabolism of oil extraction: A bottom-up approach applied to the case of Ecuador," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 63-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:122:y:2018:i:c:p:63-74
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.07.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518304634
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.07.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peralta-Ruiz, Y. & González-Delgado, A.-D. & Kafarov, V., 2013. "Evaluation of alternatives for microalgae oil extraction based on exergy analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-236.
    2. Giampietro, Mario & Mayumi, Kozo & Ramos-Martin, Jesus, 2009. "Multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism (MuSIASEM): Theoretical concepts and basic rationale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 313-322.
    3. Lazzaroni, Edoardo Filippo & Elsholkami, Mohamed & Arbiv, Itai & Martelli, Emanuele & Elkamel, Ali & Fowler, Michael, 2016. "Energy infrastructure modeling for the oil sands industry: Current situation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 435-445.
    4. Court, Victor & Fizaine, Florian, 2017. "Long-Term Estimates of the Energy-Return-on-Investment (EROI) of Coal, Oil, and Gas Global Productions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 145-159.
    5. Brandt, Adam R. & Dale, Michael & Barnhart, Charles J., 2013. "Calculating systems-scale energy efficiency and net energy returns: A bottom-up matrix-based approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 235-247.
    6. Aragão, Amanda & Giampietro, Mario, 2016. "An integrated multi-scale approach to assess the performance of energy systems illustrated with data from the Brazilian oil and natural gas sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P2), pages 1412-1423.
    7. González-López, Rafael & Giampietro, Mario, 2018. "Relational analysis of the oil and gas sector of Mexico: Implications for Mexico's energy reform," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 403-414.
    8. Nimana, Balwinder & Canter, Christina & Kumar, Amit, 2015. "Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the recovery and extraction of crude bitumen from Canada’s oil sands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 189-199.
    9. Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Ramos-Martín, Jesus & Giampietro, Mario, 2015. "The energy metabolism of China and India between 1971 and 2010: Studying the bifurcation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1052-1066.
    10. Rathmann, Régis & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2010. "Land use competition for production of food and liquid biofuels: An analysis of the arguments in the current debate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 14-22.
    11. Vallejo, María Cristina & Burbano, Rafael & Falconí, Fander & Larrea, Carlos, 2015. "Leaving oil underground in Ecuador: The Yasuní-ITT initiative from a multi-criteria perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 175-185.
    12. Court, Victor & Fizaine, Florian, 2017. "Long-Term Estimates of the Energy-Return-on-Investment (EROI) of Coal, Oil, and Gas Global Productions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 145-159.
    13. Georgescu-Roegen, Nicholas, 1970. "The Economics of Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(2), pages 1-9, May.
    14. Diaz-Maurin, François & Giampietro, Mario, 2013. "A “Grammar” for assessing the performance of power-supply systems: Comparing nuclear energy to fossil energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 162-177.
    15. Poddar, Tuhin & Jagannath, Anoop & Almansoori, Ali, 2017. "Use of reactive distillation in biodiesel production: A simulation-based comparison of energy requirements and profitability indicators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 985-997.
    16. Owen, Nick A. & Inderwildi, Oliver R. & King, David A., 2010. "The status of conventional world oil reserves--Hype or cause for concern?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4743-4749, August.
    17. Chang, Yuan & Huang, Runze & Ries, Robert J. & Masanet, Eric, 2014. "Shale-to-well energy use and air pollutant emissions of shale gas production in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 147-157.
    18. Brandt, Adam R. & Englander, Jacob & Bharadwaj, Sharad, 2013. "The energy efficiency of oil sands extraction: Energy return ratios from 1970 to 2010," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 693-702.
    19. Chen, Yingchao & Feng, Lianyong & Wang, Jianliang & Höök, Mikael, 2017. "Emergy-based energy return on investment method for evaluating energy exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 540-549.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andreoni, Valeria, 2020. "The energy metabolism of countries: Energy efficiency and use in the period that followed the global financial crisis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Martin, Nick & Talens-Peiró, Laura & Villalba-Méndez, Gara & Nebot-Medina, Rafael & Madrid-López, Cristina, 2023. "An energy future beyond climate neutrality: Comprehensive evaluations of transition pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    3. Di Felice, Louisa Jane & Ripa, Maddalena & Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "An alternative to market-oriented energy models: Nexus patterns across hierarchical levels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 431-443.
    4. de Souza, T.A.Z. & Pinto, G.M. & Julio, A.A.V. & Coronado, C.J.R. & Perez-Herrera, R. & Siqueira, B.O.P.S. & da Costa, R.B.R. & Roberts, J.J. & Palacio, J.C.E., 2022. "Biodiesel in South American countries: A review on policies, stages of development and imminent competition with hydrotreated vegetable oil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. González-López, Rafael & Giampietro, Mario, 2018. "Relational analysis of the oil and gas sector of Mexico: Implications for Mexico's energy reform," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 403-414.
    2. Marco Vittorio Ecclesia & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Tiago Domingos, 2022. "A Comprehensive Societal Energy Return on Investment Study of Portugal Reveals a Low but Stable Value," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Salehi, Mohammad & Khajehpour, Hossein & Saboohi, Yadollah, 2020. "Extended Energy Return on Investment of multiproduct energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    4. Kai Whiting & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Angeles Carrasco & Tânia Sousa, 2017. "Exergy Replacement Cost of Fossil Fuels: Closing the Carbon Cycle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Delannoy, Louis & Longaretti, Pierre-Yves & Murphy, David J. & Prados, Emmanuel, 2021. "Peak oil and the low-carbon energy transition: A net-energy perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    6. Louisa Jane Di Felice & Maddalena Ripa & Mario Giampietro, 2018. "Deep Decarbonisation from a Biophysical Perspective: GHG Emissions of a Renewable Electricity Transformation in the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Huang, Chen & Gu, Baihe & Chen, Yingchao & Tan, Xianchun & Feng, Lianyong, 2019. "Energy return on energy, carbon, and water investment in oil and gas resource extraction: Methods and applications to the Daqing and Shengli oilfields," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Walmsley, Timothy G. & Walmsley, Michael R.W. & Varbanov, Petar S. & Klemeš, Jiří J., 2018. "Energy Ratio analysis and accounting for renewable and non-renewable electricity generation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 328-345.
    9. Victor Court, 2019. "An Estimation of Different Minimum Exergy Return Ratios Required for Society," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 1-13, September.
    10. Di Felice, Louisa Jane & Ripa, Maddalena & Giampietro, Mario, 2019. "An alternative to market-oriented energy models: Nexus patterns across hierarchical levels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 431-443.
    11. John W. Day & Christopher F. D’Elia & Adrian R. H. Wiegman & Jeffrey S. Rutherford & Charles A. S. Hall & Robert R. Lane & David E. Dismukes, 2018. "The Energy Pillars of Society: Perverse Interactions of Human Resource Use, the Economy, and Environmental Degradation," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-16, March.
    12. Luciano Celi & Claudio Della Volpe & Luca Pardi & Stefano Siboni, 2020. "Spruce budworm and oil price: a biophysical analogy," Papers 2004.14898, arXiv.org.
    13. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Giampietro, Mario, 2021. "The international division of labor and embodied working time in trade for the US, the EU and China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    14. Charles Guay-Boutet, 2023. "Estimating the Disaggregated Standard EROI of Canadian Oil Sands Extracted via Open-pit Mining, 1997–2016," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, March.
    15. Hong, Sanghyun & Kim, Eunsung & Jeong, Saerok, 2023. "Evaluating the sustainability of the hydrogen economy using multi-criteria decision-making analysis in Korea," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 485-492.
    16. Xiaoyue Wang & Shuyao Wu & Shuangcheng Li, 2017. "Urban Metabolism of Three Cities in Jing-Jin-Ji Urban Agglomeration, China: Using the MuSIASEM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Andreoni, Valeria, 2020. "The energy metabolism of countries: Energy efficiency and use in the period that followed the global financial crisis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    18. Couix, Quentin, 2020. "Georgescu-Roegen's Flow-Fund Theory of Production in Retrospect," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    19. Jacques, Pierre & Delannoy, Louis & Andrieu, Baptiste & Yilmaz, Devrim & Jeanmart, Hervé & Godin, Antoine, 2023. "Assessing the economic consequences of an energy transition through a biophysical stock-flow consistent model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    20. Campbell, Elliott T., 2015. "Emergy analysis of emerging methods of fossil fuel production," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 57-68.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Q02; Q35; Q41; Q57; Oil extraction; MuSIASEM; Ecuador; Metabolism; Complexity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q02 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Commodity Market
    • Q35 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Hydrocarbon Resources
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:122:y:2018:i:c:p:63-74. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.