Module 1 for Review

7/30/2019 Module 1 for Review

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Profire Energy, Inc.

Training

Handbook 1Handbook 1.1


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Name

Hire Date

Position

Office Location

Contact Number


321 South 1250 West

Lindon, UT 84042

Phone 801-796-5127 Fax 801.785.5455www.ProfireEnergy.com


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents..................................................................................... .......................................2

Introduction & Training Modules Overview ................................ ......................................... .............3

Training Modules ............................................................... ......................................... ....................3

Modules Progress .............................................................. ......................................... ....................4

COMPANY INTRODUCTION 5

Profires History..............................................................................................................................5

Profire Today ........................................... ................................................. ......................................6

INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION 7

General Information ................................................. ............................................... .......................7

Widespread Use of Oil & Natural Gas .......................................... ............................................... ..7

Supply & Demand of Energy......................................... ............................................... .................8

The Burner Management Industry: Wellsites ................................................................................9

The Burner Management Industry: Pipelines.................................................................................9

How the Industry Processes Oil/Natural Gas ................................................................................... 10

Major Industry Processes .................................................................................... ....................... 11

Fuel Trains........................................ ............................................... ......................................... .... 13

Electric vs. Pneumatic .......................................... ............................................... ....................... 14

The Role of a Burner Management System (BMS) ........................................................................... 16

Pilot & Burner Setup ................................ .............................................. ....................................... 17

Flame Ionization/Rectification................................................................... ................................. 19

Sensing Temperature in an Application ............ .................................................. ............................ 21

Electric vs. Pneumatic .......................................... ............................................... ....................... 21

Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams ......................................... ............................................... ....... 22

Current Issues & Alternative Energies ............................................. ............................................... 23

Energy Independence .......................................... ............................................... ....................... 23

Potential Legislation ............................................ ................................................. ..................... 24

Alternative Fuels ....................... ......................................... .............................................. ......... 25

Summary of Module 1................................................................ ........................................ ........... 26

BIBLIOGRAPHY 27


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Introduction & Training Modules Overview

Welcome to Profire Energy! Profire Energy is a public company that creates burner management

technologies for the oil/natural gas sectors.

One of the primary reasons we have experienced such incredible growth is our extensive industry

expertise. Years ago, our founders--Brenton Hatch and Harold Albertidentified a void in the industrythat was in need of modernization: burner management in the oi l/natural gas sectors. Workers in this

industry were reigniting extinguished flames with sticks that had flaming rags on the end (most still do).

After designing a simple system that would ignite these burners, Profire Energy was born (although it

was first called Profire Combustion).

Because our expertise is so critical to our continued success, we help each employee understand the

industry and our products. Whether youre a senior engineer or a business intern, weve found that

those who learn about our productsand the industryare able to do much more than those who

dont.

You dont have to learn everything (well, unless youre a service tech), but everyone has to learn some

things. Just see the Training Progress sheet (in the next section) to see which training modules youll be

mastering in the coming weeks.

We want to help you become an exceptional Profire Energy employee, so dive right in--and ask us

questions as you go!

Training Modules

There are three modules in our training program. Each is more comprehensive than the previous, and

you must pass the previous module before advancing. The employees that must pass each respective

module are illustrated below:

Module 3Service Techs

Module 2Sales staff

Engineering staff

Management staff

Module 1All Profire employees


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Modules Progress

Note: Topics with an application box must be passed off by a corporate trainer. A list of corporate

trainers can be obtained from your supervisor.

MODULE1 Read? Application

Company Introduction history todayIndustry Introduction

general information how the industry processes oil/natural gas fuel trains the role of a BMS pilot & burner setup sensing temperature in an application piping & instrumentation diagrams current issues & alternative energiesMODULE 1 ONLINE TEST PASSED (date):

MODULE 1 APPLICATION TEST PASSED (date & initials):

MODULE 1 COMPLETED (date):

To begin Module 1, go to the next page!


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Company Introduction

Profires History

Over 10 years ago, in 2002, Brenton Hatch and Harold Albert saw a need in the oil & natural gas

industry, and set out to fix it. The industry was spending a lot of manpower, time, and money to manage

the burner [flame] that was used to process oil/natural gas in the oilfields1. The remote Canadian

oilfields where these burners were located required significant travel time to reach, and the methods

used to service the burners were archaic and antiquated. For example, when a burner went out, a

serviceperson would need to discover it, and then reignite it manually. This was done using a stick with a

flaming rag at the end of it (the rag would be soaked in WD-40, lit on fire, and then extended into the

application). This method was extraordinarily dangerous because without the burner flame to burn the

fuel , the fuel would just fill the area enclosing

burner, creating a very dangerous

environment for anyone trying to reignite the

burner. Industry workers have been injured

and even killed while trying to reignite a

burner in this way.

So Brenton and Harold decided to change that.

They created a system that would monitor the

flame inside these applications, detect when

the burner flame went out, and reignite it

automatically. Not only did their system

prevent workers from doing something

dangerous, but it also prevented the raw gas

from spilling needlessly inside the vessel whenthe flame went out, since it was reignited almost instantly by Brenton and Harolds system. They started

Profire Combustion in 2002 and had great success. In 2008, the company became public, and was

renamed Profire Energy. We continue to make burner management systems (BMS) todayand much

more!

1Dont worrya detail ed descri ption of burners and their purpose i s provided la ter in this module.

Figure 1-Pumpjacks Pumping Oil

Image drawn from: byfieldconsultancy.com


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The 2010 BP oilspil l spewed 200million gallons of

crude oil into theGulf of Mexico.

Did youknow?

Profire Today

Today, our products help the industry by increasing operational efficiency, reducing costs, reducing

emissions/waste, and improving safety, all of which are very valuable for our customers. We have

received numerous awards for our strong growth and financial management, and are a debt-free

company. We have offices in Edmonton, Alberta; Lindon, Utah; and Houston, Texas. Our products are

used around the world, and we expect to continue our pattern of significant company growth.

Our key business drivers (i.e. the reasons why people buy our products) are simple, but significant:

1. Environmental regulation: our products help reduce wasteful emissions, by controlling fuel flowand temperature setpointsand even air mixture.

2. Financial efficiencies and lower costs: a more efficient system is cheaperto operate. This saves money for the customer.

3. Employee safety: our system automates many tasks that have typicallybeen done by workers, including the dangerous rag and stick method.

Because our products help companies in these areas, they provide significant

value to the industry.


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Data drawn from the US EIA

Figure 2-The Uses of Petroleum

Industry Introduction

General Information

Widespread Use of Oil & Natural Gas

Oil and natural gas are valuable resources in our world today. Both are widely used for a variety ofpurposes, like fueling engines, heating homes, making asphalt, creating lubricants, and much more. In

fact, most of the worlds largest

companies are oil/natural gas companies,

and the company that is leading the way

for this industrys burner management is

Profire Energy.

Oil/natural gas provide a significant

amount of energy to the world. In the

United States, about 65% of all energy is

from oil/natural gas (EPA, 2012). In total,

oil refineries in the United States process

more than 18 million barrels of oil per day

(EPA, 2012) and there are 4,000

oil/natural gas platforms operating in U.S.

waters alone.


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Supply & Demand of Energy

The world demands a lot of oil --so who produces it? Currently, there are three major oil producers in the

world: Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US. These countries produce, respectively; 11.1 mill ion, 10.2 mil lion,

and 10.1 mill ion barrelsper day! Behind these major producers are countries l ike China, Iran, and

Canada, which produce 3-4 million barrels per day.

So how is oil/natural gas used in the industry? Figure 3 (at left) shows the distribution of energy in the

US. Canada has a very similar distribution (except for Canada uses much more hydroelectric power):

As you can see, oil/natural gas play a big part in providing energy for the U.S. and the worldthats why

Profire Energys potential for growth and profitability is so immense. In fact, weve already grown so

quickly that the International Business Times recognized us as one of the 1000 fastest -growing

companies in the world (#380)2.

2See Profire Energy press release January 23, 2012.

Image drawn from the US EIA

Figure 3-Energy Sources for Sector Use in the US


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Figure 4-An Oil Well Site

Image drawn from www.us.123rf.com

The Burner Management Industry: Wellsites

One of the areas our products are used is at wellsites, which is the general area where the oil/natural

gas surfaces from the earth. Because of this, we are very interested in how many wells there are in

North America. The most recent official data on the number of wells is below:

Number of gas-producing wells in US is about 490,000 (EIA, Producing Gas Wells, 2011) Number of oil-producing wells in the US is about 530,000 (EIA, Total Energy, 2011) Number of gas-producing wells in Canada is about 115,000 (Provincial data, 2012) Number of oi l-producing wells in Canada is about 185,000 (Provincial data, 2012)So, in total, there are about 1.3 million oil/natural gas wells in North America. This data is important for

us because it gives us a general idea of how large the market is for our products.

The Burner Management Industry: Pipelines

Our products can also be used to manage burners for applications used in the transportation

(midstream) processes. One example of a midstream application is a line heater (see Figure 8), which

heats the oil/natural gas that is being

transported through pipes (for an

illustration of industry processes, see

Figure 7).

Although some pipelines are used for

transporting oil, most of the industry

pipeline in North America is used for

transporting natural gas (unl ike natural

gas, oil can also be transported in

trucks). Most often, the purpose of heat(and therefore, burners) in the

midstream processes is simply to keep

the oil/natural gas warm so it can flow

easily through the pipeline. Without such

heat, the oil in the pipes can become too

thick to flow properly--and the natural gas can freeze. This is why burnersand good burner

managementis so important.


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How the Industry Processes Oil/Natural Gas

When oil/natural gas is extracted from the earth, it has a long way to go before it can be used to power

a car or heat a home. The first thing that often happens when the oil/natural gas is extracted is the

separation of the oil from the natural gas. For

example, oil that is found in the rocky mountain

region of the US often contains paraffin (i.e. wax),

and oil in the southern US is often very watery. Such

elements must be removed before the oil/natural gas

can be sold. After these elements are removed, heat

can also be used to help transport and store the

oil/natural gas.

After a well is drilled, it will either produce oil and

natural gas, or just natural gas alone. A helpful

illustration is shown in Figure 5, at right, where you

can notice that the natural gas rests on top of the oilreserve. The reason for this is very simple: the gas is

lighter than the oil, and thus settles on top of it. So

when a new well is drilled, they can extract the

natural gas right off the top of the well, orthey can go

deeper into the earth to extract the oilpicking up some natural gas with it.

Want to learn more about the drilling process?Click here.

Image drawn from: Geology.com 1

Figure 5-Natural Gas & Oil Layering
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DniNIvE69SEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DniNIvE69SEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DniNIvE69SE


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Figure 7-An Illustration of Profire-relevant Processes

Image drawn from: http://www.tonylinka.com

b

a

d

d

a

A visual i llustration of the production, transportation, and refinement processes is shown below:

a) After a well is drilled, crude oil/natural gas is extracted from the earth and surfaces at the wellhead. The area around the well itself is typically called a well -site, or apad (see Figure 4). An

alternative extraction site is shown at-sea.

b) When the crude oil surfaces, it (often) first goes through a separator, which uses gravity andheat to separate the oil from the natural gasand water. At this point, a different company

will deal with each product: one will manage

the oil from the wellhead (i.e. drive it to a

refinery), one wil l manage the natural gas (i.e.

pipe it to a refinery), and one will manage the

water (i.e. drive it to a processing site for

evaporation).

c) Transportation to Refinery: The oil/natural gasis transported to a refinery. Oil is usually

transported via truck, while natural gas istransported via pipe. Appl ications (e.g. line

heaters) are installed along the pipeline to help facilitate efficient transportation of the

oil/natural gas (see Figure 8).

d) Delivery to End-Users: The finished oil is transported to local areas for use, and the natural gas ispiped to local areas for use.

c

Figure 8-A Line Heater

Image owned by Profire


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Photo owned by Profire

Figure 9-A Profire Burner Management System Monitors a Fuel Train & Application

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3

4

Fuel Trains

In order to process

oil/natural gas, a

flame is needed to

provide heatbut in

order for that flame

to be li t (and stay

burning), a supply of

fuel is needed.

However, the piping

that supplies these

applications with fuel

isnt just a simple

pipeits actually an

arrangement of pipes

that has valves,

gauges, and

mechanisms that

measures and

controls the amount

of gas flowing into

the application. Such an arrangement of pipes is called a fuel train, and is a critical part of a safe

combustion system.

Figure 9 shows a fuel train that is being managed by a Profire 2100 Burner Management System (BMS).

In this case, the flow of fuel through the fuel train would be from right-to-left. The main fuel train

components are described below:

1. Two solenoid valves (the green valves) stand ready to choke off the gas to the application, incase of a problem. These are also called safety shutoff valves, and will shut off the flow of gas

through the train if a major problem is detected. When this fuel flow is stopped, fuel no longer

enters the combustion application, and the burner flame goes out.

2. A PF2100 BMS (the grey box) monitors and manages the fuel train, as well as the combustioninside the application. The PF2100 BMS uses the information it receives from the fuel train and

the applications combustion (e.g. flame status) to create optimal conditions for combustion,

restart the system in case of burner failure, as well as shut off the system entirely if a majorproblem is detected.

3. Flame arrestor housing (the aluminum cylinder) houses the mixer (where fuel from the fuel trainis mixed with air). The housing is attached to the fire tube (5). See Figure 10 for a look inside a

flame arrestor.


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Figure 10-Looking Through a Flame Cell into a Firetube

Photo owned by Profire.

Flame Arrestor

4. The firetube (the tube entering the application) is where the actual burner itself is housed (i .e.where the flame comes from). After being heated by the burner, the firetube provides the heat

for the application (to learn more about specific applications, see Module 2).

Often, another type of valve (called a modulating valve, or motor valve) helps regulate the amount of

gas flowing through the system, and is controlled by a PF2100 BMS. When the BMS senses that theapplication has become too hot, too cold, or has a problem, it can alert the control valve and modify the

gas flow accordingly. This is different

than a solenoid valve (#1 in Figure 9)

because a control valve is intended to

gradually modify the fuel flow, rather

than open or stop it altogether.

Conceptually, its somewhat similar to

using a footbrake to slow your car (i.e.

a control valve) rather than a parking

brake to completely stop it altogether(i.e. a solenoid valve).

Once the fueltrain pipes the fuel

through the flame arrestor housing

(see Figure 10 above), the fuel train

is ultimately piped into a burner. The

burner is you guessed itwhere the

fuel is burned. Above, you can see the

fuel train meeting the mixer (which mixes primary air with the fuel itself). This fuel/air mixture is then

piped to the burner. An airplate (shown in Figure 13 below) is a product that helps control the finalatmospheric airflow that enters the firetube before the fuel is burned, and is an important part of an

efficient combustion system.

Fuel trains are an integral part of combustion systems, as they prevent a constant, uncontrolled flow of

gas from entering an application. This is why they are required in the industrycan you imagine how

dangerous it would be to have a constant, steady stream of fuel entering into a firetube vessel?4

With a

fuel train, a user can effectively control how much fuel is flowing into the vessel, how much heat is

created in the application, and even how efficient the combustion is (to a degree) . When a fuel train is

coupled with a burner management system (like the PF2100 BMS), enhanced combustion conditions can

be createdmaking the users process more efficient and profitable.

Electric vs. Pneumatic

Not all fuel trains are created equal. Fuel trains differ greatly in how they actuate, or operate, their

components. A fuel train can either use electricity to move the valves in the fuel train, or it can use air

4Surprisi ngly, many vessels i n the industry do not use a code-compli ant fuel trai n.


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(e.g. instrument air or gas pressure) . If electricity is used, the fuel train is referred to as an electric fuel

train, whereas an air-driven fuel train is called a pneumatic fuel train. The various components in the

fuel train itself usually differ between electric and pneumatic systems. And whi le most fuel trains are

either all-electric or all-pneumatic, some hybrids (referred to as an electric-pneumatic system) do

exist.

If a burner management system is to be used with the fuel train, then an electric fuel train must be used

(or at least have some electrically controlled components). Thus, when a Profire technician installs a

BMS, they (often) must make modif ications to the fuel train (i.e. replacing some pneumatic parts with

electric parts) before the BMS can be effective in managing it.


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The Role of a Burner Management System (BMS)

In reading about the industrys processes and the equipment in it, you have probably (somewhat)

ascertained the role of a burner management system. In case its still fuzzy, here are the basics of what a

burner management system does:

Monitors the burner/pilot flame of an application andensures it is li t (and thus heating the application)

Automatically reignites the burner flame in the eventthat it has been extinguished

Dictates to the fuel train whether to increase,decrease, or shut off fuel f low (and thus flame

intensity) based on the temperature setpoints that are

programmed by the user. If the application is getting

too hot, the BMS wil l restrict fuel flow and thus cool

the vessel to the temperature desired by the user. If

the vessel is getting too cool, the BMS wil l increase fuel

flow and thus heat the vessel to the temperature

desired by the user.

Allows a user to monitor flame status, changetemperature setpoints, and even shut-down the

system remotely

Without a burner management system, a worker will manually

ignite the burner manually by using a long stick, with a burning rag at the end, and extending it near the

burner. This is not only dangerous, but requires a worker to manually discover that the burner flame is

extinguished, often resulting in unnecessary downtime of the application. When the burner is reignitedby a worker, it will typically run continuouslyoften needlesslyuntil the flame is again extinguished,

and the process is repeated.

Thus, a burner management system allows for more eff icient burner operation/re-ignition, improved

safety, and improved compliance with regulatory bodies.

Photo owned by Profire

Figure 11-A Profire 2100 BMS


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4. When the desired temperature has been exceeded, the BMS will shut off the high-fire, thusreducing the total heat to the tank (since there is less flame intensity with less fuel), and the

process can be repeated with the low-fire and even the pilot, if necessary.

In Figure 12, a sl ipstream system uses a flame inside a vessel to provide heat for an application. The

flame may be used to heat a firetube for a number of reasons, such as thinning the oil so that it can flowthrough the pipes in cold conditions. The following parts are shown in the picture:

a) A main burner provides flame within an application.b) An airplate (i.e. the circular plate to the left

of the flame) controls the airflow entering the

application. On new Profire airplates (see

Figure X), the holes around the plate can

actually be shuttered to gradually open or

close the holes, and thus adjust the amount of

air entering the application. This is done by

twisting the airplate, which opens (or closes)

the holes and changes the airflow.

c) An igniter rod sits above the main burner (itrests within the airplate). The igniter rod senses

flame presence and provides spark to the main

burner. When the spark meets the gas flowing through the main burner, it combusts and

creates a flame which is maintained by the gas flow from the fuel train.

Figure 13-Profire Airplates

Image owned by Profire


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1An AC

signal is

created in

the BMS

2and the

signal

travels to

the igniterrod

2100

BMS

Figure 14-Flame Rectification

Igniter Rod

Ground(nozzle)

3that

signal

creates a

circui t with

the flame

4however,

with a fla me,

part of the

si gnal is offset

to round5but most of that si gnal

is returned via the ci rcui t.The BMS detects that

some s ignal was l ost, and

thus detects flame

presence

Graphic owned by Profire

Flame Ionization/Rectification

As we mentioned, one of the purposes of the BMS is to simply reignite the flame if it is extinguished

accidently. To do that, the BMS must know when flame exists in the application, and when it does not.

So you may be wondering: how exactly does Profires system sense flame in the application and know

when to reignite it?

Thats where the terms flame rectificationand ionizationcome in. Although the details of this

process require a more thorough understanding of physics and electric currents (discussed in module 2),

a general overview is provided below:

The PF2100 BMS interprets electrical inputs to manage the fuel train and burner of an application. To

create an electrical input that the BMS can use, a process called flame rectification is used.

To start the process, our PF2100 BMS wil l create an AC signal which reaches the igniter rod. If no flame

is present, then the igniter rod wil l simply act as part of a normal circuit, and no useful feedback is given

to the BMS (the AC signal doesnt leave the igniter rod because the air around it is an insulator). If,

however, a flame exists, then the circuit will reach beyond the igniter rod and include the flame, which is

electrically conductive because of ionization. Ionization is the process of becoming electrically

conductive, and occurs naturally in flames when they burn.

However, a flame is not perfectly conductive, and so some of the current is offsetthrough the pilot

nozzle (i.e. the current jumps to the ground and isnt returned via the circuit). A technical person would

say there was a direct current offset to the ground. The PF2100 BMS can sense how much offset

current there is when a flame is present, and will reignite the burner flame if no flame exists. An

illustration of this phenomenon is illustrated in Figure 14 below:


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Thus, because the flame has ionized (i.e. become conductive), a circuit can be rectified through it, and

the BMS can sense f lame presence. Flame rectification is an important technology in our products, and

allows our burner management systems to sense flame and then manage an application with great

sophistication. NOTE: This section is an application section. Have a corporate trainer demonstrate

this principle with a live unit, then mark the application box in your Modules Progress in this

manual.


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Sensing Temperature in an Application

The temperature of an application is an important metric in burner managementafter all, a BMS is

supposed to know when to turn up the heat, and when to let things cool down.

Electric vs. Pneumatic

The means of temperature measurement depends on whether electric or pneumatic components arebeing used to measure temperature. Often, an electric device (called a thermocouple) will measure

temperature of the application, and sends temperature readings to the BMS. The BMS then uses these

readings to manage the fuel train and the burner(s). An older, pneumatic component (called a T-12)

can also be used to open or close the fuel f low based on the temperature of the vessel.


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Graphic owned by Profire

Figure 15-An Example P&ID

The world'slongest-producingwell was drilled in

1861--and is stil lgoing today.

Did youknow?

Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams

A lot of engineering and design time goes into each Profire product. Teams of our most innovative and

talented employees will spend thousands of hours each year designing and improving our products.

When these products are discussed (or designed), i llustrations are often needed to explain a design

concept.

Rather than each engineer devising their own way to depict products, a piping & instrumentation

diagram, or P&ID is used. A P&ID is a universal way of drawing products, and is used to quickly

demonstrate the parts and layout of a product. A sample P&ID is shown in Figure 15:

At first glance, this diagram may be intimidating or confusing. However, with some knowledge of the

symbols meanings (described in Module2), a P&ID becomes a very

manageable and simple tool to il lustrate a systems setup. The P&ID in Figure

15 shows the piping, valves, and arrangement needed to provide fuel to a

combustion system.

P&IDs are used frequently by our engineers, designers, and others who work

closely with our products. Regardless of your role at Profire, you will find that

a general understanding of these diagrams can serve you we llif you want to

learn more about them, go on to Module 2.


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Figure 16-Price of Oil/Natural Gas


Current Issues & Alternative Energies

You wil l find it is helpful to know a bit about the industry trends and potential legislation, etc. so you can

field others questions competently. To that end, a brief snapshot of some current issues in the energy

industry is provided:

Energy IndependenceAs mentioned earlier, the

United States is the worlds

largest consumer of oilbut

it certainly isnt producing

enough to fuel its own

consumption (pun intended).

In fact, it barely produces

half of what it consumes

and imports the rest (see

Figure 17 below).

The EIA estimates that the

worlds supply of crude oil

will be sufficient for decades

to come. But while the use of

oil has provided fuel to the

world for many years, the resource is ultimately limited, helping fuel a widespread interest in finding

alternative sources of energy, both in North America and abroad.


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Figure 17-An Oil Well Site 1


Potential Legislation

A number of legislative measures have been proposed to help combat the worldwide reliance on oil,

one of which is the Open Source Fuel

Standard, which is a piece of legislation

that was introduced to congress last

year. While unlikely to be passed soon,

the bill represents a new focus on

expanding the fuel capabilities of vehicles

on the road. The bill would require that

all vehicles be capable of driving not just

on gasoline, but some other fuel(s) as

well, such as methanol (which is made

from natural gas). This legislation could

potentially catalyze an increased use of

natural gas, at least in the US. Since

Profires burner management products

can be used in producing both oil/natural

gas, Profires sales can continue to grow

regardless of whether the economy

favors oil, natural gas, or bothour

products can be used either way.

Other potential legislation could have a significant impact on the demand for Profire systems such as

environmental regulation imposed by an agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Environmental regulation would likely have an extraordinary impact on Profire sales, by requiring

environmental-friendly technologies (like a BMS) to be used by oil/natural gas producers . While Profiredoesnt actively lobby for such legislation, it could have a meteoric effect on our sales.


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Alternative Fuels

A number of alternative energies have been proposed, specifically for vehicles. Some major alternative

fuels are listed below:

Alcohol fuels such as methanol or ethanol are proven to be a cheap, viable alternative togasoline, and vehicles can be easily (and cheaply) modified to use them.

Methanol is produced from gases, and can be made from natural gas, C02 emissions, coal, andeven agricultural waste.

Ethanol is made from crops andplants with high sugar content (e.g.

corn). The widespread concern with

ethanol is that its use for fuel would

drive up food prices, since the

ethanol used for fuel would not be

able to be used for food.

Biodiesel is any fuel made fromcombining an alcohol with a

vegetable oil (e.g. soybean,

sunflowers, corn, olive, peanut,

palm, coconut, safflower, canola,

sesame, cottonseed). Animal fat

can also be used. Biodiesel emits

less pollution than traditional

diesel.

Hydrogen has been used to fuelexperimental cars, and even taxis in

London. A number of car producers

have been developing hydrogen

vehicles, and some (e.g. Honda) have pledged a mass-production vehicle as early as 2020.

While other alternative fuels exist (e.g. algae, ammonia, HCNG), these represent the primary alternative

fuels being proposed by legislators, activists, and researchers. As the price of natural gas has fallen in

recent years (see figure 9 at left), its use (e.g. in Methanol) has become increasingly attractive to those

considering alternative fuels. The rising price of crude oilcoupled with its eco-unfriendly emissions--

has enhanced the resolve of those looking for an alternative fuel source.

Figure 18-Allocation of Alternative Energy in the US



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Summary of Module 1

Congratulations! Youve completed the readings for Module 1! Youre almost done, and you have

(hopefully) learned a lot about the oil & gas industry, burner management, and Profire. This point, we

invite you to review what youve learned, quiz yourself, and then take the Module 1 test. The test is

administered online, and your supervisor can give you the link when you feel ready. If you read the

material closely and took the time to understand it, the test wil l be pretty fun. Remember, you must

pass the Module 1 test before you can advance to Module 2. If you have any further questions about

products, refer to the Product Manual.

Otherwise, good luck reviewing for the test, and we will see you at Module 2!


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BibliographyEIA. (2009). Oil Producers. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/countries/index.cfm

EIA. (2011). Oil Consumers. Retrieved from

http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=5&pid=5&aid=2

EIA. (2011). Producing Gas Wells. Retrieved 8/24/2012, from

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_wells_s1_a.htm

EIA. (2011). Total Energy. Retrieved from

http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb0502

EPA. (2012). Oil & Gas Sector. Retrieved from

http://www.epa.gov/sectors/sectorinfo/sectorprofiles/oilandgas.html

Institute, A. P. (2012). The State of American Energy. Retrieved 2012, from

http://www.api.org/newsroom/upload/soae-2012-report-layout-mechanical.pdf

Times, N. Y. (2012). Energy Independence. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/energy-environment/inching-toward-energy-

independence-in-america.html?pagewanted=all


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2012 Profi re Energy, Inc.

Documents

Module 1 for Review