Dana Raines

Debate on Energy Issues

11/28/2015

Module 6 Lab

DEBATE ON ENERGY ISSUES

1. Assuming that the estimates are correct, and oil from ANWR achieves the
710,000-barrel level in 2030, based on projected consumption, what percentage
of our total oil consumption will be supplied by ANWR?
Answer:
Around 0.0026% of United States total oil consumption will be supplied by ANWR in
2030 as the oil from ANWR achieves the 710,000-barrel level and while, the United
States is projected to consume 26.95 billion (26.95 * 1,000,000,000 =
26,950,000,000 barrels) barrels of petroleum each day.

2. Search the Internet using a credible source and determine the total number of miles
traveled in the United States last year. Answer:
In United States the cumulative estimate for the year is 2972.3 billion vehicle miles of
travel while is very high and thus there is a greater need for the fuel and oil in the
coming years.

3. Create a table comparing the gallons of gasoline consumed in the United States
for passenger cars and trucks for 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010. Look at the
changes in miles per gallon for cars and trucks over these years and determine
the overall percent change.
Answer:
Years

Fuel consumption

( million gallons)
1980
114,960
1990
130,755
2000
162,260
2010
219,321
Here, there is a continuous rise in the fuel consumption from 1980 to 2010 and the rise
in 2010 in compare to 1980 is around 90.7% which shows the need for the huge amount
of fuels and thus ANWR is one of the best option. (Office of the Assistant Secretary for

DEBATE ON ENERGY ISSUES

Research and Technology (OST-R) U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT),

2015)

4. A gallon of crude oil does not mean a gallon of gasoline. The conversion of oil to
gasoline through distillation at a refinery depends on several factors, including
the quality of the crude oil, the efficiency of the refinery, the product mix desired
by the refiner (e.g., diesel fuel, home heating oil, jet fuel, and so on), and so forth.
In general, in a 42-gallon barrel of crude oil, refining yields 19.5 gallons of
gasoline. Based on this and all the information in this problem set, determine how
many years ANWR would be able to supply our gasoline (not total petroleum)
needs if it were our sole source. Support your answer with calculations and
clearly identify any assumptions that you made.
Answer:
As, only 19.5 gallons of gasoline is produced from 42-gallon barrel of crude oil thus,
710,000-barrel from ANWR = 5954.37 gallon barrel
So,

19.5
barrel of gasoline
42
19.5
So, 5954.37 gallon barrel of crude oil = 5954.37
42
= 2764.5 barrel of gasoline

1 gallon barrel of crude oil =

Thus, this is a great amount of fuel so taking huge economic benefit into consideration
the drilling should be done.

5. Based on your answer to Question 4, discuss drilling in ANWR purely from an

energy supply perspective. Support a position regarding drilling in ANWR from an
energy and an environmental perspective.
Answer:

DEBATE ON ENERGY ISSUES

Alaska arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR) reserve 16 billion barrels of oil which
equals to the 30 years of import from Saudi Arabia. ANWR reserve area located in the
1.5 million-acre coastal plain on the north slope of Alaska is very significant for the
environmental consideration as it is a habitat to rare species of flora and fauna such as
seabirds, caribou and polar bears, However, the counter argument is that the drilling
area on the coastal plain is only supposed to be 2,000 acres, about the size of an
airport and thus environmental consideration is too much exaggerated. Thus economic
considerations are important and so the drilling should be allowed with certain
restrictions. (Chance, 2015)

DEBATE ON ENERGY ISSUES

References
Chance, N. (2015, November 25). The Arctic National WildLife Refuge. Retrieved from
arcticcircle.uconn.edu: http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/ANWR/anwrpreface.html
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) U.S.
Department of Transportation (US DOT). (2015, November 25). Table 4-23:
Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Light Duty Vehicles. Retrieved from U.S.
Department of Transportation :
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transpo
rtation_statistics/html/table_04_23.html