Clair Crude Oil of UK: History, Production and Operation

Clair crude oil is a type of residue oil extracted from natural bitumen. It is found in the UK. It is present on the continental shelf of the UK and is the largest field with 8 Billion Calair crude oil Barrels in place. 

The word “Clair” in French translates to “clear,” which refers to the fact that it’s transparent and colorless. It has no smell or odor and appears as a light yellow or gold liquid. 

Clair crude oil is primarily an additive for other types of natural oils, especially those that are unusable because they have high viscosity or are thick and tar-like, such as Heavy Synthetic Crude Oil, Canadian Hypereslicious Bitumen, and TEND (Tar Ending Natural Gas).

Clair crude oil is a type of crude oil that has high hydrogen content, typically above 10 percent. In addition, Clair oil has low viscosity and high density compared to other crude oils. As a result, it can produce more gasoline, kerosene, and diesel with less refining costs. 

Locating Clair crude oil requires unique technology because it is generally found at deeper depths than other crude oils. Once discovered, production is challenging because extracting it from dense rock formations requires specialized mining techniques not used for different types of crudes. 

This article covers everything you need to know about Clair Crude Oil – its history, location, price, production, Transportation, and the companies that own it.

History of Clair Crude Oil

Clair crude oil was the first type of oil found in the UK. It was discovered accidentally in 1955 by an engineer trying to fix a blowout in a well. Workers on the rig were trying to pump brine and sand out of the well when they noticed that it was coming up as crude oil. 

The drilled well had a total depth of 5,000 feet, and the Clair formation was about 8,000 feet below the surface. It was brought into production in 1957 and had been producing since without interruption. The Clair well had a relatively low rate of production of about 80 BOPD when it was first drilled, but it was not considered commercially viable.

Location of Clair crude oil in the UK

The Clair crude oil is located in the southern part of the UK. Clair crude oil is found in the UK around the coast of the south of the North Sea. It’s usually found in offshore fields mixed with other oil types, so there are different grades of Clair, and it’s not always easy to tell them apart. 

Because of this, Clair crude oil is often used as a blending component to make things like fuel and diesel. Clair crude oil in the southern part of the UK is the largest oil field in the UK, with an estimated 8 billion barrels of oil in place. It is the only significant oil field in the UK that produces crude oil. It is also the only commercial oil field in the country produced from the Clair formation.

Consequently, Clair crude oil is also used as a raw material in various industries. For example, it’s essential for the production of plastics and rubber products. In addition, it is a component that produces high-performance fuels and lubricants for aircraft engines and combustion engines.

Price of Clair Crude Oil

The price of Clair crude oil is $39.89 per barrel as of May 2019. Clair crude oil has a high price and is more expensive than many other types of crude oil. This is because it is locally produced and is a premium-grade crude oil with low sulfur content.

Clair Crude Oil Spec:

Clair crude oil is a type of crude oil that has been refined from its natural source. This type of crude oil is extracted from shale rock formations located in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. As a result, Clair crude oil is more expensive than other types of crude oil. However, it also has many valuable properties. These properties include high viscosity, low API gravity, and low sulfur content.

One of the essential properties of Clair crude oil is its high viscosity. This property makes Clair crude oil suitable for use in products requiring thick textures. For example, to produce asphalt and fuel additives. Another critical property of Clair crude oil is low API gravity. 

API gravity indicates how light or heavy a substance is compared to water at a specific temperature and pressure. As such, low API gravity means that Clair crude oil contains fewer hydrocarbons. And since hydrocarbons are toxic substances, lower API gravity makes Clair crude oil safer for products like paint and plastics. 

Low sulfur content is another essential property of Clair crude oil. Sulfur content affects the quality of oils and fuels. High sulfur content indicates that the oils or fuels have higher concentrations of sulfur compounds than they should have. This can lead to reduced efficiency when using these oils or fuels in products like plastic containers.

How is it Produced?

The Clair crude oil is produced from a formation that is a natural deposit of oil and is not a biogenic source. It was formed millions of years ago from organic matter deposited in the sea, such as shales, lignite, and coal. These organic substances were then buried and transformed into crude oil. Clair crude oil is extracted from the Clair formation by drilling wells into the ground and pumping the oil out. 

Transportation of Clair Crude Oil

Barges, tankers, and pipelines transport the Clair crude oil. The largest source of Transportation for Clair crude oil is by pipelines. Pipelines transport crude oil from the well to the refinery. 

Tankers also transport the Clair crude oil. The crude oil is loaded onto tankers at the terminal and delivered to refineries. Barges are mainly used to transport crude oil from terminals to refineries.

Owners & Opertors of Clair Crude Oil

Many companies around the world own Clair crude oil, and the largest is Clair Oil & Gas, which holds the production license for the field. Other companies that own Clair crude oil are BP, Cairn Energy, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips.

Final Words

The Clair Crude Oil is the largest oil field in the UK, with an estimated 8 billion barrels of oil in place. It’s the only significant commercial oil field in the country that is being produced from the Clair formation.

Although there is a lot of oil in the Clair formation, it’s impossible to use complete recovery methods. It’s also impossible to extract all of the oil from the formation because parts are too deep. 

The only way to remove all of the oil from the formation is to use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This method uses a mixture of water and chemicals that are injected into the ground under high pressure. The mixture dissolves the oil-bearing rocks and pushes them up along with the surrounding rock.

The key factor that makes the oil in the Clair formation hydrocarbon is that it is located in sedimentary rocks. This means the rocks are porous and contain natural oil reservoirs. The reservoir is located due to the size of the rocks and the amount of friction on the rocks. Unfortunately, these rocks are only sometimes found in areas where a lot of oil is produced nowadays.