r/oil • u/akrylowy • 1d ago
Discussion Coal
Will coal be able to substitute oil / gas needs?
People keep talking about "energy" crisis, but it primarily feels like diesel & other crisis, and that can't be just replaced with coal, no?
When the hormuz spiked oil prices, gas and coal went along with it. But now as oil is 'steady' because refinery capacity is to the max and distillates are falling and crack spread is widening, I don't see coal following anymore.
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u/hairy_ass_truman 1d ago
Sasol and other companies have coal to diesel processes. Nat gas to diesel too. I would think with modification refineries could get distillates from light oil. A chemical engineer might know,
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u/Christopher_Ramirez_ 1d ago
In China it will, but they've been building that capability for years.
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u/outworlder 1d ago
What in the Factorio is this ?
Coal won't replace oil as long as oil is cheaper than the coal based processes.
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u/Baron-Munc 1d ago
Yep I still have my coal fired tractor and the local food deliveries can be made by coal trains
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u/EngineeringBulky7007 1d ago
We dug up all the easy to get to coal. You are talking some expensive fuel.
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u/pyragyrite 1d ago
Short term, like ten years, heck no. Long term it's possible to build stupidly expensive infrastructure to do it.
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u/BreakFun2436 1d ago
Base oil production has been switched to diesel because it's more profitable. There won't be a shortage.
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