Geography
Oil and Petroleum
Oil and petroleum are natural resources formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms. They are crucial to the global economy as they are used as energy sources and in the production of various products. The extraction, refining, and distribution of oil and petroleum have significant environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications.
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11 Key excerpts on "Oil and Petroleum"
eBook - PDF- John R Fanchi(Author)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- World Scientific(Publisher)
We begin by discussing the geologic environment. Energy in the 21 st Century 48 Point to Ponder: What is petroleum? The term petroleum is widely used but inconsistently defined. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) defines petroleum as “naturally occurring liquids and gases which are predomi-nately comprised of hydrocarbon compounds” [SPE Definitions, 2009]. By contrast, the United States Energy Information Ad-ministration defines petroleum as “a broadly defined class of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures. Included are crude oil, lease con-densate, unfinished oils, refined products obtained from the processing of crude oil, and natural gas plant liquids.” [US EIA website, 2009]. Both SPE and EIA define petroleum as naturally occurring mixtures of hydrocarbon molecules. The SPE defines petroleum in terms of liquids and gases, while EIA defines pe-troleum in terms of liquids and keeps gas separate. It is important to recognize context to understand the meaning of the term petroleum. 3.1 G EOLOGY OF O IL AND G AS R ESERVOIRS Naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures are usually found in the pore space of sedimentary rocks. According to the rock cycle, sedimentary rocks are formed by erosion, transport, deposition, and cementing of ig-neous rock. Unlike sedimentary rocks, igneous and metamorphic rocks originated under conditions of high pressure and temperature that did not favor the formation or retention of petroleum. Any oil and gas that might have occupied the pores of a metamorphic or igneous rock would ordina-rily be cooked away by heat and pressure. Consequently, we focus our attention on sedimentary rock formations as geologic environments for containing oil and gas. 3.1.1 Rock Attributes The key attributes used to classify sedimentary rock are mineral composi-tion, grain size, color, and structure. Each of these attributes is considered here. Fossil Energy – Oil and Gas 49 Mineral content is an important characteristic of a rock.
eBook - PDFPetropolitics
Petroleum Development, Markets and Regulations, Alberta as an Illustrative History
- Alan MacFadyen, G. Campbell Watkins(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- University of Calgary Press(Publisher)
Readers’ Guide: Chapter One is aimed at readers who have little familiarity with the petroleum industry. It describes the activities of the industry in terms of a number of different stages required to transform petroleum from a resource in nature to a product that consumers willingly purchase. Readers familiar with the industry may wish to move on to Section 3 of this chapter. 1. What Is Petroleum? A dictionary will note that the word ‘petroleum’ is derived from Latin, meaning ‘rock oil,’ and is almost always used to refer to those mineral oils provided from below the earth’s surface that consist mainly of mixtures of hydrogen and carbon molecules (i.e., hydrocarbons). Petroleum is, therefore, a natural resource. Sometimes the term has been broadened to include ‘manufactured’ hydrocarbons that are iden- tical to the natural resource; this would include, for instance, liquid oil or natural gas derived from coal or biomass. However, such ‘synthetic’ products have not as yet been produced in large volumes. The term ‘pet- roleum’ is also applied to refined petroleum products like motor gasoline and fuel oil, which are derived from processing the natural resource. Naturally occurring hydrocarbon deposits vary greatly in physical composition but are generally grouped into two broad classes, depending upon whether the main output is liquid (crude oil) or gas- eous (natural gas). The greater is the proportion of carbon to hydrogen in the deposit, the heavier and more viscous the petroleum. In extreme cases, such as the bitumen in oil sands deposits around Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta and kerogen in oil shale deposits in Colorado, the hydrocarbon is so vis- cous that it will not flow of its own accord beneath the surface. To date relatively little petroleum of this very heavy type – frequently labelled ‘non-conventional oil’ – has been produced, with production concen- trated in Alberta and Venezuela.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Library Press(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter- 6 Petroleum Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Petroleum (L. petroleum , from Greek: petra (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ The term petroleum was first used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola. In the 19th Century, the term petroleum was frequently used to refer to mineral oils produced by distillation from mined organic solids such as cannel coal (and later oil shale), and refined oils produced from them; in the United Kingdom storage (and later transport) of these oils were regulated by a series of Petroleum Acts, from the Petroleum Act 1862 c. 66 onward. Proven world oil reserves, 2009 Composition In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid (e.g., paraffin) hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while pentane and heavier ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on sub-surface conditions and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture. An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Academic Studio(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter- 6 Petroleum Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Petroleum (L. petroleum , from Greek: petra (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ The term petroleum was first used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola. In the 19th Century, the term petroleum was frequently used to refer to mineral oils produced by distillation from mined organic solids such as cannel coal (and later oil shale), and refined oils produced from them; in the United Kingdom storage (and later transport) of these oils were regulated by a series of Petroleum Acts, from the Petroleum Act 1862 c. 66 onward. Proven world oil reserves, 2009 Composition In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid (e.g., paraffin) hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while pentane and heavier ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on subsurface conditions and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture. An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Academic Studio(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter 14 Petroleum Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Petroleum (L. petroleum , from Greek: petra (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ The term petroleum was first used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola. In the 19th Century, the term petroleum was frequently used to refer to mineral oils produced by distillation from mined organic solids such as cannel coal (and later oil shale), and refined oils produced from them; in the United Kingdom storage (and later transport) of these oils were regulated by a series of Petroleum Acts, from the Petroleum Act 1862 c. 66 onward. Proven world oil reserves, 2009 Composition In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid (e.g., paraffin) hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while pentane and heavier ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on sub-surface conditions and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture. An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it.
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Library Press(Publisher)
WT ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter- 15 Petroleum Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Petroleum (L. petroleum , from Greek: petra (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. WT ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ The term petroleum is found (in the spelling petraoleum) in tenth-century Old English sources. It was used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola. In the 19th Century, the term petroleum was frequently used to refer to mineral oils produced by distillation from mined organic solids such as cannel coal (and later oil shale), and refined oils produced from them; in the United Kingdom storage (and later transport) of these oils were regulated by a series of Petroleum Acts, from the Petroleum Act 1862 c. 66 onward. Composition In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid (e.g., paraffin) hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while pentane and heavier ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on subsurface conditions and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture. An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it.
eBook - ePubOil Panic and the Global Crisis
Predictions and Myths
- Steven M. Gorelick(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
Despite media images to the contrary, oil is not formed from the decomposed remains of dinosaurs. Over the millions of years, or “geologic time,” that oil was formed and trapped in sediments and rocks, dinosaurs either did not exist or were greatly outnumbered by very small aquatic plants and animals that are collectively termed “plankton.” These mostly microscopic biota account for the greatest volume of organic matter that was available to form petroleum, from which oil is refined. It is estimated that each gallon of gasoline is the ultimate product of 90 metric tons (198,000 pounds) of ancient plant matter, which is 27,000 times the weight of the gasoline. 2 Oil is a small fraction of fossil fuels, which are non-renewable (over the time frame of civilization), natural compounds consisting mainly of hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbons) formed in the Earth’s crust and including coal, oil, and natural gas. Oil is not the same thing as petroleum. Petroleum includes natural gas as well as crude oil and processed fuel products, whereas oil is the liquid that is refined to yield products such as gasoline, jet and diesel fuel, and lubricants. There are some definitions related to oil availability that are central to the discussion of oil. A resource is “a concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material in or on the Earth’s crust in such form and amount that economic extraction of a commodity from the concentration is currently or potentially feasible.” 3 A more specific definition for petroleum resources is, “Concentrations in the earth’s crust of naturally occurring liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons that can conceivably be discovered and recovered.” 4 The oil endowment includes the estimated oil resource plus all of the oil that has been pumped from the ground. A subset of resources is reserves
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Library Press(Publisher)
____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Chapter- 10 Petroleum Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas ____________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ____________________ Proven world oil reserves, 2009 Petroleum (L. petroleum , from Greek: petra (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)) or crude oil is a naturally occurring, toxic, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, and other organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from petrol and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. The term petroleum was first used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola. Composition In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes both crude oil and natural gas. Both crude oil and natural gas are predominantly a mixture of hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, the lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases, while the heavier ones from pentane and up are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in the underground oil reservoir the proportion which is gas or liquid varies depending on the subsurface conditions, and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture. An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it. Because the pressure is lower at the surface than underground, some of the gas will come out of solution and be recovered (or burned) as associated gas or solution gas . A gas well produces predominately natural gas. However, because the underground temperature and
eBook - PDF- Shell(Author)
- 1986(Publication Date)
- Elsevier Science(Publisher)
Chapter 1 THE WORLD PETROLEUM INDUSTRY P E T R O L E U M D u r i n g this century the petroleum industry has risen from being relatively small, through the stage of being one of m a n y large industries, to a position where whole economies are profoundly influenced by the need for a n d price of petroleum products. T h e origins of the industry lie in the p r o d u c t itself. All over the world, at various depths b e n e a t h land a n d sea, there are accumula-tions of h y d r o c a r b o n s formed long ago b y decomposition of animal a n d vegetable remains. H y d r o c a r b o n s are c o m p o u n d s of h y d r o g e n a n d c a r b o n which, at n o r m a l temperatures a n d pressures, m a y b e gaseous, liquid or solid according to the complexity of their molecules. T h e natural deposits are correspondingly gaseous, liquid or solid, depending on the relative p r o p o r t i o n of the various h y d r o c a r b o n s present in the mixture. In its widest sense, petroleum embraces all h y d r o c a r b o n s occurring in the earth. In its narrower, commercial sense, petroleum is usually restricted to the liquid deposits k n o w n as crude oil, the gaseous ones being k n o w n as natural gas a n d the solid ones as b i t u m e n or asphalt. M o s t crude oils, although liquid as such, contain gaseous a n d solid h y d r o -carbons in solution. T h e gases c o m e out of solution, either o n the release of pressure as the crude oil is p r o d u c e d or during the first stages of refining, a n d contribute to the total natural gas production. S o m e of the solids are recovered during refining as b i t u m e n a n d wax, some stay in solution in the liquid oil products. N a t u r a l gas m a y be found associated with crude oil as a gas-cap above the oil or o n its own, unassociated with oil. C r u d e oil a n d natural gas are the r a w materials of the petroleum industry.
eBook - ePubThe Middle East
A Geographical Study, Second Edition
- Peter Beaumont, Gerald Blake, J. Malcolm Wagstaff, Peter Beaumont, G.H. Blake, J. Malcolm Wagstaff(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Taylor & Francis(Publisher)
CHAPTER 9 Petroleum 9.1 IntroductionOne of the most spectacular economic achievements of the past 100 years has been the growth and development of the petroleum industry. In 1850 world oil production was virtually non-existent. Then, following discoveries in both the USA and Russia, total output began to rise rapidly after 1860 until by 1890 world production had reached 10 million tonnes per annum (Figure 9.1 ). From this date until the mid-1970s oil production continued to expand with world output doubling approximately every 10 years. 1975 recorded the first fall in oil production in over a century, but this quickly picked up to a new peak of 3225 million tonnes in 1979. Since then a downward trend has been registered.At the beginning of the twentieth century oil and natural gas supplied less than 4 per cent of the total energy requirements of the Western world, while coal accounted for approximately 90 per cent. This picture quickly changed, however, with the share of oil and natural gas in total energy production rising to 12 per cent in 1920, 26 per cent in the mid-1930s, and 36 per cent following the Second World War in 1948. Since this time, the importance of petroleum in the world’s economy continued to grow, so that by 1970 approximately 70 per cent of the total energy requirements of the West were being supplied by oil and natural gas. By 1985 although the relative importance of petroleum was declining, it still accounted for 63 per cent of the primary energy consumption of the OECD countries.1The main users of petroleum and related products are the industrialized nations of Western Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan, which together consumed 56 per cent of the total production in 1985. These same countries, however, produce only 29 per cent of the world’s oil and 50 per cent of the world’s natural gas, and so have to satisfy their demands by imports. As a result a symbiotic relationship has grown up between the major producing and consuming countries.
eBook - PDFBP and the Macondo Spill
The Complete Story
- C. Read(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Palgrave Macmillan(Publisher)
9 Part I The Natural and Economic History of Oil Oil is a powerful three-letter word. It connotes black gold, a liquid that will fuel our economy, a commodity for which many of us can quote its spot price, and a goo that damages our environment. In this first part, I discuss the natural and economic past, present, and future of oil. This discussion frames the question, “Why do we choose to take the inevita- ble risks that are necessary to quench our energy thirst?” 11 3 A Brief Natural History of Oil Our fascination with oil is well-founded. Oil is now intertwined into our economy, our livelihood, and, increasingly, in our precarious energy future. The natural history of oil punctuates the earth’s natural history, dating back to an era not unlike our own – one of rising carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Almost a century ago, an article linked the death of the dinosaur to the fuel in one’s car. 2 In doing so, the article created a myth that has held broad acceptance ever since. However, scientists and geologists now agree that oil most likely formed not from the decomposition of large extinct land-based animals as was once thought, but rather from the aggregation of large stocks of some of the smallest sea-based organ- isms. Indeed, one of the best predictors of oil is in the identification of geological formations that could best harbor these marine sediments. All organisms are made up of carbon-based molecules. Hydrogen and oxygen are the most common atoms to combine with carbon. Longer molecules that constitute sophisticated organic materials com- bine many other elements, in smaller amounts. These include sulfur, sodium, potassium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, and many others. Organisms have evolved to create longer, even more complex, and more specialized molecules that are constituted by the same elements that make up alkanes, the primary molecules in petroleum.
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