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- inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil.]] Petroleum ( Latin ''Petroleum'' derived from Greek πέτρα (Latin ''petra'') - rock + έλαιον (Latin ''oleum'') - oil) or '''crude oil''' is a naturally occurring liquid found in formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of Hydrocarbon s (mostly Alkane s) of various lengths. The approximate length range is C5H12 to C18H38. Any shorter hydrocarbons are considered Natural Gas or Natural Gas Liquids , while long-chain hydrocarbons are more viscous, and the longest chains are Paraffin Wax . In its naturally occurring form, it may contain other nonmetallic elements such as Sulfur , Oxygen , and Nitrogen . Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards (MPMS), by the American Petroleum Institute It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowish or even greenish) but varies greatly in appearance, depending on its composition. Crude oil may also be found in semi-solid form mixed with sand, as in the Athabasca Oil Sands in Canada , where it may be referred to as crude Bitumen . Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing s in a typical Barrel ) of the hydrocarbons present in petroleum is converted into energy-rich fuels (petroleum-based fuels), including gasoline, diesel, jet, heating, and other fuel oils, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas . "Crude oil is made into different fuels" Due to its high Energy Density , easy Transport ability and Relative Abundance , it has become the world's most important source of energy since the mid- 1950s . Petroleum is also the raw material for many Chemical products, including Pharmaceutical s, Solvent s, Fertilizer s, Pesticide s, and Plastic s; the 16% not used for energy production is converted into these other materials. Petroleum is found in difficulties, recoverable oil reserves are significantly less than total oil-in-place. At current consumption levels, and assuming that oil will be consumed only from reservoirs, known reserves would be gone in about 32 years, around 2039, potentially leading to a global Energy Crisis . However, this ignores any new discoveries, changes in consumption, using oil sands, using synthetic petroleum, and other factors. FORMATION Chemistry , a Hydrocarbon found in petroleum, lines are Single Bond s, black Spheres are Carbon , white spheres are Hydrogen ]] The chemical structure of petroleum is composed of Hydrocarbon Chains of different lengths. These different hydrocarbon chemicals are separated by Distillation at an oil refinery to produce gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and other hydrocarbons. The general formula for these Alkanes is ''CnH2n+2''. For example 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane), widely used in Gasoline , has a chemical formula of ''C8H18'' and it reacts with oxygen Exothermic ally: Heat of Combustion of Fuels Incomplete combustion of petroleum or gasoline results in emission of poisonous gases such as Carbon Monoxide and/or Nitric Oxide . For example: Formation of petroleum occurs in a variety of mostly Endothermic reactions in high temperature and/or pressure. For example, a Kerogen may break down into Hydrocarbons of different lengths. Petroleum Study Biogenic theory Most and Permeable reservoir rock for it to accumulate in; and last a cap rock (seal) that prevents it from escaping to the surface. The vast majority of oil that has been produced by the earth has long ago escaped to the surface and been Biodegraded by oil-eating bacteria. Oil companies are looking for the small fraction that has been trapped by this rare combination of circumstances. Oil Sands are reservoirs of partially biodegraded oil still in the process of escaping, but contain so much migrating oil that, although most of it has escaped, vast amounts are still present - more than can be found in conventional oil reservoirs. On the other hand, Oil Shale s are source rocks that have never been buried deep enough to convert their trapped kerogen into oil. The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen is broken down to oil and natural gas by a set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions. The first set was originally patented in 1694 under British Crown Patent No. 330 covering, "a way to extract and make great quantityes of pitch, tarr, and oyle out of a sort of stone." The latter set is regularly used in Petrochemical plants and Oil Refineries . Abiogenic theory See Also: Abiogenic petroleum origin The idea of Abiogenic Petroleum Origin was championed in the Western World by astronomer Thomas Gold based on thoughts from Russia , mainly on studies of Nikolai Kudryavtsev . The idea proposes that hydrocarbons of purely geological origin exist in the Planet . Hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, and are proposed to migrate upward through deep fracture networks. Thermophilic , rock-dwelling Microbial Life -forms are proposed to be in part responsible for the Biomarker s found in petroleum. This theory is a minority opinion, especially amongst geologists; no oil companies are currently known to explore for oil based on this theory. CLASSIFICATION See Also: Benchmark (crude oil) The Oil Industry classifies "crude" by the location of its origin (e.g., "West Texas Intermediate, WTI" or "Brent") and often by its Relative Weight or Viscosity (" Light ", "intermediate" or " Heavy "); refiners may also refer to it as " Sweet ," which means it contains relatively little Sulfur , or as " Sour ," which means it contains substantial amounts of Sulfur and requires more refining in order to meet current product specifications. Each crude oil has unique molecular characteristics which are understood by the use of Crude Oil Assay Analysis in petroleum laboratories. Barrel s from an area in which the crude oil's molecular characteristics have been determined and the oil has been classified are used as pricing References throughout the world. These references are known as Crude oil benchmarks:
MEANS OF PRODUCTION See Also: Petroleum Industry Extraction See Also: Extraction of petroleum The most common method of obtaining petroleum is extracting it from Oil Well s found in Oil Field s. With improved technologies and higher demand for hydrocarbons various methods are applied in petroleum exploration and development to optimise the recovery of oil and gas. Primary recovery methods are used to extract oil that is brought to the surface by underground pressure, and can generally recover about 20% of the oil present. After the oil pressure has depleted to the point that the oil is no longer brought to the surface, secondary recovery methods draw another 5 to 10% of the oil in the well to the surface. Finally, when secondary oil recovery methods are no longer viable, tertiary recovery methods reduce the Viscosity of the oil in order to bring more to the surface. Alternative methods During the last Oil Price Peak , other alternatives to producing oil gained importance. The best known such methods involve extracting oil from sources such as Oil Shale or Tar Sands . These resources are known to exist in large quantities; however, extracting the oil at low cost without negatively impacting the environment remains a challenge. It is also possible to transform Natural Gas or Coal into oil (or, more precisely, the various hydrocarbons found in oil). The best-known such method is the Fischer-Tropsch Process . It was a concept pioneered in Nazi Germany when Import s of petroleum were restricted due to war and Germany found a method to extract oil from coal. It was known as ''Ersatz'' ("substitute" in German ), and accounted for nearly half the total oil used in WWII by Germany. However, the process was used only as a last resort as naturally occurring oil was much cheaper. As crude oil prices increase, the cost of coal to oil conversion becomes comparatively cheaper. The method involves converting high ash coal into Synthetic Oil in a multi-stage process. Ideally, a Ton of coal produces nearly 200 Liter s (1.25 bbl, 52 US gallons) of crude, with By-product s ranging from tar to Rare Chemicals . Currently, two companies have commercialised their Fischer-Tropsch technology. Shell in uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products. The process is today used in South Africa to produce most of the country's Diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol . The process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation under Apartheid . This process has received renewed attention in the quest to produce low Sulfur Diesel fuel in order to minimize The Environment al impact from the use of diesel Engine s. An alternative method of converting coal into petroleum is the Karrick Process , which was pioneered in the 1930s in the United States . It uses high temperatures in the absence of ambient air, to Distill the short-chain hydrocarbons of petroleum out of coal. More recently explored is Thermal Depolymerization (TDP), a process for the reduction of complex Organic Material s into light Crude Oil . Using pressure and heat, long chain Polymer s of Hydrogen , Oxygen , and Carbon decompose into short-chain petroleum Hydrocarbons . This mimics the natural Geological processes thought to be involved in the production of Fossil Fuel s. In theory, TDP can convert any organic waste into petroleum. HISTORY Petroleum, in some form or other, is not a substance new in the world's history. More than four thousand years ago, according to Herodotus and confirmed by Diodorus Siculus , Asphalt was employed in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon ; there were oil pits near Ardericca (near Babylon), and a pitch spring on Zacynthus . Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus , one of the tributaries of the Euphrates . Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society. The first Oil Well s were drilled in China in the 4th century or earlier. They had depths of up to 243 meters (about 800 feet) and were drilled using Bits attached to Bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate Brine and produce Salt . By the 10th century, extensive Bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to the use of natural gas for lighting and heating. Petroleum was known as ''burning water'' in Japan in the 7th century. In the 8th century, the and Timeline Of Science And Technology In The Islamic World .)'' The earliest mention of American petroleum occurs in Sir Walter Raleigh 's account of the Trinidad Pitch Lake in 1595; whilst thirty-seven years later, the account of a visit of a Franciscan, Joseph de la Roche d'Allion, to the oil springs of New York was published in Sagard's ''Histoire du Canada''. A Russian traveller, Peter Kalm, in his work on America published in 1748 showed on a map the oil springs of Pennsylvania. The Modern History of petroleum began in 1846 with the discovery of the process of refining Kerosene from Coal by Atlantic Canada 's Abraham Pineo Gesner . The first modern oil well was drilled in 1745 in Pechelbronn, Alsace (France)under the direction of Louis de La Sablonniere, by special appointement of king Louis XV. History of Pechelbronn oil The Pechelbronn oil field was alive until 1970, and was the birth place of companies like Schlumberger. The first modern refinery was built there in 1857. Poland 's Ignacy Łukasiewicz discovered a means of refining kerosene from the more readily available "rock oil" ("petr-oleum") in 1852 and the first rock oil mine was built in Bóbrka , near Krosno in southern Poland in the following year. These discoveries rapidly spread around the world, and Meerzoeff built the first Russian Refinery in the mature oil fields at Baku in 1861. At that time Baku produced about 90% of the world's oil. , 1938.]] The first commercial oil well drilled in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario , Canada in 1858, dug by James Miller Williams. The American petroleum Industry began with Edwin Drake 's drilling of a 69-foot-deep oil well in 1859, on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania , for the Seneca Oil Company (originally yielding 25 barrels a day, by the end of the year output was at the rate of 15 barrels). The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, driven by the demand for Kerosene and Oil Lamp s. It became a major Nation al concern in the early part of the 20th century; the introduction of the Internal Combustion Engine provided a demand that has largely sustained the industry to this day. Early "local" finds like those in Pennsylvania and Ontario were quickly exhausted, leading to "oil booms" in Texas , Oklahoma , and California . Early production of crude petroleum in the United States:
By 1910, significant oil fields had been discovered in Canada (specifically, in the province of Ontario ), the Dutch East Indies (1885, in Sumatra ), Iran (1908, in Masjed Soleiman ), Peru , Venezuela , and Mexico , and were being developed at an industrial level. Even until the mid- 1950s , Coal was still the world's foremost fuel, but oil quickly took over. Following the 1973 Energy Crisis and the 1979 Energy Crisis , there was significant Media coverage of oil supply levels. This brought to light the concern that oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out, at least as an economically viable energy source. At the time, the most common and popular predictions were always quite dire, and when they did not come true, many dismissed all such discussion. The future of petroleum as a fuel remains somewhat controversial. '' USA Today '' news (2004) reports that there are 40 years of petroleum left in the ground. Some would argue that because the total amount of petroleum is finite, the dire predictions of the 1970s have merely been postponed. Others argue that technology will continue to allow for the production of cheap hydrocarbons and that the earth has vast sources of unconventional petroleum reserves in the form of Tar Sands , bitumen fields and Oil Shale that will allow for petroleum use to continue in the future, with both the Canadian tar sands and United States shale oil deposits representing potential reserves matching existing liquid petroleum deposits worldwide. Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil. Petroleum also makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States, but is responsible for only 2% of electricity generation. Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important (12.5%), UAE , Iraq , Qatar and Kuwait . However, with today's oil prices, Venezuela has larger reserves than Saudi Arabia due to crude reserves derived from Bitumen . USES The chemical structure of petroleum is composed of Hydrocarbon chains of different lengths. Because of this, petroleum may be taken to Oil Refineries and the hydrocarbon chemicals separated by Distillation and treated by other Chemical Process es, to be used for a variety of purposes. See Petroleum Products . Fuels
Other derivatives Certain types of resultant hydrocarbons may be mixed with other non-hydrocarbons, to create other end products:
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