Burying material underwater is an easy way to create an anoxic environment because the atmosphere is not interacting with the decaying matter. If this shale is buried between 2 and 4 kilometers , its temperature increases due to its location in the Earths interior.
This increasing pressure and temperature of the shale transforms it into a waxy material known as kerogen. Shale that contains this material is known as oil shale. At temperatures higher than this, only natural gas literally a gas that's a hydrocarbon or graphite is formed.
This temperature range is known as the "oil window". Oil is lighter than water, so as it escapes from the source oil shale it rises through pores in rocks, displacing water. Rock bodies that contain significant amounts of oil are known as reservoir rocks.
For the oil to remain trapped in the reservoir, there must be some sort of thick, impermiable layer of rock to seal the reservoir. If this seal exists, then oil, gas, and water are trapped beneath and can be drilled into to obtain the oil. Geological changes in the Earth's crust bring these deposits up closer to the surface, making them somewhat easier to access. Fossil Fuels. Heating oil. Also in Oil and petroleum products explained Oil and petroleum products Refining crude oil Where our oil comes from Imports and exports Offshore oil and gas Use of oil Prices and outlook Oil and the environment.
Also in Gasoline explained Gasoline Octane in depth Where our gasoline comes from Use of gasoline Prices and outlook Factors affecting gasoline prices Regional price differences Price fluctuations History of gasoline Gasoline and the environment.
Also in Diesel fuel explained Diesel fuel Where our diesel comes from Use of diesel Prices and outlook Factors affecting diesel prices Diesel fuel surcharges Diesel and the environment. Also in Heating oil explained Heating oil Where our heating oil comes from Use of heating oil Prices and outlook Factors affecting heating oil prices.
Hydrocarbon Gas Liquids. Natural gas. Also in Hydrocarbon gas liquids explained Hydrocarbon gas liquids Where do hydrocarbon gas liquids come from? Transporting and storing Uses of hydrocarbon gas liquids Imports and exports Prices. Also in Natural gas explained Natural gas Delivery and storage Natural gas pipelines Liquefied natural gas Where our natural gas comes from Imports and exports How much gas is left Use of natural gas Prices Factors affecting natural gas prices Natural gas and the environment Customer choice programs.
Also in Coal explained Coal Mining and transportation Where our coal comes from Imports and exports How much coal is left Use of coal Prices and outlook Coal and the environment. Renewable sources. Renewable energy. It usually uses the same drilling techniques as onshore, but requires a massive structure that can sustain the tremendous strength of ocean waves in stormy seas.
Offshore drilling platforms are some of the largest manmade structures in the world. They often include housing accommodations for people who work on the platform, as well as docking facilities and a helicopter landing pad to transport workers. The platform can either be tethered to the ocean floor and float, or can be a rigid structure that is fixed to the bottom of the ocean, sea, or lake with concrete or steel legs.
More than 70 people work on the platform, in three-week shifts. The platform is meters feet tall and is anchored to the ocean floor. About , tons of solid ballast were added to give it additional stability. The platform can store up to 1. In total, Hibernia weighs 1. However, the platform is still vulnerable to the crushing weight and strength of icebergs. Its edges are serrated and sharp to withstand the impact of sea ice or icebergs.
Oil platforms can cause enormous environmental disasters. Problems with the drilling equipment can cause the oil to explode out of the well and into the ocean. Repairing the well hundreds of meters below the ocean is extremely difficult, expensive, and slow. Millions of barrels of oil can spill into the ocean before the well is plugged. When oil spills in the ocean, it floats on the water and wreaks havoc on the animal population. One of its most devastating effects is on birds.
Oil destroys the waterproofing abilities of feathers, and birds are not insulated against the cold ocean water. Thousands can die of hypothermia.
Fish and marine mammals, too, are threatened by oil spills. The dark shadows cast by oil spills can look like food. A massive oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon , exploded in This was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
Eleven platform workers died, and more than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. More than 40, barrels flowed into the ocean every day. Eight national parks were threatened, the economies of communities along the Gulf Coast were threatened as the tourism and fishing industries declined, and more than 6, animals died.
Rigs to Reefs Offshore oil platforms can also act as artificial reefs. They provide a surface substrate for algae, coral, oysters, and barnacles. This artificial reef can attract fish and marine mammals, and create a thriving ecosystem. Until the s, oil platforms were deconstructed and removed from the oceans, and the metal was sold as scrap. Now, oil platforms are either toppled by underwater explosion , removed and towed to a new location, or partially deconstructed.
This allows the marine life to continue flourishing on the artificial reef that had provided habitats for decades. The environmental impact of the Rigs-to-Reefs Program is still being studied.
Oil platforms left underwater can pose dangers to ships and divers. Fishing boats have had their nets caught in the platforms, and there are concerns about safety regulations of the abandoned structures.
Environmentalists argue that oil companies should be held accountable to the commitment they originally agreed upon, which was to restore the seabed to its original condition.
By leaving the platforms in the ocean, oil companies are excused from fulfilling this agreement, and there is concern this could set a precedent for other companies that want to dispose of their metal or machinery in the oceans. Petroleum and the Environment: Bitumen and the Boreal Forest Crude oil does not always have to be extracted through deep drilling.
If it does not encounter rocky obstacles underground, it can seep all the way to the surface and bubble above ground. Unfortunately, because bitumen contains high amounts of sulfur and heavy metals, extracting and refining it is both costly and harmful to the environment. Bitumen is about the consistency of cold molasses, and powerful hot steam has to be pumped into the well in order to melt the bitumen to extract it.
Large quantities of water are then used to separate the bitumen from sand and clay. This process depletes nearby water supplies. Releasing the treated water back into the environment can further contaminate the remaining water supply. Processing bitumen from tar sands is also a complex, expensive procedure.
It takes two tons of oil sands to produce one barrel of oil. A small percentage is used for roofing and other products. The Athabasca Oil Sands are the fourth-largest reserves of oil in the world. Unfortunately, the bitumen reserves are located beneath part of the boreal forest, also called the taiga. This makes extraction both difficult and environmentally dangerous. The taiga circles the Northern Hemisphere just below the frozen tundra, spanning more than 5 million square kilometers 2 million square miles , mostly in Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia.
It accounts for almost one-third of all of the forested land on the planet. Every spring, the boreal forest releases immense amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere and keeps our air clean. It is home to a mosaic of plant and animal life, all of which depend on the mature trees, mosses, and lichen of the boreal biome.
Surface mines are estimated to only take up 0. Refining Petroleum Refining petroleum is the process of converting crude oil or bitumen into more useful products, such as fuel or asphalt.
Crude oil comes out of the ground with impurities, from sulfur to sand. These components have to be separated. This is done by heating the crude oil in a distillation tower that has trays and temperatures set at different levels.
Propane, kerosene, and other components condense on different tiers of the tower, and can be individually collected. They are transported by pipeline, ocean vessels, and trucks to different locations, to either be used directly or further processed. Petroleum Industry Oil was not always extracted, refined, and used by millions of people as it is today.
However, it has always been an important part of many cultures. The earliest known oil wells were drilled in China as early as CE. The wells were drilled almost meters feet deep using strong bamboo bits. The oil was extracted and transported through bamboo pipelines. It was burned as a heating fuel and industrial component. Chinese engineers burned petroleum to evaporate brine and produce salt. On the west coast of North America, indigenous people used bitumen as an adhesive to make canoes and baskets water-tight, and as a binder for creating ceremonial decorations and tools.
By the 7th century, Japanese engineers discovered that petroleum could be burned for light. Oil was later distilled into kerosene by a Persian alchemist in the 9th century.
During the s, petroleum slowly replaced whale oil in kerosene lamps, producing a radical decline in whale-hunting. The modern oil industry was established in the s. The first well was drilled in Poland in , and the technology spread to other countries and was improved.
The Industrial Revolution created a vast new opportunity for the use of petroleum. Machinery powered by steam engines quickly became too slow, small-scale, and expensive. Petroleum-based fuel was in demand. The invention of the mass-produced automobile in the early 20th century further increased demand for petroleum. Petroleum production has rapidly increased. In , the U. By , that number was million barrels per year.
Today, the U. According to OPEC, more than 70 million barrels are produced worldwide every day. That is almost 49, barrels per minute. Although that seems like an impossibly high amount, the uses for petroleum have expanded to almost every area of life. Petroleum makes our lives easy in many ways. In many countries, including the U. The United States consumes more oil than any other country. This is more than all of the oil consumed in Latin America 8.
Petroleum is an ingredient in thousands of everyday items. The gasoline that we depend on for transportation to school, work, or vacation comes from crude oil. A barrel of petroleum produces about 72 liters 19 gallons of gasoline, and is used by people all over the world to power cars, boats, jets, and scooters. Diesel-powered generators are used in many remote homes, schools, and hospitals.
Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Commodities Oil. Oil Guide to Investing in Oil Markets. Table of Contents Expand. Pre-drilling Oil Activities. Drilling Oil. Oil Production and Transportation. Key Takeaways The oil and gas business is one of the largest and most important pieces of the modern global economy.
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