- Petroleum
What is petroleum
Petroleum also called crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid found beneath the earth’s surface that can be refined into fuel, A fossil fuel, Petroleum is created by the decomposition of organic matter over time and used as fuel to power vehicles, Heating units and machines and can be converted into plastics.
Because the majority of the world relies on petroleum for many goods and services, The petroleum industry is a major influence on world politics and the global economy.
Because the majority of the world relies on petroleum for many goods and services, The petroleum industry is a major influence on world politics and the global economy.
Understanding petroleum
- Properties of Petroleum
Heavier fractions like asphaltene contain greater metal concentration than saturated and aromatic fractions, Nitrogen and sulfur can be present in traces in light petroleum with an increase for heavier or extra heavy crude oil.
- The Basic Composition of Petroleum
- What is Petroleum Used For?
✅ Power Generation : A thermal power plant uses petroleum for electricity generation, Although coal is the major source of electricity generation, Petroleum also accounts for significant power generation that eventually results in serious environmental pollution.,
Apart from these two uses of petroleum, The fuel has other industrial applications too,
- These are :
✅ Pharmaceuticals : Certain by-products like mineral oil and petrolatum are used in the manufacture of topical medicines, The complex organic molecules used in pharmaceuticals are linked to simple organic molecules of petroleum byproducts.
✅ Agriculture : Ammonia, Which is a source of nitrogen in agricultural fertilizers is manufactured from petroleum using haber’s process, Moreover, A lot of pesticides are produced from petroleum, Machinery for ploughing etc also works on petroleum.
✅ Chemical Industry : The raw materials of many chemical companies are by-products of a petroleum refinery, Chemical fertilizers, Synthetic fibres, Insecticides, Synthetic rubber, Nylon, Plastics, Pesticides, Perfumes, Dyes, Paints etc are the significant products produced using the major by-products like naphtha, Grease, Petroleum jelly, Wax, Butadiene etc.
✅ Domestic Uses : Household products like detergents, Vaseline, Wax etc are by-products derived from petroleum, Kerosene is used in many countries for cooking, Lighting and other domestic purposes.
Different types of petroleum products and their applications
Let us look into the examples of petroleum products obtained from petroleum.
- Fuels :
✅ Kerosene
✅ Liquefied natural gas
✅ Liquefied petroleum gas
✅ Butane
✅ Diesel fuel
✅ Fuel oil
✅ Propane
- Other Products :
✅ Petroleum jelly
✅ Petroleum wax
✅ Micro crystalline wax
✅ Napalm
✅ Naphtha
✅ Naphthalene
✅ Refined asphalt
✅ Refined bitumen
Fractional distillation column of Crude oil
Some petroleum products and their uses :
✅ Gases :
Gaseous products obtained from the refinery are hydrogen, Fuel gas,ethane, Propane and butane, Propane and butane are collectively known as liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG ), Which is a portable and suitable fuel for light industrial use and domestic heating ( Cooking ).
✅ Gasoline :
Gasoline uses include application in internal combustion engines, Commonly used in private and commercial vehicles.
✅ Diesel :
It is commonly used in trucks, Buses and public transport, Locomotives, Farm and heavy equipment, Diesel has greater energy and power density than gasoline.
✅ Kerosene :
It is used extensively globally in cooking and space heating, It is also the basic fuel for modern jet engines.
✅ Fuel oil :
It can be used as a power source of lamps, Heaters, Stoves, Engines and lanterns typically at home in furnaces and boilers, The machinery of farming, Mining or quarrying machinery or even bunkering ships uses fuel oil.
- Other Petroleum Products :
✅ Asphaltic bitumen is employed in the construction of roads and airfields and the manufacture of roofing felts, Waterproof papers, Pipeline coatings and electrical insulation.
✅ Decomposing liquid hydrocarbon fractions make carbon black which is compounded with rubber in tire manufacture and used in printing inks and lacquers.
Where does petroleum come from?
Oil and gas are formed from organic material mainly deposited as sediments on the seabed and then broken down and transformed over millions of years, If there is a suitable combination of source rock, Reservoir rock, Cap rock and a trap in an area, Recoverable oil and gas deposits may be discovered there.
Most of the oil and gas deposits on the norwegian shelf originate from a thick layer of black clay that currently lies several thousand metres under the seabed.
The black clay is a source rock, Which means a deposit containing significant quantities of organic residue, The clay was deposited around 150 million years ago at the bottom of a sea that covered much of present day northwestern europe, Much of the seabed here was dead and stagnant, While the upper water layers were teeming with life.
As the microscopic phytoplankton died, They sank to the bottom and accumulated in large quantities in the oxygen-free sediments, Over time, They were buried deeper and subjected to a long process of chemical conversion by bacterial decomposition and maturing under a thickening pile of sediment, This caused the formation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in the source rock.
One of the products of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter is kerogen, Which at high temperature and pressure slowly generates oil and gas, On the norwegian continental shelf, The temperature rises by about 25 °C per kilometre of depth, After more than a hundred million years of erosion and sedimentation, The source rock may be buried under several kilometres of clay and sand deposits, Oil is generated when the kerogen temperature reaches 60-120 °C; at higher temperatures, it is mainly gas that is generated.
As oil and gas form, They seep out of the source rock, Because hydrocarbons are lighter than water, The oil and gas migrate upwards in porous water-bearing rock, Oil and gas migration takes thousands of years and may extend over tens of kilometres until it is stopped by impermeable layers of rock or the oil or gas leaks out into the sea.
Reservoir rocks are porous and always saturated with water, Oil and gas in various combinations, Most of norway’s petroleum resources are trapped in reservoir rocks deposited in large deltas formed by rivers that ran into the sea during the jurassic period.
The main reservoirs of the gullfaks, Oseberg and statfjord fields are in the large brent delta that formed in the jurassic, There are also large reservoirs in sand that was deposited on alluvial plains during the triassic period ( The snorre field ) in shallow seas in the late jurassic ( The troll field ) and as subsea fans during the paleogene period ( The balder field ) in the southern part of the north sea, Thick layers of chalk composed of microscopic calcareous skeletons of plants and animals form an important reservoir rock, as in the ekofisk field.
Most of the oil and gas deposits on the norwegian shelf originate from a thick layer of black clay that currently lies several thousand metres under the seabed.
The black clay is a source rock, Which means a deposit containing significant quantities of organic residue, The clay was deposited around 150 million years ago at the bottom of a sea that covered much of present day northwestern europe, Much of the seabed here was dead and stagnant, While the upper water layers were teeming with life.
As the microscopic phytoplankton died, They sank to the bottom and accumulated in large quantities in the oxygen-free sediments, Over time, They were buried deeper and subjected to a long process of chemical conversion by bacterial decomposition and maturing under a thickening pile of sediment, This caused the formation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in the source rock.
One of the products of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter is kerogen, Which at high temperature and pressure slowly generates oil and gas, On the norwegian continental shelf, The temperature rises by about 25 °C per kilometre of depth, After more than a hundred million years of erosion and sedimentation, The source rock may be buried under several kilometres of clay and sand deposits, Oil is generated when the kerogen temperature reaches 60-120 °C; at higher temperatures, it is mainly gas that is generated.
As oil and gas form, They seep out of the source rock, Because hydrocarbons are lighter than water, The oil and gas migrate upwards in porous water-bearing rock, Oil and gas migration takes thousands of years and may extend over tens of kilometres until it is stopped by impermeable layers of rock or the oil or gas leaks out into the sea.
Reservoir rocks are porous and always saturated with water, Oil and gas in various combinations, Most of norway’s petroleum resources are trapped in reservoir rocks deposited in large deltas formed by rivers that ran into the sea during the jurassic period.
The main reservoirs of the gullfaks, Oseberg and statfjord fields are in the large brent delta that formed in the jurassic, There are also large reservoirs in sand that was deposited on alluvial plains during the triassic period ( The snorre field ) in shallow seas in the late jurassic ( The troll field ) and as subsea fans during the paleogene period ( The balder field ) in the southern part of the north sea, Thick layers of chalk composed of microscopic calcareous skeletons of plants and animals form an important reservoir rock, as in the ekofisk field.
Mudrocks and other impermeable deposits influence migration routes from the source rock to the reservoir, In addition, Impermeable rock has to be present to stop petroleum escaping from reservoir rock, Impermeable rock that forms a seal over reservoir rocks is called cap rock, In addition, The configuration of the reservoir rocks must be such that the oil collects in a trap.
If there is a suitable combination of source rock, Reservoir rock, Cap rock and a trap in an area, Recoverable oil and gas deposits may be discovered there.
If there is a suitable combination of source rock, Reservoir rock, Cap rock and a trap in an area, Recoverable oil and gas deposits may be discovered there.
The illustrated elements have to be in place in order to find producible oil and gas reservoirs ( Source : The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate )
What is petroleum made of
Petroleum products are fuels made from crude oil and hydrocarbons contained in natural gas, Petroleum products can also be made from coal, Natural gas and biomass.
What is the composition of petroleum
Chemically, Petroleum consists principally of hydrogen and carbon, But also contains small percentages of oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur and traces of metals, Such as vanadium, Cobalt and nickel, The common organic compounds include alkanes ( Paraffins ), Naphthenes, Aromatics and heterocompounds.