Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas

Petroleum (L. petroleum < Gr. πετρέλαιον lit. “Nodding donkey” redirects here For the train see British Rail "Pacer". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly "rock oil" was first used in 1556 in a treatise published by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, known as Georgius Agricola. Georgius Agricola ( March 24, 1494 – November 21, 1555) was a German scholar and scientist ^[1]) is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. An organic compound is any member of a large class of Chemical compounds whose Molecules contain Carbon.

Composition

The proportion of hydrocarbons in the mixture is highly variable and ranges from as much as 97% by weight in the lighter oils to as little as 50% in the heavier oils and bitumens. Bitumen is a mixture of organic Liquids that are highly Viscous, black sticky entirely soluble in Carbon disulfide, and composed primarily

The hydrocarbons in crude oil are mostly alkanes, cycloalkanes and various aromatic hydrocarbons while the other organic compounds contain nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, and trace amounts of metals such as iron, nickel, copper and vanadium. Alkanes, also known as Paraffins are Chemical compounds that consist only of the elements Carbon (C and Hydrogen (H (i Cycloalkanes (also called naphthenes, especially if from Petroleum sources are types of Alkanes which have one or more rings of Carbon Atoms Nitrogen (ˈnaɪtɹəʤɪn is a Chemical element that has the symbol N and Atomic number 7 and Atomic weight 14 Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 The exact molecular composition varies widely from formation to formation but the proportion of chemical elements vary over fairly narrow limits as follows:^[2]

Crude oil varies greatly in appearance depending on its composition. It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowish or even greenish). In the reservoir it is usually found in association with natural gas, which being lighter forms a gas cap over the petroleum, and saline water, which being heavier generally floats underneath it. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Saline water is a general term for Water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved Salts ( NaCl) 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. The Athabasca Oil Sands (also known as the Athabasca Tar Sands) are large deposits of Bitumen, or extremely Heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Bitumen is a mixture of organic Liquids that are highly Viscous, black sticky entirely soluble in Carbon disulfide, and composed primarily

Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil and gasoline (petrol), both important "primary energy" sources. Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from Petroleum Distillation, either as a distillate or a residue Primary energy is energy that has not been subjected to any conversion or transformation process ^[3] 84% by volume 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. Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, GPL, LP Gas, or Autogas) is a mixture of Hydrocarbon Gases used as a Fuel ^[4]

Due to its high energy density, easy transportability and relative abundance, it has become the world's most important source of energy since the mid-1950s. Energy density is the amount of Energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit Volume, or per unit Mass, depending on the context although Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics; the 16% not used for energy production is converted into these other materials. A chemical substance is a Material with a definite chemical composition. A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. Fertilizers ( also spelt fertiliser are chemical compounds given to Plants to promote growth they are usually applied either through the soil for uptake by plant A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products

Petroleum is found in porous rock formations in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material and is measured as a fraction between 0–1 or as a Percentage between 0–100% This is a List of rock formations meaning isolated scenic or spectacular surface rock outcrops In Geology and related fields a stratum (plural strata) is a layer of rock or Soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 In Geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon There is also petroleum in oil sands (tar sands). Known reserves of petroleum are typically estimated at around 140 km³ (1. Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions 2 trillion (short scale) barrels) without oil sands,^[5] or 440 km³ (3. The long and short scales are two different numerical systems used throughout the world Short scale is the English translation of the French 74 trillion barrels) with oil sands. ^[6] Consumption is currently around 84 million barrels (13. 4×10⁶ m³) per day, or 3. 6 km³ per year. Because the energy return over energy invested (EROEI) ratio of oil is constantly falling as petroleum recovery gets more difficult, recoverable oil reserves are significantly less than total oil-in-place. In Physics, Energy economics and ecological energetics, EROEI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested ERoEI, EROI (Energy Return On At current consumption levels, and assuming that oil will be consumed only from reservoirs, known recoverable reserves would be gone around 2039, potentially leading to a global energy crisis. An energy crisis is any great bottleneck (or price Rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. However, there are factors which may extend or reduce this estimate, including the rapidly increasing demand for petroleum in China, India, and other developing nations; new discoveries; energy conservation and use of alternative energy sources; and new econonomically viable exploitation of non-conventional oil sources. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The mitigation of peak oil is the attempt to delay the date and minimize the social and economic impact of Peak oil by reducing the world's consumption and reliance on Petroleum Non-conventional oil is oil produced or extracted using techniques other than the traditional Oil well method

Chemistry

Octane, a hydrocarbon found in petroleum, lines are single bonds, black spheres are carbon, white spheres are hydrogen

Petroleum is a mixture of a very large number of different hydrocarbons ; the most commonly found molecules are alkanes (linear or branched), cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, or more complicated chemicals like asphaltenes. Octane is a straight-chain Alkane with the Chemical formula CH3(CH26CH3 In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. Alkanes, also known as Paraffins are Chemical compounds that consist only of the elements Carbon (C and Hydrogen (H (i Cycloalkanes (also called naphthenes, especially if from Petroleum sources are types of Alkanes which have one or more rings of Carbon Atoms Asphaltenes are molecular substances that are found in Crude oil, along with Resins, Aromatic hydrocarbons and Alkanes (i Each petroleum variety has a unique mix of molecules, which define its physical and chemical properties, like color and viscosity. In Chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable electrically neutral group of at least two Atoms in a definite arrangement held together by Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a Fluid which is being deformed by either Shear stress or Extensional stress.

The alkanes, also known as paraffins, are saturated hydrocarbons with straight or branched chains which contain only carbon and hydrogen and have the general formula C_nH_2n+2 They generally have from 5 to 40 carbon atoms per molecule, although trace amounts of shorter or longer molecules may be present in the mixture. In Chemistry, saturation has five different meanings In Physical chemistry, saturation is the point at which a Solution of a substance Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1

The alkanes from pentane (C₅H₁₂) to octane (C₈H₁₈) are refined into gasoline (petrol), the ones from nonane (C₉H₂₀) to hexadecane (C₁₆H₃₄) into diesel fuel and kerosene (primary component of many types of jet fuel), and the ones from hexadecane upwards into fuel oil and lubricating oil. Pentane is any or one of the Organic compounds with the formula C5H12 Octane is a straight-chain Alkane with the Chemical formula CH3(CH26CH3 An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline Nonane is an Alkane Hydrocarbon with the Chemical formula CH3(CH27CH3 Hexadecane (also called cetane) is an Alkane Hydrocarbon with the Chemical formula C16H34 Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Jet fuel is a type of Aviation fuel designed for use in Aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from Petroleum Distillation, either as a distillate or a residue Mineral oil or liquid Petroleum is a By-product in the Distillation of Petroleum to produce Gasoline and other petroleum At the heavier end of the range, paraffin wax is an alkane with approximately 25 carbon atoms, while asphalt has 35 and up, although these are usually cracked by modern refineries into more valuable products. In chemistry paraffin is the common name for the Alkane Hydrocarbons with the general formula C n H2 n +2 Asphalt ( is a sticky black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude Petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC is the most important conversion process used in petroleum refineries. Any shorter hydrocarbons are considered natural gas or natural gas liquids. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Natural gas processing plants or fractionators are used to purify the raw Natural gas extracted from underground gas fields and brought up to the surface by

The cycloalkanes, also known as napthenes, are saturated hydrocarbons which have one or more carbon rings to which hydrogen atoms are attached according to the formula C_nH_2n. Cycloalkanes have similar properties to alkanes but have higher boiling points.

The aromatic hydrocarbons are unsaturated hydrocarbons which have one or more planar six-carbon rings called benzene rings, to which hydrogen atoms are attached with the formula C_nH_n. The degree of unsaturation (also known as the index of hydrogen deficiency (IHD or rings plus double bonds) formula is used in Organic chemistry to help Benzene, or benzol, is an organic Chemical compound and a known Carcinogen with the molecular formula C 6 H 6 They tend to burn with a sooty flame, and many have a sweet aroma. Some are carcinogenic.

These different molecules are separated by fractional distillation at an oil refinery to produce gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and other hydrocarbons. Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts or fractions such as in separating Chemical compounds by their Boiling point by heating For example 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane), widely used in gasoline, has a chemical formula of C₈H₁₈ and it reacts with oxygen exothermically:^[7]

The amount of various molecules in an oil sample can be determined in laboratory. 224-Trimethylpentane, also known as isooctane, is an Octane Isomer which defines the 100 point on the Octane rating scale In Thermodynamics, the word exothermic "outside heating" describes a process or reaction that releases Energy usually in the form of Heat, but The molecules are typically extracted in a solvent, then separated in a gas chromatograph, and finally determined with a suitable detector, such as a flame ionization detector or a mass spectrometer^[8]. A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC, or simply gas chromatography (GC, is a type of Chromatography in which the mobile phase is a carrier gas usually an Inert A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument A flame ionization detector (FID is a type of Gas detector used in Gas chromatography The first flame ionization detector was developed in 1957 by scientists Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that identifies the chemical composition of a compound or sample based on the Mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles

Incomplete combustion of petroleum or gasoline results in production of toxic byproducts. Too little oxygen results in carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO is a colorless odorless tasteless yet highly toxic Gas. Due to high temperatures and high pressures involved exhaust gases from gasoline combustion in car engines usually include nitrogen oxides which are responsible for creation of photochemical smog. The term nitrogen oxide typically refers to any Binary compound of Oxygen and Nitrogen, or to a mixture of such compounds Nitric Smog is a kind of Air pollution; the word "smog" is a Portmanteau of Smoke and Fog.

Formation

Formation of petroleum occurs from kerogen pyrolysis, in a variety of mostly endothermic reactions at high temperature and/or pressure. Kerogen is a mixture of organic Chemical compounds that make up a portion of the organic matter in Sedimentary rocks It is insoluble in normal organic Pyrolysis is the Chemical decomposition of organic materials by heating in the absence of Oxygen or any other reagents except possibly Steam In Thermodynamics, the word endothermic "within-heating" describes a process or reaction that absorbs Energy in the form of Heat. ^[9]

Biogenic theory

Most geologists view crude oil and natural gas as the product of compression and heating of ancient organic materials over geological time. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, In Geology and Oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical physical or biological change undergone by a Sediment after its initial deposition and during An organic compound is any member of a large class of Chemical compounds whose Molecules contain Carbon. The geologic time scale is a chronologic schema (or idealized Model) relating Stratigraphy to time that is used by Geologists and other Oil is formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae which have been settled to the sea (or lake) bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" Zooplankton are the Heterotrophic (sometimes detritivorous) type of Plankton. Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms Anoxic sea water is sea water depleted of Oxygen. It is generally found in areas with restricted water exchange Terrestrial plants, on the other hand, tend to form coal. A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land Other types of plants are aquatic (living in water Epiphytic (living on trees but not Parasitic) Over geological time this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under heavy layers of sediment. The geologic time scale is a chronologic schema (or idealized Model) relating Stratigraphy to time that is used by Geologists and other An organic compound is any member of a large class of Chemical compounds whose Molecules contain Carbon. Matter is commonly defined as being anything that has mass and that takes up space. In computer gaming, a MUD ( Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the organic matter to chemically change during diagenesis, first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. In Physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is Energy transferred from one body or system to another due to a difference in Temperature Pressure (symbol 'p' is the force per unit Area applied to an object in a direction perpendicular to the surface In Geology and Oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical physical or biological change undergone by a Sediment after its initial deposition and during Kerogen is a mixture of organic Chemical compounds that make up a portion of the organic matter in Sedimentary rocks It is insoluble in normal organic See Catagenesis (biology for usage in the field of biology where it refers to retrogressive evolution

Geologists often refer to an "oil window"^[10] which is the temperature range that oil forms in—below the minimum temperature oil remains trapped in the form of kerogen, and above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the process of thermal cracking. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, In Petroleum geology and Chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic Molecules such as Kerogens or heavy Hydrocarbons Though this happens at different depths in different locations around the world, a typical depth for the oil window might be 4–6 km. Note that even if oil is formed at extreme depths, it may be trapped at much shallower depths where it was not formed (the Athabasca Oil Sands is one example). The Athabasca Oil Sands (also known as the Athabasca Tar Sands) are large deposits of Bitumen, or extremely Heavy crude oil, located in northeastern

Hydrocarbon trap.

Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, these often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until they either reach the surface or become trapped beneath impermeable rocks, within porous rocks called reservoirs. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is A petroleum reservoir or an oil and gas reservoir (or system) is a subsurface pool of Hydrocarbons contained in porous However, the process is not straightforward since it is influenced by underground water flows, and oil may migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. Concentration of hydrocarbons in a trap forms an oil field from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground A drill (from Dutch Drillen) is For information on Wikipedia project-related discussions see WikipediaVillage pump.

Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: a source rock rich in organic material buried deep enough for subterranean heat to cook it into oil; a porous and permeable reservoir rock for it to accumulate in; and a cap rock (seal) or other mechanism that prevents it from escaping to the surface. Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material and is measured as a fraction between 0–1 or as a Percentage between 0–100% Permeability in the Earth sciences (commonly symbolized as κ, or k) is a measure of the ability of a material (typically a rock or unconsolidated Within these reservoirs, fluids will typically organize themselves like a three-layer cake with a layer of water below the oil layer and a layer of gas above it, although the different layers vary in size between reservoirs.

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. Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms 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 shales are source rocks that have not been exposed to heat or pressure long enough to convert their trapped kerogen into oil. ^[11]

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. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline

The biogenic origin of petroleum (liquid hydrocarbon oils) has recently been reviewed in detail by Kenney, Krayushkin, and Plotnikova who raise a number of objections. ^[12]

Abiogenic theory

Main article: 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 in the 1950s. The hypothesis of abiogenic petroleum origin is an alternative hypothesis to the biological origin theory which was popular in Russia and Ukraine between The hypothesis of abiogenic petroleum origin is an alternative hypothesis to the biological origin theory which was popular in Russia and Ukraine between The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Thomas Gold ( May 22, 1920 &ndash June 22, 2004) was an Austrian born Astrophysicist, a professor of Astronomy Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Nikolai Alexandrovich Kudryavtsev Николай Александрович Кудрявцев ( Opochka, October 21, 1893 - Leningrad, December Gold's hypothesis was that hydrocarbons of purely inorganic origin exist in the planet Earth. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is Since most petroleum hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, Gold proposed that they migrate upward into oil reservoirs through deep fracture networks. Although biomarkers are found in petroleum that most petroleum geologists interpret as indicating biological origin, Gold proposed that Thermophilic, rock-dwelling microbial life-forms are responsible for their presence. A biomarker is a substance used as an indicator of a biologic state An extremophile is an Organism that thrives in and may even require Physically or Geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to the A microorganism (also spelled micro organism or micro-organism and also called a microbe) is an Organism that is Microscopic (usually

This hypothesis is accepted by only a small minority of geologists and petroleum engineers. A hypothesis (from Greek) consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon (an event that is observable or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible "The success of the abiogenic theory can be seen by the fact that more than 80 oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea district have been explored and developed in crystalline basement rock on the basis of this theory. "^[13] Methods of making hydrocarbons from inorganic material have been known for some time, but no substantial proof exists that this is happening on any significant scale in the earth's crust for any hydrocarbon other than methane (natural gas). Abundant liquid methane (though not any form of petroleum) has been inferred to be present on Titan, a moon of Saturn, by research data from NASA's Cassini probe. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> Titan (ˈtaɪtən, or as Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA / ESA / ASI Robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its However, Titan has completely different geology from Earth, and is 1,200 gigametres (750,000,000 mi) or 8. 0 AU away. The astronomical unit ( AU or au or au or sometimes ua) is a unit of Length based on the distance from the Earth to the ^[14]

Classification

See also: Benchmark (crude oil)

A sample of medium heavy crude oil

The petroleum industry generally classifies crude oil by the geographic location it is produced in (e. Crude oil benchmarks, also known as an oil marker, were first introduced in the mid 1980s The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by Oil tankers and pipelines g. West Texas, Brent, or Oman), its API gravity (an oil industry measure of density), and by its sulfur content. West Texas is a region in Texas that has more in common geographically with the Southwestern United States than it does with the rest of the state The Brent oilfield operated by Shell UK Limited was once one of the most productive parts of the UK's offshore assets but is now nearing the end of its useful life Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman ( Arabic: سلطنة عُمان) is an Arab Country in Southwest Asia on the southeast Crude oil may be considered light if it has low density or heavy if it has high density; and it may be referred to as sweet if it contains relatively little sulfur or sour if it contains substantial amounts of sulfur. Light crude oil is Crude oil with a low Wax content The clear cut definition of 'light' and ' heavy ' crude is hard to find simply because the classification Heavy crude oil or Extra Heavy oil is any type of Crude oil which does not flow easily Sweet crude oil is a type of Petroleum. Petroleum is considered "sweet" if it contains less than 0 Sour crude oil is crude oil containing the impurity Sulfur. It is common to find crude oil containing some impurities

The geographic location is important because it affects transportation costs to the refinery. Light crude oil is more desirable than heavy oil since it produces a higher yield of gasoline, while sweet oil commands a higher price than sour oil because it has fewer environmental problems and requires less refining to meet sulfur standards imposed on fuels in consuming countries. Each crude oil has unique molecular characteristics which are understood by the use of crude oil assay analysis in petroleum laboratories. A crude oil assay is essentially the chemical evaluation of Crude oil feedstocks by Petroleum testing laboratories

Barrels 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. Crude oil benchmarks, also known as an oil marker, were first introduced in the mid 1980s Some of the common reference crudes are:

• West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a very high-quality, sweet, light oil delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma for North American oil
• Brent Blend, comprising 15 oils from fields in the Brent and Ninian systems in the East Shetland Basin of the North Sea. West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) also known as Texas Light Sweet, is a type of Crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing and the Underlying Cushing is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8371 at the 2000 census. Brent Crude is the biggest of the many major classifications of oil consisting of Brent Crude Brent Sweet Light Crude, Oseberg and Forties The Brent oilfield operated by Shell UK Limited was once one of the most productive parts of the UK's offshore assets but is now nearing the end of its useful life The East Shetland Basin is a major oil-producing area of the North Sea between Scotland and Norway. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The oil is landed at Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands. Sullom Voe is an Inlet between North Mainland and Northmavine on Shetland in Scotland. Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of Oil production from Europe, Africa and Middle Eastern oil flowing West tends to be priced off the price of this oil, which forms a benchmark
• Dubai-Oman, used as benchmark for Middle East sour crude oil flowing to the Asia-Pacific region
• Tapis (from Malaysia, used as a reference for light Far East oil)
• Minas (from Indonesia, used as a reference for heavy Far East oil)
• The OPEC Reference Basket, a weighted average of oil blends from various OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries

There are declining amounts of these benchmark oils being produced each year, so other oils are more commonly what is actually delivered. Dubai Crude is a light sour crude oil extracted from Dubai. Dubai Crude is used as a price benchmark or Oil marker because it is one of only The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB, also referred to as the OPEC Basket is a weighted average of prices for Petroleum blends produced by OPEC countries The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador While the reference price may be for West Texas Intermediate delivered at Cushing, the actual oil being traded may be a discounted Canadian heavy oil delivered at Hardisty, Alberta, and for a Brent Blend delivered at the Shetlands, it may be a Russian Export Blend delivered at the port of Primorsk. Hardisty Alberta is a town in Flagstaff County in Alberta, Canada. Primorsk (Примо́рск Koivisto Björkö is a coastal town in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, and the ^[15]

Petroleum industry

Main article: Petroleum industry

The petroleum industry is involved in the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often with oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing petroleum products. The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by Oil tankers and pipelines Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum Geologists for Hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable Petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from Petroleum Distillation, either as a distillate or a residue Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. See also Extraction of petroleum The Petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream Midstream and downstream. The Petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components upstream, midstream and downstream. The petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream, Midstream and downstream Midstream operations are usually included in the downstream category.

Petroleum is vital to many industries, and is of importance to the maintenance of industrialized civilization itself, and thus is critical concern to many nations. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Oil accounts for a large percentage of the world’s energy consumption, ranging from a low of 32% for Europe and Asia, up to a high of 53% for the Middle East. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Other geographic regions’ consumption patterns are as follows: South and Central America (44%), Africa (41%), and North America (40%). The world at large consumes 30 billion barrels (4. 8 km³) of oil per year, and the top oil consumers largely consist of developed nations. In fact, 24% of the oil consumed in 2004 went to the United States alone. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[16] The production, distribution, refining, and retailing of petroleum taken as a whole represent the single largest industry in terms of dollar value on earth.

See also: Price of petroleum, Oil price increases since 2003, and Gasoline usage and pricing

Petroleum exploration

Main article: Hydrocarbon exploration

Extraction

Main article: Extraction of petroleum

The most common method of obtaining petroleum is extracting it from oil wells found in oil fields. This article is about the price of crude oil see Gasoline usage and pricing for information about derivative motor fuels For information on the price of oil see Price of petroleum. The usage and pricing of Gasoline (petrol results Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum Geologists for Hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable Petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth West Texas PumpjackJPG|thumb|right|300px|This Pumpjack located south of Midland TX is a common sight in West Texas. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground With improved technologies and higher demand for hydrocarbons various methods are applied in petroleum exploration and development to optimize the recovery of oil and gas (Enhanced Oil Recovery, EOR). Enhanced Oil Recovery (abbreviated EOR is a generic term for techniques for increasing the amount of Oil that can be extracted from an Oil field. 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. The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable Petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth The natural pressure can come from several different sources; where it is provided by an underlying water layer it is called a water drive reservoir and where it is from the gas cap above it is called gas drive. After the reservoir 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. The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable Petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth In a water drive oil field, water can be injected into the water layer below the oil, and in a gas drive field it can be injected into the gas cap above to repressurize the reservoir. 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. The extraction of petroleum is the process by which usable Petroleum is extracted and removed from the earth Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a Fluid which is being deformed by either Shear stress or Extensional stress. These may involve the injection of heat, vapor, surfactants, solvents, or miscible gases as in carbon dioxide flooding. Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the Surface tension of a liquid allowing easier spreading and lower the Interfacial tension between two liquids Carbon dioxide (CO2 flooding is a process whereby Carbon dioxide is injected into an oil reservoir in order to increase output when extracting oil.

Alternative methods

During the oil price increases since 2003, alternatives methods of producing oil gained importance. The most widely known alternatives involve extracting oil from sources such as oil shale or tar sands. These resources exist in large quantities; however, extracting the oil at low cost without excessively harming the environment remains a challenge.

It is also possible to chemically transform methane or coal into the various hydrocarbons found in oil. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, The best-known such method is the Fischer-Tropsch process. The Fischer-Tropsch process (or Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis is a catalyzed chemical reaction in which synthesis gas ( Syngas) a mixture of Carbon monoxide It was a concept pioneered during the 1920s in Germany to extract oil from coal and became central to Nazi Germany's war efforts when imports of petroleum were restricted due to war. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers International trade is exchange of Capital, Goods, and Services across International borders or Territories. It was known as Ersatz (English:"substitute") oil, and accounted for nearly half the total oil used in WWII by Germany. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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. Synthetic oil is Oil consisting of Chemical compounds which were not originally present in Crude oil ( Petroleum) but were Artificially

Currently, two companies have commercialised their Fischer-Tropsch technology. Shell Oil in Bintulu, Malaysia, uses natural gas as a feedstock, and produces primarily low-sulfur diesel fuels. Bintulu is a coastal town and the capital of Bintulu District (7220 For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum ^[17] Sasol^[18] in South Africa uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products. Sasol (originally Afrikaans for Suid-Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie - South African Coal and Oil is a South African company involved in mining energy chemicals The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

The process is today used in South Africa to produce most of the country's diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum Sasol (originally Afrikaans for Suid-Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie - South African Coal and Oil is a South African company involved in mining energy chemicals The process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation under Apartheid. This process produces low sulfur diesel fuel but also produces large amounts of greenhouse gases. Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere bothnatural and anthropogenic that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared

An alternative method of converting coal into petroleum is the Karrick process, which was pioneered in the 1930s in the United States. The Karrick process is a low-temperature Carbonization (LTC of Coal, shale, Lignite or any carbonaceous materials The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It uses low temperatures in the absence of ambient air, to distill the short-chain hydrocarbons out of coal instead of petroleum. Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture

Further information: Destructive distillation

Oil shale can also be used to produce oil, either through mining and processing, or in more modern methods, with in-situ thermal conversion. Destructive distillation is the process of Pyrolysis conducted in a distillation apparatus ( Retort) to allow the volatile products to be collected

Conventional crude can be extracted from unconventional reservoirs, such as the Bakken Formation. The Bakken Formation, initially described by geologist JW Nordquist in 1953is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian The formation is about two miles underground but only a few meters thick, stretching across hundreds of thousands of square miles. It further has very poor extraction characteristics. Recovery at Elm Coulee has involved extensive use of horizontal drilling, solvents, and proppants. Elm Coulee Oil Field was discovered in the Williston Basin in Richland County, eastern Montana, in 2000

More recently explored is thermal depolymerization (TDP), a process for the reduction of complex organic materials into light crude oil. Thermal depolymerization ( TDP) is a process using Hydrous pyrolysis for the reduction of complex Organic materials (usually Waste products of Organic matter (or organic material) is Matter that has come from a once-living Organism; is capable of Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Using pressure and heat, long chain polymers of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon decompose into short-chain hydrocarbons. A polymer is a large Molecule ( Macromolecule) composed of repeating Structural units typically connected by Covalent Chemical bonds Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. This mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source Fuels that is Hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. In theory, thermal depolymerization can convert any organic waste into petroleum substitutes.

History

Ignacy Łukasiewicz - creator of the process of refining of kerosene from crude oil. Jan Józef Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822 - 1882 was a Polish Pharmacist of Armenian descent who devised the first method of distilling Kerosene

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. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Asphalt ( is a sticky black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude Petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq ^[19] Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, one of the tributaries of the Euphrates. Issus, a River in Cilicia, Asia Minor, where Alexander the Great defeated Darius in 333 BC. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia

The earliest known oil wells were drilled in China in 347 CE or earlier. West Texas PumpjackJPG|thumb|right|300px|This Pumpjack located south of Midland TX is a common sight in West Texas. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National They had depths of up to about 800 feet (240 m) and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. For the ficitonal character see Drill Bit (Transformers. Drill bits are cutting tools used to create cylindrical holes Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily ^[20] The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. Brine (lat saltus) is Water saturated or nearly saturated with Salt (NaCl For sodium chloride in the diet see Salt. Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or Halite, is a By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily The ancient records of China and Japan are said to contain many allusions to the use of natural gas for lighting and heating. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Petroleum was known as burning water in Japan in the 7th century. ^[19]

The Middle East petroleum industry was established by the 8th century, when the streets of the newly constructed Baghdad were paved with tar, derived from easily accessible petroleum from natural fields in the region. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by Oil tankers and pipelines A street is a Public thoroughfare in the built environment It is a Public parcel of land adjoining Buildings in an urban context Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in the area around modern Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce naphtha. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons i These fields were described by the geographer Masudi in the 10th century, and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads. A geographer is a Scientist whose area of study is Geography, the study of Earth 's physical environment and Human habitat TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn íbn Ali al-Mas'udi (transl) (born c Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer Petroleum was distilled by Persian chemist al-Razi in the 9th century, producing chemicals such as kerosene in the al-ambiq (alembic). Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid An alembic (from Arabic Al-inbiq الأنبيق is an alchemical Still consisting of two Retorts connected by a tube ^[21] (See also: Alchemy (Islam), Islamic science, 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. Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh (c 1552 – 29 October 1618 was a famed English writer Poet, Soldier, Courtier and Explorer Trinidad ( Spanish: " Trinity " is the largest and most populous of the two major islands and The Pitch Lake is a lake of natural Asphalt located at La Brea in southwest Trinidad. A Russian traveller, Peter Kalm, in his work on America published in 1748 showed on a map the oil springs of Pennsylvania. ^[19]

In 1711 the Greek physician Eyrini d’Eyrinis discovered asphalt at Val-de-Travers, (Neuchâtel). The Val-de-Travers is a district in the Canton of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. Neuchâtel ( literally: New Castle in Old French) is the Capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake He established a bitumen mine de la Presta there in 1719 that operated until 1986. ^[22][23]

Oil sands were mined from 1745 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Alsace under the direction of Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière, by special appointment of Louis XV. Merkwiller-Pechelbronn is a community in the French region of Alsace. Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern In 1745 Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière established the Pechelbronn Bitumen mine at Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Bas-Rhin, Alsace Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774 ^[24] The Pechelbronn oil field was active until 1970, and was the birth place of companies like Antar and Schlumberger. Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest Oilfield services corporation operating in approximately 80 countries with about 84000 people of 140 nationalities The first modern refinery was built there in 1857. ^[24]

The modern history of petroleum began in 1846 with the discovery of the process of refining kerosene from coal by Nova Scotian Abraham Pineo Gesner. The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also modern times) is the period of history that followed the Middle Ages between c Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Abraham Pineo Gesner, born May 2, 1797 in Cornwallis Township, Nova Scotia, Canada ( – died April 29, 1864 Ignacy Łukasiewicz improved Gesner's method to develop a means of refining kerosene from the more readily available "rock oil" ("petr-oleum") seeps in 1852 and the first rock oil mine was built in Bóbrka, near Krosno in Galicia in the following year. Jan Józef Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822 - 1882 was a Polish Pharmacist of Armenian descent who devised the first method of distilling Kerosene Bóbrka may refer to the following places Historical Polish name for Bibrka, Ukraine Bóbrka Lesko County in Subcarpathian Voivodeship (south-east Krosno (in full The Royal Free City of Krosno, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Krosno (Krossen 1358) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 48060 inhabitants Galicia (Галичина ( Halychyna) Galicja is a historical region in East Central Europe, currently divided between Poland and Ukraine, In 1854, Benjamin Silliman, a science professor at Yale University in New Haven, was the first to fractionate petroleum by distillation. Benjamin Silliman ( 8 August 1779 &ndash 24 November 1864) was an American Chemist, one of the first American professors These discoveries rapidly spread around the world, and Meerzoeff built the first Russian refinery in the mature oil fields at Baku in 1861. An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline Baku (Bakı sometimes known as Baqy, Baky, Baki or Bakü, is the capital the largest city and the largest port of Azerbaijan At that time Baku produced about 90% of the world's oil.

Oil field in California, 1938. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

The first commercial oil well drilled in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858, dug by James Miller Williams. Oil Springs Ontario (population 800 is a Village located along Former Kings Highway 21 in Lambton County Ontario, south of Oil City. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page James Miller Williams ( September 14 1818 &ndash November 25 1890) was a businessman and political figure in Ontario, Canada The US petroleum industry began with Edwin Drake's drilling of a 69-foot (21 m) oil well in 1859, on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania, for the Seneca Oil Company (originally yielding 25 barrels per day (4. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" Edwin Laurentine Drake ( March 29, 1819 &ndash November 9, 1880) also known as Colonel Drake, was an American Oil Creek is a river that flows through both Pennsylvania and New York. Titusville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. 0 m³/d), by the end of the year output was at the rate of 15 barrels per day (2. 4 m³/d)). The industry grew through the 1800s, driven by the demand for kerosene and oil lamps. Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid An oil lamp is a simple vessel used to produce light continuously for a period of time from a fuel source It became a major national 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. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a Early "local" finds like those in Pennsylvania and Ontario were quickly outpaced by demand, leading to "oil booms" in Texas, Oklahoma, and California. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

Early production of crude petroleum in the United States:^[19]

• 1859: 2,000 barrels (~270 t)
• 1869: 4,215,000 barrels (~5. 750×10⁵ t)
• 1879: 19,914,146 barrels (~2. 717×10⁶ t)
• 1889: 35,163,513 barrels (~4. 797×10⁶ t)
• 1899: 57,084,428 barrels (~7. 788×10⁶ t)
• 1906: 126,493,936 barrels (~1. 726×10⁷ t)

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. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec See http//enwikipediaorg/wiki/WikipediaFootnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the tags and the template below Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Masjed Soleiman (also transcribed as Masjid Soleyman and Masjid-e-Soleiman) (مسجد سلیمان in Persian) is a city in the Khuzestan Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

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. The 1973 oil crisis began on October 17 1973 when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC consisting of the Arab members of The 1979 (or second) oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public 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 quite dire. However, a period of increase production and reduced demand caused an oil glut in the 1980s. The 1980s oil glut was a surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1973 and 1979 energy crises.

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 commodities. A commodity is anything for which there is demand but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market Access to it was a major factor in several military conflicts of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, including World War II and the Persion Gulf Wars (Iran-Iraq War, Operation Desert Storm, and the Iraq War). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign The top three oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The United States of America —commonly referred to as the About 80% of the world's readily accessible reserves are located in the Middle East, with 62. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. 5% coming from the Arab 5: Saudi Arabia (12. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi 5%), UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed However, with today's oil prices, Venezuela has larger reserves than Saudi Arabia due to crude reserves derived from bitumen. Bitumen is a mixture of organic Liquids that are highly Viscous, black sticky entirely soluble in Carbon disulfide, and composed primarily

Uses

The chemical structure of petroleum is composed of hydrocarbon chains of different lengths. In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. Because of this, petroleum may be taken to oil refineries and the hydrocarbon chemicals separated by distillation and treated by other chemical processes, to be used for a variety of purposes. An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture In a " scientific " sense a chemical process is a method or means of somehow changing one or more Chemicals or Chemical compounds Such a chemical See Petroleum products. Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil ( Petroleum) as it is processed in Oil refineries.

Fuels

Further information: alternative fuel

• Ethane and other short-chain alkanes which are used as fuel
• Diesel fuel (petrodiesel)
• Fuel oils
• Gasoline
• Jet fuel
• Kerosene
• Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
• Natural gas

Generally used in transportation, power plants and heating. Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional Fuels are any Materials or substances that can be used as a Fuel, other than conventional fuels ETHANE is a mnemonic indicating a protocol used by Emergency services to report situations which they may be faced with especially as it relates to major incidents where Alkanes, also known as Paraffins are Chemical compounds that consist only of the elements Carbon (C and Hydrogen (H (i Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from Petroleum Distillation, either as a distillate or a residue Jet fuel is a type of Aviation fuel designed for use in Aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage is a Combustible Hydrocarbon liquid Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, GPL, LP Gas, or Autogas) is a mixture of Hydrocarbon Gases used as a Fuel Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane,

Petroleum vehicles are internal combustion engine vehicles. The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a

Other derivatives

Certain types of resultant hydrocarbons may be mixed with other non-hydrocarbons, to create other end products:

• Alkenes (olefins) which can be manufactured into plastics or other compounds
• Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity stabilizers as required). In Organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated Chemical compound containing at least one Carbon Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products A lubricant (sometimes referred to as a "Lube" is a substance (often a liquid introduced between two moving surfaces to reduce the Friction between them improving Motor oil, or engine oil, is an Oil used for lubrication of various Internal combustion engines While the main function is to lubricate Moving Although the word grease originally described the rendered fat of animals the term is now applied more broadly to mean a Lubricant of higher initial Viscosity Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a Fluid which is being deformed by either Shear stress or Extensional stress.
• Wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others. Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by Bees ( Beeswax) and used by them in constructing their Frozen food is food preserved by the process of Freezing. Freezing food is a common method of Food preservation which slows both food decay and by
• Sulfur or Sulfuric acid. Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 Sulfuric (or sulphuric acid, H 2 S[[oxygen O]]4 is a strong Mineral acid. These are a useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared as the acid precursor oleum, a byproduct of sulfur removal from fuels. Oleum ( Latin oleum = "oil" or fuming sulfuric acid refers to a solution various compositions of Sulfur trioxide in Sulfuric Hydrodesulfurization (HDS is a Catalytic chemical process widely used to remove Sulfur (S from Natural gas and from refined petroleum products
• Bulk tar. Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter
• Asphalt
• Petroleum coke, used in speciality carbon products or as solid fuel. Asphalt ( is a sticky black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude Petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum Petroleum coke (often abbreviated petcoke) is a Carbonaceous solid derived from Oil refinery Coker units or other cracking processes
• Paraffin wax
• Aromatic petrochemicals to be used as precursors in other chemical production. In chemistry paraffin is the common name for the Alkane Hydrocarbons with the general formula C n H2 n +2 Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin A chemical substance is a Material with a definite chemical composition.

Consumption statistics

Global fossil carbon emissions, an indicator of consumption, for 1800-2004. Total is black. Oil is in blue.

2004 U. S. government predictions for oil production other than in OPEC and the former Soviet Union

World energy consumption, 1980-2030. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Source: International Energy Outlook 2006.

Environmental effects

Diesel fuel spill on a road

The presence of oil has significant social and environmental impacts, from accidents and routine activities such as seismic exploration, drilling, and generation of polluting wastes not produced by other alternative energies. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions See also Natural environment The '''biophysical''' environment is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the Biological Seismology (from Greek grc σεισμός seismos, "earthquake" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Earthquakes Drilling is the process of using a Drill bit in a Drill to produce cylindrical holes in solid materials such as wood or metal Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in

Extraction

Oil extraction is costly and sometimes environmentally damaging, although Dr. John Hunt of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution pointed out in a 1981 paper that over 70% of the reserves in the world are associated with visible macroseepages, and many oil fields are found due to natural seeps. John M Hunt (1918 – 2005 was a geologist chemist and oceanographer The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI is a private nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and Offshore exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine environment. ^[25] Extraction may involve dredging, which stirs up the seabed, killing the sea plants that marine creatures need to survive. Dredging is an Excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater in shallow seas or Fresh water areas with the purpose of "Ocean Floor" redirects here For the 2001 song by Audio Adrenaline, see Lift (Audio Adrenaline album. But at the same time, offshore oil platforms also form micro-habitats for marine creatures. An oil platform or oil rig is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill and/or extract oil and Natural gas through wells

Oil spills

Volunteers cleaning up the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill

Main article: Oil spill

Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged natural ecosystems in Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, France and many other places and times in Spain (i. The Prestige was an Oil tanker whose sinking in 2002 off the Galician coast caused a large Oil spill. For the fictional character see Oil Slick (Transformers. An oil spill is the release of a Liquid Petroleum Hydrocarbon into For the fictional character see Oil Slick (Transformers. An oil spill is the release of a Liquid Petroleum Hydrocarbon into An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. This is a list of Oil spills throughout the world One tonne of crude oil is roughly equal to 308 US gallons or 7 Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. e. Ibiza). Ibiza (Eivissa is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain

The quantity of oil spilled during accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred thousand tons (Atlantic Empress, Amoco Cadiz. The Atlantic Empress was a Greek Oil tanker that was involved in two large oil spills Sequence of events En route from the Persian Gulf to Rotterdam, the Netherlands via a scheduled stop at Lyme Bay, Great Britain the ship encountered . . ). Smaller spills have already proven to have a great impact on ecosystems, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24 1989 A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of Length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of Latitude along any meridian. For the fictional character see Oil Slick (Transformers. An oil spill is the release of a Liquid Petroleum Hydrocarbon into This can kill sea birds, mammals, shellfish and other organisms it coats. Oil spills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth dam can be rapidly bulldozed around the spill site before most of the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees ----A bulldozer is a crawler ( Caterpillar tracked Tractor) equipped with a substantial metal plate (known as a blade) used to push large quantities

Control of oil spills is difficult, requires ad hoc methods, and often a large amount of manpower (picture). The dropping of bombs and incendiary devices from aircraft on the Torrey Canyon wreck got poor results;^[26] modern techniques would include pumping the oil from the wreck, like in the Prestige oil spill or the Erika oil spill. The Torrey Canyon was a Supertanker capable of carrying a cargo of 120000 tons of Crude oil, which was wrecked off the western coast of Cornwall The Prestige was an Oil tanker whose sinking in 2002 off the Galician coast caused a large Oil spill. Erika was the name of a tanker built in 1975 and last chartered by Total-Fina-Elf. ^[27]

Global warming

Main article: Global warming

Burning oil releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere, which is credited with contributing to global warming. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Per joule, oil produces 15% less CO₂ than coal, but 30% more than natural gas. The joule (written in lower case ˈdʒuːl or /ˈdʒaʊl/ (symbol J) is the SI unit of Energy measuring heat, Electricity Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, However, the unique role of oil as the main source of transportation fuel makes reducing its CO₂ emissions a difficult problem. Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy While large power plants can, in theory, eliminate their CO₂ emissions by techniques such as carbon sequestering or even use them to increase oil production through enhanced oil recovery techniques, these amelioration strategies do not generally work for individual vehicles

Whales

It has been argued that the advent of petroleum-refined kerosene saved the great cetaceans from extinction by providing a cheap substitute for whale oil, thus eliminating the economic imperative for whaling. A power station (also referred to as generating station, power plant or powerhouse) is an industrial facility for the generation of Carbon capture and storage ( CCS) is an approach to mitigating Global warming based on capturing Carbon dioxide (CO2 from large Enhanced Oil Recovery (abbreviated EOR is a generic term for techniques for increasing the amount of Oil that can be extracted from an Oil field. Whaling is the hunting of Whales and dates back to at least 6000 BC ^[28]

Alternatives to petroleum

Main article: Renewable energy

Alternatives to petroleum-based vehicle fuels

Main articles: Alternative propulsion, Biofuel, Fuel economy, and Hydrogen economy

The term alternative propulsion or "alternative methods of propulsion" includes both:

• alternative fuels used in standard or modified internal combustion engines (i. Renewable energy is Energy generated from Natural resources mdashsuch as Sunlight, Wind, Rain, tides and geothermal Alternative propulsion is a term used frequently for Powertrain concepts differing from the Internal combustion engine concept used in only Petroleum fueled Fuel economy in automobiles is the amount of Fuel required to move the Automobile over a given Distance. The hydrogen economy is a proposed method of deriving the Energy needed for Motive power (cars boats airplanes buildings or portable electronics by reacting Alternative fuels, also known as non-conventional Fuels are any Materials or substances that can be used as a Fuel, other than conventional fuels The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a e. combustion hydrogen or biofuels). Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1
• propulsion systems not based on internal combustion, such as those based on electricity (for example, all-electric or hybrid vehicles), compressed air, or fuel cells (i. The Electric Vehicle was an American Automobile manufactured only in 1899 A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle A Compressed air car is an alternative fuel car that uses a motor powered by compressed air A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device It produces electricity from Fuel (on the Anode side and an oxidant (on the e. hydrogen fuel cells).

Nowadays, cars can be classified between the next main groups:

• Petro-cars, this is, only use petroleum and biofuels (biodiesel and biobutanol). Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based Diesel fuel consisting of short chain Alkyl ( Methyl or ethyl) Esters made by Butanol may be used as a Fuel in an Internal combustion engine.
• Hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrids, that use petroleum and other source, generally, electricity. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to propel the vehicle A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ( PHEV) is a Hybrid vehicle with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an Electric power
• Petrofree cars, that do not use petroleum, like electric cars, hydrogen vehicles. An electric car is a type of alternative fuel Car that utilizes Electric motors and Motor controllers instead of an Internal combustion engine A hydrogen vehicle is a Vehicle that uses Hydrogen as its on-board fuel for motive power . .

Future of petroleum production

Main articles: Peak oil and Hubbert peak theory

The future of petroleum as a fuel remains somewhat controversial. USA Today news reported in 2004 that there were 40 years of petroleum left in the ground. USA TODAY is a national American daily Newspaper published by the Gannett Company. Some argue that because the total amount of petroleum is finite, the dire predictions of the 1970s have merely been postponed. Others claim 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. ^[11]

Hubbert peak theory

The Hubbert peak theory (also known as peak oil) posits that future petroleum production (whether for individual oil wells, entire oil fields, whole countries, or worldwide production) will eventually peak and then decline at a similar rate to the rate of increase before the peak as these reserves are exhausted. It also suggests a method to calculate the timing of this peak, based on past production rates, the observed peak of past discovery rates, and proven oil reserves. The peak of oil discoveries was in 1965, and oil production per year has surpassed oil discoveries every year since 1980. ^[29]

In 1956, M. King Hubbert correctly predicted US oil production would peak around 1971. Marion King Hubbert (October 5 1903 &ndash October 11 1989 was a Geoscientist who worked at the Shell research When this occurred and the US began losing its excess production capacity, OPEC gained the ability to manipulate oil prices, leading to the 1973 and 1979 oil crises. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador The 1973 oil crisis began on October 17 1973 when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC consisting of the Arab members of The 1979 (or second) oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Since then, most other countries have also peaked. China has confirmed that two of its largest producing regions are in decline, and Mexico's national oil company, Pemex, has announced that Cantarell Field, one of the world's largest offshore fields, was expected to peak in 2006, and then decline 14% per annum. Petróleos Mexicanos ( PEMEX) is Mexico 's state-owned Petroleum company Cantarell Field or Cantarell Complex is the largest Oil field in Mexico and one of the largest in the world

Controversy surrounds predictions of the timing of the global peak, as these predictions are dependent on the past production and discovery data used in the calculation as well as how unconventional reserves are considered. Supergiant fields have been discovered in the past decade, such as Azadegan, Carioca/Sugar Loaf, Tupi, Jupiter, Ferdows/Mounds/Zagheh, Tahe, Jidong Nanpu/Bohai Bay, West Kamchatka, and Kashagan, as well as tremendous reservoir growth from places like the Bakken and massive syncrude operations in Venezuela and Canada. ^[30] However, while past understanding of total oil reserves changed with newer scientific understanding of petroleum geology, current estimates of total oil reserves have been in general agreement since the 1960s. Further, predictions regarding the timing of the peak are highly dependent on the past production and discovery data used in the calculation.

It is difficult to predict the oil peak in any given region, due to the lack of transparency in accounting of global oil reserves. Accountancy or accounting is the measurement statement or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by Lenders managers, ^[31] Based on available production data, proponents have previously predicted the peak for the world to be in years 1989, 1995, or 1995-2000. Some of these predictions date from before the recession of the early 1980s, and the consequent reduction in global consumption, the effect of which was to delay the date of any peak by several years. Just as the 1971 U. S. peak in oil production was only clearly recognized after the fact, a peak in world production will be difficult to discern until production clearly drops off.

Petroleum by country

Oil consumption per capita (darker colors represent more consumption).

Consumption rates

There are two main ways to measure the oil consumption rates of countries: by population or by gross domestic product (GDP). This metric is important in the global debate over oil consumption/energy consumption/climate change because it takes social and economic considerations into account when scoring countries on their oil consumption/energy consumption/climate change goals. Nations such as China and India with large populations tend to promote the use of population based metrics, while nations with large economies such as the United States would tend to promote the GDP based metric.

Production

Oil producing countries

In petroleum industry parlance, production refers to the quantity of crude extracted from reserves, not the literal creation of the product. This is a list of Countries and their states/provinces that extract Crude oil from Oil wells Africa Algeria (

In order of amount produced in 2006 in thousand bbl/d and thousand m³/d:

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

¹ peak production of conventional oil already passed in this state

² Although Canadian conventional oil production is declining, total oil production is increasing as oil sands production grows. A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions If oil sands are included, it has the world's second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia.

³ Though still a member, Iraq has not been included in production figures since 1998

Export

Oil exports by country

In order of net exports in 2006 in thousand bbl/d and thousand m³/d:

Source: US Energy Information Administration

¹ peak production already passed in this state

² Canadian statistics are complicated by the fact it is both an importer and exporter of crude oil, and refines large amounts of oil for the U. A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions S. market. It is the leading source of U. S. imports of oil and products, averaging 2. 5 MMbbl/d in August 2007. [2].

Total world production/consumption (as of 2005) is approximately 84 million barrels per day (13,400,000 m³/d).

See also: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador

Consumption

In order of amount consumed in 2006 in thousand bbl/d and thousand m³/d:

Source: US Energy Information Administration

¹ peak production of oil already passed in this state

² This country is not a major oil producer

Import

Oil imports by country

In order of net imports in 2006 in thousand bbl/d and thousand m³/d:

Source: US Energy Information Administration

¹ peak production of oil already passed in this state

² Major oil producer whose production is still increasing

Non-producing consumers

Countries whose oil production is 10% or less of their consumption. A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) is a Cartel of thirteen countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions A day (symbol d is a unit of Time equivalent to 24 Hours and the duration of a single Rotation of planet Earth with respect to the CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions

Source : CIA World Factbook

Writers covering the petroleum industry

See also

References

External links

• Petroleum at the Open Directory Project
• US Energy Information Administration
• US Department of Energy EIA - World supply and consumption
• American Petroleum Institute - the trade association of the US oil industry. The Open Directory Project ( ODP) also known as dmoz (from directory
• Oil survey - OECD International Energy Agency