Petroleum
Petroleum, commonly known as "petrol," is a fossil fuel that exists in liquid form within the Earth's crust, formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient marine organisms. This nonrenewable resource is primarily composed of hydrocarbons, which can account for 50 to 97 percent of its composition, varying by crude oil type. The extraction of petroleum involves drilling, often after geological surveys identify suitable locations. Historically, petroleum has been refined for uses ranging from lighting fuels to transportation, with significant production increases during World War I. Major oil-producing regions today include those controlled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as the United States, which has emerged as a leading producer. Beyond fuel, petroleum is integral in the creation of various products, including plastics, medications, and even some food items. Its global significance is underscored by the influence of oil prices on economies worldwide, with OPEC playing a crucial role in regulating production and pricing. As a complex and vital commodity, petroleum has a profound impact on modern industry and everyday life.
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Petroleum
Petroleum, or "petrol," is a fossil fuel found in liquid form within the earth’s crust. Fossil fuels take shape when sea plants and animals die and are buried under several thousand feet of silt, sand, or mud. It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form; this is why petroleum is considered to be a nonrenewable energy source. Oil and coal are also fossil fuels.
Hydrocarbons made up of carbon and hydrogen comprise most of the composition of petroleum, but the amount may vary from 50 percent to 97 percent depending on the type of crude oil and how it is extracted. Other organic compounds, including oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur usually make up between 6 to 10 percent of crude oil, while metals such as copper, nickel, iron, and vanadium make up less than 1 percent. The hydrocarbons found in petroleum are classified into paraffins, cycloparaffins, and aromatics.
Petroleum taken out of the ground in its most natural form can be green, black, or clear. It is often called crude oil and can be as thin as the gasoline in the pump at the gas station or as thick as black tar used on our roads. Petroleum is viewed as a valuable commodity and is traded around the world.
Background
The first time paraffin was refined from petroleum was in the nineteenth century after a Scottish chemist named James Young noticed a natural petroleum seepage in the Riddings colliery at Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. When he succeeded in distilling some thin oil, which he found suitable for use as lamp oil, and was also able to obtain a thicker oil suitable for lubricating machinery, he set up his own business refining the crude oil. Young also noticed that the oil was dripping from the sandstone roof of the coal mine and concluded that the oil might be produced artificially. He formed a partnership with other investors and in 1851 set up in Bathgate the first truly commercial oil works in the world with the first modern oil refinery, using oil extracted from locally mined shale mixed with bituminous coal to manufacture naphtha and lubricating oils.
In America, Edwin Drake's 1859 well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, became known as the first modern oil well in North America. Originally, petroleum was used primarily as a lighting fuel after it had been distilled and converted into kerosene. When Thomas Edison opened the world's first electricity generating plant in 1882, the need for kerosene practically disappeared. World War I was the real catalyst for petroleum production; more petroleum was produced then than ever before.
In the twenty-first century, several major oil-producing regions monopolize oil production. The Organization of the Petroleum Countries (OPEC), especially Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, are considered the largest oil-producing countries in the world, although oil from other Middle Eastern countries, as well as crude from China and Russia, make up a significant part of world production figures.
Overview
Heating and compression of organic materials over a long period of time creates petroleum. Most of the oils extracted today are remnants of prehistoric algae and zooplankton found on the bottom of an ocean or lake. The organic material combined with mud over time and the heavy sediment became heated to a high temperature that changed the chemical into kerogen, a waxy compound, and then, with increased heat, into a liquid through a process referred to as catagenesis.
Most people think of petroleum as a liquid used primarily to power cars and train engines in the form of gasoline. Automobiles and other transportation vehicles do undoubtedly consume the highest quantity of petroleum, but the black gold is used for many other applications.
Black petroleum, or bitumen, is used in roofing and for blacktop in paving roads because it is an excellent water repellent. Petroleum is also a major ingredient in the chemical makeup of many plastics and synthetics. Unbeknownst to many people, petroleum also appears as an ingredient in foods, including beer, and in medications such as aspirin.
Petroleum has a lower density than water. The Baumé scale was instituted by the government in 1916 as the standard measure for any liquid—such as oil—that is less dense than water and set the value used in this scale at 141.5. The government tried to change it to 140 when an error was revealed, but the use of 141.5 was already entrenched in the oil industry. Therefore, the American Petroleum Institute (API), the major United States trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, decided to leave the API gravity scale at 141.5. The API gravity scale classifies oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy. The "weight" of a particular oil is the largest determinant of its market value; therefore, API gravity is especially important.
Underground drilling is the most common method of crude oil extraction. This is done after geologists have located the substance using methods such as satellite imagery, gravity meters, and magnetometers.
The global petroleum industry is quite complicated, with most of the world’s oil supplies controlled by state agencies and not by private corporations. The oil industry can be subdivided into two major categories: National Oil Companies (NOCs) owned and operated by the local government and International Oil Companies (IOCs). They are publicly traded corporations that sell petroleum. Oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell go back to the nineteenth century, but most of the IOCs in the United States were formed when Standard Oil broke into smaller corporations in 1911.
OPEC was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1960 by five countries: the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Other countries that later joined include Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975), Angola (2007), Equatorial Guinea (2017), and Congo (2018).
OPEC member countries produce about 40 percent of the world's crude oil, and its oil exports represent about 60 percent of the total petroleum traded in the twenty-first century. Because of this, OPEC's actions have a major effect on oil prices internationally. Oil prices plunged from a high of $145 a barrel in 2007 to $35 in 2015; oil mavens predict the price will continue to drop before turning around.
OPEC competes with the United States for market share. By 2024, the United States had become the world's top producer of crude oil, followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, and Canada.
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