This presentation was prepared by Jacob Jok and Joshua Malidzo. It gives the general conception of the origin of oil formations, extraction and its environmental impacts. 3rd Year students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

1. “The rough roads of life are passed with ease by he
who value these three important friends: humility,
persistence and optimism. Walk with them and
remember that they that enjoy the fruits of the
land are the humble ones. They never die young!”
Jacob Jok-magai Deng

2. THE ESSENCE TO TRUE ENERGY.

3. PETROLEUM.
 Definitions.
 Formation theories.
 Extraction of oil.
 Pollution.
 Uses of petroleum products.

4. What is Petroleum?
 The word petroleum originated from the Latin words,
Petra, meaning rock and oleum, meaning oil.
 Literally it means ‘Rock Oil,’ and can also be defined as a
non-renewable fossil fuel or oil that is found underground.
 This is any naturally-occurring flammable mixture of
hydrocarbons found in geological formations such as rock
strata.
 Technically, the term petroleum refers to describe any
solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons.
 It’s also known as ‘crude oil’ or ‘mineral oil.’
 Pronounced as puh-tro-lee-um h.

5. Differences between Crude oil,
petroleum products and petroleum
 Crude oil- Mixture of hydrocarbons existing as liquid
in natural underground reservoirs and remain liquid
during extraction.
 Petroleum products- Produced from the processing of
crude oil at petroleum refineries and extraction of
liquid hydrocarbons at natural gas processing plants.
 Petroleum- refers to the broad category that includes
both crude oil and petroleum products.

6. PETROLEUM FORMATION.
There are basically two theories explaining the origin of oil,
I.
Organic Theory.(Biotic Theory)
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Oil developed millions of years from organic material remains of
dead plants and animals (algae and planktons).
The dead organisms sank to the bottom of water bodies (seas and
lakes), where the environment tends to be anaerobic.
They accumulated in the mud on the beds of the water bodies,
partially decomposed.
Sediment deposition on the bed of the water body, burying and
compressing the organic matter under its weight.
Increase in temperatures(1000c-1600c) and pressures resulted due
to continued sediment deposition.
With time the conditions broke down the organic compounds
into shorter hydrocarbon chains, forming oil and natural gas.
Oil and natural gas flowed from the source rock , accumulating
in thicker more porous rock called a reservoir rock.
Earth movements (faulting, folding ) trapped the oil and natural
gas in the reservoir rock between layers of impermeable rock or
cap rock also called an oil trap.

8. Diagram explaining oil formation
via Biotic theory.

9. Conditions necessary for biotic oil
formation.
In a nutshell,
1. Deep burial under sand and mud.
2. Pressure cooking.
3. Hydrocarbon migration from the source to the
reservoir rock.
4. Impermeable rock to trap the oil.

10. Video demonstrating biotic oil formation.

11. The Major Misconception to biotic
oil formation.

12. Inorganic Theory.(Abiogenic/Abiotic Theory)
This hypothesis of petroleum origin without biology was first
proposed in 16th century by Georg Agricola, then in 19th
century by Alexander (Prussian geographer), Dmitri (Russian
chemist), Marceline (French chemist) and re-defined in 20th
century by Cornell University physicist, Thomas Gold.
 Supporters of this hypothesis argued that hydrocarbons
existed at the formation of the solar
system and were abundant in other
Thomas Gold
planets e.g. Saturn, Jupiter,…
 The theory argued that petroleum
originated from limitless pools of liquid
primordial hydrocarbons at great depths
in the earth.
 These carbon-bearing fluids migrated
upward from the mantle where they
slowly replenish the reservoirs that
conventional oil drillers tap.
2.
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14.  Other hypothesis arose as a result of the Abiotic
theory. These include,
i. Deep seated terrestrial hypothesis.
Proposed by Dmitri Mendeleev, he postulated that
metallic carbides deep within the earth reacted with
water at high temps. forming acetylene.
CaC2(s)+2H2O
Ca(OH)2(s)+C2H2(g)
ii. Extra terrestrial hypothesis.
Proposed by Sokoloff, he based a cosmic origin to
petroleum origin. He postulated that hydrocarbons
precipitated as rain from original nebular matter
from which the solar system formed.

15. Nebular matter.

16. Oil Extraction.
 Factors considered when it comes to the extraction;
i.
Porosity and permeability of the rock –.
ii. The viscosity of the deposit.
There are various steps and methods of oil extraction;
1.
Primary recovery.
2. Secondary recovery.
3. Enhanced recovery.

17. 1. Primary recovery method.
 Relies on underground pressure to drive fluids to
surface.
 When pressures get low, artificial lift technologies
(such as lift pumps) are used.
 In some situations, natural gas is pumped back to the
well underneath the oil. Gas expands pushing the oil
to surface.
 This method is mainly used in offshore facilities,10%
of oil in a deposit is tapped.

18. 2. Secondary method.
 Water produced from oil in initial phase of drilling is
injected back into the oil deposit, bringing more oil to
the surface.
 20% of the entire oil is tapped.
 The main advantage to this method is that it helps in
disposing waste water back into the system.

19. 3. Enhanced recovery method.
 It consists of 3 minor recovery methods, which
include;
a. Thermal recovery – injection of steam into the
formation. Heat from steam makes the flow of oil
much easier due to increased pressure.
b. Gas injection – Uses miscible or immiscible gases.
Miscible gases dissolve CO2, propane, methane
lowering its velocity and increases flow. Immiscible
gases do not mix with oil but increase pressure in the
gas cap in the reservoir.
c. Chemical flooding – Involves mixing dense water
soluble polymers with water and injecting it into the
reservoir. The water pushes the oil onto the surface.

21. Types of hydrocarbons found in
petroleum.
 Paraffins. (15%-60%)
 Naphthenes. (30%-60%)
 Aromatics. (3%-30%)
 Asphaltics. (remainder.)

22. Elemental composition of
Petroleum.
 Although there are considerable variations between
the ratios of organic molecules, its elemental
composition is:
Carbon. (83%-87%)
II. Hydrogen. (10%-14%)
III. Nitrogen.(0.1%-2%)
IV. Oxygen.(0.05%-1.5%)
V. Sulphur.(0.05%-6%)
VI. Metals.(<0.1%)
I.

23. Oil Pollution.
 Where does the future of
petroleum resources lie?
 What are the risks of
consuming oil contaminated
food?

24. What is oil pollution?
 This is the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons
into the environment due to human activity.

25. Effects of oil spills
 Oil spills have affected many people and many industries.
They affect both economy and environment. Some of the
things affected are:
1. Marine life
-Birds and fish die because they have ingested oil.
-Birds drown because oiled feathers weigh more
and their sticky feathers cannot trap enough air.
-Marine mammals such as fur seals become easy
prey if oil stick their flippers to their bodies,
making it hard for them to escape predators.
-Poisoning of wildlife higher up the food chain after
eating large amount of organisms that have ingested
oil already.

27. Effects of oil spills
2. Local industry(often tourist industry)
-Oil, dead fish and birds all get washed up on the
shores and the oil slick interferes in activities such as
fishing, sailing and swimming.
-Local tourists industry will suffer since no tourists
will have interest to visit a coastal area without such
activities.
-Industries that rely on clean sea water will stop their
operations when the water is polluted by oil.
3. Fishing industry
-Fish become poisonous after they are covered with oil or have
swallowed it.
-Large number of fish die, decreasing the number of fish
that could possibly have been caught.
-It is also difficult for boats to sail because the oil damage them
and the devices they use to catch fish.

29. USES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
 Alkenes are manufactured into plastics or other
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compounds.
Lubricants produces greases and are used in adding
viscosity stabilizers.
Wax is used in packaging of frozen food.
Paraffin wax is used in candle making and as a chewing
gum additive.
Asphalt is used in making asphalt concrete for road
surfaces.
Petroleum coke used in speciality carbon products or
as solid fuel.

30.  “As much as the future seems unclear … the future
lies in our hands. Let’s be wise. Think natural.”
Joshua Malidzo.