What is petroleum? And it is refine in industry Formation and composition of petroleum Reservoir of petroleum Fraction of petroleum Cracking of petroleum Green Petroleum World consumption of petroleum Consumption in Pakistan

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BAESI workshop 6 December
2008
2. Petroleum

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plus invisible GHGs
L.A. smog
Chief source: combustion of petroleum products

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Petroleum has been used by humans
for millennia, originally for fires and
warfare. In the Middle East, oil fields
were exploited for naptha, tar, and
kerosene in the 8th to 12th centuries.
These early users depended on seeps
(like this modern one), where petroleum
rises naturally because of subsurface
pressure.
Beverly
Hillbillies
theme

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The demand for petroleum
on the world market grew
slowly, but started to take
off in the 1800s. Whale oil
was replaced by kerosene
lamps starting around
1860.
Coal was still the major fuel
source in the world until about
1940, when petroleum passed it
and became the most valuable
commodity in the global
marketplace.

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Hydrocarbons: organic compounds consisting of H and C
Petroleum: a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of
solid, liquid, and gaseous hydrocarbons that occurs
naturally beneath the Earth's surface.
Liquids Gases
Solids (e.g. paraffin) are not abundant, but have many uses
Crude oil
methane
Natural Gas
propane
pentane
butane
Condensate
Natural Gas Liquids
(NGLs)

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Crude oil
* Liquid mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons
(aka “oil”)
* After refining: the chief source of transportation fuels
Natural gas
* After processing: used for power generation,
residential,
fertilizers, manufacturing, transportation (still very
limited)
* Gaseous mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbons

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Combustion (burning) of hydrocarbons releases
carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere
Fuel + Oxygen Carbon dioxide + Water + Heat
In words:
CxHy + (x + y/4)O2 xCO2 + (y/2)H2O
The general equation:
C3H8 + 5O2 3CO2 + 4H2O
E.g., for propane:

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residue
fuel oil
lubricants
diesel
kerosene
gasoline
naptha
gases
Fractional
distillation
in a refinery
very schematic cartoon
L.A. oil refinery

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Natural gas
Almost always a mixture of gases;
to be used as a fuel, extensive
processing is required to produce
pure methane.

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Petrochemicals Chemicals produced from petroleum

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The Graduate 1967
“Plastics.”
ALL PLASTICS are petrochemicals.

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polystyrene epoxies

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polycarbonate, etc.

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PVC
solvents

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Other synthetic fibers, such as acrylics & dacron:
clothing, yarn, rugs, rope, sails, grafts, containers,
resins, etc.
Polyester: The most widely used artificial
fiber in the U.S. — apparel & home
furnishings, plus bottles, fiberglass, LCDs,
holograms, filters, insulators, auto body
parts, and more.

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Apparel, carpets, musical strings, fishing line,
racket strings, rope, auto parts, machine parts,
sutures
Nylon

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More uses
sterilizers (food & medical supplies
rubbing alcohol
synthetic rubber
MTBE
detergents
vinyl
dyes
phenols (antiseptics)
TNT
drugs
packaging
riot shields
eyeglass lenses
auto parts

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The inescapable fact: Modern developed
societies depend on petroleum in
innumerable ways. We are a petroleum-
dependent society.
“No civilization can survive the
destruction of its resource base.”
Bruce Sterling
Also see Jared Diamond’s Collapse and
Joseph Tainter’s Collapse of Complex Societies

25. “The Prize”
20th century = “The Oil Century”
“The lifeblood of modern civilization”
“The foundation of modern society”
Petroleum is a non-renewable resource
that took millions of years to form.
Our use of it has been unsustainable.

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Petrolia, Ontario
1858 North America’s first oil wells
1860 World’s first integrated oil company
1860–1900 “Oil boom” trained drillers who later
dispersed around the planet: U.S., Middle East, South
America, etc.
Titusville, PA
1859 First U.S. drilling rig

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Make lists of the top 5 countries:
Oil production
to date (since ~1860)
Current (2007) rate of
oil production
Remaining
oil reserves
KSA
FSU
USA
Iran
China
USA
FSU
KSA
Iran
Venezuela
FSU = former Soviet Union
KSA = Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
KSA
Iraq
Iran
Kuwait
UAE/Venez
UAE = United Arab Emirates

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The unequal distribution of petroleum triggered many
military and other strategic decisions over the last
century.
Early 1900s: Britain converted its fleet from coal to oil; dependence
on Middle East oil; long-term involvement there starting in World War
1.
Events before and during World War II
* 1930s: Japan imports ~80% of its oil from the USA, and ~18% from
Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
* 1937: Japan invades China, initiating war between them.
* Aug 1941: U.S. oil embargo vs. Japan, which has 1.5 years of oil
reserves.
* Dec 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, simultaneously invades
Dutch East
Indies (Indonesia); first targets: oil fields and refineries.
*Germany’s North Africa campaign part of the Axis plan to control the
Suez canal and Middle East oil supplies.

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U.S. strategy after WWII: U.S. production supported the Allied
effort throughout WWII, but dwindling reserves encouraged
administrations (starting w/FDR) to look internationally….chiefly to
the Middle East.
Iran 1953: The U.S. (via CIA) and U.K. organized the overthrow of
Iran’s elected prime minister, who had recently nationalized the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which became British Petroleum (BP)
in 1954).
1991 Gulf War: After Iraq invaded oil-rich Kuwait, the U.S.
spearheaded the “liberation” of Kuwait and the defense of oil-richer
KSA.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq: Purportedly to eliminate weapons of mass
destruction etc. Recommended book: Michael Klare, Blood and Oil
(2004).

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A
B
C
D
E
KSA
Iran
Iraq

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Mediterranean
Sea
Caspian
Sea
Red
Sea
Persian
Gulf

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UAE
Qatar
Kuwait
Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
Iraq Iran

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The Middle East
contains 45–60%
of the world’s
petroleum reserves.
* 6% of global production to date
* 6% of modern production
* World’s largest oil field
* 60-65% of KSA production to date
Ghawar Ghawar: perhaps the
most important place
you’ve never heard of

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How to Make Exploitable Petroleum
1. Start with lots of source rock, such as shale containing
organic material that has not been oxidized (not very
common).
3. Place a reservoir rock above the source rock. The
petroleum will rise because of its low density, so you need
a porous (and preferably permeable) rock to hold it.
4. Ensure that the reservoir has a suitable trap—a
subsurface geologic structure that will hold (“trap”)
petroleum in the reservoir rock, preventing its slow
migration to the surface.
2. Heat the source rock to 60°–120°C (for oil) or 120°–
220°C (for gas). Do not overcook. Will take millions of
years.

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Pores are open spaces
between the particles of a
rock.
The more pore space, the
higher the porosity.
Pores may contain air, gas, or
liquid (water or oil).
The more “connected” the
pores, the higher the
permeability.
Pore fluids will flow more easily
in rocks that are more
permeable.

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Natural Gas Oil Water
Color code: Rock
Cartoon of a vertical slice through the crust showing traps in
reservoir rocks where petroleum and water typically
accumulate.

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Typical E&P (exploration and production) steps
Explore, using dumb luck (Jed); geologic mapping (late 1800s);
standard geophysical tools (1930s); high-tech tools (1990s).
Drill a test well.
If the petroleum is trapped and under pressure, it will rise naturally; no
pumping needed (Jed, early Saudi Arabia).
This is the “primary recovery” phase—free-flowing
petroleum.
Gas released during extraction is
valuable but must be trapped and
processed; for decades, it was simply
flared off.

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Typical E&P steps, part 2
Primary recovery lasts for several months or years.
As the pressure drops, flow slows and operators must
use “secondary recovery” techniques for to recover
petroleum. The most common technique: injection of
water or gas.
Injection
well Production
well
water forced
downward
water enters pores, raises pressure;
“sweeps” petroleum in front of it
petroleum
rises

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Water injection also is used to increase production, but
usually leads to a quicker reservoir decline and less total
production.
Injected water produces problems with corrosion, scaling,
treatment prior to disposal; requires costly processing and
replacement of parts.
Typical E&P steps, part 3
“Tertiary recovery” techniques may be used once the
injection techniques are ineffective. However, they’re
expensive, and thus feasible only if the price of petroleum
is high....

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Production history of an oil field
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary

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Peak Oil: The maximum sustainable production rate of
petroleum for an area (e.g., a field, a country, or the
world).
M. King Hubbert and “Peak Oil”
M. King Hubbert (U.S. geologist) predicted that production
rate for any well, field, or region will resemble a bell curve.
The peak of such a curve
is known as Hubbert’s
Peak.
Peak Oil does NOT mean
“running out of oil.”

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Hubbert’s prediction for U.S. peak oil: ~1970
U.S. production
peak in
1970
w/Alaska
lower 48
Actual date of U.S. peak oil: 1970
(curve shape differs from his prediction due to Alaska discoveries)
Hubbert’s prediction for global peak oil: ~2000

43. Aug 08
4/02 4/03 4/04 4/05 4/06 4/07 4/08
millions
barrels/day
68
But it looks like we’ve
been on a “bumpy
plateau” since 2004.
76
72
Arab oil
embargo
Fuel-efficient cars
Shift to natural gas,
electricity for heat
Global peak production
had not peaked by
2004.
2000
1965