OIL HISTORY

How it is formed

Oil is a natural mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, which are found in sedimentary rocks in
association with hydrocarbon gas, gas, solid bitumen and other fossils.

All hydrocarbon molecules are composed of only two types of atoms, carbon and hydrogen. It is
the amount of carbon atoms in the molecule that determines the state of the hydrocarbons.

The hydrocarbons are a non-renewable energy source, formed during a very long period of time.
The environments are more favorable to their training are the areas of seabed characterized by
continuous inputs of sediments from the rivers. Over millions of years the seabed has
accumulated sediments, sand and clay, mixed with the remains of micro-organisms and animals
and plants. The organic matter contained in the rock, the so-called mother rock, and transforms
a certain depth, pressures and high temperatures into oil. The duration of the process varies
from tens to a hundreds of millions of years.

The hydrocarbons that are lighter than water, and tend to move upward and laterally through
the porous rock and in some cases can reach the surface and disperse in other cases their
ascent is blocked by a layer of impermeable rock to shape of the dome that traps them.

Oil Exploration

The exploration for new deposits is a very long and expensive procedure and must be done
carefully. First a map of surface rocks must be drawn by analyzing aerial photographs or satellite
pictures, and with the help of the geophysics of micropaleontology and petrography, all relevant
information on chemical and physical characteristics of the rocks, their age and their composition
are studied. In a second stage seismic waves are sent through the deep layers of rock and are
reflected in different ways depending on the density of the rock, on their return to the surface
waves are recorded by geophones. The data collected to the computer properly processed and
interpreted provide an image of the subsurface structure from which one can infer the presence
of traps with liquid. Though the traps could contain only water and have no oil.

Oil drilling

Drilling of a well sounds very simple, but in fact it is a very complicated procedure as it entails
many different aspects of the solidity of the rock, gas pressure etc….

To drill a well one can start with a diameter of 70 cm but 6,000 meters down the diameter is
barely reaching 10 cm. Many environmental aspects must be also taken into account during
drilling.

Sea drilling is much more complex as the drilling unit is based on a platform on the sea and
environmental issues become much more difficult to handle.

Production

The production facility occupies just 10 square meters and is located in part below the level of
the ground to limit the impact of vision. Initially, the gas and oil come out spontaneously due to
the internal pressure, after the oil is extracted through pumps or by injecting water into the
reservoir, which pushes up oil residues.
This way about 40% of oil and 90% of gas can be recovered. The average life of a field is 20-30
years. Oil is then transported generally by pipes to the refineries for cracking into oil products.

Refining

Crude oil is introduced into a furnace and brought to a temperature of about 400 ° C that
changes its physical state from liquid into vapor. The lowest point of the column is condensed
fuel oils, lubricants, paraffin, wax and bitumen.

Between 350 ° C and 250 ° C is condensed gas oil used as fuel for diesel engines and for
domestic heating.

Between 250 ° C and 160 ° C kerosene fuel oil used as a propellant for jet aircraft and heating
equipment.

Between 160 ° C and 70 ° C condensate oil a liquid used as a fuel and as raw material to
produce plastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and fertilizers.

Between 70 ° C and 20 ° C condense the gasoline is used as fuel for cars and aircraft.

At 20 ° C remain gaseous methane, ethane, propane and butane. In particular, butane and
propane fuel are called LPG.

Types of crude oil

The oil as many other products that are formed in nature is not always the same, and different
types of crude oil exists. The two main criteria that are used to define the types are: gravity and
the presence of sulfur.

Gravity is measured in degrees API (American Petroleum Institute) on a scale ranging from less
than 10 to over 50. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and oil floats on water; if
less than 10, it is heavier and sinks. API gravity is thus a measure of the relative density of a
petroleum liquid and the density of water, but it is used to compare the relative densities of
petroleum liquids.
The types of oil are divided as follows:

Heavy: with a degree less than 22 ° API

Average: with a degree between 22 ° and 34 ° API
Light: with a degree above 34 ° API

The crude is also categorized into three, depending on the sulfur content:

Sweet: sulfur less than 0.5%

Medium sour : between 0.5% and 1.5%
Sour: above 1.5%

Some reflection…

As briefly depicted, Oil is a very precious product and must not be wasted. To get an idea most
sodas that we drink, which contain only aromas and sugar, cost about 160USD per barrel,
whereas oil, which takes millions of years to form and is so difficult to extract costs around
50USD per barrel, almost three times less……… To give another example, we are heating our
home by burning it…