Overview of Petroleum Engineering

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According to recorded history:
 The oil industry began at the least 6,000 years ago, in the Middle
East around the Arabian Gulf, when the peoples of the region
found oil seeping to the surface through natural seeps.

 Consequently, shallow wells were dug with stone chimneys or

walls for support as heavy oil slowly flowed into these wells.

 This primitive industry spread from the Middle East to China

with the discovery of oil while drilling wells to obtain salt water
from which salt could be obtained.

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 The Chinese developed a primitive industry, using oil for
illumination, medicine, and as a sealant for vessels and
pipelines to transport fluids.

 Petroleum Distillation techniques was discovered by the

Arabs in the Middle East about 2,000 years ago.

 Weapons of war could now be obtained from the oil, since

many of the products of petroleum distillation are not only
flammable but also explosive. It was during this period that
the city of Alexandria in Egypt was burned during warfare,
using an oil product referred to as Greek Fire.
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 With the development of petroleum distillation, a primitive
industry began in Europe approximately 1,000 years ago. This
industry came into competition with the whale oil industry as a
source for illuminating oil for European city streets.

 In 1859, in the United States, a group of businessmen from New

Haven, Connecticut contracted with Col. Edwin A. Drake to drill
for oil near Titusville, Pennyslvania.

 This was the first recorded agreement to purposely seek sub-

surface hydrocarbon in the U.S. This well eventually produced 8
barrels per day [STB/day]
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 After Drake’s discovery, excitement and activity developed in
the region, and hundreds of wells were drilled in
northwestern Pennsylvania through the 1860s and the balance
of the century.

 Some of these produced as high as 3,000 barrels per day

[STB/day]

 This oil was used primarily for illumination and sealant

purposes, but was found to be extremely effective as a
lubricant for use with rotating machinery which provided a
market for oil in industry.
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 In the 1860s, the oil was transported to refineries using horse-
drawn wagons carrying the oil in 50 gallon wooden wine barrels,
or by transport on barges down the Allegheny River.

 It was also noted that in 1829, prior to Drake’s discovery, oil was
discovered while drilling a water well in Kentucky. The well blew
out [flowed out of control]. Approximately 1,000 barrels flowed
from the well under blowout conditions.

 However, the market for produced oil was available in 1860s

proving the recognition of Drake’s discovery.
Presentation of video
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VIDEO # 1

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VIDEO # 2

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 Anthony Lucas drilled the first discovery well at Spindletop
in 1901. The well blew out and it was estimated to be the
largest gusher in the history of the oil industry with 100,000
barrels per day [STB/day]

 This initial Spindletop well was followed by the first major oil
boom in Texas.

 In early 1900s, oil was discovered in many regions of the

world as demand for oil increased.

 By the 1960s the oil industry truly became a world industry

with further developments in the Middle East, Southeast Asia,
and the North Sea .
Presentation of video
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VIDEO # 3

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VIDEO # 4

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VIDEO # 5

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 Technological and economic developments of the oil have
been growing worldwide and the world is now very
dependent on oil and its associated gas resources.

 The Petroleum Industry may be defined as “that industry

where a well is drilled through the rock structure of the
earth to a sub-surface reservoir of the resource
[hydrocarbon], and, by some means, that resource is caused
to flow into the well to be produced back to the surface.”

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VIDEO # 6

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 The Organization/Sequence of the Modern Petroleum
Industry is as follows:
 Exploration
 Production
 Transportation
 Refining and Petrochemicals
 Marketing
 Consumer

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 Production in the industry is now divided into two
categories:

 Upstream Operations: which are considered to be

Exploration and Production, or those operations to the point
of metering the produced resource into the transportation
system.

 Downstream Operations: which refers to operations which

occur beyond the point of metering the produced resource
into the transportation system. These include transportation,
refining and petrochemicals, marketing, and delivery to the
consumer.
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 Petroleum Engineering may be defined as the use of applied physics
and chemistry to extract hydrocarbons from the ground and produce
them safely in a stable form into the stock tank.

Petroleum Engineering is divided into different disciplines:

 Geophysicists and Geologists
 Petrophysicists
 Drilling Engineers
 Logging Engineers
 Completion Engineers
 Production Engineers
 Reservoir Engineers

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Geophysicists and Geologists locate, identify and map
reservoir rocks. They use a range of tools to do this with the
primary one for the geophysicist being the velocity of sound in
rocks and fluids.

The Petrophysicist studies the fine details of the rocks to assist

in identification of heterogeneties that will reduce the
production or containment of hydrocarbons in these rocks.

The Drilling Engineer [and the drilling department] will drill

the well to bring oil and/or gas to the surface. They are
concerned with the mud program, the cementing program, the
casing program and the fracture mechanisms of the
underground rocks.
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The Logging Engineer conducts and interprets the electric and
radioactive logs that will identify hydrocarbon vs. water and also oil vs.
gas.

The Completion Engineer will design the right completion that will
efficiently allow the oil and gas to flow from the reservoir into the
wellbore without undue production of reservoir particles [sand].

The Production Engineers are responsible for the safe and efficient
production of the hydrocarbons. This will entail producing the wells at
the optimum rate of installing artificial lift [such as sucker rod pumps,
gas lift etc.] to lift the fluids to the surface.

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The Reservoir Engineer is responsible to quantify the amount of
oil and gas that exists in the underground reservoirs within the
lease boundaries that the company owns or has leased and how
much of it can or will be produced i.e. reserves.

The Reservoir Engineer is also interested in the recovery factor

that one can achieve from a reservoir. Also, how long these
reserves will take to be produced from the reservoir and
determination of production life of the reservoir.

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PETROLEUM ACREAGE IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

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