What is ‘Crude Oil’?

The unprocessed fossil fuel oil extracted from underground is referred to as

crude oil, or sometimes named petroleum.

The colour can range from clear to black, and the viscosity can range from
close to the viscosity of water up to an almost solid consistency.

This kind of fossil fuel is made up mostly from a mixture of hydrocarbons in

all of the states in which it can be found (Wikipedia, Petroleum, 2008).

The hydrocarbon molecule is made up from hydrogen and carbon. This type of
molecule can be found with various structures and of various lengths, which
explains why it can also be found in many different substances in addition to
this type of fossil fuel.

The origin came about when the bodies of a large number of small plants and
animals were buried and then decayed under different layers of earth over a
period measured in geological time (Opitma Energy Group 2007). Different
plants and animals in different parts of the world can give different shades
and colours to the crude oil. Consequently, the colour may indicate where it
originally came from, i.e. it can have different appearance in colour as well as
variation in their composition, depending on the geographical location. The
reason for this is attributed to the original make up of the crude oil from
plants and animals in that particular area or country, as well as the
environment and conditions to which it was subjected to.

Different types contains lighter hydrocarbons molecules, while other grades

of contain much heavier types (Wikipedia, Petroleum, 2008).
When it comes to the market value, this value increases correspondingly
according to the type of hydrocarbons it contains, i.e. the lighter the type of
the hydrocarbon molecule the higher the price per barrel and visa versa
(Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy, USA 2009).

The chemical elements of a crude oil (e.g. North Sea Oil) can be summarised
as in the following table:

Carbon 78.5%

Hydrogen 11.9%

Nitrogen 0.25%

Oxygen 8.85 %

Sulphur 0.5%

Metals <1000 ppm

Crude oil reserve, at the present level production, can last approximately 63
years if produced from 41 countries believed to have sufficient
commercial reserve. Most of these countries or crude oil reserves (68% of oil
reserves in the world) can presently be found in the Middle East (World Coal
Institute, 2008).

Najib Altawell

Reference
Energy Information Administration, Official Energy Statistics from the US Government (2009) Petroleum
Optima Energy Group (2007) About crude oil
Wikipedia (2008) Petroleum
World Coal Institute (2008) Coal facts 2007

© Altawell 2009