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Petroleum
Petroleum, also called crude oil, is a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black colored liquid. Petroleum was first found oozing out of rocks on Earth's surface.
Hence, its name comes from the Latin words petra, meaning rock, and oleum, meaning oil. Petroleum is a hydrocarbon (/knowledge/Hydrocarbon.html), an
organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen. It is a mixture of other hydrocarbon (/knowledge/Hydrocarbon.html) compounds such as natural
gas (/knowledge/Natural_gas.html), gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, and, probably most important, fuel oil.
Today, most scientists agree that oil was formed from the remains of plants and tiny animals that settled to the bottom of ancient oceans. These remains or
sediments were buried by layers of mud and sand. Gradually, over millions of years, the weight of these accumulating layers built up great pressure and
heat. The sediments packed together and became rock. The organic (once living) remains were changed into kerogen, a waxy substance that forms oil and
natural gas (/knowledge/Natural_gas.html). Most of the world's petroleum is more than 100 million years old, and is thus called a fossil
(/knowledge/Fossil.html) fuel.
Unlike coal, which stays in one spot unless moved by Earth's shifting crust, oil slowly migrates upward through cracks and pores, or tiny holes, in nearby
rocks. Eventually the oil reaches a solid layer of rock and becomes trapped underneath in a reservoir (/knowledge/Reservoir.html) (pool). Natural gas
(/knowledge/Natural_gas.html) often occurs in association with oil. Most of the world's petroleum reservoirs lie deep underground in structures called
anticlines—gently folded layers of rock that form an arch (/knowledge/Arch.html) above the deposit. Petroleum can also be trapped by fractured layers (or
faults), salt formations, and stratigraphic (rock) traps. Some oil is also contained in shales (clay) and sands.
An oil-drilling rig in the southern United States. (Reproduced by permission of
Photo Researchers, Inc.
)
Different types of petroleum can be used in different ways. Refineries (/knowledge/Refinery.html) separate different petroleum products by heating
petroleum to the point where heavy hydrocarbon (/knowledge/Hydrocarbon.html) molecules separate from lighter hydrocarbons. As a result, each product
can be isolated and used for a specific purpose without waste. Thus, tar (/knowledge/Tar.html) or asphalt, the dense, nearly solid hydrocarbons, can be
used for road surfaces and roofing materials. Waxy substances called paraffins can be used to make candles and other similar products. And less dense,
liquid hydrocarbons can be used for engine fuels.
User Contributions:
1
Sharlene Nov 18, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
(/Oi-
Thanx Andrea!
I was doing a project
and I wrote that it was Latin at first
Thanx for the correction!
2
Emmanuel Osikemekha Mar 16, 2009 @ 7:07 am
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3
kavitha Jul 5, 2010 @ 3:03 am
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4
Caroline Apr 24, 2012 @ 1:13 pm
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I am curios since most of the oil seems to be in the middle east why haven't they simply developed their own refineries (/knowledge/Refinery.html)?
5
debbie Nov 10, 2013 @ 10:10 am
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Explanation of importance of oil is quite informative i will like to know whether there is a difference between crude oil and petroleum, also the
importance of social and opportunity cost of producing gas at the expense of petroleum.
6
solomon Jul 5, 2014 @ 12:12 pm
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