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81-545: The formation is notable both for its petroleum resources and for its salt tectonics , which are responsible for many distinctive geologic features of the eastern Colorado Plateau . In addition to the anticline valleys, these include the grabens of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park and the fins and arches of Arches National Park . The Paradox Formation was deposited in the Paradox Basin,

162-554: A deep basin formed southwest of the Uncompahgre uplift of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains . The basin experienced rapid subsidence at the same time that sea levels were periodically rising and falling as a result of late Paleozoic glaciation . This produced periodic flooding of the basin (as sea levels rose) followed by evaporation (as sea levels fell.) Some 33 cycles of sea level rise and fall are recorded in

243-481: A destination to be explored. The first recorded European to reach Cataract Canyon was a fur trapper named Denis Julien in 1836. Julien carved his name into a rock wall in the lower section of Cataract Canyon, though this inscription is now covered by Lake Powell. The first organized exploration to travel the entire length of Cataract Canyon was the Powell Expedition in 1869, led by John Wesley Powell ,

324-520: A fluid resembling petroleum, which when treated in the same way as the seep oil gave similar products. Young found that by slow distillation he could obtain several useful liquids from it, one of which he named "paraffine oil" because at low temperatures it congealed into a substance resembling paraffin wax. The production of these oils and solid paraffin wax from coal formed the subject of his patent dated October 17, 1850. In 1850, Young & Meldrum and Edward William Binney entered into partnership under

405-512: A much shallower level. The Athabasca oil sands are one example of this. An alternative mechanism to the one described above was proposed by Russian scientists in the mid-1850s, the hypothesis of abiogenic petroleum origin (petroleum formed by inorganic means), but this is contradicted by geological and geochemical evidence. Abiogenic sources of oil have been found, but never in commercially profitable amounts. "The controversy isn't over whether abiogenic oil reserves exist," said Larry Nation of

486-534: A one-armed Civil War veteran who launched in wooden boats near Green River, Wyoming and traveled down the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado River at the top of Cataract Canyon. The rapids of Cataract Canyon terrified Powell and his men. The expedition portaged their boats around every rapid in the canyon, a difficult and arduous task. Because of the difficulty of the rapids, Powell named

567-476: A process known as catagenesis . Formation of petroleum occurs from hydrocarbon pyrolysis in a variety of mainly endothermic reactions at high temperatures or pressures, or both. These phases are described in detail below. In the absence of plentiful oxygen, aerobic bacteria were prevented from decaying the organic matter after it was buried under a layer of sediment or water. However, anaerobic bacteria were able to reduce sulfates and nitrates among

648-580: A set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions. The latter set is regularly used in petrochemical plants and oil refineries . Cataract Canyon Cataract Canyon is a 46-mile-long (74 km) canyon of the Colorado River located within Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Utah . It begins at Colorado's confluence with

729-665: A significant amount of petroleum while drilling for lignite in Wietze , Germany. Wietze later provided about 80% of German consumption in the Wilhelminian Era. The production stopped in 1963, but Wietze has hosted a Petroleum Museum since 1970. Oil sands have been mined since the 18th century. In Wietze in lower Saxony, natural asphalt/bitumen has been explored since the 18th century. Both in Pechelbronn as in Wietze,

810-574: A source of internal and inter-state conflict, leading to both state-led wars and other resource conflicts . Production of petroleum is estimated to reach peak oil before 2035 as global economies lower dependencies on petroleum as part of climate change mitigation and a transition towards renewable energy and electrification . The word petroleum comes from Medieval Latin petroleum (literally 'rock oil'), which comes from Latin petra 'rock' (from Greek pétra πέτρα ) and oleum 'oil' (from Greek élaion ἔλαιον ). The origin of

891-609: A subsurface reference section at depths of 5,420 to 9,600 feet (1,650 to 2,930 m) at a well northeast of Egnar, Colorado . Here the original evaporite beds show little indication of deformation. Petroleum Petroleum is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture. It consists mainly of hydrocarbons , and is found in geological formations . The term petroleum refers both to naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil, as well as to petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil. Conventional reserves of petroleum are primarily recovered by drilling , which

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972-411: A variety of liquid, gaseous, and solid components. Lighter hydrocarbons are the gases methane , ethane , propane and butane . Otherwise, the bulk of the liquid and solids are largely heavier organic compounds, often hydrocarbons (C and H only). The proportion of light hydrocarbons in the petroleum mixture varies among oil fields . An oil well produces predominantly crude oil. Because the pressure

1053-526: A visit to Fort Duquesne in 1750. Early British explorers to Myanmar documented a flourishing oil extraction industry based in Yenangyaung that, in 1795, had hundreds of hand-dug wells under production. Merkwiller-Pechelbronn is said to be the first European site where petroleum has been explored and used. The still active Erdpechquelle, a spring where petroleum appears mixed with water has been used since 1498, notably for medical purposes. There

1134-554: A year before Drake's Pennsylvania operation and could be argued to be the first commercial oil well in North America. The discovery at Oil Springs touched off an oil boom which brought hundreds of speculators and workers to the area. Advances in drilling continued into 1862 when local driller Shaw reached a depth of 62 metres using the spring-pole drilling method. On January 16, 1862, after an explosion of natural gas , Canada's first oil gusher came into production, shooting into

1215-491: Is called diagenesis , a word that means a transformation of materials by dissolution and recombination of their constituents. Kerogen formation continued to a depth of about 1 km from the Earth's surface where temperatures may reach around 50 °C . Kerogen formation represents a halfway point between organic matter and fossil fuels : kerogen can be exposed to oxygen, oxidize and thus be lost, or it could be buried deeper inside

1296-726: Is considered a sticky, black, tar-like form of crude oil which is so thick and heavy that it must be heated or diluted before it will flow. Venezuela also has large amounts of oil in the Orinoco oil sands , although the hydrocarbons trapped in them are more fluid than in Canada and are usually called extra heavy oil . These oil sands resources are called unconventional oil to distinguish them from oil which can be extracted using traditional oil well methods. Between them, Canada and Venezuela contain an estimated 3.6 trillion barrels (570 × 10 ^  m ) of bitumen and extra-heavy oil, about twice

1377-738: Is done after a study of the relevant structural geology , analysis of the sedimentary basin , and characterization of the petroleum reservoir . There are also unconventional reserves such as oil sands and oil shale which are recovered by other means such as fracking . Once extracted, oil is refined and separated, most easily by distillation , into innumerable products for direct use or use in manufacturing. Products include fuels such as gasoline (petrol), diesel , kerosene and jet fuel ; asphalt and lubricants ; chemical reagents used to make plastics ; solvents , textiles , refrigerants , paint , synthetic rubber , fertilizers , pesticides , pharmaceuticals , and thousands of others. Petroleum

1458-473: Is lower at the surface than underground, some of the gas will come out of solution and be recovered (or burned) as associated gas or solution gas . A gas well produces predominantly natural gas . However, because the underground temperature is higher than at the surface, the gas may contain heavier hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane , and heptane (" natural-gas condensate ", often shortened to condensate. ) Condensate resembles gasoline in appearance and

1539-756: Is now called the Drake Well in Cherrytree Township, Pennsylvania .There also was a company associated with it, and it sparked a major oil drilling boom. The first commercial oil well in Canada became operational in 1858 at Oil Springs, Ontario (then Canada West ). Businessman James Miller Williams dug several wells between 1855 and 1858 before discovering a rich reserve of oil four metres below ground. Williams extracted 1.5 million litres of crude oil by 1860, refining much of it into kerosene lamp oil. Williams's well became commercially viable

1620-526: Is separated by an erosional surface from the base of the next cycle. The algal mounds are dominated by Ivanovia , a green alga whose calcareous fronds form an excellent reservoir rock for petroleum. The carbonate shelf facies is less than 1,000 feet (300 m) thick but is exposed in the bottom of the San Juan River canyon. The formation is assigned to the Hermosa Group , of which it

1701-531: Is separated by an erosional surface marking the low stand of the sea, and in some cases the potash beds were completely eroded away, so that they are not present in all cycles. This evaporite facies of the formation exists mainly in the subsurface, with only scattered surface exposures of highly deformed beds of the less soluble minerals. To the northeast, near the Uncompahgre uplift, the Paradox Formation abruptly transitions to clastic rock assigned to

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1782-451: Is similar in composition to some volatile light crude oils . The hydrocarbons in crude oil are mostly alkanes , cycloalkanes and various aromatic hydrocarbons , while the other organic compounds contain nitrogen , oxygen , and sulfur , and traces of metals such as iron, nickel, copper and vanadium . Many oil reservoirs contain live bacteria. The exact molecular composition of crude oil varies widely from formation to formation but

1863-582: Is the Needles District fault zone in Canyonlands National Park. Here the Colorado River has breached the salt beds of the Paradox Formation in Cataract Canyon , dissolving great quantities of salt and causing the overlying beds on either side of the canyon to slump towards the river. This produces the striking arcuate faults and associated grabens of the Needles District. The deformation of overlying beds, due to deformation from

1944-660: Is the Paradox Formation, which was deposited approximately 320 million years ago. Indigenous peoples , most likely of the Fremont culture , inhabited the Canyonlands area long before European settlers arrived. Rock art and ruins, at least 800 years old, have been found in Cataract Canyon. Because of the remote location, it was some time before European explorers and settlers reached the area. The Colorado River and its canyons were more of an obstacle to travel than

2025-578: Is the middle formation. It overlies the Pinkerton Trail Formation and is in turn overlain by the Honaker Trail Formation . Both contacts are conformable. The Paradox Formation is a source of petroleum , with oil fields at Aneth, Desert Creek, North Desert Creek, Squaw Canyon , Bluff, and Dove Creek, among other locations. However, its greatest significance may be through the unusual salt tectonics it causes across

2106-473: Is used in manufacturing a vast variety of materials essential for modern life, and it is estimated that the world consumes about 100 million barrels (16 million cubic metres ) each day. Petroleum production played a key role in industrialization and economic development. Some countries, known as petrostates , gained significant economic and international power over their control of oil production and trade. Petroleum exploitation can be damaging to

2187-674: The Earth's crust and be subjected to conditions which allow it to slowly transform into fossil fuels like petroleum. The latter happened through catagenesis in which the reactions were mostly radical rearrangements of kerogen. These reactions took thousands to millions of years and no external reactants were involved. Due to the radical nature of these reactions, kerogen reacted towards two classes of products: those with low H/C ratio ( anthracene or products similar to it) and those with high H/C ratio ( methane or products similar to it); i.e., carbon-rich or hydrogen-rich products. Because catagenesis

2268-629: The Green River , and its downstream terminus is the confluence with the Dirty Devil River . The lower half of the canyon is submerged beneath Lake Powell when the lake is at its normal high water elevation of 3,700 feet (1,100 m). Cataract Canyon is cut by the Colorado River into the Colorado Plateau , a vast continental uplift comprising much of the American Southwest. Until approximately 80 million years ago,

2349-760: The National Park Service sometimes establishes a camp below the big drops and uses a jetboat to facilitate rescues of capsized rafts and their passengers. However, it is generally understood that all river runners attempting Cataract Canyon at any river level should be capable of self-rescue and not depend on the NPS for support. Cataract Canyon historically contained several rapids, which are currently submerged beneath Lake Powell and have been buried in lake sediment. "Gypsum Canyon Rapid" and "Dark Canyon Rapid" were considered very difficult rapids to navigate. River trips that run Cataract Canyon must also run one of

2430-490: The Orinoco Belt . While significant volumes of oil are extracted from oil sands, particularly in Canada, logistical and technical hurdles remain, as oil extraction requires large amounts of heat and water, making its net energy content quite low relative to conventional crude oil. Thus, Canada's oil sands are not expected to provide more than a few million barrels per day in the foreseeable future. Petroleum consists of

2511-808: The Soviet Union in total output. In 1973 , Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations imposed an oil embargo against the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and other Western nations which supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. The embargo caused an oil crisis . This was followed by the 1979 oil crisis , which was caused by a drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and caused oil prices to more than double. The two oil price shocks had many short- and long-term effects on global politics and

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2592-540: The United States , but is responsible for only one percent of electricity generation. Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important commodities . The top three oil-producing countries as of 2018 are the United States, Russia , and Saudi Arabia . In 2018, due in part to developments in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling ,

2673-455: The actinomycetales order of bacteria also produced antibiotic compounds (e.g., streptomycin ). Thus the action of anaerobic bacteria ceased at about 10 m below the water or sediment. The mixture at this depth contained fulvic acids, unreacted and partially reacted fats and waxes, slightly modified lignin , resins and other hydrocarbons. As more layers of organic matter settled into the sea or lake bed, intense heat and pressure built up in

2754-585: The 12th century. It has also been present in Romania since the 13th century, being recorded as păcură. Sophisticated oil pits, 4.5 to 6 metres (15 to 20 ft) deep, were dug by the Seneca people and other Iroquois in Western Pennsylvania as early as 1415–1450. The French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm encountered Seneca using petroleum for ceremonial fires and as a healing lotion during

2835-503: The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. "The controversy is over how much they contribute to Earth's overall reserves and how much time and effort geologists should devote to seeking them out." Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where hydrocarbons are broken down to oil and natural gas by

2916-584: The Colorado Plateau was near sea level. Over millions of years, a series of inland oceans transgressed onto and regressed from the region, resulting in a series of horizontally deposited rock layers. Approximately 70 to 80 million years ago, a series of mountain-building events called the Laramide orogeny uplifted the entire region. The Colorado River subsequently cut through the rock layers, exposing them. The oldest rock layer visible in Cataract Canyon

2997-455: The Earth's surface. Unusual magma intrusions, however, could have created greater localized heating. Geologists often refer to the temperature range in which oil forms as an "oil window" . Below the minimum temperature oil remains trapped in the form of kerogen. Above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the process of thermal cracking . Sometimes, oil formed at extreme depths may migrate and become trapped at

3078-578: The Paradox Valley, found particularly around the town of Paradox, Colorado . Geologists had already noticed the beds of gypsum found in a few exposures in the Paradox Valley and neighboring valleys, and indications of petroleum, natural gas , and potash had been found in wells penetrating these beds. However, the beds lacked age-determinative fossils and were highly deformed, making it difficult to determine their relationship to other formations. Baker, Dane, and Reeside examined well logs from throughout

3159-472: The Paradox basin, each producing a characteristic sequence of mineral beds. As sea level rose, anhydrite or gypsum were deposited, followed by dolomite , then black shale at the high stand of the sea. As sea level dropped and the basin was cut off from the open ocean, dolomite was again deposited, then gypsum or anhydrite, then halite (which makes up most of the thickness of the cycle), then potash . Each cycle

3240-477: The Paradox beds underlay the Hermosa Formation as then defined. Because surface exposures were few and poor, they described a section for the formation from a well drilled at Schafer dome, about 10 miles southwest of Moab, Utah . By 1957, the Paradox was recognized as an important petroleum-bearing unit. The next year, Sherman A. Wengerd and Marvin L. Matheny established the stratigraphic framework for

3321-588: The Pennsylvanian formations of the Four Corners region that is now in wide use, with the Hermosa Group consisting of a lower Pinkerton Trail Formation, the middle Paradox Formation, and an upper Honaker Trail Formation. In 1967, Don L. Baars, J. William Parker, and John Chronic further refined the definition of the Paradox Formation, establishing its age as Atokan to Missourian , and defining

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3402-586: The Soviet Union included the goal to capture the Baku oilfields , as it would provide much-needed oil supplies for the German military which was suffering from blockades. Oil exploration in North America during the early 20th century later led to the U.S. becoming the leading producer by mid-century. As petroleum production in the U.S. peaked during the 1960s, the United States was surpassed by Saudi Arabia and

3483-576: The United States became the world's largest producer. About 80 percent of the world's readily accessible reserves are located in the Middle East , with 62.5 percent coming from the Arab five: Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates , Iraq , Qatar , and Kuwait . A large portion of the world's total oil exists as unconventional sources, such as bitumen in Athabasca oil sands and extra heavy oil in

3564-627: The air at a recorded rate of 480 cubic metres (3,000 bbl) per day. By the end of the 19th century the Russian Empire, particularly the Branobel company in Azerbaijan , had taken the lead in production. Access to oil was and still is a major factor in several military conflicts of the 20th century, including World War II , during which oil facilities were a major strategic asset and were extensively bombed . The German invasion of

3645-551: The area around modern Baku , Azerbaijan . These fields were described by the Persian geographer Abu Bakr al-Razi in the 10th century, and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads. Arab and Persian chemists also distilled crude oil to produce flammable products for military purposes. Through Islamic Spain , distillation became available in Western Europe by

3726-603: The canyon Cataract Canyon. After exiting Cataract Canyon, Powell continued his trip downstream through Glen Canyon, now submerged by Lake Powell , and ultimately the Grand Canyon before ending his trip near the mouth of the Virgin River . Other river runners soon followed. Nathanial Galloway made numerous trips through the canyon in 1894. Galloway would later pioneer rowing techniques still used by river runners today. Brothers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb traveled through

3807-601: The canyon are generally considered "big water", with a character similar to those found in Grand Canyon . Cataract Canyon is rated on the Class I-VI International Scale of River Difficulty , unlike the Grand Canyon, which is rated on a scale of one to ten. Also, unlike Grand Canyon, the flow of the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon is far enough downstream from a dam that it is generally unregulated. The river can reach extreme levels during

3888-437: The canyon have separate names due to their location or notoriety. Particularly notorious are the "Big Drops", a set of three rapids in short succession named "Big Drop 1", "Big Drop 2" and "Big Drop 3". During high water, these three rapids essentially run together to form one very large rapid. These rapids contain many large hydraulic features, including "Little Niagara", "Satan's Gut", and "The Claw". During times of high runoff,

3969-405: The canyon in 1911. The Kolb brothers eventually established a studio on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where they featured videos of their exploits running the rapids of the Colorado River. Buzz Holmstrom made a solo trip through Cataract Canyon and Grand Canyon in 1937, eventually ending at the newly constructed Hoover Dam . The first commercial outfitter to offer trips through Cataract Canyon

4050-421: The center of the anticline to collapse and form a salt anticline valley. Examples of salt anticline valleys arising from the Paradox Formation include Spanish Valley , Lisbon Valley , Paradox Valley , and Gypsum Valley . Further west, the salt walls are located at greater depth, and the salt anticlines have not collapsed and are identifiable only by geologic mapping . Another feature produced by salt tectonics

4131-474: The coal industry dominated the petroleum technologies. Chemist James Young in 1847 noticed a natural petroleum seepage in the coal mine at riddings Alfreton , Derbyshire from which he distilled a light thin oil suitable for use as lamp oil, at the same time obtaining a more viscous oil suitable for lubricating machinery. In 1848, Young set up a small business refining crude oil. Young eventually succeeded, by distilling cannel coal at low heat, in creating

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4212-573: The earliest Chinese writings, cites that oil in its raw state, without refining, was first discovered, extracted, and used in China in the first century BCE. In addition, the Chinese were the first to record the use of petroleum as fuel as early as the fourth century BCE. By 347 CE, oil was produced from bamboo-drilled wells in China. In the 7th century, petroleum was among the essential ingredients for Greek fire , an incendiary projectile weapon that

4293-439: The eastern Colorado Plateau . The most striking of these are the salt anticlines. Halite (rock salt) is relatively low in density (with a specific gravity around 2.17) and is ductile , slowly deforming under pressure. The relatively light salt tend to rise towards the surface as salt walls , deforming the overlying beds into anticlines . When a salt wall approaches the surface, it is dissolved and removed by groundwater, causing

4374-469: The environment and human health. Extraction , refining and burning of petroleum fuels all release large quantities of greenhouse gases , so petroleum is one of the major contributors to climate change . Other negative environmental effects include direct releases, such as oil spills , as well as air and water pollution at almost all stages of use. These environmental effects have direct and indirect health consequences for humans. Oil has also been

4455-425: The fact that it happened at relatively low temperatures (when compared to commercial pyrolysis plants) of 60 to several hundred °C. Pyrolysis was possible because of the long reaction times involved. Heat for catagenesis came from the decomposition of radioactive materials of the crust, especially K , Th , U and U . The heat varied with geothermal gradient and was typically 10–30 °C per km of depth from

4536-615: The flatwater sections above the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Most groups launch at Potash (on the Colorado River) or Mineral Bottom (on the Green River) and spend up to five days on the river before entering Cataract Canyon. Motorized trips can make the trip into Cataract Canyon in less time, often one day. In addition to the flatwater at the beginning of the trip, all groups must traverse Lake Powell before reaching

4617-815: The global economy. They led to sustained reductions in demand as a result of substitution to other fuels, especially coal and nuclear, and improvements in energy efficiency , facilitated by government policies. High oil prices also induced investment in oil production by non-OPEC countries, including Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the North Sea offshore fields of the United Kingdom and Norway, the Cantarell offshore field of Mexico, and oil sands in Canada. About 90 percent of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil. Petroleum also makes up 40 percent of total energy consumption in

4698-408: The heavier end of the range, paraffin wax is an alkane with approximately 25 carbon atoms, while asphalt has 35 and up, although these are usually cracked in modern refineries into more valuable products. The lightest fraction, the so-called petroleum gases are subjected to diverse processing depending on cost. These gases are either flared off , sold as liquefied petroleum gas , or used to power

4779-658: The invention of the modern kerosene lamp (1853), the introduction of the first modern street lamp in Europe (1853), and the construction of the world's first modern oil "mine" (1854). at Bóbrka , near Krosno (still operational as of 2020). The demand for petroleum as a fuel for lighting in North America and around the world quickly grew. The first oil well in the Americas was drilled in 1859 by Edwin Drake at what

4860-446: The large number of co-eluted hydrocarbons within oil, many cannot be resolved by traditional gas chromatography. This unresolved complex mixture (UCM) of hydrocarbons is particularly apparent when analysing weathered oils and extracts from tissues of organisms exposed to oil. Crude oil varies greatly in appearance depending on its composition. It is usually black or dark brown (although it may be yellowish, reddish, or even greenish). In

4941-411: The lower regions. As a consequence, compounds of this mixture began to combine in poorly understood ways to kerogen . Combination happened in a similar fashion as phenol and formaldehyde molecules react to urea-formaldehyde resins, but kerogen formation occurred in a more complex manner due to a bigger variety of reactants. The total process of kerogen formation from the beginning of anaerobic decay

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5022-899: The matter to H 2 S and N 2 respectively by using the matter as a source for other reactants. Due to such anaerobic bacteria, at first, this matter began to break apart mostly via hydrolysis : polysaccharides and proteins were hydrolyzed to simple sugars and amino acids respectively. These were further anaerobically oxidized at an accelerated rate by the enzymes of the bacteria: e.g., amino acids went through oxidative deamination to imino acids , which in turn reacted further to ammonia and α-keto acids . Monosaccharides in turn ultimately decayed to CO 2 and methane . The anaerobic decay products of amino acids, monosaccharides, phenols and aldehydes combined into fulvic acids . Fats and waxes were not extensively hydrolyzed under these mild conditions. Some phenolic compounds produced from previous reactions worked as bactericides and

5103-489: The movement of underlying salt, is also responsible for the distinctive features of Arches National Park. The deformation of the beds resulted in the development of extensive parallel fractures in the sandstone of the Entrada Formation , and erosion along the fractures produced the fins and arches seen in the park. The formation was named by A.A. Baker, C.H. Dane, and John B. Reeside, Jr. in 1933 for exposures in

5184-556: The proportion of chemical elements varies over fairly narrow limits as follows: Four different types of hydrocarbon appear in crude oil. The relative percentage of each varies from oil to oil, determining the properties of each oil. The alkanes from pentane (C 5 H 12 ) to octane (C 8 H 18 ) are refined into gasoline, the ones from nonane (C 9 H 20 ) to hexadecane (C 16 H 34 ) into diesel fuel , kerosene and jet fuel . Alkanes with more than 16 carbon atoms can be refined into fuel oil and lubricating oil . At

5265-644: The refinery's own burners. During the winter, butane (C 4 H 10 ), is blended into the gasoline pool at high rates, because its high vapour pressure assists with cold starts. The aromatic hydrocarbons are unsaturated hydrocarbons that have one or more benzene rings . They tend to burn with a sooty flame, and many have a sweet aroma. Some are carcinogenic . These different components are separated by fractional distillation at an oil refinery to produce gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, and other hydrocarbon fractions. The components in an oil sample can be determined by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry . Due to

5346-409: The region and concluded that the evaporite beds filled a subsurface basin some 150 by 80 miles (240 by 130 km) in extent trending northwest to southeast. The beds averaged about 2,000 feet (610 m) thick, though thickness varied greatly due to ductile movement of the evaporites. They also found fossils in well cores that indicated an early Pennsylvanian age for the formation, and concluded that

5427-412: The reservoir it is usually found in association with natural gas, which being lighter forms a "gas cap" over the petroleum, and saline water which, being heavier than most forms of crude oil, generally sinks beneath it. Crude oil may also be found in a semi-solid form mixed with sand and water, as in the Athabasca oil sands in Canada, where it is usually referred to as crude bitumen . In Canada, bitumen

5508-518: The same time the world's first, small, oil refinery was opened at Jasło in Poland (then Austria), with a larger one opened at Ploiești in Romania shortly after. Romania (then being a vassal of the Ottoman empire) is the first country in the world to have had its annual crude oil output officially recorded in international statistics: 275 tonnes for 1857. In 1858, Georg Christian Konrad Hunäus found

5589-523: The second half of the 19th century, the term became commonly known for the liquid form of hydrocarbons. Petroleum, in one form or another, has been used since ancient times. More than 4300 years ago, bitumen was mentioned when the Sumerians used it to make boats. A tablet of the legend of the birth of Sargon of Akkad mentions a basket which was closed by straw and bitumen. More than 4000 years ago, according to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus , asphalt

5670-622: The spring runoff in years following plentiful snow throughout the Colorado River watershed. During an average spring runoff, the Colorado River will peak at approximately 52,000 cu ft/s (1,500 m /s). The maximum recorded flow of 114,900 cu ft/s (3,250 m /s) occurred on May 27, 1984. The rapids of Cataract Canyon become difficult at flows above 30,000 cu ft/s (850 m /s) and extreme at flows above 50,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m /s). Most rapids in Cataract Canyon are simply named from upstream to downstream as Rapid 1, Rapid 2, etc. However, some rapids within

5751-466: The take-out at the Dirty Devil River or Hite Marina . Depending on the water level in Lake Powell, up to 35 miles (56 km) of lake water may be encountered by groups exiting the canyon. Several commercial outfitters offer guided trips through Cataract Canyon. These trips vary between one and six days and utilize both motorized and non-motorized vessels. Private groups must obtain a permit from

5832-408: The term stems from monasteries in southern Italy where it was in use by the end of the first millennium as an alternative for the older term " naphtha ". After that, the term was used in numerous manuscripts and books, such as in the treatise De Natura Fossilium , published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer , also known as Georgius Agricola. After the advent of the oil industry, during

5913-539: The title of E.W. Binney & Co. at Bathgate in West Lothian and E. Meldrum & Co. at Glasgow; their works at Bathgate were completed in 1851 and became the first truly commercial oil-works in the world with the first modern oil refinery. The world's first oil refinery was built in 1856 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Austria. His achievements also included the discovery of how to distill kerosene from seep oil,

5994-406: The undivided Hermosa Group. To the southwest, the basin gradually shallows, and the evaporite beds are replaced by limestone of the carbonate shelf facies of the Paradox Formation. Here each cycle consists of black shale, then carbonate mudstone, then highly fossiliferous silty limestone, then algal mounds, ending with a cap facies of sediments deposited in a very shallow, high-energy environment. This

6075-468: The volume of the world's reserves of conventional oil. Petroleum is a fossil fuel derived from fossilized organic materials , such as zooplankton and algae . Vast amounts of these remains settled to sea or lake bottoms where they were covered in stagnant water (water with no dissolved oxygen ) or sediments such as mud and silt faster than they could decompose aerobically . Approximately 1 m below this sediment, water oxygen concentration

6156-458: Was Norman Nevills in 1938. The advent of rubber rafts came about in the early 1950s with the availability of surplus rubber rafts from World War II . River runners found the rubber rafts easier to maneuver and much more forgiving than their wooden counterparts. With this newer equipment, many commercial outfitters began running Grand Canyon and Cataract Canyon. Cataract Canyon remains a popular whitewater rafting destination today. The rapids in

6237-634: Was activity in various parts of the world in the mid-19th century. A group directed by Major Alexeyev of the Bakinskii Corps of Mining Engineers hand-drilled a well in the Baku region of Bibi-Heybat in 1846. There were engine-drilled wells in West Virginia in the same year as Drake's well. An early commercial well was hand dug in Poland in 1853, and another in nearby Romania in 1857. At around

6318-414: Was closed off from external reactants, the resulting composition of the fuel mixture was dependent on the composition of the kerogen via reaction stoichiometry . Three types of kerogen exist: type I (algal), II (liptinic) and III (humic), which were formed mainly from algae , plankton and woody plants (this term includes trees , shrubs and lianas ) respectively. Catagenesis was pyrolytic despite

6399-423: Was low, below 0.1 mg/L, and anoxic conditions existed. Temperatures also remained constant. As further layers settled into the sea or lake bed, intense heat and pressure built up in the lower regions. This process caused the organic matter to change, first into a waxy material known as kerogen , found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons via

6480-479: Was used by Byzantine Greeks against Arab ships, which were then attacking Constantinople . Crude oil was also distilled by Persian chemists , with clear descriptions given in Arabic handbooks such as those of Abu Bakr al-Razi (Rhazes). The streets of Baghdad were paved with tar , derived from petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the region. In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in

6561-544: Was used in the construction of the walls and towers of Babylon ; there were oil pits near Ardericca and Babylon, and a pitch spring on Zakynthos . Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus , one of the tributaries of the Euphrates . Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society. The use of petroleum in ancient China dates back to more than 2000 years ago. The I Ching , one of

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