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78-566: The WCSB is considered a mature area for exploration of petroleum and recent development has tended toward natural gas and oil sands rather than conventional oil. In the WCSB, conventional oil is of two different types: light crude oil and heavy crude oil , each with different costs, prices, and development strategies. Conventional light oil is a mature industry with most of the recoverable oil reserves already produced and production declining by three to four percent per year. Conventional heavy oil

156-662: A 2010 paper. The majority of the large gas pools have been discovered and a significant portion of the discovered reserves has been produced. Production from the basin peaked in 2001 at around 16 billion cubic feet (450,000,000 m) per day and was predicted in 2003, by the National Energy Board to be likely to decline from that level. The overall decline rate increased from 13 percent per year in 1992 to 23 percent in 2002, which means 3.8 billion cubic feet per day (110,000,000 m/d) of production must be replaced each year just to keep production constant. With

234-866: A blowout such as the one that happened with BP in the Gulf of Mexico. But the NEB has said that other equally effective methods would be considered. Economist Robyn Allan, questioned the July 28, 2015 appointment by the Governor in Council on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister, of Steven J. Kelly — a former Kinder Morgan consultant — as a full-time member of the National Energy Board (Board). In

312-475: A conflict of interest with Kelly's appointment which is effective October 13. Alternative dates have not yet been provided. Kinder Morgan has already filed copious amounts of IHS evidence with affidavits that was submitted by Steven Kelly in support of Kinder Morgan's application for the proposed pipeline expansion Trans Mountain. According to the NEB, all Kelly's evidence will be struck from the record. The NEB process has been sharply criticized and even called

390-520: 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

468-567: A letter dated August 21, 2015 NEB Board of Directors chair David Hamilton and fellow Members, Alison Scott and Philip Davies wrote a In 1996 Kelly joined Purvin & Gertz, Inc. now IHS Inc. and was vice-president of IHS Global Canada, "an oil industry consulting firm hired by Kinder Morgan to do an economic study justifying the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion." NEB postponed oral hearings scheduled for August 24 in Calgary to avoid

546-512: 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

624-476: 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

702-519: 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 . National Energy Board The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries." Its head office

780-665: 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,

858-574: 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

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936-503: A total of 180 aboriginal / indigenous groups). Opposition to Northern Gateway and Energy East is strong among natives. A veto is supported by some Canadian oil extraction corporations such as Suncor and Tembec . Indigenous groups have a long history of winning court challenges in Canada. While the NEB does hear aboriginal oral evidence from 70 specific intervenors the NEB process created under Stephen Harper falls far short of

1014-411: 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

1092-526: 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

1170-554: 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

1248-442: 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 is done after a study of the relevant structural geology , analysis of

1326-499: Is also past its production peak with a future of long-term decline . Alberta, which contains most of the reserves, expects its light-medium crude oil production to decline by 42% from 2006 to 2016, while it expects heavy crude production to decrease by 35% over the same period. However, it also expects bitumen and synthetic crude oil from oil sands will considerably more than offset the decline in conventional crude oil and account for 87% of Alberta oil production by 2016. For light oil,

1404-491: 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

1482-673: 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

1560-448: Is consumed in Canada, and most is exported to Japan, Korea and other countries. The lower rank coals are used mainly for electricity generation, where the existence of shallow coal seams with little overburden make strip-mining and reclamation easy, and low sulfur levels reduce the environmental impact of their use. 55°N 112°W  /  55°N 112°W  / 55; -112 Conventional oil Petroleum

1638-660: Is exploring new zones in undrilled portions of the basin to find remaining undiscovered pools, or to apply EOR schemes such as water floods, thermal projects, and miscible floods such as the Vapour Extraction Process (VAPEX) technology. Only 15 percent of heavy oil is currently being recovered, leaving a large volume for future recovery. Improved seismic and drilling technology, higher recoveries from existing pools through infill drilling, and efficient, cost-effective exploration and development of smaller pools are maintaining levels of conventional oil production in

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1716-473: 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

1794-756: 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

1872-451: 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

1950-839: Is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . Under the UNDRIP, indigenous peoples on unceded lands, including those over which Northern Gateway and Energy East would need to pass, appear to most authorities to have a strict veto and not mere "consultation" rights as under Canada's 1981 constitution. That constitution was not agreed to by the province of Quebec nor aboriginal authority at any level. This especially affects Energy East , as New Brunswick and Quebec Maliseet accordingly have strict authority under UNDRIP to unilaterally reject it, as its proposed route crosses their territory (and those of

2028-473: 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

2106-666: The Cold Lake Oil Sands and the Peace River Oil Sands, which contain initial oil-in-place reserves of 260 billion cubic metres (1.6 trillion barrels ), an amount comparable to the total world reserves of conventional oil. The World Energy Council reported (2007) that the three Alberta oil sands areas contain at least two-thirds of the world's discovered bitumen in place. These three major oil sands areas, all in Alberta, have reserves that dwarf those of

2184-674: 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

2262-490: 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

2340-808: 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

2418-540: 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 ,

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin - Misplaced Pages Continue

2496-455: 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

2574-404: The petroleum industry is searching for the remaining undiscovered pools, drilling infill oil wells , or redeveloping existing pools using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques such as waterfloods , miscible floods, and carbon dioxide injection. Currently, only about 27 percent of light oil is recovered, leaving large opportunities for improvement. For conventional heavy oil, the industry

2652-585: 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

2730-503: 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

2808-650: The CBM wells were completed in the Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon and Belly River formations, at typical depths of 300 to 2,400 feet (91–732 m). About 4 percent of the CBM wells are completed in the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Formation , at depths of 2,300 to 4,300 feet (700–1,310 m). Author David J. Hughes in his 2004 book entitled North America's Natural Gas Crisis , predicted that

2886-764: The EPA and Obama administration on Keystone XL . Both dropped these climate change concerns in December 2014 despite the Pembina Institute estimate that "Energy East would cause 32 million tonnes of added greenhouse-gas emissions every year, which would cancel out the emissions reductions Ontario achieved by closing all of its coal-fired power plants". Another complicating factor is the position of Brad Wall , Premier of Saskatchewan, that equalization can be withheld from provinces that do not support raw bitumen export. A final issue requiring federal clarification

2964-455: 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

3042-551: The Harper-era process of regulation, and especially the NEB, citing serious conflict of interest and mandate flaws. As of December 2016, no changes to the Board had been announced. The NEB's lack of coherence on climate change is a major source of uncertainty. Ontario and Quebec had initially imposed approval conditions on Energy East re "upstream" emissions in Alberta, similar to those imposed both upstream and downstream by

3120-586: 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

3198-576: 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

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin - Misplaced Pages Continue

3276-684: The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin would likely continue to be the main gas supply area in Canada for many years; however, declining production and the likelihood that much of the gas will be diverted to fuel new oil sands plants mean that the probability of there being sufficient surplus gas to meet projected U.S. demand is low, and the US will have to look elsewhere for future gas supplies. The WCSB contains about 90 percent of Canada's usable coal resources. Their rank ranges from lignite to semianthracite . About 36 percent of

3354-830: The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. As the basin matures, the resource triangle with few large pools at the top, and many small pools at the base is being economically pursued deeper into the smaller pool segment as a result of these efficiencies. According to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB, now known as the Alberta Energy Regulator, the AER), Alberta's oil sands areas contain an ultimately recoverable crude bitumen resource of 50 billion cubic metres (315 billion barrels), with remaining established reserves of almost 28 billion cubic metres (174 billion barrels) at year-end 2004. The Athabasca Oil Sands ,

3432-627: 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

3510-551: 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

3588-428: The basin being largely explored and operators finding less gas with each new well, this seems improbable. New gas reserves in the WCSB will likely come from unconventional sources such as coalbed methane (CBM). The number of coalbed methane wells in Alberta more than doubled in 2005, to 7764 by the end of that year, producing nearly 0.5 billion cubic feet (14,000,000 m) of gas per day. More than 95 percent of

3666-474: 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

3744-456: The construction and operation of international power lines , defined as lines built "for the purpose of transmitting electricity from or to a place in Canada from or to a place outside of Canada." The NEB authorized imports of natural gas, and exports of crude oil, natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined petroleum products and electricity. The NEB also had jurisdiction over designated inter-provincial power lines, by determination of

3822-476: The conventional oil fields. By 2007 the Alberta natural bitumen deposits were the source of over one third of the crude oil produced in Canada. As a result of the oil price increases since 2003 , the number of major mining , upgrading and thermal in-situ projects has grown to some 46 existing and proposed projects, encompassing 135 project expansion phases in various stages of execution. Estimates of capital expenditures to construct all announced projects over

3900-615: The demands of aboriginal groups themselves. In 2014 John Bennett, national program director for the Sierra Club Canada (SCC) criticized the NEB for considering changes in its approach to preventing oil spills in future offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea . Current policy requires companies working in the Arctic to have the capability to drill a relief well in the same season to release pressure and stop oil flow in case of

3978-573: 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

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4056-469: 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

4134-425: 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

4212-591: The federal Cabinet, but no such line has been designated, leaving the regulation of existing interties to provincial regulatory bodies. Recent NEB decisions in favour of petroleum-industry interests have led to increasing controversy. On 28 August 2019, the NEB Act was repealed by the coming into force of the Canada Energy Regulator Act (CER Act). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned

4290-815: 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

4368-408: 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

4446-658: 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

4524-446: 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

4602-411: 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

4680-899: 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

4758-462: The period 2006 to 2015 total $ 125 billion. According to a Statistics Canada 2006 report, this extremely high level of activity has caused a severe labor shortage in Alberta and driven unemployment rates to their lowest level in history – the lowest of all 10 Canadian provinces and 50 U.S. states. This is the main factor limiting growth of oil sands production in the WCSB. Canada is the third largest producer and second largest exporter of gas in

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4836-556: 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

4914-644: 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

4992-412: 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

5070-518: 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

5148-523: 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

5226-665: 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

5304-408: 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

5382-539: 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,

5460-465: The total estimated 71,000 megatonnes of usable coal is bituminous , including a high proportion of medium to low volatile coals. The low sulfur content and acceptable ash levels of these bituminous coals make them attractive as coking feedstocks, and large quantities are mined for that purpose. However, the lack of heavy industry in Western Canada means that only a limited amount of this coal

5538-468: 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

5616-450: The world, with the vast majority of it coming from the WCSB. The WCSB is estimated to have 143 trillion cubic feet (4,000 km) of marketable gas remaining (discovered and undiscovered), which represents about two thirds of Canadian gas reserves. Over half of the gas produced is exported to the United States. However, Canadian gas reserves represent less than one percent of world reserves and are rapidly becoming exhausted according to

5694-634: 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

5772-414: 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

5850-569: Was located in Calgary , Alberta . The NEB mainly regulated the construction and operation of oil and natural gas pipelines crossing provincial or international borders. The Board approved pipeline traffic, tolls and tariffs under the authority of the National Energy Board Act . It dealt with approximately 750 applications annually, through written or oral proceedings. The National Energy Board also had jurisdiction over

5928-423: 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

6006-479: 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

6084-544: 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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