Petroleum and Oil The terms petroleum and oil are frequently used synonymously but there are notable differences in their meaning Crude petroleum is the dark liquid that occurs in nature as a complex mixture of hydrocarbons It has a heavy thick consistency After being extracted it is refined into numerous products including gasoline propane butane asphalt and a variety of oils Therefore the term oil is technically a generalization to describe one class of products that can be made from crude It is also used to describe the material that is sold and shipped in barrels from exporter to importer as in the phrase a barrel of oil However this is simply crude petroleum in its raw form It has not yet been refined as an oil product particular reservoir They seal off existing oil pathways to promote a steadier smoother flow of the oil that is traveling through new channels Fracking and refracking have made vast quantities of previously inaccessible petroleum available Refracking can improve efficiency but it still has many risks and hazards The production rate of existing reservoirs can potentially be disrupted by the procedure An adjacent reservoir being used in another well could be ruptured making the oil in both sites more difficult to reach The process has also been known to affect drinking water because of the poisonous chemicals often used in the fracking fluid And there is an ongoing concern that by disturbing the underlying geology of an area fracking can increase the risk of earthquakes However the potential rewards are significant Schlumberger Limited one of the giants in oilfield services estimated in 2015 that approximately 10,000 horizontal wells drilled during the previous five years alone were prime candidates for refracking 5 In one case in North Dakota 80 wells 10
In many regions petroleum companies extract oil from underground using machines called pump jacks produced roughly 30 percent more oil per month after refracking than before 6 Unlocking this previously inaccessible potential could be huge news for the petroleum industry THE UNDENIABLE POWER OF PETROLEUM Petroleum is one of the most precious most widely utilized and most controversial commodities in the world It plays a crucial a role in the everyday lives of nearly everyone on Earth For example fuel for cars and airplanes is made from petroleum It’s also an essential ingredient in a huge variety of other items including ink paint crayons pillows deodorant aspirin and vitamins Petroleum is critical to the production of many plastics too Petroleum companies have tremendous power and influence around the world The key to success in any business is demand the customers desire 13 Natural Gas When petroleum companies discover untapped reserves underground they often find extensive reserves of natural gas too Similar to petroleum natural gas is a mix of hydrocarbons resulting from the decay of deposited organic matter In this case the hydrocarbons form a gas rather than a solid The bulk of natural gas is a compound known as methane but there can also be other gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide Natural gas is often found in shale-rock formations which hold the gas within their porous structures To extract the gas the rock is hydrofractured This releases the gas to the surface Natural gas is colorless and odorless To help people detect it in the event of a potentially dangerous leak companies add a harmless but foul-smelling chemical to it giving it an odor similar to rotten eggs
