The Magic of Petroleum The Prize

• In 1970, several major

US oil companies paid
the government millions
of dollars for oil-drilling
rights off the coast of
Oregon and Washington
• They drilled three holes,
then abandoned the
operation, losing millions
of dollars
ENVIR 100
November 2, 2007

What went wrong? What is petroleum?

• Petroleum: A general term for all
• They forgot the story about the Texas county naturally occurring hydrocarbons
that produced oil after 30 dry holes were drilled (hydrogen + carbon)
• They did not listen to the economists telling them • Solid Hydrocarbons: Tar and
that the amount of oil discovered depends on asphalt
the number of dollars spent on the search
• Liquid Hydrocarbons: Crude oil.
• Environmentalists were better organized in A complex mixture of
Oregon and Washington than anywhere else hydrocarbons and
• There was really bad news in those three holes nonhydrocarbons
• All/None of the above • Gas Hydrocarbons: Natural Gas. The simplest
Methane, butane, propane, etc. hydrocarbon is Methane
(CH4)

Factors involved in creating crude

History of Petroleum Use
oil and natural gas
• Used in ancient Babylonia 1. Source rocks rich in organic matter
as glue and mortar 2. Maturation: Sufficient heat and pressure to
• 1847 – Pittsburgh merchant transform the organic material into petroleum
sells “rock oil” as a lubricant 3. Carrier beds that allow the generated
for machines petroleum to move
• 1852 (1846?) – Ontario, CA 4. Traps through which the petroleum can not
move
chemists refine kerosene
5. Adequate reservoir beds from which the
• 1859 – Edwin Drake of petroleum can be extracted
Titusville, PA drills first 6. Proper timing of events 1-5
American oil well

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 1. Source Rocks
• Sedimentary rocks rich enough in organic
matter
– 0.5-2 weight percent organic matter
• Can be land or water based material
• Type of organic material can determine
the type of petroleum generated
• Organic material cannot be allowed to
decay too much
1. What type of organic matter?
• Land derived (terrestrial)
material is usually plant
remains such as pollen,
spores, or leaf cuticles
• Aquatically derived
material (marine or
lacustrine) is usually
made of plants and
animals, generally
microscopic size

1. Modern Sedimentary Basins 1. Why is there oil in Texas?

• Gulf of Mexico
• Black Sea
• Parts of the
Mediterranean

2. Transform organic matter 2. Organic material is buried by

• To generate petroleum, the source rock
sediment
must be heated for a length of time
• 65-175°C (150-350°F)
• Buried 2,300-4,600 m (7,500-15,000 ft)
• For millions of years
• This process is called Maturation

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 2. Petroleum Maturation 3. Carrier beds
• As petroleum is generated, pressure
increases in source rock and forces the
petroleum out into the fluid system of the
surrounding rock
– If petroleum stays buried, it can become
post-mature
• Oil is lighter than water and will rise
• Carrier beds are rock layers that allow
fluids to pass through them
– Ex: Sandstone

4. Traps 5. Reservoir rocks

• If nothing stops oil from rising, it will reach • A good reservoir rock
surface (Ex: The La Brea tar pits) is porous and
permeable so that its
• Structural traps: folds and faults in the fluids can be
rock can trap petroleum produced (removed
• Stratigraphic traps: rocks that do not from them)
allow fluids to pass through them can trap • Often sandstone,
petroleum (Ex: Shale) conglomerate, and
carbonate rocks
(limestone)

6. Proper timing
• Timing between
accumulation of
source rocks,
petroleum maturation,
migration, and trap
formation is vital

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 Questions? What do we get from oil?
• 1 barrel = 42 gallons
• 83% becomes fuel
– Gasoline, diesel, jet
fuel, heating oil, and
liquefied petroleum
gas (propane and
butane)
• 17% other
– Solvents, fertilizers, * These add up to 44.6 gallons
pesticides, plastics because volume is increased
during the refining process.

Oil refining Who produces oil?

Top World Oil Producers, 2005*

(OPEC members in underlined italics)
Total Oil
Production** Oil exports by country
Rank Country (million barrels/day)
1 Saudi Arabia 11.1 Barrels per day
2 Russia 9.5
3 United States 8.2
4 Iran 4.2
5 Mexico 3.8
6 China 3.8
7 Canada 3.1
8 Norway 3.0
United Arab
9 Emirates 2.8
10 Venezuela 2.8
11 Kuwait 2.7
12 Nigeria 2.6
13 Algeria 2.1
14 Brazil 2.0
*Table includes all countries total oil production exceeding 2 million barrels
per day in 2005. **Total Oil Production includes crude oil, natural gas liquids,
condensate, refinery gain, and other liquids.

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 Oil imports by country Reserves vs. Resources
Barrels per day
• Reserves are natural resources that have
already been discovered and can be
exploited for profit today
• Resources are deposits that we know of
(or believe to exist), but are not exploitable
today
• Example: oil reserves ~1.2 trillion barrels,
oil resources ~2 trillion barrels

Oil Reserves - BP Statistical

Review, Year-end 2005
Region Billions of Barrels
North America 60
Latin America 104
Western Europe 18
Africa 114
Middle East 743
Eastern Europe 123
Asia and Pacific 40
Global 1,202

Marion King Hubbert

Peak Crude Oil Production
(1903-1989)
• Shell geophysicist
• Hubbert’s Peak and Curve

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 Development scenarios follow Consumption doesn’t follow
Hubbert’s curve Hubbert’s curve

World Oil Consumption

Strategic natural resource
Predictions
• A) a resource that
supports military
power in a vital way
• B) a resource to
which states would be
willing to fight to
protect their access to

World Wars Questions?

• World War One
– Churchill switches
British navy to diesel
• World War Two
– Japanese oil embargo
• Carter Doctrine, 1980

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 Petroleum Imports by Country
Petroleum Imports by Type
of Origin

Where is
there oil in Petroleum Exploration
North • Surface and subsurface geological studies
America? • Seismic surveys
• Gravity and magnetic surveys
• Horizontal magnetic gradient
• Helium content of soils