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Group Members:
1. Sachin Harriram
2. Prakash Harricharran

Introduction

This portfolio is compiled of information on Crude oil. It discusses the formation of

crude, its geographical location, how it is drilled for, how it is separated upon many more
interesting facts. The researchers will like to encourage you to read this compilation thoroughly
as it has the capacity to teach you all about Crude oil.

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Table Of content

Content Page #
1. Definition of the term Crude oil............................................................................3
2. Detailed explanation of where crude oil is found.................................................4
3. Steps in the formation of crude oil.....................................................................5-6
4. Steps in the drilling process for crude oil...........................................................7-12
5. Fractional distillation of crude oil......................................................................13-15
6. Fractions of crude oil and their uses....................................................................16
7. Outline of various effects of the crude oil industry on the environment............17

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The term Crude oil
Crude oil is a mixture of a very large number of hydrocarbon compounds and is made from the
bodies of plants and animals that have decayed many millions of years ago. It is a naturally
occurring, yellowish-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth's surface. It is
commonly refined into various types of fuels. Components of petroleum are separated using a
technique called fractional distillation

Important terms

 Mixture- two or more substances NOT chemically combined together (such as a mixture
of sand and water that can be separated by filtration).

 Hydrocarbons- compounds in crude oil consist of molecules made up of hydrogen and

carbon atoms only.

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The geographical location of Crude oil
Plate tectonics determines the location of oil and gas reservoirs and is the best key we have to
understanding why deserts and arctic areas seem to hold the largest hydrocarbon reserves on
earth. But there are other important locations of large reserves: river deltas and continental
margins offshore. Together, these four types of areas hold most of the oil and gas in the world
today.

Fun facts:

 The deepest oil reservoirs are generally no deeper than 20,000 feet.

 Crude oil is found on every continent. The largest producers of oil are Saudi Arabia,
Russia, the United States and China, but oil is found also in South American countries,
Australia and even Antarctica.

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The formation of Crude oil
In its general sense crude oil is a fossil fuel that is formed when large quantities of dead
organisms, usually zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and
undergo intense heat and pressure.

Steps in the formation of crude oil

 The remains of the animals and plants were buried under layers of sand and silt on the
seabed. Due to the lack of oxygen on the seabed the bacteria feeding on the remains
could not decompose the remains of the animals and plants completely. The partially
decomposed remains overtime formed into a large mass. This over the course of
millions of years was covered by multiple layers of sand, silt and mud.

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 As the depth of the sediment layers built up so did the weight of the sand and silt
pressing down on the layer of partially decomposed remains causing it to be
compressed into a thinner layer.

 The depth of the layers

on top of the buried partially decomposed layer reaches thousands of meters and the
immense pressure exerted by the weight of these layers along with the natural heat
from the earth results in the formation of crude oil/petroleum.

 Whilst the mud and silt layers become heavier the forces applied causes the bottom
layers below the crude oil to turn into shale.

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  Finally, the oil is forced out from its original area of formation and travels upwards
through the cracks and gaps in the shale formation until it reaches a new impermeable
rock formation called reservoir rock. The oil lays trapped here until it is discovered and
extracted.

The

Extraction of Crude oil

In some places in the world, petroleum bubbles to the surface of the Earth. In parts of Saudi
Arabia and Iraq, for instance, porous rock allows oil to seep to the surface in small ponds.
However, most oil is trapped in underground oil reservoirs and needs to be drilled for.

Types of Drilling

Drilling can either be developmental, exploratory, or directional.

 Drilling in an area where oil reserves have already been found is called developmental
drilling.

 Drilling where there are no known reserves is called exploratory drilling.

 Directional drilling involves drilling vertically to a known source of oil, then veering the
drill bit at an angle to access additional resources.

It is important to note that oil can be drilled with an apparatus called an oil rig or drilling rig on
land. Offshore, oil is drilled from an oil platform.

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Onshore vs. Offshore Drilling

 Drilling offshore is much more expensive than drilling onshore.

 It usually uses the same drilling techniques as onshore, but requires a massive structure
that can sustain the tremendous strength of ocean waves in stormy seas.  
 The depth of the sea floor determines the type of rig system to be used offshore.

Depth of Sea Floor Type of Rig System

Shallow waters Submersible rigs

Waters depths of 150m to Jack-up rigs

300m

Deeper waters (up to 2000m) Semi-submersible rigs

Very deep waters Drill ships

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Steps in the onshore drilling

1. A large diameter hole is drilled using a large diameter drill bit. Drilling is conducted by
heavy duty industrial strength drill bits. The drill bits come in different sizes according to
the diameter of the hole being drilled. Conductor casing is then cemented in place to
stabilize the ground around the drilling rig and isolate the well from ground water
sources.

2. The drill bit is then run through the inside of the conductor casing via the drill string to
continue drilling. Drilling fluids/drilling mud are pumped down the drill string, out
through the jets in the drill bit, and travel up back through the space between the drill
bit and the walls of the hole. The drilling mud carries away all the rock cuttings, keeps
the drill bit cool and lubricated, balances the well bore pressure and prevents formation
fluids from flowing into the well bore.

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3. On reaching the required depth, the drill string is pulled out of the hole. Surface casing
made up of lengths of steel pipe screwed together is then inserted into the hole. To
permanently secure the casing in place, cement followed by mud is pumped inside the
casing. Mud is separated from the cement by a cementing plug. The plug is pushed by
the mud to ensure the cement travels outside of the casing and up through the space
between the casing and the well wall. Depending on the required depth of the well,
secondary or intermediate casing may need to be installed, in which case the method is
repeated.

4. On completion of the surface casing cementing, a blowout preventer is installed at the

top of the well. The blowout preventer is a safety system consisting of hydraulically
operated valves and pipe rams to protect the drilling rig and the environment from
excessive pressures in the formation reaching the surface.

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5. Drilling continues with the drill string (drill pipe and drill bit) operating through the
blowout preventer. A smaller drill bit is fed down the secondary/intermediate casing
and drills through the cement plug at the bottom continuing its journey till it reaches the
oil/gas target zone. Production casings are inserted and cemented in place using the
same method applied for the secondary casing. During the whole drilling process,
samples of the drilling mud are examined by a process called logging. The purpose of
this is to compile a comprehensive record of formation changes and provide guidance to
the drilling team on drilling rates and correct drilling fluids to use.

6. In order to test the production capability of the well, a flow test is undertaken. The
production casing is perforated by firing a string of specially designed charges and the
oil begins to flow. The flow of hydrocarbons results in the pressure in the reservoir to be
reduced. The well is shut in after a period to allow for the pressure in the well to build
up again after the initial flow. It is then reopened for a second or even a third
measurement. Continuity of pressure during the test and the rate of pressure build up

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 give an indication of the permeability and performance of the reservoir in full
production mode. Gas released from the well during testing is burned off using a flare. If
during test the flow is small or marginal and not deemed economical for further
development it will be plugged and abandoned. This is done by plugging the piping in
the various formations with cement.

7. If the well is deemed to be commercial, a production string is installed. The production

string consists of a tubing string with a packer near the bottom. The packer is positioned
above the perforations to ensure all the hydrocarbon reach the surface through the
production tubing. Before the drilling rig is dismantled a system of valves called a
Christmas tree is installed at the wellhead in place of the blowout preventer, which can
be connected to the production system at a future date. Further wells are drilled to
determine the extent of the reservoir.

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Fractional Distillation of Crude oil

Hydrocarbons

 Different hydrocarbon – different BP (Boiling Point)

Different hydrocarbons have different numbers of carbon atoms. The higher the number of
carbon atoms the higher its boiling point. Therefore, longer chain hydrocarbons have a higher
boiling point than shorter ones.

Most importantly: In order for the hydrocarbons in crude oil to be useful, we have to separate
them. To do this we use a technique called Fractional Distillation.

Fractional Distillation
Fractional distillation separates a mixture into a number of different parts, called fractions.

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Fractional Distillation- How does it works?

1. The crude oil is heated to a very high temperature. This causes the crude oil to boil. The
hydrocarbons evaporate and turn into a gas.

2. The crude vapour is now fed into the fractional distillation column. The column is hotter
at the bottom and cooler at the top.

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 3. The liquid fractions are then removed.

4. The remaining
hydrocarbons continue
moving up the column. These now
condense when they reach their
boiling points

 It is Important to remember that very long chain hydrocarbons have very high boiling points.

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 It is Important to remember that very short chain hydrocarbons have very low boiling points. These do
not condense.

Fractions of Crude oil

and their uses
Fractions contain hydrocarbons with a similar number of carbon atoms.

Some fractions are used as:

 Fuels

 Feedstock for the petrochemical industry.

(A feed stock is a chemical that is used to make other chemicals).

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 Diagram showing the various Fractions of crude oil and their uses

Important to remember/know:

 A fraction is a set of hydrocarbon molecules of similar size and similar boiling points
 Different fractions have different uses.
 The petrol fraction and diesel fraction are key fractions for the oil industry.

Effects of the crude oil industry on the environment

Combustion and the Environment
 Complete combustion:

Complete combustion occurs when there is enough oxygen – for example when the hole
is open on a Bunsen burner. The products of complete combustion are carbon dioxide
and water.

CH4 + 2O2 à CO2 + 2H2O

 Incomplete combustion:

Incomplete combustion occurs when there is not enough oxygen – for example when
the hole is closed on a Bunsen burner. The products of incomplete combustion include
carbon monoxide and carbon (soot). It is often called a sooty flame.

Effects of the product of combustion on the Environment

1. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. This means it causes Global warming by trapping heat from
the sun within the Earth’s atmosphere. Global warming is a long-term rise in the average
temperature of the Earth's climate system

2. Carbon Monoxide (CO)

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Carbon monoxide is an odorless and tasteless Poisonous gas. If produced in an enclosed space
it can be deadly.

3. Soot/Smoke Particles

Particles of carbon from incomplete combustion can be released into the atmosphere. This
contributes to Global dimming. Global dimming is when clouds reflect the sun’s rays back to
space. This is being caused by fossil fuel use, which also creates global warming. But, this
cannot help in global warming because global dimming itself has killed millions of people and
changes ecological patterns itself.

4. Other Pollutants

Sulfur present in fuels burns to produce sulfur dioxide. At high temperatures oxides of nitrogen
may also be formed from nitrogen in the atmosphere.

These react with water in the atmosphere to form Acid rain. Acid rain is a rain or any other
form of precipitation that is unusually acidic.

Some Interesting Facts

 The Leading Petroleum Producer is Saudi Arabia.

 The Leading Petroleum consumer is United States.
 The Distillation process consumes 2 barrels of oil for every 100 barrel produced.
 Undesirable combustion products can be cleaned from emissions before they leave the
chimney by using a filter or catalytic converter (cars).
 An oil spill can happen either on land or sea. Both forms of pollution can cause
considerable damage to the environment in the form of air, land or water
pollution. When the oil has spilled over the water, it creates a shiny substance on
the surface of it that prevents marine animals to survive.
 One barrel of oil represents approximately 19.15 tons of gasoline, 9.21 gallons of
diesel, 3.82 gallons of stream fuel, 1. 75 gallons of fuel oil. And about 7.3 gallons
of diesel other petrochemical products such as tar, asphalt, bitumen, etc. Such as
fertilizers, plastics, automotive tires, ammonia, perfumes and even chewing gum
are synthesized using petroleum products obtained during the raw refining
process.

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  The largest oil spill in history, the Deepwater Horizon 2010 oil spill, poured 4.2
million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
 Crude oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out.
 Alternatives are needed and some are already under development.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the research done has proven to be a fruitful one as it has
enabled the researchers to have a better understanding and appreciation of his environment
and has thought the researchers a lot of interesting fact and details about the crude oil
industry.

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