Crude Oil
1815 The first US natural gas well was discovered.
1844 Oil shale was discovered in Scotland, it consists of bituminised mud or clay.
1846 Dr Abraham Gesner patent a process of retorting illuminating liquid, known as Kerosene, from oil shale.
1855 Benjamin Stillman discovered that oil could be used as a lubricant and kerosene for cooking and lighting.
1859 Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in America, drilling 70 feet. Before this farmers just
1885 The first gasoline pump was introduced in an American gasoline dealer.
1908 Oil was discovered in the Middle East, Iran.
1913 Thermal cracking was introduced. This process turned the heaver molecules of distilled oil into lighter molecules for use for lighter industrial oils, kerosene, gasoline. This was done from a process of heat under pressure.
1914 Venezuela's first oil gusher was drilled.
1936 Catalytic cracking was introduced. This process manipulated the molecules more effectively than Thermal cracking, providing a higher-octane product.
1960's The first 200 billion barrels of oil were produced before 1968, since then the World oil production has been about 22 billion barrels a year.
2001 US produced an estimated 181 million barrels of crude oil in the month of January and imported about 273 million barrels from other countries.
Sustainability of Current Oil Production
|
Less Than 10 Years
United States Canada United Kingdom Indonesia* Norway Egypt Argentina Australia Ecuador |
Less Than 50 Years |
|
Less than 100 Years
|
More
than 100 Years
|
*OPEC Members
WORLD = Aggregate sustainability of total world oil production,
assuming continuous efficient exploitation.
Oil Wells
First of all, the drill thread has to be lowered to the sea bed before it can start drilling through the cap rock.
Secondly, the well often spans out horizontally once has penetrated the reservoir. This is because the oil is held in porous rock - it is not like an underground stream. Often the oil has to be pumped out of the rock. It is only oil close to the end of well that is retrieved.
Some oil reservoirs need to be pumped. In this case, there are small pumps inside the well pipes. Also, water is pumped into the well to force the crude oil mixture out. This water is pumped down injector wells while the oil is pumped out of production well.
The top end of the well is called the well head. This is where the oil is removed from the well.
