Petroleum

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"Crude oil" redirects here. For the 2008 film, see Crude Oil (film). For the fuel, see Petrol. For other
uses, see Petroleum (disambiguation).

Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas.

An oil refinery in Mina Al Ahmadi, Kuwait.

Petroleum (/pəˈtroʊliəm/) 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, i.e.
separation of a liquid mixture into fractions differing in boiling point by means of distillation, typically
using a fractionating column.
It consists of naturally occurring hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and may contain
miscellaneous organic compounds.[1] The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring
unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil. A fossil fuel,
petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, mostly zooplankton and algae, are
buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to both intense heat and pressure.
Petroleum has mostly been recovered by oil drilling (natural petroleum springs are rare). Drilling is
carried out after studies of structural geology (at the reservoir scale), sedimentary basin analysis,
and reservoir characterisation (mainly in terms of the porosity and permeability of geologic reservoir
structures) have been completed.[2][3] It is refined and separated, most easily by distillation, into a
large number of consumer products, from gasoline (petrol) and kerosene to asphalt and
chemical reagents used to make plastics, pesticides and pharmaceuticals.[4] Petroleum is used in
 manufacturing a wide variety of materials,[5] and it is estimated that the world consumes about 95
million barrels each day.
The use of petroleum as fuel is controversial due to its impact on global warming and ocean
acidification. Fossil fuels, including petroleum, need to be phased out by the end of 21st century to
avoid "severe, pervasive, and irreversable impacts for people and ecosystems", according to
the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.[6]

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Early history
o 2.2Modern history
 3Composition
 4Chemistry
 5Empirical equations for thermal properties
o 5.1Heat of combustion
o 5.2Thermal conductivity
o 5.3Specific heat
o 5.4Latent heat of vaporization
 6Formation
o 6.1First phase of diagenesis: anaerobic decay
o 6.2Second phase of diagenesis: kerogen formation
o 6.3Catagenesis: transformation of kerogen into fossil fuels
o 6.4Abiogenic petroleum
 7Reservoirs
o 7.1Unconventional oil reservoirs
 8Classification
 9Petroleum industry
o 9.1Shipping
 10Price
 11Uses
o 11.1Fuels
o 11.2Other derivatives
o 11.3Agriculture
 12Petroleum by country
o 12.1Consumption statistics
o 12.2Consumption
o 12.3Production
o 12.4Export
o 12.5Import
o 12.6Oil imports to the United States by country 2010
o 12.7Non-producing consumers
 13Environmental effects
o 13.1Ocean acidification
o 13.2Global warming
o 13.3Extraction
o 13.4Oil spills
 o 13.5Tarballs
o 13.6Whales
 14Alternatives to petroleum
o 14.1Alternatives to petroleum-based vehicle fuels
o 14.2Alternatives to using oil in industry
o 14.3Alternatives to burning petroleum for electricity
 15Future of petroleum production
o 15.1Peak oil
o 15.2Unconventional production
 16See also
 17Notes
 18References
 19Further reading
 20External links

Etymology[edit]

Fractional distillation apparatus.

The word petroleum comes from Medieval Latin petroleum (literally "rock oil"), which comes
from Latin petra', "rock", (from Ancient Greek: πέτρα, translit. petra, "rock") and Latin oleum, "oil",
(from Ancient Greek: ἔλαιον, translit. élaion, "oil").[7][8]
The term was used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium, published in 1546 by the German
mineralogist Georg Bauer, also known as Georgius Agricola.[9] In the 19th century, the
term petroleum was often used to refer to mineral oils produced by distillation from mined organic
solids such as cannel coal (and later oil shale), and refined oils produced from them; in the United
Kingdom, storage (and later transport) of these oils were regulated by a series of Petroleum Acts,
from the Petroleum Act 1863 onwards.