University of Zakho

College of Engineering
Petroleum department

Prepared by :
Subject: petroleum geology
Date submitted: 28/2/2022

Contents
1. Introduction………………………………………………………...3
2. Definition………………………………………………………...…..4
3. Chemical and physical properties……………………...….5,6
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4. What is crude oil made from………………………………...7
5. What Is petroleum crude oil………..…………………….....7
6. Why is crude oil so important………..…............................7
7. Advantages of crude Oil……………………………………..…8,9
8. Disadvantages of crude Oil…………………………………...9
9. Conclusion………………………………………………………….10
10. References………………………………………………..….....11

Introduction:
Crude oil is one of the most economically mature commodity markets in
the world. Even though most crude oil is produced by a relatively small
number of companies, and often in remote locations that are very far
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from the point of consumption, trade in crude oil is robust and global in
nature. Nearly 80% of international crude oil transactions involve
delivery via waterway in supertankers. Oil traders are able to quickly
redirect transactions towards markets where prices are higher.Oil and
coal are global commodities that are shipped all over the world. Thus,
global supply and demand determines prices for these energy sources.
Events around the world can affect our prices at home for oil-based
energy such as gasoline and heating oil. Oil prices are high right now
because of rapidly growing demand in the developing world (primarily
Asia). As demand in these places grows, more oil cargoes head towards
these countries. Prices in other countries must rise as a result. Political
unrest in some oil-producing nations also contributes to high prices -
basically, there is a fear that political instability could shut down oil
production in these countries. OPEC, the large oil-producing cartel, does
have some ability to influence world prices, but OPEC's influence in the
world oil market is shrinking rapidly as new supplies in non-OPEC
countries are discovered and developed.

Definition

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Crude oil: liquid petroleum that is found accumulated in various porous
rock formations in Earth’s crust and is extracted for burning as fuel or for
processing into chemical products.

A summary treatment of crude oil follows. For full treatment, see

petroleum, petroleum production, and petroleum refining.

Chemical and Physical Properties

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Crude oil: is a mixture of comparatively volatile liquid hydrocarbons
(compounds composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon), though it also
contains some nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Those elements form a large
variety of complex molecular structures, some of which cannot be readily
identified. Regardless of variations, however, almost all crude oil ranges
from 82 to 87 percent carbon by weight and 12 to 15 percent hydrogen
by weight. Crude oils are customarily characterized by the type of
hydrocarbon compound that is most prevalent in them: paraffin’s,
naphthenic, and aromatics. Paraffin is the most common hydrocarbons in
crude oil; certain liquid paraffin’s are the major constituents of gasoline
(petrol) and are therefore highly valued. Naphthenic are an important
part of all liquid refinery products, but they also form some of the
heavy asphalt like residues of refinery processes. Aromatics
generally constitute only a small percentage of most crude. The most
common aromatic in crude oil is benzene, a popular building block in
the petrochemical industry. Because crude oil is a mixture of such widely
varying constituents and proportions, its physical properties also vary
widely. In appearance, for instance, it ranges from colorless to black.
Possibly the most important physical property is specific gravity (i.e., the
ratio of the weight of equal volumes of a crude oil and pure water at
standard conditions). In laboratory measurement of specific gravity, it
is customary to assign pure water a measurement of 1; substances lighter
than water, such as crude oil, would receive measurements less than 1.
The petroleum industry, however, uses the American Petroleum Institute
(API) gravity scale, in which pure water has been arbitrarily assigned an
API gravity of 10°. Liquids lighter than water, such as oil, have API
gravities numerically greater than 10. On the basis of their API gravity,
crude oils can be classified as heavy, medium, and light as follows:

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Crude oil also is categorized as “sweet” or “sour” depending on the level
of sulfur, which occurs either as elemental sulfur or in compounds such
as hydrogen sulfide. Sweet crudes have sulfur contents of 0.5 percent or
less by weight, and sour crudes have sulfur contents of 1 percent or more
by weight. Generally, the heavier the crude oil, the greater its sulfur
content. Excess sulfur is removed from crude oil during refining, because
sulfur oxides released into the atmosphere during combustion of oil are a
major pollutant.

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What is crude oil made from?
 Composed mainly of hydrogen and carbon. though it also contains some
nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Those elements form a large variety of
complex molecular structures, some of which cannot be readily identified.

What Is petroleum crude oil?

Crude oil (a non-renewable resource) is usually found in underground
areas called reservoirs. It is liquid in nature and yellowish black in
color. ... Sometimes, petroleum and crude oil are used to mean the same
thing, but petroleum itself is a broad range of petroleum products
including crude oil itself.

Why is crude oil so important?

Globally, crude oil is one of the most important fuel sources and,
historically, has contributed to over a third of the world's energy
consumption. ... Being such an important source of energy, crude is a
major import and export of numerous countries.

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Advantages of crude Oil 
Oil has High Energy Density

This is one of the primary reasons why it is almost impossible to use

other forms of energy. You can use a small amount of natural gas to
generate an enormous amount of energy that is necessary for running of
machines. Car manufacturers prefer to use oil as the energy source
primarily due to this reason.

Oil is Easily Available

Oil is readily available in almost all parts of the world. You can readily
access it for use, and this has been made possible by the efficient
transport systems that are available in almost all places. Examples of the
channels that are used to transport oil include ships, tankers, and
pipelines. Other forms of energy such as electricity are not readily
available especially in remote places such as some parts of Africa.

Oil is used in a Variety of Industries

Oil is used in almost all industries. You cannot easily find any other
product that has massive use in virtually any kind of industry than oil
energy. Almost all the goods that you are using have been produced using
oil input at some stage in their production process. Oil is, therefore, one of
the essential inputs in almost all industries in the world.

Oil is a Constant Power Source

You will obviously find more pleasure relying on an energy source that is
dependable. Oil is such a source as it has been proved to be always
reliable in producing energy at all times of the day. Most engines that use
oil energy have been designed using mature technology to ensure that
they are less likely to break down. Oil energy is therefore very reliable as
compared to sources such as solar and wind energy.

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Disadvantages of crude Oil

Emission of Greenhouse Gases

This has been the biggest threat to using oil energy. After combustion, oil
releases gases such as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions.
These gases are very harmful to the ozone layer as their accumulation
encourages its deterioration. Continued destroying of the ozone layer
ultimately leads to global warming. This occurrence can be very harmful
to your survival on the earth. All countries in the world have made many
treaties, but they have yielded limited results due to the high demand for
the commodity.

Water Pollution

You probably have heard about the BP oil spill that massively destroyed
aquatic animals. Oil is transported in crude form. This makes water
transport the most viable option for moving the commodity from one
place to another. This leads to spills, and they are destructive to aquatic
life.

Conclusion

It takes oil to create ethanol (a corn based fuel), it takes oil to make
plastic, to make computers, to build economies and nations - oil is
needed. As we progress into the future, supplies will tighten and oil prices
will increase further. We've already felt the ripples from the recent rises
of commodity pricing. And as demand from developing nations combines
with an ever dwindling supply - the global economy will soon begin to
feel the squeeze. So what does the future hold, no one knows. Obviously
we must find renewable energy solutions, but for them to become our
major energy supply is a long time away and thus oil will remain an
intricate part of our society. We can wish it, we can dream it, but it will
never be, oil is not renewable, and therefore in time it must be realized
that there will be no oil.

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References
1. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme801/node/455

2. https://www.britannica.com/science/crude-oil

3.https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/economics/
crude-oil-overview/

4. https://www.4gas.com/advantages-disadvantages-using-oil-energy/

5.https://www.enopetroleum.com/peakoilconclusion.html

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