Understanding the Oil Industry

The ever-growing consumption of oil is a worldwide responsibility: all countries are consumers of oil found deep underground, whether it be in the form of petroleum, gasoline, kerosene, heating oil or many more. Yet, not all countries are able to contribute to the supplying of it. Oil is not available everywhere, rather, it must be sourced from remote places such as the desert, jungle, Arctic, or even under the sea.

The process can be dangerous and damaging to the environment, but without it, the world would not be able to function as it does. Environmental checks and assessments are made in order to ensure minimal damage is made to the surrounding area, wildlife and surrounding population, but sometimes accidents do happen. There can also be threats of terrorism, as well as piracy in offshore conditions, and high security measures are necessary through either a local specialist maritime security company, or on-land risk management companies to ensure the safety of workers.

Regardless of the developed technology and various methods used to find and source the oil, there is still the global fear that in 100 years, there may not be any left to find. Other methods are being tried and tested, such as solar and wind energy systems, but as yet, these are not as wholly effective as the use of oil and gas.

The process of finding oil is the responsibility of geologists. They have developed ways to pinpoint certain surface features which indicate where there may be oil residing below. With technological developments, they are now able to use shallow drilling techniques, satellite images, gravity meters and even electronic sniffers to effectively assess where oil is likely to be. Most commonly, seismology is used to create shock waves that pass through rock and the waves that return are interpreted by to determine where there may be oil and gas traps. The means by which the shock waves are created varies depending on whether the area being investigated is over land or water. Once a potential oil strike is found, the geologists often mark the area using GPS co-ordinates if on land, or marker buoys if on water.

Once the oil source has been located, the immediate area needs to be prepared for the oil to be extracted. This can involve environmental and risk assessment, as well as legal jurisdiction, especially in off-shore cases. Once the area around has been cleared and a source of water has been appointed nearby, a reserve pit is dug to contain the excess land and earth created during the drilling.

A shallow well, or a ‘cellar’, is then dug into the land so that there is room to work around the hole that is to be made, and often extra holes are dug in which to store equipment. By using industrial machinery designed specifically for drilling oil, a deep hole is made where the source is suspected to be, and a cement casing placed around it so that it does not collapse in on itself. From here, a perforating gun is used to make holes in the cement through which the materials can flow, acid is then poured down in order to dissolve the limestone and earth mass which stand between the tunnel and the oil. Upon reaching the oil, the oil rig can be removed and the oil is extracted from the well using a specialist pump system, or enhanced oil recovery.

Offshore oil drilling is significantly more dangerous than on land or in shallow waters, despite the process of it being similar, because of the interference and instability of the ocean above the land that needs to be drilled. Drill ships are able to drill from their hull, even in deep water conditions, through to the ocean floor and further. The developments in technology enable the use of computers and anchors to reliably correct the drift to ensure that the boat remains as still as necessary.

Engineers then seal off the well in preparation for the extraction of oil using plugs held in place with mud and sea water, and from there the offshore production rigs work in a similar way to the above described land-based oil rigs.

Crude oil, a dark, sticky liquid made out of hydrocarbons, is heated in a distillation column in order to refine it into the different liquids which make petrol, kerosene and paraffin. The heating of the oil boils it into various different gases in the column, where each gas has different properties and weights; they are easily separated out of the column and upon cooling, return back to liquid form. Once separated, the different oils are taken to be cleaned and processed further, and then used all over the world in many different variations.

The process, in itself, seems mostly simple; yet in reality it is a hugely expensive and time-consuming project that leaves very little room for error. Any mistakes made can have catastrophic results on the surrounding wildlife and environment, as well as causing grave danger to the workers too, especially off-shore, so it is vital that this process is performed as carefully and smoothly as possible.

Sources:

http://www.world-petroleum.org/index.php?/Education/how-is-crude-oil-turned-into-finished-products.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-drilling8.htm
http://www.maritimesecurityinternational.net/readnews.php?ide=166
http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/counter-piracy-pioneer-terry-mcknight-talks-about-west-africa-challenges/