Maritime & Offshore
Operations
LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION
Learning Objectives
1.1 State the formation of fossil fuel
1.2 List the 7 steps of the oil system
1.3 Understand basic oil refining process into
products used in daily lives
1.4 State the major oil and gas exporting countries
1.5 Identify the major oil companies
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Formation of Fossil Fuels
There are 3 major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil
and natural gas.
All three were formed many hundreds of millions of
years ago before the time of the dinosaurs - hence
the name fossil fuels.
As the trees and plants died, they sank to the bottom
of the swamps of oceans.
They formed layers of a spongy material called peat.
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Formation of Fossil Fuels
Over many hundreds of years, the peat was covered by sand,
clay and other minerals, which turned into a type of rock
called sedimentary.
More rock then piled on top causing it to increase in weight.
It began to press down on the peat. The peat was squeezed
until the water flowed out of it.
Eventually, over millions of years, it turned into coal, oil or
petroleum, and natural gas.
Formation of Deposit
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Formation of Fossil Fuels
Accumulation of oil & gas – the fields – exist
underground almost everywhere in the world.
But it is necessary certain conditions come together
for these accumulations to develop.
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Oil System
The genesis of oil follows 7 fundamentals steps:
1. Source Rock: Nec. to have organic matter capable of being
transformed into oil in sufficient quantity
2. Maturation: all conditions are favourable for transformation
(maturation) of oil & gas
3. Migration: The new oil & gas embark on a journey towards the
surface
4. Reservoir: During migration, the hydrocarbons must meet a rock
capable of hoarding them in large quantities
5. Cap Rock: There exist an impermeable rock to prevent oil & gas from
pursuing upwards.
6. The Trap: To accumulate quantities of oil & gas sufficient for
profitable exploitation, the substratum have a form sufficiently large
7. Preservation: Good conditions for the preservation of hydrocarbons
are nec. i.e. the oil & gas must not be destabilised by external forces.
The totality of these 7 steps is called an oil system
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Oil System
Petroleum engineers will study & determine if oil
system has a good chance of occurring in a zone.
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Petroleum
The word "petroleum" means "rock oil" or "oil from
the earth."
Commonly referred to simply as ‘oil’ is actually termed as
mineral oil or crude oil.
Crude oil is formed from plant and animal matter that
has broken down and subjected to extreme temperature
and pressure over millions of years.
The resulting mix of hydrocarbons is a very valuable
resource.
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Petroleum
Not all crude oil is the same.
Characteristics & chemical composition depend:
entirely on the type of matter that it is derived from and,
the environmental conditions it has been subjected to
during its formation.
As a result of these differing characteristics and
chemical compositions, some crude oil is more
desirable than others.
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Petroleum
In all cases, the base material needs to be refined to
separate out the various constituents.
The oil constituents vary from light compounds that
can be further refined into fuels, to heavy compounds
such as bitumen and resins.
Crude oil production levels and reserves are still
measured in barrels.
The term ‘barrel’ dates from early large-scale usage of
oil in the 19th century where oil was stored in wooden
barrels of a standard size of 158.99 litres.
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Formation of Fossil Fuels
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Natural Gas
Natural gas is a fossil fuel.
Most scientists believe natural gas was created by the
same forces that formed oil.
Natural gas consists mainly of methane, the simplest
hydrocarbon (organic compound that contains only
carbon and hydrogen).
It also contains small amounts of heavier, more complex
hydrocarbons such as ethane, butane, and propane.
Some natural gas includes impurities such as hydrogen
sulphide ("sour" gas), carbon dioxide ("acid"
gas), and water ("wet" gas).
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Natural Gas
During processing, impurities are removed and
valuable hydrocarbons are extracted.
Sulphur & CO2 are sometimes recovered and sold
as by-products.
Propane & butane are usually liquefied under
pressure and sold separately as LPG (liquefied
petroleum gas).
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Refinery
A refinery processes crude oil and turns it into
gasoline and hundreds of other useful products.
The world needs gasoline and petroleum products to
move merchandise and people, to make plastics
among many other things.
Refining breaks crude oil down into its various
components, which then are reconfigured into new
products.
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Refinery Process Refining
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Major Oil Exporting Countries
The top exporters of oil in 2009 are ranked as follows: -
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Russia
3. Iran
4. United Arab Emirates
5. Norway
6. Kuwait
7. Nigeria
8. Angolia
9. Iraq
[Link]
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Major Importers
1. United States
2. Japan
3. China
4. Germany
5. India
6. South Korea
7. France
8. UK
9. Spain
10. Italy
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Major Oil Companies
Today, the principal international oil companies, those
known as the majors, are 5 in no.:
1. Royal Dutch / Shell is an Anglo-Dutch company formed after
the merger of Shell and Royal Dutch (2008 turnover: $458
million).
2. Exxon Mobil is an American company formed after the merger
of Exxon and Mobil (2008 turnover: $442 million).
3. BP is a British company formed after the merger of British
Petroleum (formerly the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) and
Amoco (2008 turnover: $367 million).
4. Chevron is an American company formed after the merger of
Chevron (formerly Socal) and Texaco (2008 turnover: $263
million).
5. Total is a French company formed after the merger of Elf, Fina,
and Total (2008 turnover: $234 million).
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Size of Companies (in 2008)
Company T/O (millions of U$)
Shell 458
ExxonMobil 442
BP 367
Chevron/Texaco 263
Total 234
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Tutorials
1. Describe the formation of oil.
2. List the 7 steps of oil system.
3. Name the products of oil and discuss their impact
on our lives.
4. On a world map chartlet, label the top 10 major oil
exporting and importing countries.
5. Name the oil majors.
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