Questions and Answers
What is the origin of the word 'petroleum'?
Latin words for rock and oil
What was the primary use of oil in ancient China?
As a source of fuel
What replaced cable tools in the 20th century?
Rotary drilling
What is a characteristic of most oil wells drilled before the 1970s?
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What is petroleum, chemically speaking?
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In what year did Edwin Drake drill for oil in Pennsylvania?
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What is the primary function of the midstream sector in the oil and gas industry?
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What technique is used to identify potential oil and gas reserves beneath the earth's surface?
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What is the term for the process of extracting oil and gas from the reservoir during the production stage?
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In what year was the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) established?
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Study Notes
Petroleum Origin and Composition
- Derived from Latin words "petra" (rock) and "oleum" (oil)
- Refers to crude oil and related hydrocarbons
- Mixture of hydrocarbon molecules and inorganic impurities
- Can exist in solid, liquid (oil), or gas phase
- Found in geological formations below the earth's surface at varying depths
Brief Historical Perspective
- First oil wells drilled in China around 4th century AD
- Used simple bamboo poles for drilling
- Extracted dark, sticky material used as fuel
- Automobile industry developed at the end of 19th century, adopting oil as fuel
- Rotary drilling replaced cable tools in the 20th century
- Modern directional technologies allow for strongly deviated and horizontal wells
Key Dates in Oil and Gas History
- 1846-7: Gesner/Young perfected paraffin distillation
- 1858: First oil well drilled in Canada (Cable Tool Percussion Drilling)
- 1859: Edwin Drake drilled for oil in Pennsylvania
- 1930: Rotary Drilling
- 1956: First crude oil discovery in Nigeria by Royal Dutch Shell
- 1958: Commercial production began in Nigeria with an output of 5,100 bopd
- 1960-1: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) established
- 1965: Shell Refinery (35,000-barrels) established
- 1971: Nigeria joined Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- 1977: Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) was established
Oil and Gas Industry Sectors
- Upstream sector: finding, discovering, and producing oil and gas
- Midstream sector: transportation, storage, and wholesale marketing of hydrocarbons
- Downstream sector: crude oil refining, natural gas processing, and marketing and distributing products
The Upstream Sector
- Exploration: identifying potential oil and gas reserves using techniques like seismic surveys and exploration drilling
- Drilling: creating a hole in the earth's surface to extract oil and gas using vertical or horizontal drilling
- Production: bringing oil and gas up from the reservoir using primary, secondary, and tertiary recovery techniques
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Description
Learn about the origin of the word petroleum, its composition, and its forms. Also, discover the brief history of oil wells and the early days of petroleum exploration.
