Crude Oil: Modern Day Black Gold
You must have heard the entire buzz about the crude oil prices going up and down depending upon world events. It has become an integrated part of our life in some way or the other. But what is it actually, what’s so important about this black gold that everyone keeps talking about. Read further to find out.
Bonus: There is a quiz at the end of the article to test how much you have understood or gained knowledge!
Oil also knows as ‘petroleum or crude oil’ or more popularly knows as ‘Black Gold’ in our modern world is a thick black liquid consisting of mainly hydrogen and carbon. It also has traces of sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen.
How was Crude Oil formed?
The crude oil deposits that we have today were formed millions of years ago, mostly when dead marine creatures sunk to the bottom of the water bodies and got buried under deposits of sedimentary rocks. These were then subjected to intense heat and pressure because of which they underwent transformation and converted to oil over millions of years.
It is somewhat similar to the process of natural gas formation but oil is formed under a limited range of temperature which is also called as ‘Oil Window’
Where is Crude Oil found?
Oil is found generally in underground rocks which are called reservoirs. These rocks have tiny voids in them which allow them to hold water, natural gas or oil. They are surrounded by impermeable rocks called cap rocks which trap oil in its place.
How is Crude Oil recovered?
Oil is generally extracted by drilling a well and pumping it up the well. Once the oil is extracted the oil is transported by ship, rail, truck or pipelines to an oil refinery where it undergoes complex process that produces useful products like gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, liberating oil etc. It is said that about 71% of global oil is used to power transportation systems.
The US consumes more oil than any other country -- 1.85 billion barrels per day !
Let's Analyze...
Advantages | Disadvantages |
---|---|
Oil is abundant and in some places it’s easy to recover. | It’s a non-renewable resource also supplies of conventional oil have been decreasing steadily making conventional production common. |
Oil’s benefits include its high energy density and versatility and are used to make wide range of products which we use in our day to day life like transport fuels etc. | The production and use of oil comes along with serious social and environmental challenges which has lead to many geopolitical tensions between nations. |
Crude Oil Prices
With the crude oil prices changing everyday here is the live crude oil price in dollar :