PETROLEUM FORMATION

Petroleum is crude oil that is naturally formed in sedimentary rocks and consist mainly of hydrocarbons. Petroleum is formed through the decomposition of marine microorganism, animals, and plants which are buried for millions of years under Earths surface. As these microorganisms die and accumulate on the ocean floors, the are slowly buried and the remains are compressed under layers of sediment. Over millions of years, the pressure and heat exerted by the overlying sediments chemically transform these organic materials from microorganisms into petroleum. After gradually formed in Earths crust, petroleum slowly flows into the tiny holes of nearby porous rock that serve as reservoirs. Because this porous rock is often filled with water and petroleum, petroleum which are lighter than water and more dense (in this case petroleum have lager density) that the surrounding rocks, petroleum move upward through the crust).

Types of Petroleum Traps Geologists have classified petroleum traps into two basic types: structural traps and stratigraphic traps. Structural traps are traps that are formed because of a deformation in the rock layer that contains the hydrocarbons. Two common examples of structural traps are fault traps and anticlines.

An anticline is an upward fold in the layers of rock, much like an arch in a building. Petroleum migrates into the highest part of the fold, and its escape is prevented by an overlying bed of impermeable rock (A).
A fault trap occurs when the formations on either side of the fault have been moved into a position that prevents further migration of petroleum. For example, an impermeable formation on one side of the fault may have moved opposite the petroleum-bearing formation on the other side of the fault. Further migration of petroleum is prevented by the impermeable layer (B).

Stratigraphic traps are traps that result when the reservoir bed is sealed by other beds or by a change in porosity or permeability within the reservoir bed itself. There are many different kinds of stratigraphic traps. In one type, a tilted or inclined layer of petroleum-bearing rock is cutoff or truncated by an essentially horizontal, impermeable rock layer (C). Or sometimes a petroleum-bearing

formation pinches out; that is, the formation is gradually cut off by an overlying layer. Another stratigraphic trap occurs when a porous and permeable reservoir bed is surrounded by impermeable rock. Still another type occurs when there is a change in porosity and permeability in the reservoir itself. The upper reaches of the reservoir may be impermeable and nonporous, while the lower part is permeable and porous and contains hydrocarbons.

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The methods used to extract, process, transport, store, and distribute natural gas depend on the location and composition of the raw gas and the location and application of the gas by the end users. Here is a typical sequence of operations used to produce natural gas for home heating and cooking use. Extracting

1 Some underground natural gas reservoirs are under enough internal pressure that the gas can flow up the well and reach Earth's surface without additional help. However, most wells require a pump to bring the gas (and oil, if it is present) to the surface. The most common pump has a long rod attached to a piston deep in the well. The rod is alternately pulled upward and plunged back into the well by a beam that slowly rocks up and down on top

of a vertical support. This configuration is often called a horse head pump because the shape of the pulling mechanism on the end of the rocking beam resembles a horse's head.

2 When the raw natural gas reaches the surface, it is separated from any oil that might be present and is piped to a central gas processing plant nearby. Several hundred wells may all feed into the same plant.

Processing

3 About 75% of the raw natural gas in the United States comes from underground reservoirs where little or no oil is present. This gas is easier to process than gas from oil wells. Regardless of the source, most raw natural gas contains dirt, sand, and water vapor, which must be removed before further processing to prevent contamination and corrosion of the equipment and pipelines. The dirt and sand are removed with filters or traps near the well. The water vapor is usually removed by passing the gas through a tower filled with granules of a solid desiccant, such as alumina or silica gel, or through a liquid desiccant, such as a glycol. After it has been cleaned and dried, the raw gas may be processed further or it may be sent directly to a compressor station and pumped into a main transportation pipeline.

4 If the raw natural gas contains a large amount of heavier hydrocarbon gases, such as propane and butane, these materials are removed to be sold separately. The most common method is to bubble the raw gas up through a tall, closed tower containing a cold absorption oil, similar to kerosene. As the gas comes in contact with the cold oil, the heavier hydrocarbon gases condense into liquids and are trapped in the oil. The lighter hydrocarbon gases, such as methane and ethane, do not condense into liquid and flow out the top of the tower. About 85% of the propane and almost all of the butane and heavier hydrocarbons are trapped this way. The absorption oil is then distilled to remove the trapped hydrocarbons, which are separated into individual components in a fractionation tower.

5 At this point, the natural gas contains methane, ethane, and a small amount of propane that wasn't trapped. It may also contain varying amounts of carbon dioxide,

A diagram depicting the production of natural gas from underground source to household usage. hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and other materials. A portion of the ethane is sometimes removed to be used as a raw material in various chemical processes. To accomplish this, the water vapor in the gas is further reduced using one of several methods, and the gas is then subjected to repeated compression and expansion cycles to cool the ethane and capture it as a liquid.

6 Some natural gas contains a high percentage of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. These chemicals can react with the remaining water vapor in the gas to form an acid, which can cause corrosion. They are removed by flowing the gas up through a tower while a spray of water mixed with a solvent, such as mono ethanolamine, is injected at the top. The solvent reacts with the chemicals, and the solution is drained off the bottom of the tower for further processing.

7 Some natural gas also contains a high percentage of nitrogen. Because nitrogen does not burn, it reduces the heating value of the natural gas. After the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide have been removed, the gas goes through a low-temperature distillation process to liquefy and separate the nitrogen. Together, the processes in steps 6 and 7 are sometimes called "upgrading" the gas because the natural gas is now cleaner and will burn hotter.

8 If helium gas is to be captured, it is done after the nitrogen is removed. This involves a complex distillation and purification process to isolate the helium from other gases. Natural gas is the primary source of industrial helium in the United States.

Transporting

9 Mercaptan is injected into the processed natural gas to give it a distinctive warning odor, and the gas is piped to a compressor station where the pressure is increased to about 200-1,500 psi (1,380-10,350 kPa). The gas is then transported across country through one of several major pipelines installed underground. These pipelines range from 20 to 42 in (51 to 107 cm) in diameter. About every 100 mi (160 km), another compressor boosts the gas pressure to make up for small pressure losses caused by friction between the gas and the pipe walls. This keeps the gas flowing.

10 When the pressurized natural gas reaches the vicinity of its final destination, it is sometimes injected back into the ground for storage. Depleted underground gas and oil reservoirs, porous rock layers known as aquifers, or subterranean salt caverns may be used to store the gas. This ensures a ready supply during the colder winter months.

Distributing

11 When gas is needed, it is drawn out of underground storage and is transported through pipelines at pressures up to 1,000 psi (6,900 kPa). These pipelines bring the gas into the city or area where it is to be used.

12 The pressure is reduced to below 60 psi (410 kPa), and the gas is distributed in underground pipes that run throughout the area. Before the gas is piped into each house or business, the pressure is further reduced to about 0.25 psi (1.7 kPa).

PETROLEUM EXPLORATION
Petroleum which accumulate on a certain layer in earths crust is then explorated by using several tools through a drilling process, the result of which is in the form of crude oil. This crude oil is processed further to be the fractional petroleum which are useful for humans. Geologists and geophysicists have many tolls and techniques to assist in indentifying potential areas for drilling. When an area is identified to contain petroleum, a drilling process is then done. One of drilling processes for petroleum often done is a offshore drilling such as shown in the following figure.

PETROLEUM EXPLOITATION
Exploitation of natural resources is an essential condition of the human existence. Throughout history, humans have manipulated natural resources to produce the materials they needed to sustain growing human populations. This refers primarily to food production, but many other entities from the natural environment have been extracted. Often the exploitation of nature has been done in a non-sustainable way, which is causing an increasing concern, as a nonsustainable exploitation of natural resource ultimately threatens the human existence.

COMPONENTS OF PETROLEUM
Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons plus organic compounds of sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen and compounds containing metal constituents, especially Nickel, Iron and Copper.

Petroleum itself is not a uniform material, but very widely composition, depending on location, age of oil field and also depth of wells. In light paraffinic petroleum hydrocarbons containing not less than 97% while the lowest weight type asphaltik 50%.

HYDROCARBON COMPONENTS
Comparison of the elements contained in crude oil varies widely. Based on the results of the analysis, the obtained data as follows:
Carbon: 83.0 to 87.0% Hydrogen: 10.0 to 14.0% Nitrogen: 0.1 to 2.0% Oxygen: 0.05 to 1.5% Sulfur: 0.05 to 6.0%

Hydrocarbon components in petroleum are classified into three categories, namely:

class of paraffinic naphthenik class aromatic group while the olefinic groups are generally not found in crude oil, as well as hydrocarbons asetilenik very rare.

Crude oil contains a number of non-hydrocarbon compounds, particularly sulfur compounds, nitrogen compounds, oxygen compounds, Organic metallic compounds (in small amounts / traces as a solution) and inorganic salts (as a colloidal suspension).

SULPHURE COMPOUND
Crude oil density higher sulfur content has a more high too. The presence of sulfur in petroleum are often many consequences, for example in gasoline can cause corrosion (particularly in cold conditions or watery), because formation of acid produced from sulfur oxides (as a result of burning gasoline) and water.
1. Compound Oxygen Total content of oxygen in the gas are less than 2% and rising with the increase in boiling point fractions. Oxygen content can be ascending if the product was long associated with the air. Oxygen in the oil is in the form of bond as carboxylic acids, ketones, esters, ethers, anhydrides, and disiklo monosiklo compounds and phenols. As the carboxylic acid form Naphthenat acid (alicyclic acid) and aliphatic acids. 2. Nitrogen Compound Generally, nitrogen content in the oil is very low, ie from 0.1 to 0.9%. Contained the highest content of the type Asphalitik. Nitrogen has toxic properties of the catalyst and to form a gum / sap on fuel oil. Highest nitrogen content present in fractions of high boiling point. Nitrogen base class that has a relatively low molecular weight can be extracted with dilute mineral acid, while having a high molecular weight can not be extracted with dilute mineral acid. 3. Metallic constituents Metals such as iron, copper, particularly nickel and vanadium in catalytic cracking processes affect catalyst activity, because it can lower gasoline products, generate a lot of gas and coke formation. At high temperature power generator, for example oil-fired gas turbine, the constituent metals, especially vanadium to form a crust on the turbine rotor. Ash produced from burning fuel containing mainly sodium and vanadium to react with refactory furnace (refractory bricks), causing a decrease in melting point so that the mixture of refractory damage it.

In order to be processed into products, crude oil from wells is transported to a refinery using the ship, pipeline, tank car or train. Inside the refinery, crude oil processed into products that we know the physics based route boiling point (distillation), where the gas is at the top of the column fractionation and residue (asphalt) at the bottom of fractionation column. Each route boiling point is called "faction", ie: 0-50 C: Gas 50-85 C: Gasoline

85-105 C: Kerosene 105-135 C: Solar > 135 C: Residues (Decoys further processing) So the name of oil or often also called crude oil is a mixture of hundreds of types of hydrocarbons from the smallest range, such as methane, which has one carbon atom up to the largest type of hydrocarbons that contain 200 atoms of carbon even more. Broadly speaking petroleum grouped according to their chemical composition into four types, namely: Paraffin Olefin Naften Aromat

But since in nature can be said to have never been found petroleum in the form of an olefin, then oil and then grouped into three types, namely Paraffin, Naften and Aromat. The main content of this mixture is a paraffin hydrocarbon isomers or compounds. Isomer itself is another form of a hydrocarbon compound that has the same chemical formula. For example in the normal-butane in the following figures have isomers 2-methyl propane, or sometimes also called iso-butane. Both have the same chemical formula, the formula C4H10 but have a different wake as shown in the picture. If the carbon atom (C) is denoted as a black ball and atomic hydrogen (H) is denoted as a red ball then the image of the normal-butane and iso-butane will look like the following picture:

Hydrocarbon compounds 'normal' is often also referred to as straight chain hydrocarbons, while the compound isomers or 'iso' is often also referred to as branched-chain hydrocarbon compounds. Both are types of types of paraffin oil. While the rest of the content of other hydrocarbons in petroleum are hence cyclo-paraffin compound which is also called naften and / or compounds aromat. Here's an example from hence cyclo-paraffins and aromat. 'Family hydrocarbons' above is called homologous, because most of the content contained in petroleum can be separated into several types of purity for commercial purposes. In general, in a petroleum refinery, the separation purity comparisons are made to the hydrocarbons which have a smaller carbon content of C7. In general, the compound can be separated and identified, but only for the purpose in the laboratory. Hence cyclo paraffin mixture and aromat in long-chain hydrocarbons in the oil making the oil is classified into types aspaltin petroleum. Petroleum in nature was never there in the form of pure paraffin and aspaltin pure, but always in the form of a mixture of paraffin and aspaltin. Groupings of oil into petroleum and petroleum paraffin type aspaltin based on many types of oil or paraffin or aspaltin dominance in the oil. That is to say kind of paraffin oil if the compound is more dominant than the aromat parafinnya and / or hence cyclo parafinnya. Vice versa. In industrial scale, from petroleum products are grouped according to boiling point range, or on the basis of its boiling point route. The grouping of products based on the boiling point is more often performed than grouping based on their composition.

Petroleum is not entirely composed of pure hydrocarbons. The oil also contained impurities (impurities) in the form of sulfur (sulfur), nitrogen and metals. In general, there is lots of impurities in the oil is an organic sulfur compound called mercaptan. Mercaptan is similar to hydrocarbons in general, but there is the addition of one or more sulfur atoms in the molecule.

More complex sulfur compounds in petroleum are in the form tiofen and disulfide. Tiofen and this disulfide is present in the hydrocarbon chain length or in the middle distillate products (middle distillate). In addition, other impurities found in petroleum are in the form of organic halogen compounds, especially chloride, and organic metal, namely sodium (Na), Vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni).

The boiling point of paraffin oil and aspaltin can not be determined exactly, because it varies greatly, depending on how the composition of the hydrocarbon chain. If the crude oil it contains a lot of short-chain hydrocarbons which have a number of carbon atoms less then a lower boiling point, whereas if it has a long hydrocarbon chain which has a number of carbon atoms more then a higher boiling point.

THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THE PETROLEUM FRACTION

Petroleum, also known as crude oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons found in various localities in the earth, not only on land, but also under the sea-bed. Other oxygen- and/or sulphur- containing compounds may also be present. Crude oil is classified into so-called "light", "intermediate" or "heavy", depending on various factors, notably viscosity. The presence of sulphur compounds is considered to lower the quality of crude oil, and hence its value. The oil obtained from deposits below the North Sea off the Shetland Islands is considered to be of high quality, and is known as "Brent crude", and is used as a standard to establish the price of other oils. Crude oil typically consists largely of alkanes with carbon chains ranging from 1 carbon atom to 60 or more. The constituents having 1-4 carbon atoms are gases, those with 5-19 carbon atoms are, generally speaking, liquids, while the molecules with more than 20 carbon atoms are waxy solids. In addition to alkanes, alkenes, aromatics and naphthenes are also present in varying amounts.

Above: A cut through part of the lithosphere, showing gas and oil trapped underground. A "gusher", oil driven out by intense pressure below the drill hole. Old photo from a California oilfield in the early 1900's.

Petroleum was formed millions of years ago when organic matter, mainly plants, was covered by sediments and subjected to high pressures over very long periods of time. These sediments found their way underground, where they were eventually covered by what became layers of rocks. The oil, together with natural gas (mainly methane, CH 4), became trapped in underground pockets, from which it is now exploited by drilling. In South Africa, natural gas is exploited below the sea bed off the coast south of Mossel Bay, and refined by Mossgas.

PETROLEUM REFINING

The refining process involves converting crude oil into fractions of different boiling points, each having different applications. The process, called fractional distillation, is discussed elsewhere. Not all refineries produce all the fractions listed below, as this will depend on the type of crude oil as well as commercial demands.
Fraction Boiling point C (C) Gases < 40 atoms per Uses molecule 1-5 Fuel, Liquid Petroleum

Gas (LPG) Petroleum ether Light naphtha, ligroin Gasoline Kerosene 30-60 60-100 40-200 180-230 5-6 6-7 6-10 11-12 Fuel, solvents Fuel Fuel Jet fuel, illuminating

paraffin Gas oil Heavy fuel 230-300 oil, 315-450 13-17 20-45 Diesel fuel, heating fuel Fuel, lubricating oils

lubricating oil Paraffin waxes Distillation residues 400-500 Not distilled 20-30 > 30 Vaseline, waxe Fuel, pitch, road tar

As the length of the hydrocarbon chains increase, their physical properties change. Short chain hydrocarbons are either gases or volatile liquids. Medium chain hydrocarbons are liquids with boiling points below 230 C. The boiling point and viscosity increase as the chains become longer. Another property that changes as the chains get longer, is their flammability, which is their ability to burn in air. A liquid with a high flammability easily catches fire, and so all hydrocarbons with boiling points below 250 C should be considered to be a fire risk.

CRACKING
The cracking process involves the breaking of long-chain hydrocarbons into hydrocarbon molecules that have shorter carbon chains, and are thus better suited for use as motor and jet fuel. This operation is carried out at high temperatures in the presence of various catalysts, and typically yields not only alkanes in the C5-C13 range, but also low molecular mass alkenes, such as ethene (CH2=CH2) and propene (CH3CH=CH2). The cracking process is very complex, but is illustrated in the highly simplified reaction below. Alkenes are reactive hydrocarbons, and thus the cracking process yields these useful chemicals as by-products, which are known as PETROCHEMICALS. Petrochemicals serve as FEEDSTOCKS for the manufacture of all sorts of useful products, such as plastics, synthetic rubber, medicinal drugs, and solvents, to mention but a few.

OCTANE NUMBER
The internal combustion engine is designed in such a way that ignition of the petrol vapour-air mixture in the cylinders is ignited at specific time intervals by sparks emitted from the spark plugs. However, when such gas mixtures are heated and compressed, they may ignite spontaneously and prematurely. This leads to a phenomenon known as "knocking" that reduces the efficiency of the engine and increases wear and tear on the moving parts. It turns out that hydrocarbons that have straight chains of carbon atoms are particularly prone to cause knocking, while those with branched carbon chains have much reduced knocking effects. The hydrocarbon 2,2,4-trimethylpentane has a very low tendency to cause knocking, while n-heptane has a very high tendency to cause knocking.

If a motor fuel has the same knocking properties as a mixture of 93% 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and 7% n-heptane (v/v), then that fuel is rated as 93-octane. It is possible for a fuel to have an octane number greater than 100 and less than 0. The so-called "straight-run" gasoline, produced from crude oil by fractional distillation has an octane number of about 50, and is therefore not suitable as fuel for modern internal combustion engines. Various anti-knocking additives find their way into commercial petrol, notably tetraethyllead (Pb(CH2CH3)4), which, due to its toxicity and release of lead into the atmosphere, is being phased out in many countries, including South Africa. The so-called "lead-free" petrol does not contain this anti-knocking agent, relying rather on the properties of other additives such as 2-methyl-2-propanol and 2-methoxy-2-methylpropane . Such a fuel has an octane rating of 9596. For diesel fuels, a high tendency for self-ignition under high compression is desirable, and diesel fuels are graded according to their CETANE NUMBERS, which are related to mixtures of n-cetane, CH3(CH2)14CH3 (cetane number = 100), and 1-methylnaphthalene (cetane number= 0) ().

CATALYTIC REFORMING
In order to increase the proportion of motor fuel that can be obtained from petroleum fractions, processes known as CATALYTIC REFORMING are used. What these processes achieve is the conversion of low-octane hydrocarbons (from the higher boiling naphtha fractions) into high-octane fuels. Various methods exist to achieve this, but for the purpose of this discussion, we will look at the reaction that produces branched alkanes from straight-chain alkanes:

This isomerisation takes place in the presence of platinum as a catalyst, at moderate pressures (about 2 MPa) and high temperatures (around 500 C).

THE FISCHER-TROPF PROCESS

Some countries that have an abundance of coal but little or no petroleum deposits have turned to the synthesis of liquid fuels from coal. SASOL is a South African enterprise that is considered the leader in this field.

FORMATION OF SYNTHESIS GAS

Coal is treated with steam and oxygen, forming carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen according to the following unbalanced reaction:

This phase of the process also produces other substances, namely creosote, tar, phenols and naphtha. The carbon dioxide is removed, giving pure SYNTHESIS GAS, a mixture of hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide.

GAS REFORMING

A mixture of methane, oxygen and steam is treated with a nickel catalyst to give carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen:

THE SYNTHOL SYNTHESIS

The mixture of gases obtained above is treated with an iron catalyst to form a wide variety of hydrocarbons having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms. These are separated into various fractions, the gaseous alkenes being used in the polymer industry, while others are used as fuel. Useful oxygen-containing compounds such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone (used in the paints industry), as well as acetic acid, are obtained. The slurry-phase distillation process: In this process, long-chain hydrocarbons are produced, leading, after refining, to alkanes and waxes.

PRODUCTS MADE FROM PETROLEUM

The most common distillations of petroleum are fuels. Fuels include :

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Ethane and other short-chain alkanes Gasoline (Petrol) Diesel fuel (petrodiesel) Kerosene Jet fuel Fuel oils

Certain types of resultant hydrocarbons may be mixed with other non-hydrocarbons, to create other end products:

Alkenes (olefins) which can be manufactured into plastics or other compounds Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases) Wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others. Sulfur or Sulfuric acid. These are a useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared as the acid precursor oleum, a byproduct of sulfur removal from fuels.

Bulk tar. Asphalt used in road construction is a petroleum product as is the synthetic rubber in the tires. Petroleum coke, used in speciality carbon products or as solid fuel. Paraffin wax Aromatic petrochemicals to be used as precursors in other chemical production.
Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, detergents, phonograph records, photographic film, furniture, surfboards, paints and artificial fibers used in clothing, upholstery, and carpet backing all comes from petroleum.

THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF PETROLEUM

Global Warming

When burned, petroleum releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Along with the burning of coal, petroleum combustion is the largest contributor to the increase in atmospheric CO2. Atmospheric CO2 has risen steadily since the industrial revolution to current levels of over 380ppmv from the 180 - 300ppmv of the prior 800 thousand years, driving global warming.
Extraction

Oil extraction is simply the removal of oil from the reservoir (oil pool). Oil is often recovered as a water-in-oil emulsion, and specialty chemicals called demulsifiers are used to separate the oil from water. Oil extraction is costly and sometimes environmentally damaging, although Dr. John Hunt of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution pointed out in a 1981 paper that over 70% of the reserves in the world are associated with visible macroseepages, and many oil fields are found due to natural seeps. Offshore exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine environment.
Oil spills

Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged natural ecosystems in many places. The quantity of oil spilled during accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred thousand tons. Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil. This can kill sea birds, mammals, shellfish and other organisms it coats. Oil spills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth dam can be rapidly bulldozed around the spill site before most of the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily.
Tarballs

A tarball is a blob of oil (not to be confused with tar, which is typically derived from pine trees rather than petroleum) which has been weathered after floating in the ocean. Tarballs are an aquatic pollutant in most environments, although they can occur naturally. Their concentration and features have been used to assess the extent of oil spills. Their composition can be used to identify their sources of origin and tarballs themselves may be dispersed over long distances by deep sea currents.
Environmental Pollution In large concentrations, the hydrocarbon molecules that make up crude oil and petroleum products are highly toxic to many organisms, including humans. Petroleum also contains trace amounts of sulfur and nitrogen compounds, which are dangerous by themselves and can react with the environment to produce secondary poisonous chemicals. Petroleum-Contaminated Soil In fact, not all oil released from land sources is quickly washed away to sea. Pipeline and oil-well accidents, unregulated industrial waste, and leaking underground storage tanks can all permanently contaminate large areas of soil, making them economically useless as well as dangerous to the health of organisms living in and around them. Removing or treating soil contaminated by petroleum is especially urgent because the hydrocarbons can leach into the underlying groundwater and move into human residential areas.

THE ADVANTAGE OF PETROLEUM

All plastic is made from petroleum and plastic is used almost everywhere, in cars, houses, toys, computers and clothing. Asphalt used in road construction is a petroleum product as is the synthetic rubber in the tires. Paraffin wax comes from petroleum, as do fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, detergents, phonograph records, photographic film, furniture, packaging materials, surfboards, paints and artificial fibers used in clothing, upholstery, and carpet backing. Petroleum used to make fuels. Fuels include, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethane and other short-chain alkanes, gasoline (Petrol), diesel fuel (petrodiesel), kerosene, jet fuel, fuel oils. James S. Robbins has argued that the advent of petroleum-refined kerosene saved some species of great whales from extinction by providing an inexpensive substitute for whale oil, thus eliminating the economic imperative for openboat whaling. The chemical structure of petroleum is heterogeneous, composed of hydrocarbon chains of different lengths. Because of this, petroleum may be taken to oil refineries and the hydrocarbon chemicals separated by distillation and treated by other chemical processes, to be used for a variety of purposes. Petroleum also brings benefits in:
Agriculture

Petroleum is an organic compound, formed from the remains of microorganisms living millions of years ago. It is one of the three main fossil fuels, along with coal and natural gas.

Since the 1940s, agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, due largely to the increased use of energyintensive mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides. Nearly all pesticides and many fertilizers are made from oil.
Economy The modern petroleum industry began in 1859 in Pennsylvania, when a man named Edwin L. Drake constructed the first oil well, a facility for extracting petroleum from natural deposits. Since then, petroleum has become a valuable commodity in industrialized parts of the world, and oil companies actively search for petroleum deposits and build large oil extraction facilities.