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Chapter 2 Oil & Gas History
1. Read and translate the text below:
Part 1 Early Petroleum History
Petroleum is a naturally occurring liquid found in rock formations. It consists of a complex mixture1 of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights2 plus other organic compounds3. It is generally accepted that oil is formed mostly from the carbon rich remains4 of ancient plankton after exposure to heat and pressure5 in the Earth's crust6 over hundreds of millions of years. Overtime, the decayed residue7 was covered by layers of mud and silt, sinking further down into the earth's crust and preserved there between hot and pressured layers gradually transforming into oil reservoir.
Petroleum in an unrefined state8 has been utilized by humans for over 5000 years. In fact, the consensus of opinion9 is that oil predates man. Thus, oil in general has been used since early human history, to keep fires ablaze10 and also for warfare11. Ancient Persian language tablets12 indicate the medical and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper echelons of their society13. Ancient China was also known to burn skimmed oil14 for light.
An early petroleum industry was established in the 8th century when the streets of Baghdad were paved with tar15 derived from petroleum through destructive distillation16. In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in the area around modern Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce naphtha17. These fields were described by Al-Masudi in the 10th century, by Marco Polo in the 13th century who described the output18 of those oil wells19 as hundreds of ship loads. Again, petroleum was distilled20 by Al-Raz in the 9th century, producing chemicals such as kerosene21 in the alembic22, which he used in the oil lamp23 industry.
The importance of petroleum in the world economy evolved24 slowly, with whale oil25 used for lighting into the 19th century and wood and coal26 used for heating and cooking well into the 20th century. A petroleum industry emerged27 in North America, in Canada, and the United States.
The industrial revolution28 generated29 an increasing need30 for energy which was fueled mainly by coal, with other sources including whale oil. However, it was discovered that kerosene could be extracted31 from crude oil and used as a light and heating fuel32. Petroleum was in great demand33; and by the twentieth century had become the most valuable commodity34 traded on the world market.
2. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
- What does petroleum consist of?
- What is petroleum formed of?
- What has happened with the decayed residue after hundreds of millions of years?
- How long has petroleum been utilized by humans? For what purposes?
- When was an early petroleum industry established?
- Where and when were oil fields exploited to produce naphtha?
- Who, when, and how described the fields in the area around modern Baku, Azerbaijan?
- What energy resources were used for lighting, heating, and cooking purposes before oil?
- What could kerosene be extracted from?
- When did oil become the most valuable commodity traded on the world market?
3. FILL IN THE GAPS AND translate the sentences:
| skimmed oil | alembic | coal |
| residue | | unrefined state |
| oil well | kerosene | earth's crust |
| whale oil | naphtha | oil lamp |
| organic compound | molecular weight | destructive distillation |
| carbon-rich remains | tar | heating fuel |
| Example: Complex mixture is a mixture of many components in inexact proportions, usually natural. 1. __________________ is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. 2. Molecular mass is a measure of mass and __________________ is a measure of force acting on the molecular mass. 3. An __________________ is an object used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. 4. __________________ is a matter remaining after completion of an abstractive chemical or physical process, such as evaporation, combustion, distillation, or filtration; residuum. 5. __________________ is any compound of carbon and another element or a radical. 6. __________________ is a natural state or raw state. 7. __________________ is topped oil or topped crude petroleum. 8. __________________ is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. 9. Fossil fuels are __________________ of plants and microorganisms. 10. __________________ is the chemical process involving the decomposition of feedstock by heating to a high temperature; the term generally applies to processing of organic material in the absence of air or in the presence of limited amounts of oxygen or other reagents, catalysts, or solvents, such as steam or phenols. 11. __________________ is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle. 12. __________________ normally refers to a number of flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. 13. An __________________ is a general term for any boring through the Earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. 14. __________________ is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. 15. An __________________ is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube. 16. __________________ is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. 17. __________________ is a low viscosity, liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. | ||
4. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES IN WRITTEN FORM:
Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1250
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