There is only one substance known to mankind that can cause wars, influence global economies, and make countries rich: petroleum. But how much does the average person, even the average engineer, know about it? This book describes the petroleum industry in easy-to-understand language for both the layperson and engineer alike. From the economics of searching for oil and gas, getting it out of the ground, into pipelines, into refineries, and, finally, into your gas tank, this book covers the petroleum industry like no other treatment before.

InhaltsangabePreface ix 1. History and Terminology of Crude Oil 1 1.1 Historical Perspectives 3 1.2 Modern Perspectives 14 1.3 Oil Companies 15 1.4 Definitions and Terminology 17 1.5 References 28 2. Origin and Occurrence of Oil 31 2.1 The Formation of Oil 35 2.2 Reservoirs 36 2.3 Reservoir Classification 45 2.4 Reservoir Evaluation 49 2.5 Estimation of Reserves in Place 52 2.6 Reserves 55 2.7 References 62 3. Exploration, Recovery, and Transportation 65 3.1 Exploration 66 3.2 Drilling 70 3.3 Recovery 75 3.4 Bitumen Recovery 86 3.5 Transportation 91 3.6 Products and Product Quality 97 3.7 References 100 4. Crude Oil Classification and Benchmarks 103 4.1 Crude Oil Classification 105 4.2 Classification of Reserves 111 4.3 Benchmark Crude Oils 126 4.4 References 132 5. The Petroleum Culture 135 5.1 The Petroleum Culture 138 5.2 Oil in Perspective 138 5.3 The Seven Sisters 145 5.4 Reserve Estimates 148 5.5 References 156 6. Oil Prices 159 6.1 Oil Price History 161 6.2 Pricing Strategies 164 6.3 Oil Price and Analysis 168 6.4 The Anatomy of Crude Oil Prices 172 6.5 The Anatomy of Gasoline Prices 175 6.6 Effect of Refining Capacity 178 6.7 Outlook 187 6.8 References 191 7. The Crude Oil Market 193 7.1 The Crude Oil Market 195 7.2 Global Oil Consumption 199 7.3 Refining and The Markets 205 7.4 Profitability 211 7.5 References 212 8. Oil Supply 215 8.1 Physical Factors 216 8.2 Technological Factors 220 8.3 Economic Factors 223 8.4 Geopolitical Factors 228 8.5 Peak Oil231 8.6 The Impact of Heavy Oil and Tar Sand Bitumen 237 8.7 References 242 9. The Future 245 9.1 Undiscovered Oil 249 9.2 Coal 252 9.3 Oil Shale 255 9.4 Liquids from Biomass 260 9.5 Energy Independence 264 9.6 Energy Security 270 9.7 References 275 Conversion Factors 281 Glossary 283 Index 311

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