How does oil get out of the ground?
How does oil get out of the ground?
They have to be transported to an oil refinery. This is often through a pipeline or in a tanker. The crude oil is often found in remote places such as deserts, jungle or the Arctic. Transport of the crude oil to the refinery is sometimes very complicated.
How is crude oil extracted from the Earth?
Petroleum companies extract crude oil from the Earth using a perforation in the Earth’s surface called an oil well. Crude oil is a liquid form of petroleum. In addition, wells provide natural gas. Refining crude oil produces gasoline, diesel fuel and other useful petroleum products. Oil wells are 5 to 36 inches in diameter.
How is crude oil turned into finished products?
The gases flow up the column which is hottest at the bottom and cooler at the top. The gases cool down as they go up the column until they condense (turn back into liquid again). The separated liquids and gases, after cleaning and further processing, are used to make many products.
How is crude oil separated into different liquids?
The boiling liquid is separated into different liquids and gases in a distillation column. These liquids are used to make petrol, paraffin, diesel fuel etc. Crude oil is a mixture of different chemical called hydrocarbons.
How do we get oil and gas out of the ground?
A well is drilled so that the crude oil and other liquids travel up the bore hole. When it comes to the surface the crude oil has to be moved closer to where it is needed. Finding oil and gas trapped deep underground and drilling a well are very complicated and expensive.
How does oil and gas get trapped in rocks?
Oil and gas can get trapped in pockets underground such as where the rocks are folded into an umbrella shape. Oil and gas can move through the porous rocks (rocks with gaps between the grains). The oil and gas move upwards from the source rock where they were formed.
What happens when crude oil is extracted from the ground?
Once crude oil is extracted from the ground, it must be transported and refined into petroleum products that have any value. Those products must then be transported to end-use consumers or retailers (like gasoline stations or the company that delivers heating oil to your house, if you have an oil furnace).
What does oil look like when it comes out of the ground?
“Crude is different colors when it first comes out of the ground,” George Brackett, a member of a Bakken oil and gas Facebook discussion group, wrote on Facebook. “Bakken crude is a green color.” Lighter, or less-dense, crude tends to be more greenish-brown, another member wrote.
