L8 - Petroleum

Question 1

What are the primary applications of petroleum?

Answer 1

Fuel for domestic and industrial energy consumption, plastics, and raw materials for pharmaceutical products.

Question 2

What is petroleum composed of?

Answer 2

A mix of organic compounds, primarily hydrocarbons (cycloalkanes, alkanes, arenes) and other compounds with S, O, N, and some metals.

Question 3

What are cycloalkanes in petroleum?

Answer 3

Hydrocarbons with one or more carbon rings and hydrogen atoms attached (CnH2n); they make up 30-60% of petroleum.

Question 4

What are alkanes in petroleum?

Answer 4

Hydrocarbons with single carbon-carbon bonds and hydrogen atoms attached (CnH2n+2); they constitute 15-60% of petroleum.

Question 5

What are arenes in petroleum?

Answer 5

Aromatic hydrocarbons with benzene rings (C6H6); they account for 3-30% of petroleum

Question 6

What are asphaltenes in petroleum?

Answer 6

Complex organic compounds containing C, H, N, O, S, V, and Ni, with a C:H ratio around 1:1.2.

Question 7

How does API gravity relate to petroleum?

Answer 7

It measures petroleum density; as API decreases, viscosity increases, and crude oils become harder to extract.

Question 8

Who owns the majority of global petroleum reserves?

Answer 8

Nation states own 88%, while international oil companies control only 16%

Question 9

What event caused crude oil prices to peak in 2008?

Answer 9

The global financial collapse

Question 10

What caused crude oil prices to peak in 2022?

Answer 10

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Question 11

What are the necessary elements of a petroleum system?

Answer 11

Source rock, reservoir rock, trap, seal rock, and overburden

Question 12

What processes are critical in a petroleum system?

Answer 12

Hydrocarbon generation, migration, and accumulation in a trap.

Question 13

Q: What organic matter contributes to source rock formation?

Answer 13

Proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and lignin.

Question 14

What controls the accumulation of organic matter in source rocks?

Answer 14

The balance between carbon fixation (productivity) and carbon oxidation (respiration).

Question 15

What is kerogen, and how is it formed?

Answer 15

A solid organic material formed from anaerobic and abiotic breakdown of organic matter under increased pressure and temperature.

Question 16

What are the three types of kerogen?

Answer 16

• Type I: Algae, lipid-rich, mostly oil (e.g., Green River Formation).
• Type II: Algae and zoo/phytoplankton, lipid-rich, oil and gas (e.g., Kimmeridge Clay).
• Type III: Land plants, humic, gas (e.g., coal).

Question 17

What determines reservoir rock quality?

Answer 17

Porosity and permeability, influenced by depositional and diagenetic processes.

Question 18

What is a trap in a petroleum system?

Answer 18

A convex-up structure that combines a reservoir and a seal to prevent hydrocarbons from migrating to the surface

Question 19

What methods are used in petroleum exploration?

Answer 19

Geophysical surveys (seismic, magnetics, density) and drilling.

Question 20

What is the role of wireline logging in petroleum exploration?

Answer 20

To obtain physical parameters of the subsurface around a well during drilling

Question 21

What distinguishes upstream and downstream operations in oil production?

Answer 21

• Upstream: Exploration, appraisal, and production.
• Downstream: Processing, refining, distribution, and chemical manufacturing.

Question 22

What is the major environmental concern with petroleum?

Answer 22

Global warming and climate change due to disruptions in the natural carbon cycle.

Question 23

How does the oil industry address environmental concerns?

Answer 23

Through strict health, safety, and environmental (HSE) regulations, minimizing footprints, and adopting new energies.

Question 24

Why might fossil fuels remain prominent despite environmental concerns?

Answer 24

They are cost-effective and essential for reducing poverty in developing countries.

Question 25

What geological conditions contributed to petroleum in West Africa?

Answer 25

Lower Cretaceous syn-rift systems with lacustrine source rocks, sandstone reservoirs, and evaporite seals.

Question 26

What discovery resulted from Shell’s drilling in Oman?

Answer 26

The Fahud structure, which became the largest oil field in Oman.