Oil and Gas

Question 1

Why would the state of Ohio promote oil and gas exploration?

Answer 1

To decrease dependence on foreign oil sources

Question 2

What is fracking?

Answer 2

A combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in oil shale formations.

Question 3

Which two formations are part of the current oil and gas production by fracking?

Answer 3

The Marcellus formation and the Utica Shale

Question 4

What is porosity?

Answer 4

A measurement of the amount of space within a rock or around sediment.

Question 5

What is permeability?

Answer 5

A measurement of the rate of fluid flow in rock or soil.

Question 6

What is a hydrocarbon?

Answer 6

A substance made only from carbon and hydrogen?

Question 7

What is a liquid form of hydrocarbons?

Answer 7

Petroleum or crude oil

Question 8

What is a gas form of hydrocarbons?

Answer 8

Natural gas

Question 9

What is a solid form of hydrocarbons?

Answer 9

Coal

Question 10

What is hydraulic fracking fluid made from?

Answer 10

Water, sand, and chemicals that help fracture the shale and move the hydrocarbons to the surface.

Question 11

Why is deep well injection of used fracking fluid a potential problem?

Answer 11

Deep well injection has been linked to seismic activity.

Question 12

Why is the amount of water needed for fracking a potential problem?

Answer 12

The demand for water can make it unavailable for domestic and agricultural uses.

Question 13

Why is fracking a potential source of groundwater contamination?

Answer 13

Fracking increases fractures in rock that could link to aquifers. Poor well construction and maintenance can allow oil or fracking fluid to enter groundwater or surface water.

Question 14

Why is natural gas a potential environmental problem?

Answer 14

Methane is a greenhouse gas; it can vent to the atmosphere from wells.

Question 15

What is a source rock?

Answer 15

A location where organic material can be stored until it undergoes heat and pressure to become a hydrocarbon. A layer in which the hydrocarbons form.

Question 16

From what organic source does petroleum and natural gas form?

Answer 16

Microscopic marine plants and animals

Question 17

From what organic source does coal form?

Answer 17

Terrestrial plants.

Question 18

Many of Ohio’s conventional oil, gas and coal deposits formed during which geologic periods?

Answer 18

The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian periods of the Paleozoic Era

Question 19

How do geologists search for oil and gas?

Answer 19

They use seismic surveys, gravitational surveys, and geologic mapping

Question 20

What is an unconventional source of oil and gas?

Answer 20

Energy resources that are currently difficult or expensive to extract.

Question 21

What are reservoir rocks?

Answer 21

Layers containing pores that can hold hydrocarbons

Question 22

During what geologic period did Ohio’s oil shales form?

Answer 22

The Devonian period of the Paleozoic era.

Question 23

What was the depositional environment of the Devonian period in Ohio?

Answer 23

The Appalachian basin was an enclosed shallow sea.

Question 24

By what method is crude oil separated into different products

Answer 24

Fractional Distillation

Question 25

What two properties of the substances in the crude oil allow them to be separated?

Answer 25

The length and type of hydrocarbon chains determine the boiling point of the substance. Distillation separates a liquid mixture using different boiling points.