It takes maximum effort on our part now, to realise what wonderful qualities petroleum possesses. It is a form of raw liquid oil that is highly inflammable and is pumped right out of the ground. A few years back the only oil available was what was extracted from plant crops or animal fats. Coal was used to produce gas. The rich source of mineral oil, pulsing deep in the earth was as of yet, undiscovered.
Seeps of natural crude oil are commonly found on the earth. However, the oil seeping from this is generally highly degraded and looks like tar. This oil was locally used as a crude medicine. In 1859, drillers learned to unlock the oil lying deep in the wells. Its qualities began to be discovered. In the next decade this discovery totally changed the course of the civilization on earth. At the same time natural gas also gained recognition.
Petroleum is formed from the fossils of living things over a large period of time. Producing petroleum is a detailed process which involves skills and techniques. Oil from the it reserves has to be pumped out at a specific rate which is determined by the quality of the reservoir and the viscosity of the oil. Extracting oil has to be done cautiously. Negligence in this regard can lead to clogging or collapsing the pores. This renders the oil reservoirs inaccessible from the oil wells. Pumping too fast, too slow or even disrupting pumping can cause major damage to the oil field. More wells need to be drilled to tap the full potential of the oil reserves. However, this aspect raises the production costs.
Drilling horizontal and curved wells is a widely practised method to increase production. Another method used is fracturing the oil reservoir and pumping fluids and sand into it at high pressure.
Sweet crude is crude which has a little sulphur present in it. It is also called as sour crude if the presence of sulphur is high. The reason for this is that crude with little sulphur can be easily refined with minimum effort.
As the oil industry is booming more and more people are making investments in oil. Oil investments offer people the chance to be a part of this booming industry. As it is a limited resource oil prices will continue to soar over the next few decades. Even a small oil investment today may return unlimited profits in the future.