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Lecture 1

The document provides a historical overview of petroleum geology. It discusses early uses of petroleum in ancient times in China, Japan, the Middle East, and Europe. The modern petroleum industry began in the 19th century with early exploration using natural oil and gas seeps as clues. The first modern oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. Refining processes like distillation were developed to separate hydrocarbon mixtures. While oil has been known for millennia, the oil industry is a modern development that emerged from 19th century enterprises.

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107 views9 pages

Lecture 1

The document provides a historical overview of petroleum geology. It discusses early uses of petroleum in ancient times in China, Japan, the Middle East, and Europe. The modern petroleum industry began in the 19th century with early exploration using natural oil and gas seeps as clues. The first modern oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. Refining processes like distillation were developed to separate hydrocarbon mixtures. While oil has been known for millennia, the oil industry is a modern development that emerged from 19th century enterprises.

Uploaded by

R.M.A.Z Sh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3/4/2021

Lecture Outline

Petroleum
Geology • Historical Review
– Petroleum use in ancient times
PET-313
– Modern Petroleum Industry

Historical Review Oil Seep


Petroleum
(πετρέλαιον, Greek)
Petra= Rock
Oleum= Oil
• Term first used by Agricola in 1546

Asphaltum in Oil seep in Santa Barbara, CA. USGS Photo

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Oil Seep Gas Seep

Rock
streaked by
oil. Ventura
County, CA.
USGS photo

Methane seep off shore Virginia, NOAA Photo


Gas seep in Ventura County, CA emits methane, ethane,
propane. USGS Photo

Petroleum Seep Ancient History


• First oil wells in China by 347 AD, down to 1000 ft. as part of salt
production
• Natural gas use in Japan and China prior to 10th century
• Bagdad had streets paved with tar in the Middle Ages
• Marco Polo (13th century) described the oil fields of Baku
(Azerbaijan)
• Persian alchemists first distilled kerosene in the 9th century (Iran)
• Tar sands were mined in France during the Renaissance

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Beginning of the modern oil Beginning of the modern oil


industry industry
• One of the earliest exploration tools was “creekology.” It gradually
dawned on the early drillers that oil was more often found by wells
located on river bottoms than by those on the hills. The anticlinal
theory of oil entrapment, which explained this phenomenon, was
expounded by Hunt (1861). Up to the present day, the quest for
anticlines has been one of the most successful exploration concepts.

Oil in Eurasia
• The first Libyan petroleum exploration well (A1-18) was spudded on
April 19, 1956, on a large surface structure in the Jabal Akhadar
Cyrenaica Platform in the north-east part of the country, but this was
a dry hole.

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First Modern Oil Well, USA


Distillation
Titusville, PA 1859
• Petroleum is a mix of hydrocarbons
• They can be separated by distillation

Distillation
• Benjamin Silliman (Yale) fractionated oil by
distillation in 1854 and published first scientific
paper on the process.
• First commercial refinery in Russia in 1861

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Take home ideas


• Although oil has been know for a long time, the oil industry is a modern
development
• Oil seeps were the first exploration clues
• The modern oil companies are direct descendants of 19th century
enterprises
• Early in any industry’s history, environmental concerns are secondary.
Often later generations pay the prize.
• Under the right conditions, a single oil well can produce incredible volume
of oil, but there are risks (Spindletop!)
• Today’s Economy is fueled by Oil
• Burning fossil fuels has profound environmental consequences.

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