formation, extraction and separation of the crude oil.

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Introduction: In this investigation I will use the multimedia science school programme and the chemistry books to see the formation, extraction and separation of the crude oil.

Formation of crude oil:

As the materials were washed into the sea, land was formed. The living material dies then the sand, mud and other materials settle on the top of the seabed covering the dead living material.

Than the materials are covered and many layers are made and they become more and more compressed.

Than as layers are made the living materials are squashed in the middle and they are turned into the oil and also have gas on top of the oil and also temperature and pressure cause chemical reaction and changes to oil.

150 years ago people drilled hole where the oil was out in the surface so that the can take what’s in the underground. They also drilled holes where they think there was oil but sometimes they find and sometimes they didn’t. Before to many ships were sunk to find oil but today it is an expensive business to find oil and we also have to do it with science so that we can find oil.

The rocks contain oil and gas which are hidden from the view by sea or other rock layers the other thin is that we can not just drill holes and than see  if we are lucky. Before we drill any holes we have to check the area and this is where geologists, geophysicists and the scientist came to study the area and the rocks.

The geologists look at the makeup of the rocks. The geophysicists use the physical characteristics of rocks to find there magnetic and gravitational properties.

There are many rocks and there are clear differences between them like the igneous rock or sedimentary or like the sand stone which is described as a muddy sediment that sank at  the bottom of the sea at the same time as the  organic materials went to form oil.

To find the oil today we use an air craft to measure the gravity and the density of the rocks and the ground there might not be a big difference but if there is a little we can guess that there is oil there. So some times some rocks are more magnetic than others so we can also find the strength of the earths magnetic fields. Today we can use all these techniques so that we can be more accurate where to find the oil.

Seismic survey is involved for firing pulses of sound energy than as the sound energy bounces back we can find what type of rock and the structure of the rock.

In the UK most of the oil is find in the seas and they use the ships which fire a blasts of compressed air into the water and they use a hydrophones receiver’s device to detect the echoes from the layers of rocks beneath the sea.

A computer is used to measure data of echoes or pulses that reflect back and that helps to cerate a picture of a rock but now they can also use Seismic data which shows three different kinds of pictures.

Before doing any thing we have to check for the environmental problems which can be caused for e.g. fish, whether whales migrate through the area and if so, at what time of year. We also need to know the feeding habits of local sea birds and make a record of the types of shellfish that live on the seabed. So everything has to be considered before anything and at the end of the process there is a report to be produced 

Once the environmental and seismic surveys are complete the business will not give guarantees that there is oil.

There are three different ways of drilling exploratory wells and they are.

Jack-up unit barge with a drill which is used in 100m of water

Semi-submersible drilling rig is used to drill whole 300m or more of water.

A drill ship is a normal boat which can drill at 1500m or more of water and it can’t be used in rough sea.

to drill a whole first u need to drill a 90cm hole than use a wide pipe of heavy steel which is to drill the fluid.

Than derrick is to hold the drill which is 10m long. The derrick is very powerful so that it can hold the drill and pushed to the ground.

A drill has a bit at the end which cuts through the rocks and that needs to be changed regularly because it worn out.

Using mud which is fluid that is to cut the rock and bring the back to surface.

Some times the pressure is very high and this can cause blow outs.

Sonde is a measuring device for the rocks and is used to see the quality of the rock which is cutting through.

The businesses can only take 40-50% of the oil out of the ground.

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If a company finds oil they need to ask the government if they can use.

There are three ways of getting oil out of the ground.

And they are

  1. fixed platform
  2. floating production facilities
  3. underwater production facilities

Separation of crude oil

The first thing we did was to boil the oil than as the small particles evaporate at a low temperature than they turned in to a liquid when they reach the condenser than they came out. As the ...

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