Abstract
Oil is found in the world’s sedimentary basins and is widely believed to have been generated from countless millions of marine organisms which lived in the shallow waters surrounding pre-historic land masses. Through time, these drifted down to the sea-bed where the fatty acids contained in the organisms were transformed to a proto-petroleum product through bacteriological reduction. Probably through continuous and prolonged geothermal heating, this proto-petroleum was later transformed into the crude oil and natural gas we now know. In certain areas where porous rock was covered by impervious rocks such as salt or clay, the oil and gas gradually collected in these reservoirs.
‘The oil sector, which is the leading sector, bears the responsibility of linking the present to the future’
Mara Saeed Al-Otaiba
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References
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Further Reading
Tugendhat, C. and Hamilton, A., Oil the Biggest Business, Eyre Methuen, London, 1975
Department of Energy, Development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom HMSO, London (annually)
Shell Briefing Service No. 3, Oil and Gas in 1982 Shell, London (updated annually)
Skinner, D. R., Introduction to Petroleum Production, Petroleum engineering for non-engineers, Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas, 1982
Wheeler, R. R. and Whited, M., Oil from Prospect to Pipeline, 4th edn, Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas, 1981
Berger, B. D. and Anderson, K. E., assisted by Farrar, G. L. and Pile, K. E., Modern Petroleum: A Basic Preview of the Industry, 2nd edn, Penn Well Publishing, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1981
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Al-Otaiba, M. S., Essays on Petroleum, Croom Helm, London, 1982
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© 1985 Diana Schumacher
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Schumacher, D. (1985). Oil and Natural Gas. In: Energy: Crisis or Opportunity?. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17797-4_3
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