158 / 160
15 FACTS ON
...
CRUDE OIL
March
2017
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
156
Approximately
50%
of all the oil consumed
in the
US
is for the
TRANSPORTATION
INDUSTRY
CRUDE OIL
RANGES IN CONSISTENCY
from water to a nearly solid state
China is the
second-largest
crude oil importer
IN THE WORLD
US crude oil production
averaged an
estimated
8.9 MILLION BPD
in 2016
Oil has been used
by people for over
5000 years.
It was once used as a
medicine for treating
ailments such as
gout
and
frostbite
Crude oil
is a mix
of
hydrocarbons
with some
oxygen,
nitrogen,
and
sulfur impurities
The
US
is
the world’s
BIGGEST
CONSUMER
of oil
The
largest
oilfield in the
US is
EAGLEVILLE
(Texas),
followed by
Spraberry
(Texas)
and
Prudhoe Bay
(Alaska)
Due to its high
value,
oil is
also known as
‘Texas Tea’
or
‘Black Gold’
One barrel of oil
(42 US gal.)
can
provide about
6 MILLION BTU
Saudi Arabia’s
Ghawar
oilfield
is the
world’s
largest,
containing
approximately
70
–
85 billion bbls
The EIA forecasts Brent
crude oil prices
to
average
US$55/bbl in 2017
and
US$57/bbl in 2018
THE MIDDLE EAST
alone has about
63%
of known
CRUDE OIL
RESERVES
In 1855,
Benjamin Stillman
found that by
distilling crude oil
it could be used
for
KEROSENE
in cooking
and for lamps
The
Safaniya
field
(Saudi Arabia) is
the
world’s largest
offshore oilfield,
containing more than
50 BILLION BBLS