Basics

Where Our Oil Comes From

The United States is one of the largest crude oil producers U.S. refineries obtain crude oil produced in…

crude oil

What is crude oil and what are petroleum products? Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons that formed…

History of Petroleum

280 to 345 million years ago – Carboniferous period; fossil fuel formation begins. Around 3 million years ago – Stone…

New Exploration Methods for Oil and Gas

In the unrelenting search for more oil and gas, innovation plays an unquestionable role. As large oil and…

Oil and natural gas:

Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing)

As the reserves of recoverable liquid petroleum diminish, oil companies are increasingly turning to unconventional resources.  Unconventional resources…

Bond Formation and Reaction Energy

Chemistry can be confusing because the generic term energy is thrown around quite a bit. You have probably…

The Chemistry of Petroleum Formation

At its base, petroleum is a fossil fuel, which means it is derived from the remains of organic…

Petroleum Composition

Most people presume petroleum to be similar to gasoline or petrol, simply a less pure form, which needs…

How Hydrocarbons Burn

Ideal Reaction Under ideal settings, where only hydrocarbon and oxygen are present, the chemical reaction commonly called combustion…