How is Crude Oil Made?

Crude oil is a natural compound that is found in rock formations within the earth’s surface. A complex combination of biological compounds, petroleum is composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, along with trace metals, resulting in a one-of-a-kind chemical composition that produces oil-based crude oil for extraction.

Crude is found in a wide variety of locations and formats, including semi-solids, liquids (conventional oils), blended formats (sand oils) and heavy oils in areas of Canada and Venezuela. All crude oil must be refined before it can be converted into production calibre fuel for almost any purpose, and the various types of petroleum have different levels of difficulty with respect to refining. Heavy oils can be costly to extract and refine, resulting in a longer and more complicated process. During processing, crude oil is separated by distillation, which separates the various components according to the boiling point (viscosity) of the oil, which grants for simple recombination and processing.

Oil refineries supply an important source of oil processing, refining raw crude oil into finishing petroleum such as gasoline, heating oil, kerosene and petroleum gas products. Refineries are the head of crude oil production for end use, ensuring that the raw products can be utilized for production purposes. Raw crude oil must be processed before it can be used in production. The most pure form of crude, known as light, sweet oil requires the least refining and can even be used in its natural say for certain industrial applications. Most uses of petroleum, however, require processing for use in combustion, including transportation fuels.

The diversity of oil’s chemical composition ensures that it can be processed into a variety of end products. The varying molecular components can be combined into a wide variety of fuels which makes crude oil an effective component in a wide variety of end products.

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