Friday 3 February 2017

Lesson 1. Introduction of Petroleum engineering

INTRODUCTION
With the current oil prices in the $60US range, the cyclic interest in the petroleum
industry has heightened once again. Just a couple years ago, some companies sold oil
(heavy crude) at less than $40 US per barrel (bottled water may have fetched a higher
price). As a result some companies switched their focus to natural gas.
Crude oil remains a commodity in demand, with alternative sources of energy still
lagging way behind. Gasoline and fuel oil still remain prime fuels, resulting in high world
demand for crude oil. Petroleum is a non-renewable commodity and the next generation
may well experience shortages in supply, with increasing demand, resulting in
ridiculously high prices.
Through the process of generation, migration and trapping mechanisms, petroleum
accumulates in the sub strata, waiting to be discovered by some innovative explorationist.
This “oil of rock”, as the name indicates, is found and produced from formations as
shallow as a couple hundred feet to depths as deep at 3 miles beneath the earth’s surface.
Technololgies employed range from simple to very complex. Problems experienced in
“winning” the petroleum also lie in the same range.
The challenge to companies is how to find and produce crude oil and natural gas, in the
most cost effective way, in the timeliest fashion, capturing the markets at an opportune
time when the prices are attractive. The general trend is to be reactionary to commodity
prices. When the price of oil is down, companies react and scale down their drilling and
downsize their operations. When the price is up, they do the opposite. A company can
reap the benefits of proper planning by drilling when the price of crude oil is low, and
hence services such as rig rental are cheap, resulting in higher production rates when the
price rebounds.
This course seeks to trace the life petroleum from birth (generation) to the point of sales.
Processes include generation, migration, accumulation, exploration, development and
production phases. All of the above require experts who build careers in the various
fields. These processes are costly and high risk, but the reward of success can be great,
transforming companies, nations and individuals into multi-millionaires in a short space
of time. The petroleum industry continues to attract individuals and companies who
accept the challenge to take risk, hoping to reap the rewards.
At the end of this course, non-technical participants will be able to understand and
appreciate the various processes that are involved in the production of petroleum for sale
to the customer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwDTyydtFo

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