The oil and gas industry involves extracting hydrocarbons from the earth and transforming them into useful substances. It includes mining, processing, and transportation. The industry began in the 19th century and is divided into upstream and downstream operations. Upstream operations involve exploration and production, while downstream operations involve processing and transportation. Refineries are used to process crude oil into various products. Hydrocarbons are transported via pipelines and tankers.
The oil and gas industry, also known as the petroleum industry, consists of all of the world’s various efforts to extract hydrocarbons from the earth and transform them into useful substances. This industry can be broken down into a number of basic categories, such as mining, processing and transportation. Oil and gas extraction can take place on land or at sea, and there are hydrocarbon deposits of various forms scattered throughout the world. The processing component of the oil and gas industry is responsible for producing the gasoline and diesel fuels needed to run automobiles, but it also contributes to the production of plastics, fertilizers, and many other substances. The distribution of the oil and gas industry includes pipelines, tankers and other means of transporting raw materials to processing plants and refined materials to end users and other industries.
Raw petroleum products have been used by humans since prehistoric times, although the oil and gas industry is relatively new. Industrial extraction and petroleum processing did not begin until the 19th century, and natural oils and coal continued to be the major sources of heat and energy well into the 20th century. The first hydrocarbon exploration and extraction efforts took place in Pennsylvania in the United States, and also in other locations such as Russia. The first modern refineries were built in 19 and the first tanker was used to transport raw materials in 20.
There are two main categories that make up the oil and gas industry which are referred to as upstream and downstream. Upstream operations are often referred to as the exploration and production (E&P) component of the petroleum industry. These operations include the search for new oil reserves, the drilling of exploratory wells and the extraction of hydrocarbons from the surface.
The upstream component of the petroleum industry is also responsible for the separation of different hydrocarbons, typically into crude oil and natural gas. Many hydrocarbon reservoirs contain both of these products, although not all recovery operations are designed to capture both. Some drilling operations simply burn the natural gas or inject it back into the earth.
Processing and transportation are the major downstream operations of the oil and gas industry. Natural gas and crude oil are often transported overland via pipelines, although large tankers can also transport hydrocarbons over water. The processing sector of the oil and gas industry consists mainly of refineries, which are used to process crude oil into a variety of useful products. This is mainly achieved through fractional distillation, although different types of cracking can also be used to obtain specific types of hydrocarbons.
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