oil mud pump free sample

Created specifically for drilling equipment inspectors and others in the oil and gas industry, the Oil Rig Mud Pump Inspection app allows you to easily document the status and safety of your oil rigs using just a mobile device. Quickly resolve any damage or needed maintenance with photos and GPS locations and sync to the cloud for easy access. The app is completely customizable to fit your inspection needs and works even without an internet signal.Try Template

The 2,200-hp mud pump for offshore applications is a single-acting reciprocating triplex mud pump designed for high fluid flow rates, even at low operating speeds, and with a long stroke design. These features reduce the number of load reversals in critical components and increase the life of fluid end parts.

The pump’s critical components are strategically placed to make maintenance and inspection far easier and safer. The two-piece, quick-release piston rod lets you remove the piston without disturbing the liner, minimizing downtime when you’re replacing fluid parts.

I’ve run into several instances of insufficient suction stabilization on rigs where a “standpipe” is installed off the suction manifold. The thought behind this design was to create a gas-over-fluid column for the reciprocating pump and eliminate cavitation.

When the standpipe is installed on the suction manifold’s deadhead side, there’s little opportunity to get fluid into all the cylinders to prevent cavitation. Also, the reciprocating pump and charge pump are not isolated.

The suction stabilizer’s compressible feature is designed to absorb the negative energies and promote smooth fluid flow. As a result, pump isolation is achieved between the charge pump and the reciprocating pump.

The isolation eliminates pump chatter, and because the reciprocating pump’s negative energies never reach the charge pump, the pump’s expendable life is extended.

Investing in suction stabilizers will ensure your pumps operate consistently and efficiently. They can also prevent most challenges related to pressure surges or pulsations in the most difficult piping environments.

Specifically designed for drilling companies and others in the oil and gas industry, the easy to use drilling rig inspections app makes it easy to log information about the drill rigs, including details about the drill rigs operators, miles logged and well numbers. The inspection form app covers everything from the mud pump areas and mud mixing area to the mud tanks and pits, making it easy to identify areas where preventative maintenance is needed. The drilling rig equipment checklist also covers health and safety issues, including the availability of PPE equipment, emergency response and preparedness processes, and other critical elements of the drilling process and drill press equipment.

Drilling mud is most commonly used in the process of drilling boreholes for a variety of reasons such as oil and gas extraction as well as core sampling. The mud plays an important role in the drilling process by serving numerous functions. The main function it is utilized for is as a lubricating agent. A large amount of friction is generated as drilling occurs which has the potential to damage the drill or the formation being drilled. The mud aids in the decrease in friction as well as lowering the heat of the drilling. It also acts a carrier for the drilled material so it becomes suspended in the mud and carried to the surface.

Using a Moyno progressive cavity pump, the drilling mud with suspended material can be pumped through a process to remove the solids and reuse the cleaned mud for further drilling.

The arrangement of piping and special valves, called chokes, through which drilling mud is circulated when the blowout preventers are closed to control the pressures encountered during a kick.†

A centrifugal device for removing sand from drilling fluid to prevent abrasion of the pumps. It may be operated mechanically or by a fast-moving stream of fluid inside a special cone-shaped vessel, in which case it is sometimes called a hydrocyclone.†

The cutting or boring element used in drilling oil and gas wells. Most bits used in rotary drilling are roller-cone bits. The bit consists of the cutting elements and the circulating element. The circulating element permits the passage of drilling fluid and uses the hydraulic force of the fluid stream to improve drilling rates.†

A series of open tanks, usually made of steel plates, through which the drilling mud is cycled to allow sand and sediments to settle out. Additives are mixed with the mud in the pit, and the fluid is temporarily stored there before being pumped back into the well. Mud pit compartments are also called shaker pits, settling pits, and suction pits, depending on their main purpose.†

A trough or pipe, placed between the surface connections at the well bore and the shale shaker. Drilling mud flows through it upon its return to the surface from the hole.†

A mud pit in which a supply of drilling fluid has been stored. Also, a waste pit, usually an excavated, earthen-walled pit. It may be lined with plastic to prevent soil contamination.†

The hose on a rotary drilling rig that conducts the drilling fluid from the mud pump and standpipe to the swivel and kelly; also called the mud hose or the kelly hose.†

A relatively short length of chain attached to the tong pull chain on the manual tongs used to make up drill pipe. The spinning chain is attached to the pull chain so that a crew member can wrap the spinning chain several times around the tool joint box of a joint of drill pipe suspended in the rotary table. After crew members stab the pin of another tool joint into the box end, one of them then grasps the end of the spinning chain and with a rapid upward motion of the wrist "throws the spinning chain"-that is, causes it to unwrap from the box and coil upward onto the body of the joint stabbed into the box. The driller then actuates the makeup cathead to pull the chain off of the pipe body, which causes the pipe to spin and thus the pin threads to spin into the box.†

A vertical pipe rising along the side of the derrick or mast. It joins the discharge line leading from the mud pump to the rotary hose and through which mud is pumped going into the hole.†

n: a special nuclear well log that produces an estimate of the relative amounts of oil, gas, or salt water in a formation. This log is electronically adjusted to reflect gamma ray emissions resulting from the collision of neutrons with chlorine atoms in the formations.

n pl: 1. the well cuttings obtained at designated footage intervals during drilling. From an examination of these cuttings, the geologist determines the type of rock and formations being drilled and estimates oil and gas content. 2. small quantities of well fluids obtained for analysis.

n: any one of several methods by which the loose, unconsolidated grains of a producing formation are made to adhere to prevent a well from producing sand but permit it to produce oil and gas.

n: 1. the use of water-flooding or gas injection to maintain formation pressure during primary production and to reduce the rate of decline of the original reservoir drive. 2. water-flooding of a depleted reservoir. 3. the first improved recovery method of any type applied to a reservoir to produce oil not recoverable by primary recovery methods. See primary recovery.

n: 1. in drilling, a plastic mixture of cement and water that is pumped into a well to harden. There it supports the casing and provides a seal in the wellbore to prevent migration of underground fluids. 2. a mixture in which solids are suspended in a liquid.

n: a set of gears installed between a prime mover and the equipment it drives to reduce the running speed. For example, on a beam pumping unit, the engine may run at a speed of 600 revolutions per minute, but the pumping unit it drives may need to operate at 20 strokes per minute. The speed reducer makes it possible to obtain the correct pump speed.

v: to pump a designated quantity of a substance (such as acid or cement) into a specific interval in the well. For example, 10 barrels (1,590 litres) of diesel oil may be spotted around an area in the hole in which drill collars are stuck against the wall of the hole in an effort to free the collars.

n: 1. a cementing operation in which cement is pumped behind the casing under high pressure to recement channeled areas or to block off an uncemented zone.

n: a fixed ball-and-seat valve at the lower end of the working barrel of a sucker rod pump. The standing valve and its cage do not move, as does the traveling valve. Compare traveling valve.

n: a thermal recovery method in which steam is injected into a reservoir through injection wells and driven toward production wells. The steam reduces the viscosity of crude oil, causing it to flow more freely. The heat vaporizes lighter hydrocarbons; as they move ahead of the steam, they cool and condense into liquids that dissolve and displace crude oil. The steam provides additional gas drive. This method is also used to recover viscous oils. Also called continuous steam injection or steam drive. Compare thermal recovery.

n: the action of attempting to improve and enhance a well"s performance by the application of horsepower using pumping equipment, placing sand in artificially created fractures in rock, or using chemicals such as acid to dissolve the soluble portion of the rock.

n: a device that prevents leakage along a piston, rod, propeller shaft, or other moving part that passes through a hole in a cylinder or vessel. It consists of a box or chamber made by enlarging the hole and a gland containing compressed packing. On a well being artificially lifted by means of a sucker rod pump, the polished rod operates through a stuffing box, preventing escape of oil and diverting it into a side outlet to which is connected the flow line leading to the oil and gas separator or to the field storage tank. For a bottomhole pressure test, the wireline goes through a stuffing box and lubricator, allowing the gauge to be raised and lowered against well pressure. The lubricator provides a pressure-tight grease seal in the stuffing box.

n: a pump that is placed below the level of fluid in a well. It is usually driven by an electric motor and consists of a series of rotating blades that impart centrifugal motion to lift the fluid to the surface.

n: a special steel pumping rod. Several rods screwed together make up the mechanical link from the beam pumping unit on the surface to the sucker rod pump at the bottom of a well. Sucker rods are threaded on each end and manufactured to dimension standards and metal specifications set by the petroleum industry. Lengths are 25 or 30 feet (7.6 or 9.1 meters); diameter varies from 1/2 to 1 1/8 inches (12 to 30 millimeters). There is also a continuous sucker rod (trade name: Corod™).

n: the downhole assembly used to lift fluid to the surface by the reciprocating action of the sucker rod string. Basic components are barrel, plunger, valves, and hold-down. Two types of sucker rod pumps are the tubing pump, in which the barrel is attached to the tubing, and the rod, or insert, pump, which is run into the well as a complete unit.

n: a method of artificial lift in which a subsurface pump located at or near the bottom of the well and connected to a string of sucker rods is used to lift the well fluid to the surface. The weight of the rod string and fluid is counterbalanced by weights attached to a reciprocating beam or to the crank member of a beam pumping unit or by air pressure in a cylinder attached to the beam.

n. a hollow mandrel fitted with swab cups used for swabbing. v. to operate a swab on a wireline to lower the pressure in the well bore and bring well fluids to the surface when the well does not flow naturally. Swabbing is a temporary operation to determine whether the well can be made to flow. If the well does not flow after being swabbed, a pump is installed as a permanent lifting device to bring the oil to the surface.

A mud pump (sometimes referred to as a mud drilling pump or drilling mud pump), is a reciprocating piston/plunger pump designed to circulate drilling fluid under high pressure (up to 7,500 psi or 52,000 kPa) down the drill string and back up the annulus. A mud pump is an important part of the equipment used for oil well drilling.

Mud pumps can be divided into single-acting pump and double-acting pump according to the completion times of the suction and drainage acting in one cycle of the piston"s reciprocating motion.

Mud pumps come in a variety of sizes and configurations but for the typical petroleum drilling rig, the triplex (three piston/plunger) mud pump is used. Duplex mud pumps (two piston/plungers) have generally been replaced by the triplex pump, but are still common in developing countries. Two later developments are the hex pump with six vertical pistons/plungers, and various quintuplexes with five horizontal piston/plungers. The advantages that these new pumps have over convention triplex pumps is a lower mud noise which assists with better measurement while drilling (MWD) and logging while drilling (LWD) decoding.

The fluid end produces the pumping process with valves, pistons, and liners. Because these components are high-wear items, modern pumps are designed to allow quick replacement of these parts.

To reduce severe vibration caused by the pumping process, these pumps incorporate both a suction and discharge pulsation dampener. These are connected to the inlet and outlet of the fluid end.

The pressure of the pump depends on the depth of the drilling hole, the resistance of flushing fluid (drilling fluid) through the channel, as well as the nature of the conveying drilling fluid. The deeper the drilling hole and the greater the pipeline resistance, the higher the pressure needed.

With the changes of drilling hole diameter and depth, the displacement of the pump can be adjusted accordingly. In the mud pump mechanism, the gearbox or hydraulic motor is equipped to adjust its speed and displacement. In order to accurately measure the changes in pressure and displacement, a flow meter and pressure gauge are installed in the mud pump.

The construction department should have a special maintenance worker that is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the machine. Mud pumps and other mechanical equipment should be inspected and maintained on a scheduled and timely basis to find and address problems ahead of time, in order to avoid unscheduled shutdown. The worker should attend to the size of the sediment particles; if large particles are found, the mud pump parts should be checked frequently for wear, to see if they need to be repaired or replaced. The wearing parts for mud pumps include pump casing, bearings, impeller, piston, liner, etc. Advanced anti-wear measures should be adopted to increase the service life of the wearing parts, which can reduce the investment cost of the project, and improve production efficiency. At the same time, wearing parts and other mud pump parts should be repaired rather than replaced when possible.

Mud pumps are the pumps deployed in the oil and gas industry, mainly to circulate drilling fluids and other kinds of fluids in and out of the drilled wells for exploration. The mud pumps transfer the fluids at a very high pressure inside the well using the piston arrangement. The number of pistons decides the displacement and efficiency of working of the mud pumps, originally only dual piston pumps and three-piston pumps were used, but the technological advancements have seen pumps with five and six pistons to come up. Currently the triplex pumps which have three pistons are used, but the duplex pumps having two pumps are still deployed in the developing countries.

Based on its types, global mud pump market can be segmented into duplex, triplex, and others. The triplex mud pumps will dominate the mud pump marking in the given forecast period owing to its advantages and ongoing replacement of duplex pumps with triplex pumps. Based on operation, the global mud pumps market can be segmented into electric and fuel engine.

The electric mud pumps will dominate the market during the given forecast period due to the advantage of eliminating the harmful carbon emission which is done in the case of fuel engine pumps. Based on its application, the global mud pumps market can be segmented into oil & gas, mining, construction, and others.

The major market driver for the global mud pumps market is the increasing exploration activities taking place in various regions of the world to satisfy the increased energy demand. The number of drilled wells has increased in recent years, which has certainly impacted the growth of the mud pumps market in both oil & gas and mining sectors.

Key market restraint for the global mud pumps market is the drift towards the cleaner sources of energy to reduce the carbon emissions, which will certainly decrease the demand for oil & gas and therefore will have a negative impact on the growth of the global mud pumps market.

Some of the notable companies in the global mud pump market are Mud King Products, Inc. Gardner Denver Pumps, Weatherford, Schlumberger, National Oilwell Varco, China National Petroleum Corporation, Flowserve Corporation, MHWirth, American Block, Herrenknecht Vertical Gmbh, Bentec GmbH Drilling & Oilfield Systems, Drillmec Inc, Sun Machinery Company, Shale Pumps, and Dhiraj Rigs.

The global mud pump market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Owing to the well-established production sector and stable exploration industry North America holds the largest market for the mud pumps. The onshore exploration activities of oil & gas have increased at a good rate in the North America region, which has certainly boosted the growth of the mud pumps market in the region.

The demand from Europe and Asia Pacific has also increased due to exploration activities in both the regions owing to the increased energy demand. The energy demand specifically in the Asia Pacific has increased due to the increased population and urbanization. The Middle East and Africa also hold significant opportunities for the mud pumps market with increased exploration activities in the given forecast period.

In August 2018, Henderson which is a leading company in sales and service of drilling rigs, and capital drilling equipment in Texas signed a contract with Energy Drilling Company for the purchase and upgrade of oil field equipment’s which included three 1600hp × 7500psi mud pumps. This will be the first refurbishment completed at Henderson’s new service center and rig yard.

In January 2018, Koltek Energy Services launched the 99-acre facility for the testing of the oil field equipment in Oklahoma. This will allow the oil field equipment manufacturers to test their equipment at any given time. The company has deployed the MZ-9 pump which has a power rating of 1000Hp.

Today, petroleum is found in vast underground reservoirs where ancient seas were located. Petroleum reservoirs can be found beneath land or the ocean floor. Their crude oil is extracted with giant drilling machines.

Crude oil is usually black or dark brown, but can also be yellowish, reddish, tan, or even greenish. Variations in color indicate the distinct chemical compositions of different supplies of crude oil. Petroleum that has few metals or sulfur, for instance, tends to be lighter (sometimes nearly clear).

Oil supplies will run out. Eventually, the world will reach “peak oil,” or its highest production level. Some experts predict peak oil could come as soon as 2050. Finding alternatives to petroleum is crucial to global energy use, and is the focus of many industries.

Sedimentary basins, where ancient seabeds used to lie, are key sources of petroleum. In Africa, the Niger Delta sedimentary basin covers land in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. More than 500 oil deposits have been discovered in the massive Niger Delta basin, and they comprise one of the most productive oil fields in Africa.

The gasoline we use to fuel our cars, the synthetic fabrics of our backpacks and shoes, and the thousands of different useful products made from petroleum come in forms that are consistent and reliable. However, the crude oil from which these items are produced is neither consistent nor uniform.

Crude oil is composed of hydrocarbons, which are mainly hydrogen (about 13 percent by weight) and carbon (about 85 percent). Other elements such as nitrogen (about 0.5 percent), sulfur (0.5 percent), oxygen (1 percent), and metals such as iron, nickel, and copper (less than 0.1 percent) can also be mixed in with the hydrocarbons in small amounts.

The way molecules are organized in the hydrocarbon is a result of the original composition of the algae, plants, or plankton from millions of years ago. The amount of heat and pressure the plants were exposed to also contributes to variations that are found in hydrocarbons and crude oil.

Due to this variation, crude oil that is pumped from the ground can consist of hundreds of different petroleum compounds. Light oils can contain up to 97 percent hydrocarbons, while heavier oils and bitumens might contain only 50 percent hydrocarbons and larger quantities of other elements. It is almost always necessary to refine crude oil in order to make useful products.

Oil is classified according to three main categories: the geographic location where it was drilled, its sulfur content, and its API gravity (a measure of density).

Oil is drilled all over the world. However, there are three primary sources of crude oil that set reference points for ranking and pricing other oil supplies: Brent Crude, West Texas Intermediate, and Dubai and Oman.

Brent Crude is a mixture that comes from 15 different oil fields between Scotland and Norway in the North Sea. These fields supply oil to most of Europe.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a lighter oil that is produced mostly in the U.S. state of Texas. It is “sweet” and “light”—considered very high quality. WTI supplies much of North America with oil.

Dubai crude, also known as Fateh or Dubai-Oman crude, is a light, sour oil that is produced in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates. The nearby country of Oman has recently begun producing oil. Dubai and Oman crudes are used as a reference point for pricing Persian Gulf oils that are mostly exported to Asia.

The OPEC Reference Basket is another important oil source. OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The OPEC Reference Basket is the average price of petroleum from OPEC’s 12 member countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

Sulfur is considered an “impurity” in petroleum. Sulfur in crude oil can corrode metal in the refining process and contribute to air pollution. Petroleum with more than 0.5 percent sulfur is called “sour,” while petroleum with less than 0.5 percent sulfur is “sweet.”

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a trade association for businesses in the oil and natural gas industries. The API has established accepted systems of standards for a variety of oil- and gas-related products, such as gauges, pumps, and drilling machinery. The API has also established several units of measurement. The “API unit,” for instance, measures gamma radiation in a borehole (a shaft drilled into the ground).

Light oils are preferred because they have a higher yield of hydrocarbons. Heavier oils have greater concentrations of metals and sulfur, and require more refining.

Petroleum can be contained by structural traps, which are formed when massive layers of rock are bent or faulted (broken) from Earth’s shifting landmasses. Oil can also be contained by stratigraphic traps. Different strata, or layers of rock, can have different amounts of porosity. Crude oil migrates easily through a layer of sandstone, for instance, but would be trapped beneath a layer of shale.

Geologists, chemists, and engineers look for geological structures that typically trap petroleum. They use a process called “seismic reflection” to locate underground rock structures that might have trapped crude oil. During the process, a small explosion is set off. Sound waves travel underground, bounce off of the different types of rock, and return to the surface. Sensors on the ground interpret the returning sound waves to determine the underground geological layout and possibility of a petroleum reservoir.

The amount of petroleum in a reservoir is measured in barrels or tons. An oil barrel is about 42 gallons. This measurement is usually used by oil producers in the United States. Oil producers in Europe and Asia tend to measure in metric tons. There are about six to eight barrels of oil in a metric ton. The conversion is imprecise because different varieties of oil weigh different amounts, depending on the amount of impurities.

Crude oil is frequently found in reservoirs along with natural gas. In the past, natural gas was either burned or allowed to escape into the atmosphere. Now, technology has been developed to capture the natural gas and either reinject it into the well or compress it into liquid natural gas (LNG). LNG is easily transportable and has versatile uses.

In some places, petroleum bubbles to the surface of Earth. In parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, for instance, porous rock allows oil to seep to the surface in small ponds. However, most oil is trapped in underground oil reservoirs.

The total amount of petroleum in a reservoir is called oil-in-place. Many petroleum liquids that make up a reservoir’s oil-in-place are unable to be extracted. These petroleum liquids may be too difficult, dangerous, or expensive to drill.

The part of a reservoir’s oil-in-place that can be extracted and refined is that reservoir’s oil reserves. The decision to invest in complex drilling operations is often made based on a site’s proven oil reserves.

Drilling in an area where oil reserves have already been found is called developmental drilling. Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States, has the largest oil reserves in the United States. Developmental drilling in Prudhoe Bay includes new wells and expanding extraction technology.

Drilling where there are no known reserves is called exploratory drilling. Exploratory, also called “wildcat” drilling, is a risky business with a very high failure rate. However, the potential rewards of striking oil tempt many “wildcatters” to attempt exploratory drilling. “Diamond” Glenn McCarthy, for example, is known as the “King of the Wildcatters” because of his success in discovering the massive oil reserves near Houston, Texas, United States. McCarthy struck oil 38 times in the 1930s, earning millions of dollars.

Directional drilling involves drilling vertically to a known source of oil, then veering the drill bit at an angle to access additional resources. Accusations of directional drilling led to the first Gulf War in 1991. Iraq accused Kuwait of using directional drilling techniques to extract oil from Iraqi oil reservoirs near the Kuwaiti border. Iraq subsequently invaded Kuwait, an act which drew international attention and intervention. After the war, the border between Iraq and Kuwait was redrawn, with the reservoirs now belonging to Kuwait.

As the drill bit rotates and cuts through the earth, small pieces of rock are chipped off. A powerful flow of air is pumped down the center of the hollow drill, and comes out through the bottom of the drill bit. The air then rushes back toward the surface, carrying with it tiny chunks of rock. Geologists on site can study these pieces of pulverized rock to determine the different rock strata the drill encounters.

When the drill hits oil, some of the oil naturally rises from the ground, moving from an area of high pressure to low pressure. This immediate release of oil can be a “gusher,” shooting dozens of meters into the air, one of the most dramatic extraction activities. It is also one of the most dangerous, and a piece of equipment called a blowout preventer redistributes pressure to stop such a gusher.

Pumps are used to extract oil. Most oil rigs have two sets of pumps: mud pumps and extraction pumps. “Mud” is the drilling fluid used to create boreholes for extracting oil and natural gas. Mud pumps circulate drilling fluid.

The petroleum industry uses a wide variety of extraction pumps. Which pump to use depends on the geography, quality, and position of the oil reservoir. Submersible pumps, for example, are submerged directly into the fluid. A gas pump, also called a bubble pump, uses compressed air to force the petroleum to the surface or well.

One of the most familiar types of extraction pumps is the pumpjack, the upper part of a piston pump. Pumpjacks are nicknamed “thirsty birds” or “nodding donkeys” for their controlled, regular dipping motion. A crank moves the large, hammer-shaped pumpjack up and down. Far below the surface, the motion of the pumpjack moves a hollow piston up and down, constantly carrying petroleum back to the surface or well.

Even after pumping, the vast majority (up to 90 percent) of the oil can remain tightly trapped in the underground reservoir. Other methods are necessary to extract this petroleum, a process called secondary recovery. Vacuuming the extra oil out was a method used in the 1800s and early 20th century, but it captured only thinner oil components, and left behind great stores of heavy oil.

Water flooding was discovered by accident. In the 1870s, oil producers in Pennsylvania noticed that abandoned oil wells were accumulating rainwater and groundwater. The weight of the water in the boreholes forced oil out of the reservoirs and into nearby wells, increasing their production. Oil producers soon began intentionally flooding wells as a way to extract more oil.

The most prevalent secondary recovery method today is gas drive. During this process, a well is intentionally drilled deeper than the oil reservoir. The deeper well hits a natural gas reservoir, and the high-pressure gas rises, forcing the oil out of its reservoir.

The Hibernia platform, 315 kilometers (196 miles) off Canada’s eastern shore in the North Atlantic, is one of the world’s largest oil platforms. More than 70 people work on the platform, in three-week shifts. The platform is 111 meters (364 feet) tall and is anchored to the ocean floor. About 450,000 tons of solid ballast were added to give it additional stability. The platform can store up to 1.3 million barrels of oil. In total, Hibernia weighs 1.2 million tons! However, the platform is still vulnerable to the crushing weight and strength of icebergs. Its edges are serrated and sharp to withstand the impact of sea ice or icebergs.

Oil platforms can cause enormous environmental disasters. Problems with the drilling equipment can cause the oil to explode out of the well and into the ocean. Repairing the well hundreds of meters below the ocean is extremely difficult, expensive, and slow. Millions of barrels of oil can spill into the ocean before the well is plugged.

When oil spills in the ocean, it floats on the water and wreaks havoc on the animal population. One of its most devastating effects is on birds. Oil destroys the waterproofing abilities of feathers, and birds are not insulated against the cold ocean water. Thousands can die of hypothermia. Fish and marine mammals, too, are threatened by oil spills. The dark shadows cast by oil spills can look like food. Oil can damage animals’ internal organs and be even more toxic to animals higher up in the food chain, a process called bioaccumulation.

A massive oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded in 2010. This was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Eleven platform workers died, and more than four million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. More than 40,000 barrels flowed into the ocean every day. Eight national parks were threatened, the economies of communities along the Gulf Coast were threatened as the tourism and fishing industries declined, and more than 6,000 animals died.

Offshore oil platforms can also act as artificial reefs. They provide a surface (substrate) for algae, coral, oysters, and barnacles. This artificial reef can attract fish and marine mammals, and create a thriving ecosystem.

Until the 1980s, oil platforms were deconstructed and removed from the oceans, and the metal was sold as scrap. In 1986, the National Marine Fisheries Association developed the Rigs-to-Reefs Program. Now, oil platforms are either toppled (by underwater explosion), removed and towed to a new location, or partially deconstructed. This allows the marine life to continue flourishing on the artificial reef that had provided habitats for decades.

The environmental impact of the Rigs-to-Reefs Program is still being studied. Oil platforms left underwater can pose dangers to ships and divers. Fishing boats have had their nets caught in the platforms, and there are concerns about safety regulations of the abandoned structures.

Environmentalists argue that oil companies should be held accountable to the commitment they originally agreed upon, which was to restore the seabed to its original condition. By leaving the platforms in the ocean, oil companies are excused from fulfilling this agreement, and there is concern this could set a precedent for other companies that want to dispose of their metal or machinery in the oceans.

Crude oil does not always have to be extracted through deep drilling. If it does not encounter rocky obstacles underground, it can seep all the way to the surface and bubble above ground. Bitumen is a form of petroleum that is black, extremely sticky, and sometimes rises to Earth’s surface.

In its natural state, bitumen is typically mixed with “oil sands” or “tar sands,” which makes it extremely difficult to extract and an unconventional source of oil. Only about 20 percent of the world’s reserves of bitumen are above ground and can be surface mined.

Unfortunately, because bitumen contains high amounts of sulfur and heavy metals, extracting and refining it is both costly and harmful to the environment. Producing bitumen into useful products releases 12 percent more carbon emissions than processing conventional oil.

Bitumen is about the consistency of cold molasses, and powerful hot steam has to be pumped into the well in order to melt the bitumen to extract it. Large quantities of water are then used to separate the bitumen from sand and clay. This process depletes nearby water supplies. Releasing the treated water back into the environment can further contaminate the remaining water supply.

Most of the world’s tar sands are in the eastern part of Alberta, Canada, in the Athabasca Oil Sands. Other major reserves are in the North Caspian Basin of Kazahkstan and Siberia, Russia.

The Athabasca Oil Sands are the fourth-largest reserves of oil in the world. Unfortunately, the bitumen reserves are located beneath part of the boreal forest, also called the taiga. This makes extraction both difficult and environmentally dangerous.

Surface mines are estimated to only take up 0.2 percent of Canada’s boreal forest. About 80 percent of Canada’s oil sands can be accessed through drilling, and 20 percent by surface mining.

Crude oil comes out of the ground with impurities, from sulfur to sand. These components have to be separated. This is done by heating the crude oil in a distillation tower that has trays and temperatures set at different levels. Oil’s hydrocarbons and metals have different boiling temperatures, and when the oil is heated, vapors from the different elements rise to different levels of the tower before condensing back into a liquid on the tiered trays.

The earliest known oil wells were drilled in China as early as 350 C.E. The wells were drilled almost 244 meters (800 feet) deep using strong bamboo bits. The oil was extracted and transported through bamboo pipelines. It was burned as a heating fuel and industrial component. Chinese engineers burned petroleum to evaporate brine and produce salt.

By the 7th century, Japanese engineers discovered that petroleum could be burned for light. Oil was later distilled into kerosene by a Persian alchemist in the 9th century. During the 1800s, petroleum slowly replaced whale oil in kerosene lamps, producing a radical decline in whale-hunting.

The modern oil industry was established in the 1850s. The first well was drilled in Poland in 1853, and the technology spread to other countries and was improved.

Petroleum production has rapidly increased. In 1859, the U.S. produced 2,000 barrels of oil. By 1906, that number was 126 million barrels per year. Today, the U.S. produces about 6.8 billion barrels of oil every year.

Although that seems like an impossibly high amount, the uses for petroleum have expanded to almost every area of life. Petroleum makes our lives easy in many ways. In many countries, including the U.S., the oil industry provides millions jobs, from surveyors and platform workers to geologists and engineers.

The United States consumes more oil than any other country. In 2011, the U.S. consumed more than 19 million barrels of oil every day. This is more than all of the oil consumed in Latin America (8.5 million) and Eastern Europe and Eurasia (5.5 million) combined.

Petroleum is an ingredient in thousands of everyday items. The gasoline that we depend on for transportation to school, work, or vacation comes from crude oil. A barrel of petroleum produces about 72 liters (19 gallons) of gasoline, and is used by people all over the world to power cars, boats, jets, and scooters.

Carbon is absorbed by plants and is part of every living organism as it moves through the food web. Carbon is naturally released through volcanoes, soil erosion, and evaporation. When carbon is released into the atmosphere, it absorbs and retains heat, regulating Earth’s temperature and making our planet habitable.

Not all of the carbon on Earth is involved in the carbon cycle above ground. Vast quantities of it are sequestered, or stored, underground, in the form of fossil fuels and in the soil. This sequestered carbon is necessary because it keeps Earth’s “carbon budget” balanced.

Oil is a major component of modern civilization. In developing countries, access to affordable energy can empower citizens and lead to higher quality of life. Petroleum provides transportation fuel, is a part of many chemicals and medicines, and is used to make crucial items such as heart valves, contact lenses, and bandages. Oil reserves attract outside investment and are important for improving countries’ overall economy.

However, a developing country’s access to oil can also affect the power relationship between a government and its people. In some countries, having access to oil can lead government to be less democratic—a situation nicknamed a “petro-dictatorship.” Russia, Nigeria, and Iran have all been accused of having petro-authoritarian regimes.

Oil is a nonrenewable resource, and the world’s oil reserves will not always be enough to provide for the world’s demand for petroleum. Peak oil is the point when the oil industry is extracting the maximum possible amount of petroleum. After peak oil, petroleum production will only decrease. After peak oil, there will be a decline in production and a rise in costs for the remaining supply.

Measuring peak oil uses the reserves-to-production ratio (RPR). This ratio compares the amount of proven oil reserves to the current extraction rate. The reserves-to-production ratio is expressed in years. The RPR is different for every oil rig and every oil-producing area. Oil-producing regions that are also major consumers of oil have a lower RPR than oil producers with low levels of consumption.

According to one industry report, the United States has an RPR of about nine years. The oil-rich, developing nation of Iran, which has a much lower consumption rate, has an RPR of more than 80 years.

It is impossible to know the precise year for peak oil. Some geologists argue it has already passed, while others maintain that extraction technology will delay peak oil for decades. Many geologists estimate that peak oil might be reached within 20 years.

Individuals, industries, and organizations are increasingly concerned with peak oil and environmental consequences of petroleum extraction. Alternatives to oil are being developed in some areas, and governments and organizations are encouraging citizens to change their habits so we do not rely so heavily on oil.

Bioasphalts, for example, are asphalts made from renewable sources such as molasses, sugar, corn, potato starch, or even byproducts of oil processes. Although they provide a nontoxic alternative to bitumen, bioasphalts require huge crop yields, which puts a strain on the agricultural industry.

Algae is also a potentially enormous source of energy. Algae oil (so-called “green crude”) can be converted into a biofuel. Algae grows extremely quickly and takes up a fraction of the space used by other biofuel feedstocks. About 38,849 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of algae—less than half the size of the U.S. state of Maine—would provide enough biofuel to replace all of the U.S.’s petroleum needs. Algae absorbs pollution, releases oxygen, and does not require freshwater.

The country of Sweden has made it a priority to drastically reduce its dependence on oil and other fossil fuel energy by 2020. Experts in agriculture, science, industry, forestry, and energy have come together to develop sources of sustainable energy, including geothermal heat pumps, wind farms, wave and solar energy, and domestic biofuel for hybrid vehicles. Changes in society’s habits, such as increasing public transportation and video-conferencing for businesses, are also part of the plan to decrease oil use.