Industrie pétrolière

1. Oil industry

[pic 1]       [pic 2]

The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Petroleum (oil) is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fragrances, and plastics. The extreme monetary value of oil and its products has led to it being known as "black gold". The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Midstream operations are often included in the downstream category. Oil was not always extracted, refined, and used by millions of people as it is today. However, it has always been an important part of many cultures.

Petroleum is vital to many industries, and is of importance to the maintenance of industrial civilization in its current configuration, and thus is a critical concern for many nations. Oil accounts for a large percentage of the world’s energy consumption, ranging from a low of 32% for Europe and Asia, to a high of 53% for the Middle East.

Like other resources, oil isn’t evenly distributed across the globe. The top oil-producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, the U.S., Iran, China, Canada, and Mexico. Together, these countries produce more than half of the total oil resources in the world.

Oil companies pump liquid oil out of the ground by using drilling rigs and wells that access the pockets of oil resources. The oil fills the rock layers the way water fills a sponge spreading throughout open spaces instead of existing as a giant pool of liquid.

Oil is used as a raw material in industrial chemistry and in the production of fuels. Petroleum and its derivatives are used in the production of drugs, agricultural and food products, plastics, building materials, paints and paints, detergents and rubber. as well as in eclectic production.

This arrangement means that to pump out all the oil, drillers have to extend or relocate the wells after the immediate area has been emptied. Oil drilling rigs set on platforms in the ocean to access oil reserves below the seafloor must therefore employ a series of more technically complex drill rigs built to access oil reserves in deeper water.

The oil market is fundamentally very volatile as it depends on bills that are very difficult to predict, be they political events, climatic hazards or the evolution of production capacities. Depending on the assumptions used, medium-term oil price forecasts can vary considerably. While it has declined significantly as a result of the two major oil shocks, the weight of oil in the global economy remains significant. Fluctuations in its short-term price as well as its medium-long-term trend continue

Today, the fact is that oil is at the center of all industrial and commercial activities. However, the pace at which its exploitation is subject to a crisis very close because its energy sources are said to be non-renewable. It will then be necessary to call the populations of the populations on the use of these products and to envisage at the same time the development and the use of new sources of energy. The world has a limited supply of petroleum, and current estimations tell us that within the next few decades mankind will have completely depleted this valuable natural resource. Although measures have been taken to ensure that there are cheap, renewable fuel options in place for the eventuality it is still obvious that mankind faces a serious problem when petroleum supplies finally run out.

What is clear about petroleum is that it will continue to play a large role in our lives in the near to medium term future. While technologies are being invented to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, it will be several decades before they become commonplace and affordable. Some of the major car manufacturers across the world estimate that it will be at least 2025 before electric vehicles are competitive in terms of cost and performance with petroleum powered vehicles.

Even if the world switched to an energy source independent of petroleum, one must not forget the fact that petroleum is an integral part of modern life in terms of the things it is used to make beyond gasoline and other fuels. Objects as diverse as plastics, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics use various aspects of petroleum as foundations in chemical reactions. In fact, our tremendous reliance on petroleum for manufacturing and not for fuel is all the more reason to be conservative about simply burning it to drive across town.

How does petrol affect the environment?

• fact:

We use oils to fuel our airplanes, cars, and trucks, to heat our homes, and to make products like medicines and plastics. Even though petroleum products make life easier, finding, producing, moving, and using them can harm the environment through air and water pollution.

Over the years there has been increased concerns over the environmental effects of the petroleum industry. The environmental impacts of petroleum are mainly negative. This is due to the toxity of petroleum which contributes to air pollution, acid rain, and various illnesses in humans. Petroleum also fuels climate change, due to the increased greenhouse gas emissions in its extraction, refinement, transport and consumption phases.

...