Follow these directions to answer the Focus Question.
Read
Review background information about petroleum and its origins.
Research
Use the web sites provided to learn more about petroleum formation, production, uses, and reserves that remain.
Respond
Answer questions related to oil formation and processing. Then, estimate the amount of time that current reserves will last. Finally, address the Focus Question: How can the world prolong its use of oil? Write a letter to your congressional representative telling him or her how you think the world should work to extend its oil reserves. You will need to print a copy of the Respond sheet to complete this lesson. After selecting Respond, click Print (upper right corner).
Why is petroleum so important?
Petroleum — it's hard to imagine what life would be like without oil and all the things derived from petroleum. Oil products power cars and trucks, heat homes, contain food, and clothe people. Even the asphalt cars are driven on comes from petroleum. Next to the air people breathe and the food and water they eat and drink, petroleum is probably the single most valuable natural resource.
Where does the oil come from?
Oil is a fossil fuel, formed through the decay of dead plants, animals, and microorganisms. After they died, these organisms sank to the bottom of ponds or shallow seas and were buried by sand, soil, and other particles eroded from the land and washed into the water. Over the course of millions of years, the decaying organic material was converted to oil.
Much of the oil seeped through the rock all the way to the surface, where it was broken down. However, some of the oil became trapped underground. All of the gasoline and other petroleum products that people use, and will make in the future, comes from this trapped oil.
How is this oil retrieved?
There are entire industries devoted to finding, producing, transporting, and refining oil and its products. Through this Inquiry, you will research these industries to find out what they do and how they do it.
Note: blue links direct you to external web sites. These sites and their content are not controlled by SAS.
Note: blue links direct you to external web sites. These sites and their content are not controlled by SAS.
Learn how long the world can continue using oil at today's rate.
Access two reports from the left menu: Oil Proved Reserves and Oil Production by Region
Use the report data (for the year 2008) to answer questions 14-19.
Oil Formation
What was the starting material for oil formation? Plankton.
2. How was the starting material changed during oil formation?
By plankton in jurassic time.
3. How long ago did the oil that's being used today form?
It was about 180,000,000 years ago
4. Is oil contained in underground pools? If not, describe how oil is contained.
Yes. Because there are pools underground that we drill for.
5. What additional substances are found with oil?
The plankton are trapped under many layers of sand and mud. Over millions of years, the dead animals and plants got buried deeper and deeper. The heat and pressure gradually turned the mud into rock and the dead animals and plants into oil and gas.
6. How is the oil trapped underground?
Because plankton was trapped under the sea.
7. Why is oil considered a nonrenewable source of energy? Because there is a limited supply.
Finding and Producing Oil
8. What geological clues do scientists use to narrow their search for oil? The pores in rocks can be used to oil get out.
9. How are sound waves used to locate oil? By listening to soundwaves using devices called "geophones," scientists can measure the speed at which the sound moves through the rock and determine where there might be rocks with oil in them.
10. In the primary production stage, how is the oil recovered from underground? How much of the oil can be recovered this way? The natural oil flow begins dropped off, and oil companies use pumps (like the drawing at the very top of the page) to bring the oil to the surface. In many reservoirs, as many as 3 barrels can be left in the ground for every 1 barrel that is produced.
11. Describe two secondary recovery processes. Why are such processes important?
A recovery improvement process such as water flooding or gas flooding. To get remaining oil.
12. How much additional oil can be recovered through secondary recovery?
one-half to one barrel.
13. How much of the oil is left in the ground after secondary recovery? What happens to this oil?
6½ to 7 barrels of oil left behind.
How long can the world continue using oil at today's rates?
To determine this period of time, you need to know how much oil still remains and how much oil is consumed each year. You may assume that all of the oil produced each year is used during that year. 14. Oil Proved Reserves: Examine the chart, which depicts available oil reserves in the world's geographic regions. Add the reserves of each oil-producing region to determine the amount of oil that remains available for use. The 2008 data is located in the table below to chart. Keep in mind that this is the amount of oil that can be produced using today's technologies. Enter that value here: 70.9 thousand million barrels.
15. Convert this total to barrels (multiply by 109) 70,900,000,000 barrels. 16.Oil Production by Region: Examine the chart, which depicts daily oil production in the world's geographic regions.Use the 2008 data (located beneath the chart) to calculate the total world oil production per day: 15,226 thousand barrels/day.
17.Convert this total to barrels per year (multiply by 365,000) 5,557,490,000,000 barrels/yr.
18. To determine how many more years the world can continue to use oil at the current rate, divide the amount of reserves (Question 15) by the amount of oil produced each year (Question 17). Enter that value here: .013 years.
19. List several ways to increase the amount of time that remains before the world runs out of oil. Consider these ideas as you complete the next section of the Respond sheet. Conserve the oil.
Conclusion
The world's oil supply is running out. It won't be gone today, it may not be gone tomorrow, but it will be gone someday — unless action is taken. Think about what you have learned in this Web Inquiry and consider what you think should be done. How can the world prolong its use of oil? Should consumers work to conserve the oil that is left? Should petroleum companies explore and open new oil fields? Should scientists concentrate their efforts on new technologies to get more oil out of the ground? Should scientists look for alternative sources of energy? You decide.
Address the Focus Question: How can the world prolong its use of oil? Write a letter to your congressional representative telling him or her what you think should be done to ensure that the world has petroleum for a long time to come. Be sure to justify your decision using what you have learned about oil, its formation, and its production. Attach your letter to this Respond sheet.
Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
I think they should look for new energies. The oil damaging our enviroment. Also we are eventually running out of oil too.
Read
Review background information about petroleum and its origins.Research
Use the web sites provided to learn more about petroleum formation, production, uses, and reserves that remain.Respond
Answer questions related to oil formation and processing. Then, estimate the amount of time that current reserves will last. Finally, address the Focus Question: How can the world prolong its use of oil? Write a letter to your congressional representative telling him or her how you think the world should work to extend its oil reserves.You will need to print a copy of the Respond sheet to complete this lesson. After selecting Respond, click Print (upper right corner).
Why is petroleum so important?
Petroleum — it's hard to imagine what life would be like without oil and all the things derived from petroleum. Oil products power cars and trucks, heat homes, contain food, and clothe people. Even the asphalt cars are driven on comes from petroleum. Next to the air people breathe and the food and water they eat and drink, petroleum is probably the single most valuable natural resource.Where does the oil come from?
Oil is a fossil fuel, formed through the decay of dead plants, animals, and microorganisms. After they died, these organisms sank to the bottom of ponds or shallow seas and were buried by sand, soil, and other particles eroded from the land and washed into the water. Over the course of millions of years, the decaying organic material was converted to oil.Much of the oil seeped through the rock all the way to the surface, where it was broken down. However, some of the oil became trapped underground. All of the gasoline and other petroleum products that people use, and will make in the future, comes from this trapped oil.
How is this oil retrieved?
There are entire industries devoted to finding, producing, transporting, and refining oil and its products. Through this Inquiry, you will research these industries to find out what they do and how they do it.Note: blue links direct you to external web sites. These sites and their content are not controlled by SAS.
Note: blue links direct you to external web sites. These sites and their content are not controlled by SAS.
Site 1: [[javascript:openLink('http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/ExxonMobil/infobank/4/2index.htm?2home.htm','external', '', 'true'); void 0;|Discover Petroleum InfoBank]]
Site 2: [[javascript:openLink('http://fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/','external', '', 'true'); void 0;|Fossil Fuels]]
Site 3: [[javascript:openLink('http://www.investis.com/bp_acc_ia/stat_review_2008/htdocs/','external', '', 'true'); void 0;|BP: Statistical Review 2009]]
Oil Formation
- What was the starting material for oil formation? Plankton.
2. How was the starting material changed during oil formation?By plankton in jurassic time.
3. How long ago did the oil that's being used today form?
It was about 180,000,000 years ago
4. Is oil contained in underground pools? If not, describe how oil is contained.
Yes. Because there are pools underground that we drill for.
5. What additional substances are found with oil?
6. How is the oil trapped underground?
Because plankton was trapped under the sea.
7. Why is oil considered a nonrenewable source of energy? Because there is a limited supply.
Finding and Producing Oil
8. What geological clues do scientists use to narrow their search for oil? The pores in rocks can be used to oil get out.9. How are sound waves used to locate oil? By listening to soundwaves using devices called "geophones," scientists can measure the speed at which the sound moves through the rock and determine where there might be rocks with oil in them.
10. In the primary production stage, how is the oil recovered from underground? How much of the oil can be recovered this way? The natural oil flow begins dropped off, and oil companies use pumps (like the drawing at the very top of the page) to bring the oil to the surface. In many reservoirs, as many as 3 barrels can be left in the ground for every 1 barrel that is produced.
11. Describe two secondary recovery processes. Why are such processes important?
A recovery improvement process such as water flooding or gas flooding. To get remaining oil.
12. How much additional oil can be recovered through secondary recovery?
one-half to one barrel.
13. How much of the oil is left in the ground after secondary recovery? What happens to this oil?
6½ to 7 barrels of oil left behind.
How long can the world continue using oil at today's rates?
To determine this period of time, you need to know how much oil still remains and how much oil is consumed each year. You may assume that all of the oil produced each year is used during that year.14. Oil Proved Reserves: Examine the chart, which depicts available oil reserves in the world's geographic regions. Add the reserves of each oil-producing region to determine the amount of oil that remains available for use. The 2008 data is located in the table below to chart. Keep in mind that this is the amount of oil that can be produced using today's technologies. Enter that value here: 70.9 thousand million barrels.
15. Convert this total to barrels (multiply by 109) 70,900,000,000 barrels.
16.Oil Production by Region: Examine the chart, which depicts daily oil production in the world's geographic regions.Use the 2008 data (located beneath the chart) to calculate the total world oil production per day: 15,226 thousand barrels/day.
17.Convert this total to barrels per year (multiply by 365,000) 5,557,490,000,000 barrels/yr.
18. To determine how many more years the world can continue to use oil at the current rate, divide the amount of reserves (Question 15) by the amount of oil produced each year (Question 17). Enter that value here: .013 years.
19. List several ways to increase the amount of time that remains before the world runs out of oil. Consider these ideas as you complete the next section of the Respond sheet. Conserve the oil.
Conclusion
The world's oil supply is running out. It won't be gone today, it may not be gone tomorrow, but it will be gone someday — unless action is taken. Think about what you have learned in this Web Inquiry and consider what you think should be done. How can the world prolong its use of oil? Should consumers work to conserve the oil that is left? Should petroleum companies explore and open new oil fields? Should scientists concentrate their efforts on new technologies to get more oil out of the ground? Should scientists look for alternative sources of energy? You decide.Address the Focus Question: How can the world prolong its use of oil? Write a letter to your congressional representative telling him or her what you think should be done to ensure that the world has petroleum for a long time to come. Be sure to justify your decision using what you have learned about oil, its formation, and its production. Attach your letter to this Respond sheet.
Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
I think they should look for new energies. The oil damaging our enviroment. Also we are eventually running out of oil too.