Description: What Is Petroleum Engineering? (Is A Petroleum Engineering Degree Worth It?), Day in the Life: Petroleum Engineer, Petroleum Engineers Career Video, Petroleum refining processes explained simply, Why you should NOT pursue a petroleum engineering degree (in the USA)
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Petroleum ( L. petroleum , from early 15 c. "petroleum, rock oil" (mid-14c. in Anglo-French), from Medieval Latin petroleum, from Latin : petra : "rock" + oleum : "oil".) is a naturally occurring, yellow-to-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth 's surface, which is commonly refined into various types of fuels .
It consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other organic compounds . The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil. A fossil fuel , petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, usually zooplankton and algae , are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to intense heat and pressure.
Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling (natural petroleum springs are rare). This comes after the studies of structural geology (at the reservoir scale), sedimentary basin analysis, reservoir characterization (mainly in terms of the porosity and permeability of geologic reservoir structures). It is refined and separated, most easily by distillation , into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline (petrol) and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceut