properties of oil and gas

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Properties of Oil & Gas The word petroleum comes from the Latin word ‘petra’ which means ‘rock’ and ‘oleum’ which means ‘oil’. The word petrol is a shortened version of ‘petroleum�... �� and petroleum includes both crude oil and natural gas. The oil we find underground is called crude oil which is made of a mixture of different chemicals called hydrocarbons i.e. organic compounds (compounds containing mainly carbon and hydrogen but may also include compounds of sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, metals, etc.). The four main types of hydrocarbon molecules that make up crude oil are: Paraffin – Also called alkanes are the most common hydrocarbons in crude oil. Paraffin containing fewer than 5 carbon atoms per molecule are usually gases, 5 – 15 carbons atoms are usually liquids and more than 15 carbon atoms per molecule are solids. Alkanes: CnH2n+2, for example when n = 1, that yields...... [Show More]

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