The oil
It is a thick, greenish-black liquid, and it is a flammable substance. A number of components are included in its composition, which together form hydrocarbons. It has several names: crude oil, tar, and black gold.
Oil is extracted from the first, upper layers of the earth's crust, and the location of its extraction is considered an influential point in the difference between types of oil from each other in terms of appearance, composition, and purity. It is mentioned that oil is of great importance globally. It ranks first among energy sources according to global energy statistics.
The United States of America tops the list of oil consuming countries. It consumes more than 80 million barrels per day, which is equivalent to a quarter of the world’s oil production, meaning that its oil import rate is about 75%.
oil discovery
The fourth century AD is considered the year when oil came to light. Where China drilled its first oil well, it resorted to the process of evaporating salt water by burning the petroleum material and thus extracting and producing oil, and bamboo pipes were the tool used to access the sources of salt water.
By the eighth century AD, the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was resorting to using what is called bitumen for the purposes of paving newly emerging roads. It is noteworthy that this material was inspired by oil seeps hidden in the ground.
Read also:How is oil formed in the ground?As for the ninth century AD, it witnessed a great launch of oil fields, as both Baku and Azerbaijan began the process of producing oil for the first time to be exploited economically. A number of fields were demolished to reach oil reservoirs underground.
The discovery of oil actually began in 1853 AD, when history recorded the first oil distillation operations. Kerosene was extracted as a product of this distillation process, and this was followed by the establishment of the first shale oil mine in the city of Borbka, located in the southern part of Poland, and a succession of events related to the discovery and exploitation of oil. The first refining plant was established, and in 1861 AD Russia established the first oil distillation plant from its natural fields in Baku.
Canada, the East Indies, Iran, Venezuela and Mexico began discovering vast areas of oil fields in 1910 AD, and in 1925 AD oil was discovered for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula region. This was in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Read also:How is crude oil formed?Global economic history states that during the period between 1973 and 1979 AD, the world experienced two so-called energy crises, and governments began to shed light on all means of meeting energy needs.
