As a result, shale oil often needs to be fractured so that the oil trapped within the shale can be recovered. As technology advanced, so, too, did the means for discovering and recovering oil. Modern methods allow for holes 9, feet deep and more than 10, feet horizontally. Natural gas can be found intermingled among the deposits of crude oil and shale oil.
It can also be found in what is known as tight sand deposits, too. The primary difference between oil either shale or crude and natural gas is the degree to which either needs to be refined. Natural gas, on the other hand, is composed almost entirely of its most valuable component: methane.
As a result, less work is required during the refining process. Crude Oil In the beginning, there was oil. You cannot download interactives. Individuals, communities, and countries depend on a variety of different resources to help them thrive: electricity, timber, oil, water, and food to name a few.
Because these basic resources are such a large part of our daily lives, it is important that we manage them responsibly to ensure future generations have what they need. Human civilization heavily impacts the environment and the rich natural resources we depend on. All communities face the challenge of managing resources responsibly, not only for themselves, but for the sake of the world around them. Learn more about how individuals and communities can manage their resources to support themselves and the world around them.
However, over time, there has been a shift in demand for cheaper and cleaner fuel options, such as the nonrenewable energy source of natural gas, and renewable options like solar power and wind energy.
Each energy resource has its advantages and disadvantages. Explore nonrenewable and renewable options with this collection on energy resources. Different regions have access to different renewable or nonrenewable natural resources such as freshwater, fossil fuels, fertile soil, or timber based on their geographic location and past geologic processes.
For example, the Great Plains region of the United States is known for its abundance of fertile soil. As a result, its main industry is agriculture. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are globally exported from this region and serve as the main economy.
On the other side of the spectrum, the desert southwestern region of the United States depends on the Central Arizona Project canals to transport water from the Colorado River in order to support agriculture and urban areas. Use these materials to explore the interconnected nature of resources and their distribution. Students discover how geologists use the composition and location of rocks to find deposits of oil and natural gas. They use an interactive computational model to explore how hydraulic fracturing releases natural gas from deep shale formations.
See how hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, releases petroleum or natural gas trapped in shale rock formations. Petroleum, or crude oil, is a fossil fuel and nonrenewable source of energy. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Oil shale is a type of sedimentary rock that is rich in kerogen. Kerogen is a part of rock that breaks down and releases hydrocarbons when heated.
Hydrocarbon s are substances made entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Petroleum and natural gas are probably the most familiar hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons in oil shale can be used as an alternative to petroleum or natural gas. Like traditional petroleum, natural gas, and coal, oil shale and kerogen are fossil fuels. Fossil fuel s developed from the remains of algae, spores, plants, pollen, and a variety of other organisms that lived millions of years ago in ancient lakes, seas, and wetland s.
When these organisms died and drifted to the seabed, they were buried under new layers of plants and sediment. They encountered intense pressure and heat, decomposed, and slowly transformed into the waxy substance known as kerogen. There is not a consistent chemical composition of kerogen, because it has a variety of origins. Kerogen that formed from land plants called humic kerogen usually has a higher oxygen content than kerogen formed from plankton called planktonic kerogen.
However, all types of kerogen consist mainly of hydrocarbons; smaller amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen; and a variety of mineral s. Oil shale can be thought of as a precursor to oil and natural gas. A sedimentary rock, oil shale is found all over the world, including China, Israel, and Russia.
The United States, however, has the most shale resources. Spanning the U. Although not all of this can be extracted, it is more than three times the proven petroleum reserves of Saudi Arabia. Oil shale, shale oil, and oil-bearing shale are three different substances. Oil shale is a sedimentary rock. As it reaches its oil window, oil shale releases a liquid known as shale oil. Oil shale is the rock from which shale oil is extract ed. Shale oil is similar to petroleum, and can be refined into many different substances, including diesel fuel, gasoline , and liquid petroleum gas LPG.
Companies can also refine shale oil to produce other commercial products, such as ammonia and sulfur. The spent rock can be used in cement. Oil-bearing shale s are underground rock formations that contain trapped petroleum.
Companies extracting tight oil often use hydraulic fracturing fracking , while companies extracting shale oil most often use heat. The Bakken formation , for example, is made of oil-bearing shale. It is a series of layered shale rocks with a petroleum reservoir trapped between the layers. The Bakken formation stretches from the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, through the U. Improved drilling technologies have allowed companies to extract oil from the Bakken formation, creating an economic boom in the region.
Oil shales are often classified by their depositional history and mineral content. The depositional history of an oil shale includes the organisms and sediments that were deposited, as well as how those deposits interacted with pressure and heat. The van Krevelen Diagram is a method of classifying oil shales based on their depositional history. The diagram divides oil shales according to where they were deposited: in lakes lacustrine , in the ocean marine , or on land terrestrial. Oil shales from lacustrine environments formed mostly from algae living in freshwater, saltwater, or brackish water.
Lamosite and torbanite are types of oil shales associated with lacustrine environments. Lamosite deposits make up some of the largest oil shale formations in the world. Oil shales from marine environments formed mostly from deposits of algae and plankton. Kukersite, tasmanite, and marinite are types of marine shales. Tasmanite is named after the region in which it was discovered, the island of Tasmania, Australia. Marinite, the most abundant of all oil shales, is found in environments that once held wide, shallow seas.
Although marinite is abundant, it is often a thin layer and not economically practical to extract. The Price of Shale Oil vs. Conventional Oil: An Overview Hydraulic fracturing , also called fracking, is an important technological advance for the oil and gas industry.
Key Takeaways Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, opened up more natural gas for production, but the technology added costs to the oil extraction process. Article Sources.
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This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. Related Articles. Oil Oil Shale vs. Shale Oil: What's the Difference? Oil The Economics of Oil Extraction. Oil How has fracking decreased U. Partner Links. Shale oil is a type of oil found in shale rock formations that must be hydraulically fractured to extract. Read about the pros and cons of shale oil.
What Is Directional Drilling? Directional drilling is a technique used by oil-extraction companies in order to access oil in underground reserves. Oil Shale Oil shale is a type of sedimentary rock formation that is used to produce oil and gas. It is generally less economical than conventional crude oil. Horizontal Well A horizontal well is an oil or gas well that is dug at an angle of at least eighty degrees to a vertical bore.
Re-fracking Re-fracking is the practice of returning to a previously fracked well to capitalize on newer, more effective extraction technologies.
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