5^th World Congress on Petrochemistry and Chemical Engineering December 05-07, 2016 Phoenix, Arizona, USA

In the oil and gas industry, reservoir modeling involves the construction of a computer model of a petroleum reservoir, for the purposes of improving estimation of reserves and making decisions regarding the development of the field.

A reservoir model represents the physical space of the reservoir by an array of discrete cells, delineated by a grid which may be regular or irregular. The array of cells is usually three-dimensional, although 1D and 2D models are sometimes used. Values for attributes such as porosity, permeability and water quality are associated with each cell. The value of each attribute is implicitly deemed to apply uniformly throughout the volume of the reservoir represented by the cell.

One of the remarkable accomplishments of the petroleum industry has been the development of technology that allows for drilling wells offshore to access additional energy resources. The basic offshore wellbore construction process is not significantly different than the rotary drilling process used for land based drilling. The main differences are the type drilling rig and modified methods used to carry out the operations in a more complex situation. For offshore drilling a Mechanical Properties of stable offshore platform or floating vessel from which to drill must be provided. These range from permanent offshore fixed or floating platforms to temporary bottom-supported or floating drilling vessels. Drilling offshore began near the turn of the 20th century when shallow water fixed platforms were used to access offshore reservoirs. But offshore drilling and production did not really develop to be widely viable until after 1947 when the first offshore well was drilled at a location completely out of site of land. Since then, offshore production, particularly in the US Gulf of Mexico, has resulted in the discovery and delivery of a significant contribution to the total US bioenergy production, with about 35% of crude oil production in the US coming from offshore developments. Offshore drilling has considerably higher costs than for land-based drilling, depending on water depth and well complexity, which requires a larger volume of hydrocarbons reservoir that can be economically justified.

Petroleum refining processes are the chemical engineering processes and other facilities used in petroleum refineries (also referred to as oil refineries) to transform crude oil into useful products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil and fuel oils.

Petroleum refineries are very large industrial complexes that involve many different processing units and auxiliary facilities such as utility units and storage tanks. Each refinery has its own unique arrangement and combination of refining processes largely determined by the refinery location, desired products and economic considerations. There are most probably no two refineries that are identical in every respect. Some modern petroleum refineries process as much as 800,000 to 900,000 barrels (127,000 to 143,000 cubic meters) per day of crude oil.

Brent Crude is a major trading classification of sweet light crude oil that serves as a major benchmark price for purchases of oil worldwide. This grade is described as light because of its relatively low density, and sweet because of its low sulfur content. Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea and comprises Brent Blend, Forties Blend, Oseberg and Ekofisk crudes (also known as the BFOE Quotation). The Brent Crude oil marker is also known as Brent Blend, London Brent and Brent petroleum.

The other well-known classifications (also called references or benchmarks) are the OPEC Reference Basket, Dubai Crude, Oman Crude, Urals oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Brent is the leading global price benchmark for Atlantic basin crude oils. It is used to price two thirds of the world's internationally traded crude oil supplies.

Enhanced oil recovery (abbreviated EOR) is the implementation of various techniques for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field. Enhanced oil recovery is also called improved oil recovery or tertiary recovery (as opposed to primary and secondary recovery). According to the US Department of Energy, there are three primary techniques for EOR: thermal recovery, gas injection, and chemical injection. Sometimes the term quaternary recovery is used to refer to more advanced, speculative, EOR techniques. Using EOR, 30 to 60 percent, or more, of the reservoir's original oil can be extracted, compared with 20 to 40 percent using primary and secondary recovery.

There are three primary techniques of EOR: gas injection, thermal injection, and chemical injection. Gas injection, which uses gases such as natural gas, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide (CO2), accounts for nearly 60 percent of EOR production in the United States. Thermal power injection, which involves the introduction of heat, accounts for 40 percent of EOR production in the United States, with most of it occurring in California. Chemical information of injection, which can involve the use of long-chained molecules called polymers to increase the effectiveness of water floods, accounts for about one percent of EOR production in the United States. In 2013, a technique called Plasma-Pulse chemical technology was introduced into the United States from Russia. This technique can result in another 50 percent of improvement in existing well production.

Petroleum Chemistry is made of a mixture of different hydrocarbons. The most prolific hydrocarbons found in the chemistry of petroleum are alkanes, these are also sometimes knows as branched or linear hydrocarbons. A significant percentage of the remaining chemical compound is the made up of aromatic hydrocarbons and cycloalkanes. Additionally petroleum chemistry contains several more complex hydrocarbons such as asphaltenes. Each geographical location and hence oil field will produce a raw petrolium with a different combination of molecules depending upon the overall percentage of each hydrocarbon it contains, this directly affects the colouration and viscosity of the petrolium chemistry. The primary form of hydrocarbons in the chemistry of petroleum are the alkanes, which are also often named paraffins. These are termed saturated hydrocarbons and the exhibit either branched or straight molecule chains.

Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods or material through a pipe. The best data, in 2014, gives a total of slightly less than 3.5 million km of pipeline in 120 countries of the world. The United States had 65%, Russia had 8%, and Canada had 3%, thus 75% of all pipeline was in three countries.

Pipeline and Gas Journal’s worldwide survey figures indicate that 118,623 miles (190,905 km) of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88,976 miles (143,193 km) represent projects in the planning and design phase; 29,647 miles (47,712 km) reflect pipelines in various stages of construction. Liquids and gases are transported in pipelines and any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline. Pipelines exist for the transport of crude and refined petroleum, fuels - such as oil, natural gas and biofuels - and other fluids including sewage, slurry, water, and beer. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills, or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation, pollution, or environmental impact. Pneumatic tubes using compressed air can be used to transport solid capsules.

Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes which are usually buried. The oil is moved through the pipelines by pump stations along the pipeline. Natural gas (and similar gaseous fuels) are lightly pressurised into liquids known as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). Natural gas pipelines are constructed of carbon steel. Highly toxic ammonia is theoretically the most dangerous substance to be transported through long-distance pipelines, but accidents have been rare. Hydrogen pipeline transport is the transportation of hydrogen through a pipe. District heating or teleheating systems use a network of insulated pipes which transport heated water, pressurized hot water or sometimes steam to the customer.

Pipelines conveying flammable or explosive material, such as natural gas or oil, pose special safety concerns and there have been various accidents. Pipelines can be the target of vandalism, sabotage, or even terrorist attacks. In war, pipelines are often the target of military attacks.

Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum which lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the term is used to describe drilling activities on the continental shelf, though the term can also be applied to drilling in lakes, inshore waters and inland seas.

Offshore drilling presents environmental challenges, both from the produced hydrocarbons and the materials used during the drilling operation. Controversies include the ongoing US offshore drilling debate.

There are many different types of facilities from which offshore drilling operations take place. These include bottom founded drilling rigs (jackup barges and swamp barges), combined drilling and production facilities either bottom founded or floating platforms, and deepwater mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) including semi-submersibles and drillships. These are capable of operating in water depths up to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). In shallower waters the mobile units are anchored to the seabed, however in deeper water (more than 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) the semisubmersibles or drillships are maintained at the required drilling location using dynamic positioning.

Based largely on development of the reserves of the North West Shelf and other onshore hydrocarbon basins, the industry extracts crude oil, condensate and natural gas from petroleum reservoirs deep beneath the Earth's surface. A large plant located at Withnell Bay near Dampier, produces liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to Asian customers. Crude oil and most petroleum liquids are exported, and Australia's largest petroleum refinery at Kwinana in WA's south-west, produces petrol and diesel for local consumption. Natural gas is processed at plants located on islands off the WA coast and onshore, then transported by pipelines to gas users throughout the state.

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream. The upstream oil sector is also commonly known as the exploration and production (E&P) sector.

The upstream sector includes the searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields, drilling of exploratory wells, and subsequently drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil and/or raw natural gas to the surface. There has been a significant shift toward including unconventional gas as a part of the upstream sector, and corresponding developments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and transport.

Upstream Industry has traditionally experienced the highest quantum of Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures. M&A activity for upstream oil and gas deals in 2012 totalled $254 billion in 679 deals. A large chunk of this M&A, 33% in 2012, was driven by the Unconventional/shale boom especially in the US followed by the Former Soviet Union and Canada.

The aggregate value of Upstream E&P assets available for sale (Deals in Play) reached a record-high of $135 billion in Q3-2013. The value of Deals in Play doubled from $46 billion in 2009 to $90 billion in 2010. With on-going M&A activity the level remained almost the same reaching $85 billion in Dec-2012. However, the first half of 2013 saw approximately $48 billion of net new assets coming on the market. Remarkably, the total value of Deals in Play in Q3-2013 nearly tripled over 2009 at $46 billion, in less than four years.

The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream. The downstream sector commonly refers to the refining of petroleum crude oil and the processing and purifying of raw natural gas, as well as the marketing and distribution of products derived from crude oil and natural gas. The downstream sector touches consumers through products such as gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil, heating oil, fuel oils, lubricants, waxes, asphalt, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as hundreds of petrochemicals.

Midstream operations are often included in the downstream category and considered to be a part of the downstream sector. The petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by pipeline, rail, barge, oil tanker or truck), storage, and wholesale marketing of crude or refined petroleum products. Pipelines and other transport systems can be used to move crude oil from production sites to refineries and deliver the various refined products to downstream distributors. Natural gas pipeline networks aggregate gas from natural gas purification plants and deliver it to downstream customers, such as local utilities.

Industrial gases are a group of gases that are specifically manufactured for use in a wide range of industries, which include oil and gas, petrochemistry, chemicals, power, mining, steelmaking, metals, environmental pollution, medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food, water, fertilizers, nuclear power, electronics and aerospace. Their production is a part of the wider chemical Industry (where industrial gases are often seen as "speciality chemicals").

The principal gases provided are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, hydrogen, helium and acetylene; although a huge variety of natural gases and mixtures are available in gas cylinders. The industry producing these gases is known as the industrial gases industry, which is seen as also encompassing the supply of equipment and technology to produce and use the gases.

Whilst most industrial gas is usually only sold to other industrial enterprises; retail sales of gas cylinders and associated equipment to tradesmen and the general public are available through gas local agents and typically includes products such as balloon helium , dispensing gases for beer kegs, welding gases and welding equipment, LPG and medical oxygen.

Very small scale gas supply is not confined to just the industrial gas companies. A wide variety of hand-carried small gas containers, which may be called cylinders, bottles, cartridges, capsules or canisters are available to supply LPG, butane, propane, carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide. Examples are whippets, powerlets, campingaz and sodastream.

Sustainable energy is the form of energy obtained from non-exhaustible resources, such that the provision of this form of energy serves the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Technologies that promote sustainable energy include renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal energy, bioenergy, tidal power and also technologies designed to improve energy efficiency. Costs have fallen dramatically in recent years, and continue to fall. Most of these technologies are either economically competitive or close to being so. Increasingly, effective government policies support investor confidence and these markets are expanding. Considerable progress is being made in the energy transition from fossil fuels to ecologically sustainable systems, to the point where many studies support 100% renewable energy. Renewable energy is derived from natural processes. It has various forms and can be derived directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. There are electricity and heat energy generated from the renewable energy resources.

Oil industry holds a major potential of hazards for the environment, and may impact it at different levels: air, water, soil, and consequently all living beings on our planet. Within this context, the most widespread and dangerous consequence of oil and gas industry activities is pollution. Pollution is associated with virtually all activities throughout all stages of oil and gas production, from exploratory activities to Refining Crude. Wastewaters, gas emissions, solid waste and aerosols generated during drilling, production, refining (responsible for the most pollution) and transportation amount to over 800 different chemicals, among which, of course, prevail oil and petroleum products. Other environmental impacts include intensification of the greenhouse effect, acid rain, poorer water quality, groundwater contamination, among others. The oil and gas industry may also contribute to biodiversity and conservation loss as well as to the destruction of ecosystems that, in some cases, may be unique.

Unconventional oil is petroleum produced or extracted using techniques other than the conventional (oil well) method. Oil industries and governments across the globe are investing in unconventional oil sources due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil reserves.

According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2001 unconventional oil included "oil shales, oil sands-based synthetic crudes and derivative products, (heavy oil, Orimulsion), coal-based liquid supplies, biomass-based liquid supplies, gas to liquid (GTL) - liquids arising from chemical processing of gas."

In the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2011 report, "unconventional oil include extra-heavy oil, natural bitumen (oil sands), kerogen oil, liquids and gases arising from chemical processing of natural gas (GTL), coal-to-liquids (CTL) and additives."

In chemistry and chemical engineering, a separation process, or a separation technique, or simply a separation, is a method to achieve any mass transfer phenomenon that converts a mixture of substances into two or more distinct product mixtures. Separations are carried out based on differences in chemical properties or physical properties such as size, shape, mass, density, or chemical affinity, between the constituents of a mixture.

With a few exceptions, elements or compounds are naturally found in an impure state. Often these impure raw materials must be separated into their purified components before they can be put to productive use, making separation techniques essential for the modern industrial economy.

A good example of an incomplete separation technique is oil refining. Crude oil occurs naturally as a mixture of various hydrocarbons and impurities. The refining process splits this mixture into other, more valuable mixtures such as natural gas, gasoline and chemical feedstocks, none of which are pure substances, but each of which must be separated from the raw crude. In both of these cases, a series of separations is necessary to obtain the desired end products.