When oil is extracted from the earth by an oil rig, it is nowhere near ready for public consumption.  Instead, companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. send it to an oil refinery, where it undergoes the specialized processes necessary to distil and convert it into the fuel and oil-based products that you recognize.  But what exactly is in that barrel of crude oil when it first gets filled? 

Crude oil is a synonym for petroleum, which literally means “rock oil” in the original Latin.  The primary feature of petroleum is energy-dense hydrocarbons, which make up roughly four-fifths of the content of this sticky substance.  Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and various trace metals make up the rest.  Much of this gets removed and separated from the hydrocarbons during intense refining activities.

What Is Petroleum Made Of?
                                                             

The valuable hydrocarbons in each barrel of petroleum actually exist in many forms, each with its own particular chemical properties and commercial applications.  One of the most frequently observed molecular formations are alkanes.  These “saturated” hydrocarbons are ideal for creating traditional consumer-grade gasoline.  Alkanes are also useful for producing kerosene, diesel fuel, and even jet fuel.  Some alkanes will also end up as oils for fuel and lubricating purposes. 

Other types of saturated hydrocarbons are called cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and asphaltenes.  While each of these carbon-based molecules has a use, it is the wide variety of products that can be created from alkanes that cause companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. work so hard to find new petroleum sources each year.  Every year, new advances expand the number of applications for petroleum, so it can be inferred that the global demand for this commodity will only continue to rise.  But where does all this oil come from in the first place?

How Is Petroleum Formed?
                                                             

Petroleum is formed over long periods of time by algae and prehistoric organisms which settled to the seafloor eons ago.  As the ages go by, this muddy mixture is forced downward by sediment layers and is subjected to greater and greater pressure.   As it is forced closer and closer to the subterranean depths of the earth, intense heat coupled with increasing pressure causes a series of complex chemical reactions occur.  Eventually two things happen – both petroleum and natural gas are formed.  In fact, natural gas is usually discovered directly over an oil deposit unless it has escaped into the atmosphere. 

Surprisingly, most of the oil created throughout the history of the earth no longer exists.  Because the hydrocarbons present in oil are lighter than the rock layers above them, they tend to escape to the surface of the earth.  Once there, the break down from the effects of bacteria that thrive on hydrocarbons and are lost forever.  The oil reserves that companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. tap into only exist because as the hydrocarbons formed, a large enough rock “cap” covered them and prevented them from escaping upwards.