PETROLEUM OIL

1. Oil (black gold) is one of the world’s greatest resources and accounts for
almost half of the world's sea trade.

2. Oil has transformed our daily lives and its derivatives are used for:-
• Vehicles
• Ships
• Aircraft
• Lubricants
• Generating electricity
• Heating buildings
• Plastics, detergents, rubbers, and chemicals

ORIGIN OF OIL

• It is a mixture of organic chemicals (chemical compounds containing the

element carbon) in liquid state and dissolved gases which are of little use in
its crude state.
• Millions of years ago,
countless marine microscopic plants (phytoplankton) and animals
(zooplankton) lived in the ancient seas as they do today.
• As they died, their skeletal remains
1. settled to the sea floor
2. mixed with mud and silt
3. and over millions of years
4. formed organic-rich sedimentary layers.
 Other sediments continued to be deposited and further buried
the organic-rich sediment layer to depths of thousands of feet, compressing
the layers into a rock that would become the source for oil.
• Over the years (long periods of time) as the depth of the burial increased
correspondingly the pressure and temperature increased.
• Under such conditions the original skeletal remains of phytoplankton and
zooplankton changed, breaking down into simpler substances called
hydrocarbons - compounds of hydrogen and carbon.
• The end result is the oil we drill for today.
• This process still continues, although it will be millions of years before the
process of “cooking” is done for the next batch of oil.
OIL DRILLING

Nearly one-third of the world's oil comes from offshore fields in our oceans mainly
from the Arabian Gulf, the North Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

OFFSHORE DRILLING
 • The maximum focus is on finding and producing oil offshore.
• One of the first offshore oil rigs was built in 23 feet of water in the Gulf of
Mexico in 1947.
• It is now possible to operate in deeper and more hostile waters.
• Oil platforms are today taller than most of the world's skyscrapers and are
anchored in depths deeper than 1300 feet.
• These platforms hold thousands of tons of equipment and can accommodate
hundreds of people who work and live there to ensure that oil is produced
around the clock.

OIL TRANSPORTATION

• Owing to its growing usage in human lives mineral oil began to assume
increasing importance in world trade by the end of the 19th century and
accordingly came the requirement of transportation from oil fields to the
important requirements situated far and wide.
• Over land and short distances across the sea, it is / can be transported by
pipeline.
• For long distance and transportation by sea, tanker ships are used.
• Oil was initially transported in barrels and stowed like general cargo. Hence
the term “barrel” where 1 barrel = 42 gallons (160 litres)
• Gradually large cylindrical tanks were fitted into holds of dry cargo ships.
This often resulted in leakage into Tween Decks and Lower Holds
• Then Marcus Samuel adopted the idea of building ships designed to
transport only crude oil and oil products which were in effect floating tanks.
• This was the birth of the oil tanker.
• The main design feature of an oil tanker is the division of the oil-carrying
space into separate tanks for different types of oil or oil products to prevent
excessive movement of the liquid at sea.
• During WW II tanker T2 / 16500 DWT was mass produced (a big ship of its
time). It incorporated the aft located pump room, pumps and pipeline
system.
 TANKERS

(SUPER TANKER “AB QAIQ”).

TANKERS:

• A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk.

• They carry a wide range of products e.g.
1. HYDROCARBONS - OIL, LPG, and LNG
2. CHEMICALS - AMMONIA, CHLORINE etc.
• Different products require different handling and transport, thus special
types of tankers have been built, such as OIL / CHEMICAL TANKERS.
• GAS CARRIERS (LNG / LPG) are designed to carry liquefied natural gas.
• Oil and chemical tankers pose a serious threat to the environment if they lose
their cargo. Such spills can poison fish and marine mammals.

TANKER SIZES:

• Tankers used for liquid fuels are classified according to their capacity.
• Oil tankers range in size from several hundred tons, designed for servicing
small harbours and coastal settlements, to several hundred thousand tons,
designed for long-range haulage.
• Sizes of vessels are determined by commercial reasons and supertankers
were designed for carrying oil around the Cape of Good Hope from the
 Middle East as they were the only method for transporting large quantities of
oil.
• When such ships have sunk close to coastal regions they have caused
environmental disasters. A well-known oil spill, although not the largest,
was the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989, when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran
aground on rocks in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Nearly 11 million
gallons of oil spilled out into the natural environment, killing fish, birds, and
marine mammals.
• Supertanker Knock Nevis is the largest vessel in the world.

TYPES OF TANKERS

• ULCC: "Ultra Large Crude Carrier", typically measuring 330,000 –

550,000 DWT. They are used on long haul routes from Arabian Gulf to
Europe / America / Far East. They can discharge at “Custom Built”
terminals only.
• VLCC: "Very Large Crude Carrier", typically measuring 200,000 –
300,000 DWT . They are used on routes similar to ULCC but enjoy greater
flexibility in discharging port options. Usually employed ex Mediterranean,
West African and North Sea terminals

The following designations are not exclusive to tankers and are applied to a broad
range of cargo vessels, however some were developed initially for tankers.

• SUEZMAX - an acronym for a vessel that can transit the Suez Canal,
typically measuring 125,000 - 200,000 deadweight.
• AFRAMAX (Medium Size) - an acronym for the American Freight Rate
Association, with vessels typically measuring 80,000 - 125,000 deadweight.
• PANAMAX - an acronym for a vessel that can transit the Panama Canal,
typically measuring 50,000 - 79,000 deadweight.
• MEDIUM RANGE ((M R) - 38,000 - 50,000 deadweight
• GENERAL PURPOSE (HANDY SIZE) - Less than 38,000 deadweight
(between 16,000 – 25,000 DWT)

Product Carriers: Their size is typically 26,000 – 40,000 DWT and are used for
distribution of oil products from refinery to consumer.