Petroleum: Geology & Exploration

This episode summarizes the geology and geography of petroleum and typical exploration and extraction techniques.


Topics covered in this video:

0:00 - 3:51
History of North America's first oil wells: Petrolia, ON and Titusville, PA
"Oil boom" 1860 - 1900
Movement to Middle East and South America
Top 5 Countries:
oil production to date (since ~1860)
2011 rate of oil production
remaining oil reserves
3:52 - 6:55
Geography of the Middle East
bodies of water, countries
contains 60% of the world's petroleum reserves
map of oil field locations in the Middle East
Ghawar
6:56 - 12:38
Why is oil concentrated in the Middle East?
Geological explanation
How to make exploitable petroleum
source rock
permeability
diagram of a vertical slice through Earth's crust
anticlines, pinchout
12:39 - 17:49 (end)
Exploration and production steps
test wells and "primary production" phase -- free-flowing petroleum
secondary recovery, injection wells and how they work
tertiary recovery, heating oil by injecting steam to reduce viscosity
Production history of an oil field

Created by Prof. Richard Sedlock at San Jose State University