Petroleum and Natural gas Abbie, Daphne, and Jaidah

Description Natural gas- is a fossil fuel found deep in the Earth and drilled like oil. It is used for a multitude of things such as cooking and water heating and electricity generation. Petroleum- is a fossil fuel found deep in the Earth below natural gas that can be refined to make kerosene, oil, and gasoline. It is used for transportation fuel, synthetic materials, plastics, heating, and electricity generation.

Main goal The main goal for petroleum and natural gas is to efficiently provide energy.

Impact on the world Global warming is currently a very big problem everywhere in the world. Global warming is affected by burning petroleum and natural gasses which releases CO2 into the environment. And global warming contributes to the melting of glaciers, forest fires, and the destruction of the ozone layer. Which could eventually lead to the world being uninhabitable. Refining petroleum creates air pollution transforming crude oil into petrochemicals releases toxins into the atmosphere that are dangerous for human and ecosystem health.

Impact on the environment To release the gas from the rocks and capture it for use as fuel, companies use a method of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. is then pumped out of the rock along with the contaminated water. The sand and chemicals are left behind in the rock fractures, leading to groundwater pollution and potentially less stable bedrock. Currently scientists are concerned that earthquakes in regions of the Midwestern United States that have never experienced earthquakes before are the result of wastewater from natural gas fracking operations. Large oil spills sometimes occur during drilling, transport, and use, which of course affect the surrounding environment. But these spills aren’t the only risk. When in actuality most of the oil spilled into ecosystems is actually from oil that leaks from cars, airplanes, and boats, as well as illegal dumping.

Method(s) of mass production The first step to producing petroleum is to find it, usually by setting off an underground explosion, then having a geologist recording the seismic reaction. Then comes the drilling obviously, where a pipe is placed and between 5-10% of the oil is primarily recovered. Secondarily, liquid is injected into the earth to increase pressure, and about 30% is recovered. With natural gas, fracking is also used and the recovery rate is about 25-30%, although it i easier to burn off excess.

Method(s) of delivery Current methods of delivery can vary from trains, trucks, tankers, or pipelines, the latter is the safest. Currently about 70% of petroleum is shipped by pipeline, 23% by tanker overseas, 4% by trucks, and 3% by train. Currently both train and pipeline figures are increasing, with more cars per train, and many more pipelines being built. These all have records of massive spills, especially train, pipeline, and tankers, with trucks being the least likely to cause big oil spills, and tankers having the absolute worst of the bunch, with more than half of the worst spills of all time, though pipeline has the absolute worse, with the Gulf Oil Spill. When it comes to natural gas, the methods are similar, but with more pipelines, and almost no tankers or railways.

Advantages and Disadvantages Less harmful than coal and oil Easy to transport and store Burns cleaner than gasoline Vehicle fuel Abundant Cheaper than gasoline Higher density Already in place unlike natural gas Toxic and flammable Non-renewable resource Damages the environment Expensive Complex processing Pollutes the environment Spills have detrimental effects More difficult to find and control

Other facts Natural gas is popular because it can heat instantly. Energy in 6,000 cubic feet of natural gas is equivalent to one barrel of oil. It possible to produce over 21 gallons of gasoline from a 42-gallon barrel of crude oil. Natural gas is formed from plants and sea animals that died millions of years ago

Conclusion In conclusion, like all forms of energy it has its advantages and disadvantages but if the benefits outweigh the cost, then this might be a good thing to use, at least until a different, better form of energy can be found.

Sources http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-is-the-environmental-impact-of- petroleum-and-.html http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/consumer-information/in-the-classroom/online- educatiohttps://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pnp_caprec_dcu_nus_a.htmn- resources/fossil-fuel-facts http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2011/12/is_there_really_ 100_years_worth_of_natural_gas_beneath_the_united_states_.html http://naturalgas.org/naturalgas/exploration/ http://occupytheory.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-petroleum/