Professional Documents
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ALONE W
ITH
-..
HITLER!
MANORAMA
TellMeWhv
From the house of MAGIC POT, MANORAMA YEAR BOOK, VANITHA, THE WEEK &
THE MAlAYAlA MANORAMA DAilY
August 2012
Volume: 6
No: 11
M.M.
Publications Ltd.,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Malayala Manorama, P.B. No. 160,
Thampanoor East, Thiruvananthapuram695 001.
Phone: 2328198
KOCHI:Malayala Manorama,
P.B. No. 5008, Panampilly Nagar,
Kochi - 682 036, Kerala.
Phone: 0484 -2316285
Crude Oil
Did you know that one
barrel, or 1 59 litres of the
unprocessed liquid oil
that is known as crude
oil, has enough energy
to boil about 2700
litres ofwater?
,r
. .
What is petrole
um?
Petroleum is a natu
rally occurring liquid
that can be refined to
make petrol, diesel
fuel, jet fuel, home
heating oil, lubricat
ing oil, wax, asphalt,
and many other valu
able products. It is
usually a dark and oily
liquid, but it can also
be in a solid or gase
ous form. When pe
comes
troleum
straight out of the
ground as a liquid, it
is called a crude oil, if
it is dark and sticky. If
it is clear and volatile,
it is called a conden
sate. Petroleum that
is solid is called as
phalt, while in the
semi solid state it is
known as bitumen. In
the gaseous state,
petroleum is natural
gas. Petroleum is a
complex mixture of
chemicals, and is a n
entirely natural prod
uct made out of the
decomposed remains
of living things.
Sorry sir!
didn't get any
petrol- go* only
salt water
StarfaG
Freedom and
Crude oil
Why is petroleum
sometimes found
far inland?
We know that the
Earth's crust has
shifted a lot over mil
lions of years. These
great movements of
the Earth's crust
pushed the bed of
Middle East
the ocean down in
56%
some places, and
raised it in others.
Where the ocean
bed was raised,
mountains
were
World Oil Reserves by Region
formed. I n time,
these mountains were worn down. Continents also changed their
shape, and the oil bearing rocks that were once at the bottom of
the ocean, were pushed this way and that. They were shifted to
different places further inland, away from the shore, and that is
why we find oil in deserts today.
8
Tel l Me Why
Eureka!
We've detected
the presence of o i l
here.
T he Story of Petroleum
Noah's
Ark A Painting
10
-J
13
Paraffin Lamp
14
Natural Bitumen
in th e Baku r egion
of A zerb aij an, in
1848. Th er e wer e
engine-dr illed wells
in West Vir ginia in
th e same year as
Dr ake'swell.A near ly
commer cial well was
Edwin Drake
twenty-one metr es
down. His discov
er y star ted Penn
sylvania's oil r ush .
Dr ake's well pr o
duced only th ir ty
five b arr els of oil a
day. H owever , h e
The Story of Petroleum
Big Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania was
actually responsible
for almost half of the
world's oil produc
tion until the 1 901 oil
boom in Texas.
Early during the
boom in 1 859, it
pumped out 25
barrels a day. Within
the first year, some
wells were produc
ing as many as 3,000
barrels per day, and
Pennsylvania was
the destination for
all oil speculators.
18
Antony Francis
Luca
Bitumen
in Babylon
Luca's
Gusher at
Spindletop
Most of the
buildings in Ancient
Babylon were built
by using bitumen.
King Nebuchadnez
zar used it for every
thing, from mortars
to bricks.
Bitumen was
lavishly used in the
famous Hanging
Gardens. It was
used as a water
proof
lining for the plant
beds, and also for
the pipes that
carried water to the
plants.
19
What is caulking?
Caulking is a pr ocess that was used to water
pr oof the hulls of boats until r ecent times. It is a
pr ocess that is mor e than 6000 year s old, and
was fir st invented by people living in the mar shy
lands of what is now Ir aq. They coated their r eed
boats with the sticky black stuff that we now cal l
bitumen or pitch, which they found oozing
fr om the gr ound. They found it a ver y effi
cient method of pr eventing
Caulking
Oil Wells at
Spindletop
(1902)
J)
Starfac.
A Warm Welcome!
In the Middle Ages,
burning oil was poured
over enemies who tried
to scale the walls of
towns. The method was
first used by the Jews,
who were defending
the city of Jotapata
against the Romans in
67 AD. However, it was
a costly way to defend a
town, since oil was ex
tremely expensive.
21
Ignacy
Lukasiewicz
James Young
Jules Cheret
Argand's Lamp
Argand's Lamp
Tel l Me Why
Packed Energy
Curious fact
Marco Polo
{UriOUS
fact
Really
fed up with this
smel ly black o i l.
Tel l Me Why
Abraham Gesner
Later, he teamed up
with Titus Trzecieski
and M i kolaj Klobassa
to establish an ' oi l
mine' which pumped
crude oil from hand
drilled, 30 to 50 metre
deep wells. Other en
trepreneurs dug their
Th e S tory of Petroleum
Town ofKrosno
Curious fact
What is a gusher?
G usher s, also known as spouter s,
fountains, and blow outs, ar e oil
wells that r age out of contr ol. A
gusher sends a column of oil shoot
ing skywar ds. The Baku r egion of
A zer baijan was especially known
for gusher s. In fact, the pr actice of
letting wells flow u nchecked was
encour aged, as it was r ealized that
when the flow of a gusher was r e
str ained, pr oduction went up in
competing wells. To put it in a nut
shell, when flow fr om a gusher
dr opped, the competitor got mor e
oil! However , sever al gusher s
br ought r uin to their owner s when
they flooded the countr yside in oil,
and bur ied it in sand. The owner s of
the well wer e r esponsible for the
r esulting pr oper ty damage. Baku,
Pennsylvania, Poland, Texas, and
Califor nia all have had gusher s. A ll
of them have claimed the title of
having the wor ld's gr eatest gusher
at one time or the other .
Oil by the Bucket
Tel l Me Why
Starac.
Blooming Oceans
Tiny organisms known as plank
tons are found in huge masses
called blooms in the shallow
ocean waters off continents.
They erupt in springtime, and
are so massive that they can be
seen even in satellite images.
Oil is formed when such blooms
of plankton are covered by sedi
ment on the ocean floor and
decay over the centuries.
Why is the Baku region of Azerbai
jan special?
The Baku region of Azerbaijan is fa
mous for its gushers or spouters. The
first big Baku spouter was d rilled on
the Balakhani plateau in 1 873, when
the Vermishev spouter of the the Kha
lifi Compa ny raged out of control for
four months. A huge cone of mud and
sand formed around the well and riv
ers of oil flowed out across the entire
field. I n fact, even after two years, the
stal k of this spouter was stil l twelve
metres tall, and two and a half metres
in diameter! Other famous spouters of
this region were the Kormilitza spout
er, and the Soutchastniki spouter in
1 875, and the Orbelovi brothers'
spouter in 1 877, at Shaitan Bazaar.
29
Need
some fu1.
=.c--=-
Nodding Donkey
Oil used to be
pumped up by using a
driving beam that
swung slowly up and
down. As the head of the
beam fell, the pump's
plunger would descend
down into the well. As
the head rose, the plung
er would come up, drawing oil to the surface.
These pumps were
called 'nodding donkeys', because of this up
and down action.
30
Nodding Donkey
atMaZIt1g
Oil in Space
Astronomers have
detected the presence
of benzene, which has
the classic ring-shaped
hydrocarbon
molecule, in outer
space. Such ring
shaped molecules are
usually found in oil,
which seems to sug
gest that oil exists in
outer space too.
The Story of Petroleum
31
Star fac.
Halfway Stage
Red Adair
Red Adair is famous
as an expert in
fighting oil well fires.
He gained his
international
reputation in 1 962,
when he tackled a fire
at a gas field in the
Sahara. When the oil
wells in Kuwait
caught fire during
the Gulf War of 1 991 ,
it was 77 year old Red
Adair who was called
in to put out the
flames.
Our
oil tank is empty.
We need some
oil!
Look! this is
an oil trapping stone.
Oil has vanished
from it!
Reservoir Rocks
Rocks where oil accumulates are called reservoir rocks.
Most reservoir rocks have fairly large grains that are loosely
packed, so that the oil can seep up. Sandstone, limestone
and dolomite are some examples of reservoir rocks.
The Story of Petroleum
37
Anticline
oil Trap
A Rock
Containing
Anticline
Trap
-- cfj .
"
Magnetic Search
Magnetic searches
for oil depend on an
aircraft that is
equipped with a
device called the
magnetometer.
This device detects
variations in
ground magnetism.
Sedimentary rock,
where oil is likely to
be found, is
generally much less
magnetic than
volcanic rock that is
rich in magnetic
metals like iron
nickel.
A Semi
submersible
Oil Platform
Starfac.
Smith's Layers
I t was William Smith, an English canal
engineer, who made the first geological
maps that traced rock layers right across
a landscape. He could identify rock lay
ers by the unique fossils they held. Each
type of animal, he realized, had a wide
spread existence for a particular span of
times. This made it possible for Smith to
recognize the order in which rocks had
been formed throughout much of Eng
land.
Tell Me Why
Eureka .. ! !
Oil deposit
is found!
. .
:,
Athabasca
Oil Sands
The world's largest
deposits of oil sands
are found in Alberta,
Canada, and in Vene
zuala. The deposit at
Athabasca in Alberta
is the only one that is
near enough the sur
face to be dug out
economically.
The Story of Petroleu m
atMazittg
Waterproof
Roads
lohn Loudon
McAdam
Tel l Me Why
---
-:=-..
The Sto ry of Petroleum
--
43
Terrorist Th reat
Oil is a vital part of our lives to
day, and this makes oil pipelines
a target for terrorists. Pipelines
are constantly guarded against
this threat. Sometimes though,
the pipelines run for vast dis
tances, and it is not possible to
guard their entire length.
What are the steps in offshore drilling?
The platform of a n offshore rig lies above the sur
face of the ocean floor. Scores of people work on it
throughout the day and night. They maintain the
rig, and operate the drills. Many wells are drilled
beneath an offshore rig. U p to 30 drill strings branch
off in different directions, sometimes for several
kilometres, before they bore into the ocean floor.
Each string has a dri l l bit with three whirring cone
shaped wheels at its tip, which g rinds into the rock
on the sea floor. Every rig has a team of highly skilled
divers permanently on call. The divers maintain the
underwater structure, pipes, and cables, and make
repairs where necessary. When oil is struck, it is
pumped to the shore through pipelines. Tankers
then carry the oil to the refinery for processing.
An Oil
Refinery
An
Oil Tanker at
Guanabara
Bay
45
A Natural
Gas
Pipeline in
Switzerland
World's First
Refinery
Tell Me Why
Supertanker AbQaiq
r- .__
47
Politics and
Pipelines
European nations
backed the building of
the Baku- Tbilisi-Cey
han, pipeline, which
runs 1 ,776 km from the
Caspian Sea in
Azerbaijan to the
Mediterranean coast
ofTurkey via Georgia.
They did this so that
they would not be
completely dependent
on Russia and Iran for
oil.
An Oil Refinery
of Petroleum
49
Oil Refinery
in
Israel
Tel l Me Why
.'!f'T u.
....; : .
. O,l nrmmal
.
'
' .
' .
-
<
Star ac.f
I want a
new octane
number!
Tell Me Why
Star fac.
Exxon Valdez
55
Star faG -i
Splitting by Fractions
. .
. .
56
Tel l Me Why
Oil in Store
57
Secondary Petroleum
Products
Secondary petroleum
products are products that
are derived from petrole
um, and their number is
increasing day by day.
Some examples are syn
thetic detergents, syn
thetic textiles, 'squeeze
bottles', adhesives, plas
tic-based paints, garden
hose, upholstery, luggage,
piping and plastics.
Looking Good
Many beauty
products like
lipstick, eyeliner,
mascara, and hair
dye are made
from petrochemi
cals. Petroleum
jelly is used in
most skin lotions.
It is a waxy,
paraffin like
material, made
from petroleum.
Baby oil and baby
cream are very
often, petroleum
based too.
The Story of Petroleu m
Volunteers Cleaning an
Oil Spill Affected Area
Dressing Up
Nylon, polyester, and
Iycra are all synthetic
fibres that are created
by linking up molecules
of hydrocarbons. Each
of these fibres has its
own special quality. For
example, acrylic dries
faster than natural
wool, because its fibres
are smooth, with no
rough edges to which
drops of water can cling.
Tel l Me Why
Feeling Better
One of the first uses of oil,
dating back thousands ofyears, was as medicine. Crude oil was
used in the Middle Ages for treating skin diseases. Today, it is
the source of some of our most important drugs. Steroids and
painkillers are both hydrocarbons derived from petroleum.
Acetylsalicylic acid, or ASA, is the active ingredient in many of
the well-known, over-the-counter pain relievers. ASA is manu
factured from petrochemicals.
Reliance
Petroleum
Refinery
Jamnagar
63
There's an
make u s RICH!
Going G reen
In recent years,
oil companies
have become
more aware of
the dangers
caused by oil
spills. They have
started going
green and
investing in
alternative forms
of energy.
64
Sagar Samrat
Why are the IOC and ONGC considered the major petroleum
com panies in India?
The Indian Oil Corporation or laC, and The Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation or ONGC, are both state owned. The lac is a corpora
tion with its headquarters in New Delhi. It is the world's 98th largest
public corporation, and the largest public corporation in India when
ranked by revenue. The lac group of companies owns and oper
ates 1 0 of India's 21 refineries, with a combined refining capacity of
65.7 million metric tons peryear.
It operates the largest network
Indian Oil Bhavan-New Delhi
of fuel stations. It also supplies
Indane cooking gas to over 62.4
million households.
ONGC has its headquarters in
Dehra Dun. It is one of the larg
est Asia-based oil and gas ex
ploration and production com
panies. ONGC produces a round
7 7 percent of India's crude oil
a nd around 8 1 percent of its
natural gas. It is involved in the
oil exploration of 26 sedi men
tary basins of India. ONGC owns
a nd operates over 1 1 ,000 kilo
metres of pipelines in the coun
try.
The Story of Petroleum
I n d ianOil
Bharat
Petroleum
,.
*
.* *.
..
*
Flag o/Venezuela
These are
the o i l reservo irs
of different
countries!
bflt
!J
---- - ----
T he Story of Petroleum
67
Oil Coup!
Mohammed Mossadegh
was the democratically
elected prime minister
of lran from 1 951 to
1 953. He was removed
from power in a coup
when he nationalized
the assets of the British
controlled Anglo
Iranian Oil Company.
The coup was supported
by Britain and the US.
Mohammed Mossadegh
68
Curious fad
iYlgnll.1I gSDhl
Saudi Aramco
Corporate
Headquarters of
Exxon Mobil
Corporation
An Offshore Oil
Platform of
Exxon Mobil
Corporation
Flag ofUAE
More money,
more oil!
71
What is OPEC?
OPEC stands for the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Cou ntries. It is
made up of countries that have come
together for the purpose of negotiat
ing with oil companies on matters of
petroleum production, prices, and fu
ture concession rig hts.
OPEC was created at the Baghdad
Conference in September 1 960, by Iran,
Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Vene
zuela. They were the five founding
members who were later joined by
nine other countries. Two of them were
suspended later, and now, OPEC has
only twelve members. OPEC's purpose
is to protect the interests of oil-produc
ing countries, and they unite in policy
to protect their common interests. Its
OPEC Logo
OPEC
Headquarters
Tel l Me Why
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
ECUADOR
IRAQ
IRAN
QATAR
KUWAIT
LIBYA
NIGERIA
SAUDI ARABIA
UAE
VENEZUELA
OPEC MEMBERS
OPEC is the united front of 1 2 oil producing countries.
They are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria,
Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela, Ecuador, the United Arab
Emirates and Libya. The five original members, or found
ing states were the Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and
Venezuela.
c:)
OFID Logo
OFID Headquarters
What is OFID?
OFID, 'The OPEC Fund for International
Development', was intended to be a
temporary facility. It was created as an in
ternational fund that was collectively
owned by the countries contributing to
it. I n May 1 980, the 'OPEC Fund' became a
fully-fledged, perma nent international
development agency known as OFID.
OFID is today a multilateral development
finance institution which seeks to promote
cooperation between member states of
the OPEC, and other developing coun
tries. lt was established in January 1 976.
OFID presently has 1 2 member coun
tries. They are Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia,
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab' Emirates,
and Venezuela. The bulk of OFID's assist
ance has been directed to those countries
which are least developed, and most in
need offinancial support.
74
What is meant by
peak oil?
Oil is a finite, non
renewable resource
one that has powered
economic and popu
lation growth over
the last cenury and a
half. The rate of oil
'production', which
refers to extraction
and refining, is cur
rently a bout 87 mil-
Tell Me Why
United States
1 9, 1 50,000
China
9,400,000
Japan
4,452,000
India
3,1 82,000
Saudi Arabia
2,643,000
Germany
1,495,000
Canada
2,209,000
Russia
2,1 99,000
Korea, South
2,1 95,000
Mexico
2,073,000
Brazil
2,029,000
France
1 ,861,000
Iran
1 ,845,000
UK
1 ,622,000
Italy
1 ,528,000
Source : CIA World Fact Book
75
Petroleum Jelly
P etroleum jelly is a
semi-solid mixture
of hydrocarbons. It is
promoted as a topical
ointment for its
healing properties. It is
no longer considered
as a 'cure all' medicine,
because of a scientific
understanding of
appropriate and
inappropriate uses.
However, it is an
approved skin
protectant, and
remains widely used in
cosmetic skin care.
Arvind Shot
76
UriOUS
fact
Storage Trade
Sometimes, oil tank own
ers and companies buy oil
and hold it in storage for
customers for future deliv
ery at a higher price. When
delivery dates approach,
they close out existing
contracts and sell new ones
for future delivery of the
same oil at even higher
prices. The oil never leaves
storage, and this is known
as oil storage trade. It has
been estimated that one in
twelve of the largest oil
tankers are being used for
the storage, rather than
transportation of oil.
An Oil Field on Fire during
the Gulf War of1991
77
Production (bbl/day)
Saudi Arabia
1 0,520,000
Russia
1 0,270,000
United States
Iran
China
Canada
Mexico
2,983,000
2,81 3,000
Iraq
Nigeria
Kuwait
Venezuela
Brazil
2,301 ,000
Norway
2,1 34,000
Algeria
2,078,000
-----
,"'=
South
China Sea
- - ,.-
79
A Gas Coupon
Printed
During the
1979 Oil Crisis
expensive. At the
same time, US oil
consumption
was
high in the early
1 970's, while u.s. oil
production declined.
To sum up, the ener
gy crisis of the 1 970's
was rooted in the
world's
increasing
dependence on oil
from the Middle East,
and the OPEC's 1 973
decision to halt oil
shipments to coun
tries supporting Israel
in the ongoing Yom
Kippur War.
British Petroleum
bp
82
Sneha Rao
Tel l Me Why
{'urious
I
acf
Fuel Protests
A series of
campaigns were
held after 2000 in
the United King
dom over the cost
of petrol and
diesel for road
vehicle use. The
first protest in
2000 was primarily
led by lorry drivers
and farmers. The
aim of the protests
was to secure a
reduction in the
fuel duty rate on
petrol and diesel,
but the govern
ment did not
co-operate. In
2007, fuel protests
were held, but
were not widely
supported, nor did
they cause much
disruption .
Radha Nalr
83
A Scenefrom
Kuwait Oil Well
Fire
So precious!
84
N o Stock!
The US government predicts
that oil production will go on ris
ing until 2030. Some experts believe, however,
that it will peak in the next few years, or may even
have peaked already. Production in some oil
fields is already declining. To maintain current
production, we must find other big reserves, or
use new existing sources like oil sands.
e DevNath
A Huge Oil
Storage Tank
85
strong short-term
effects on oil prices
too. The Nortn Ko
rean missile tests,
the 2006 conflict
between
Israel
and
Lebanon,
worries over Irani
a n nuclear plants
in 2006, and the
devastation
caused by H urri
cane Katrina a l l
contributed t o the
rise in oil price. The
global economic
recession in 2008
led to a fal l in the
demand for ener
gy, and oil prices
fell to their lowest
in December 2008.
However, by Octo
ber 2009, oil prices
had stabilized.
A Protest against
Oil Price Hike
Fuel from
Waste
Waste is dumped in huge quantities
in areas known as landfills. As this
waste decomposes, it releases meth
ane gas, which could be used as fuel, if
only we could find a way to collect the
gas from these landfills.
86
Tel l Me Why
Bio Bus!
Curious fad
A Bus Run By Biodiesel
A Supermarket
How does the petroleum price hike affect the common man?
Petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas all are part of our daily
life, and they are all derived from petroleum. So, any increase in
the price of petroleum affects the com mon man in many ways. An
increase in the price of diesel results in an increase in transporta
tion charges, which leads to the price of almost all commodities
going up. A hike in diesel price directly increases the cost of pro
duction of the farmers, as diesel is used in almost all agricultural
activities from irrigation to transportation. Food prices rise when
cooking gas and kerosene, which is used for cooking; become
more expensive. Public transport costs more, and the increase in
petrol charges raises the fuel charges of personal vehicles, burden
ing the middle classes even further. Thus, a rise in petroleum prices
affects every level of society- but there is no doubt that the poor and
the middle class suffer the most.
, Hydrogen Cars
Hydrogen can be used as fuel for cars, but there are no filling
stations to supply this fuel. So, cars running on hydrogen fuel will
have to extract the hy
drogen from conven
tional fuel. Daimler
Chysler's Necar 5 uses
methanol- which can
be supplied at filling
stations- as its hydro
gen source.
88
Tel l Me Why
An Electric
Motor Cycle
uriOUS
fact
Water and
Su n l ig h t
Water and
sunlight are also
important
sources of
energy. Water
can be split into
hydrogen and
oxygen, and the
hydrogen used
to power cars.
The water is split
using sunlight,
so in future, cars
may run on
water and
sunlight!
The Story of Petroleum
89
A Fuel
Filling
Station in
Brazil
Wind
Farm
Wind Pump
Netherlands is famous for its
windmills, which are actually
pumps for draining water from
low lying areas. In North America
too, farms had wind mills that
were actually pumps. These
windmills usually had a wheel
with many small, angled blades.
The Story of Petroleum
Star fac.
A Solar Power
Plant in Spain
Sfar fac,
Solar Power Station
A Solar power station has hundreds of
flat mirrors that direct sunlight at a cen
tral receiver mounted on a tower. In
theory, a solar power station of 260 sq
km in a sunny place could generate all
the electricity needed to supply an area
equal to the area ofthe entire USA.
92
Tel l Me Why
Why is water a n es
tablished form of en
ergy?
For thousands of
years, the power of
running water has
been used in water
wheels to g rind corn
and wheat, as well as
to run simple ma
chines. Today, water
power is used mainly
to produce electricity.
This is known as hy
droelectric power. A
dam is built where
there is a natural lake
or a big rive r i n a valley.
The dam is used to
hold the water and
create pressure sothat
the water can produce
more electrical power.
The water has i m
mense pressure due
to the great height at
which it is kept in the
dam. The water in the
dam is released in a
powerful flow that
turns the generators
which produce elec
tricity. Hydroelectric
power is very expen
sive to set u p, and it is
hard to find suitable
The Story of Petroleum
Calder Hall
Nuclear Power
Station, UK
Wildlife in Danger
Bio-fuels are fuels de
rived from plants, and
are non- polluting and
renewable. But cultivat
ing plants needs land,
and where this land is
acquired by cutting
down forests, wildlife is
threatened.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Ramar 'Petrol'!
In 1 996, Ramar Pillai of Tamil Nadu took
the nation by storm, claiming to turn
water into petrol using a herbal for
mula, which he claimed was made from
a miraculous bush. This raised a huge
controversy, with many people praising
him and many calling him a fraud.
96
Tel l Me Wh
Solar Cells
solar powered cells
could be usedtoflyplanes
and cars. The problem is
that they need too much
space, so research is be
ing conducted on how to
make them more effi
cient. NASA already has
an experimental research
aircraft named Helios,
that is solar powered.
Western Ghats
has been
Alwin George
I JlESEL PLANT !