Although fossil fuels such as coal were harvested in one way or another for centuries, crude oil was discovered and developed during the Industrial Revolution, and its industrial applications were first developed in the 19th century. Reinvented machines revolutionized the way we worked, and they relied on those resources to operate. Today, the global economy relies heavily on fossil fuels such as crude oil, and demand for these resources often triggers political unrest as a small number of countries control the largest deposits. As in any industry, supply and demand have a significant impact on crude oil prices and profitability. The United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia are the world`s largest oil producers. Crude oil futures can be higher, lower or equal to spot prices. The price difference between the spot market and the futures market says a lot about the general state of the oil market and its expectations. If futures prices are higher than spot prices, it usually means that buyers expect the market to improve, so they are willing to pay a premium for the oil to be delivered at a later date. If futures prices are lower than spot prices, it means that buyers expect the market to deteriorate. Oil, or crude oil, is a natural liquid that originated in the Carboniferous about 200 to 400 million years ago. Plants, ferns, trees and algae formed peat, which over millions of years turned into crude oil (crude oil), natural gas and coal. Crude oil consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of different molecular weights.

In addition, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur occur in small quantities. Hydrocarbons consist of alkanes (paraffins) and cycloalkanes (naphthalenes), which are saturated hydrocarbons with straight or branched chains of hydrocarbon molecules. Alkanes and cycloalkanes usually make up the dominant part of the oil, about 80%. These hydrocarbons have similar properties, but cycloalkanes have higher boiling points. The remaining hydrocarbons are aromatic, which means that the molecules are unsaturated and consist of benzene rings. This group of molecules includes polysaturated aromatic hydrocarbons, some of which are known for their carcinogenic properties. Another group of hydrocarbons that are found in varying amounts of up to 10% in crude oil are asphaltenes, that is, molecules with a relatively high weight. Oils that consist of a relatively high proportion of asphalt tend to be thick, almost like asphalt. When crude oil or petroleum products are released into the sea, they are immediately subjected to various degradation and dispersion processes, including advection, turbulent diffusion, propagation, evaporation, emulsification, dissolution, photochemical oxidation, aerosol formation, sedimentation and biodegradation. The composition and position of oil release strongly affect the relative importance of these processes. Some refined products, such as petroleum and light kerosenes, can be subjected to almost complete evaporation; Heavier oils are not subject to severe weather and are more likely to remain in the water and are therefore subject to advection diffusion processes resulting from tides, wind and wave action. With crude oil prices constantly changing and more volatile than stock or currency prices on average, it is crucial for successful investors and traders to have good sources of information that account for the many factors that can affect oil prices.

There are many websites that report on crude oil news, but few broadcast the latest news and current prices. The following three provide the most up-to-date information. Although crude oil is mainly composed of various hydrocarbons, some nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds such as pyridine, picoline and quinoline are reported as impurities related to crude oil, as well as oil shale or coal processing facilities, and have also been found at former wood processing sites. These compounds have a very high solubility in water and therefore tend to dissolve and move with water. Some natural bacteria such as Micrococcus, Arthrobacter and Rhodococcus have been shown to break down these contaminants. [140] Crude oil was often distilled by Persian chemists, with clear descriptions in Arabic textbooks such as those of Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes). [14] The streets of Baghdad were paved with tar extracted from oil accessible from the region`s natural fields. In the 9th century, oil fields in the region around present-day Baku, Azerbaijan, were exploited. These fields were described by the Arab geographer Abu al-Hasan `Alī al-Mas`ūdī in the 10th century and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the production of these wells as hundreds of ship loads.

[15] Arab and Persian chemists also distilled crude oil to make flammable products for military purposes. Thanks to Islamic Spain, distillation became available in Western Europe in the 12th century. [16] It has also been present in Romania since the 13th century and is registered as păcură. [17] The three main oil-producing countries are Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States. [49] In 2018, the United States became the world`s largest producer, in part due to the evolution of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. [50] [51] About 80% of the world`s easily accessible reserves are in the Middle East, of which 62.5% come from the 5 Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. Much of the world`s total oil exists in the form of unconventional sources, such as bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands and extra-heavy oil in the Orinoco belt. While significant amounts of oil are extracted from the oil sands, particularly in Canada, logistical and technical hurdles remain, as oil production requires large amounts of heat and water, making net energy content quite low compared to conventional crude oil. As a result, Canada`s oil sands are not expected to deliver more than a few million barrels per day for the foreseeable future. [52] [53] [54] Oil, also known as crude oil and petroleum, is a yellowish-black natural liquid found in geological formations below the Earth`s surface. It is usually refined into different types of fuels.

The components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional distillation, i.e. separation of a liquid mixture into fractions with a different boiling point by distillation, usually using a fractionation column. It consists of natural hydrocarbons of different molecular weights and may contain various organic compounds. [1] The name petroleum includes both unprocessed natural crude oil and petroleum products consisting of refined crude oil. A fossil fuel, oil, is created when large amounts of dead organisms, mainly zooplankton and algae, are buried under sedimentary rock and exposed to both intense heat and pressure. .