What exactly is crude oil?

Answer 1

Crude oil is the term for "unprocessed" oil, the stuff that comes out of the ground. It is also known as petroleum. Crude oil is a fossil fuel, meaning that it was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago -- most places you can find crude oil were once sea beds. Crude oils vary in color, from clear to tar-black, and in viscosity, from water to almost solid.

CRUDE OIL COMPONENTSOn average, crude oils are made of the following elements or compounds:

• Carbon - 84%
• Hydrogen - 14%
• Sulfur - 1 to 3% (hydrogen sulfide, sulfides, disulfides, elemental sulfur)
• Nitrogen - less than 1% (basic compounds with amine groups)
• Oxygen - less than 1% (found in organic compounds such as carbon dioxide, phenols, ketones, carboxylic acids)
• Metals - less than 1% (nickel, iron, vanadium, copper, arsenic)
• Salts - less than 1% (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride)