 |
Unit IV. Exercise 10. Unit V. Exercise 9.1. Unit VI. Exercise 10. (from: Jon Naunton, Alison Pohl. Oxford English for Careers: Oil and Gas 2.)
|
|
|
|
Unit IV. Exercise 10
Chemical Weathering
It takes place due to various chemical reactions in the rocks. The minerals start getting dissolved, thus transforming the whole rock, and also changing the physical characteristics. The whole process mainly depends on the warm climate or temperature, and also on the moisture present in that particular area. The main agents of chemical weathering usually are water, air, and rainfall (most important agent). Rainwater contains a small amount of acid in it, and when it mixes with carbon dioxide in the air, it forms carbonic acid. This chemical compound is mainly responsible for the dissolution of various minerals in the soil, which causes its weathering. The rocks are made up of different minerals, and hence, the chemical reactions on each mineral will vary. Some rocks like quartz do not break down due to chemical weathering, while some like limestone react strongly.
(from: http: //www. buzzle. com/articles/types-of-weathering. html)
Unit V. Exercise 9. 1
Three of World's Deadliest Tsunamis
The Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004
Also known as Boxing Day tsunami, this disastrous tsunami occurred on December 26, 2004, caused by a 9. 1 earthquake in the Indian ocean. Being the third-largest quake recorded on a seismograph, it triggered a tsunami with waves reaching a height of 50 meters. Indonesia was the hardest-hit country. The quake and the tsunami together claimed between 200, 000 to 300, 000 lives. It is said that this earthquake affected the entire planet in one way or another.
The Messina Earthquake, 1908
The second-most disastrous tsunami was reported in Messina in Sicily, southern Italy. On Dec 28, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7. 1 occurred, which caused a tsunami with waves around 12 meters high. The double catastrophe completely destroyed most of Messina and the nearby coastal areas. Around 40% of Messina perished to this calamity and the incident accounted for the total death of around 100, 000 - 200, 000 people.
The Lisbon Earthquake, 1755
The third-deadliest tsunami occurred following an earthquake in Portugal on November 1, 1755. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded to be around 8. 5 to 9. 0 on the Richter scale with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean. After 40 minutes, the quake set off a tsunami, with waves rising 15 meters, claiming around 100, 000 lives.
(from: http: //www. buzzle. com/articles/tsunami-facts. html)
Unit VI. Exercise 10
When we measure oil, we usually talk about barrels. A barrel of oil contains 42 US gallons, but it can make 44 gallons of petroleum products. The main use of crude oil is to produce fuel for energy. After it reaches its destination, crude oil is changed into different petroleum products. Just over nineteen gallons become petrol or gasoline. Another nine gallons become diesel, and four gallons are used as jet fuel. The rest is turned into heavy fuel oil, heating oil, and LPG – that’s liquid petroleum gas. The last seven gallons are changed into other products.
|
|
|
(from: Jon Naunton, Alison Pohl. Oxford English for Careers: Oil and Gas 2. )
Unit VI. Exercise 13
The History of Oil
So, when did people begin to use oil? Well, we know that people used oil about four thousand years ago in the Middle East. They used it on the outside of boats and ships. This was to make them waterproof. They also used it when they were building. They put it between the building stones. They found the oil in small pools. There was also oil along river banks. It simply seeped from below the ground to the surface and collected there in pools. At about the same time, people in Egypt and Japan used oil to light their homes. They also used oil as medicine to treat several illnesses. And we also know that bitumen was used on the early streets of Baghdad. Bitumen is a black, almost solid form of oil.
People drilled oil thousands of years ago in China. The interesting thing is that they didn't want oil. They wanted salt. The oil wasn't important so they threw it away. But in the middle of the 19th century, people realized how important oil could be. They found they could distil oil to produce kerosene which they burned in oil lamps to light their homes. This happened in several different countries - in America, Russia, and Romania. People didn't use oil as a fuel for transport for many years. That changed when the automobile – the car – was invented. When they distilled oil to make kerosene for lamp oil, they also produced petrol, or gasoline, and this became a very important product. The car was the real start of the oil industry. Today, oil is used for lots of things – fuel for cars, lorries, aircraft, heating and cooling of buildings, and it's also used in many industrial processes. For example, it's used to make plastics, medicine, fibres, and detergents.
(from: Jon Naunton, Alison Pohl. Oxford English for Careers: Oil and Gas 2. )
Unit VII. Exercise 10
T – teacher; A, B – students
T: As you all know oil and gas are fossil fuels. Can someone tell me what that means?
A: It means that they are formed from plants and animals.
T: Yes, plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. The oil and gas we extract today were formed between ten and 160 million years ago. Seas and wet areas are rich in bacteria and microscopic plants and animals, known as phytoplankton and zooplankton. When they die, they sink to the bottom of the water and form thick layer of organic matter. This gets slowly covered in layers of mud, sand, and other mineral deposits. These sedimentary layers build up on top of each other. What do you think happens to the temperature and pressure, Dani?
B: Er … the pressure increases?
T: That’s right. As the layers increase, the pressure and temperature rise too. There is no air in the organic matter but anaerobic bacteria, which live without oxygen, begin to work on the organic matter and change it. As this happens, wax, fat, and oil from the buried organic matter form dark spots called kerogen. Rocks that contain oil and gas in this form are known as source rocks. In this diagram, you can see that the source rock is the bottom layer. Deeper down, the temperature rises further. Chains of hydrocarbons became shorter and break away to give light oil and gas.
|
|
|
B: I’ve heard that oil from the North sea is light oil.
T: Yes, that’s right. Well, we know that oil and gas are less dense than water, so the oil and gas that have formed in this way begin to slowly move upwards into porous rocks that have larger spaces in them. These spaces are known as pores. Can someone tell me the name of a porous rock?
A: Sandstone?
T: Yes, that’s a good example. These porous rocks are reservoir rocks. However, oil and gas continue to rise until they reach the surface of the ground or become trapped under a layer of impermeable trap or cap rock. You can see this in diagram, here…
|
|
|
