Everyday we use products made from crude oil and natural gas. Some of these products are rather obvious like the gasoline we use in our cars and trucks and the natural gas we burn to heat our homes. However, there are many other products that we consume that most people never think of coming from oil and gas.
Everyday we use products made from crude oil and natural gas. Some of these products are rather obvious like the gasoline we use in our cars and trucks and the natural gas we burn to heat our homes. However, there are many other products that we consume that most people never think of coming from oil and gas.Natural Gas Does More than Heat Our Homes
Family Watching TVLet's start with natural gas. Natural gas produced from beneath the earth's surface is transported by a system of pipelines to consumers. The gas is burned to produce energy to heat homes, business, and industrial plants. Natural gas is also used to dry clothes and cook food.
Industries use natural gas to provide energy for various manufacturing processes. Automobile plants use natural gas to heat air to dry paint on cars and trucks. Food companies use natural gas to dry products like potato chips and pretzels. Industrial users also burn natural gas to produce steam for various operations.
Utility companies use natural gas to produce electricity. Natural gas is burned to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. So not only does natural gas keep us warm in the winter, it also helps keep us cool in the summer.
Natural gas is also being used as a transportation fuel. Compressed natural gas or CNG is used in government and company car and van fleets.
Oil and gas companies obtain other products from natural gas that help improve our lives. Natural gas contains compounds that are removed before the gas is sent to customers. Three important chemicals are obtained from natural gas: ethane, propane, and butane. Ethane is a raw material in the petrochemical industry. Ethane is processed to make ethylene that is used to manufacture polyethylene. Polyethylene is a plastic that is used in a variety of products including house wares, insulation, packaging films, and toys. Ethylene is used to manufacture ethylene oxide which is a raw material to make ethylene glycol or anti-freeze for car and truck radiators. Ethylene oxide is used to prepare polyester fibers, film and latex paints. Ethylene is combined with chlorine to make vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride is used to make polyvinyl chloride or PVC for pipes. Ethylene is a raw material to manufacture vinyl acetate for paints and adhesives. Polystyrene manufactured from ethylene is used to make resins for rubber. Ethanol is also produced from ethylene.
Propane and butane from natural are blended to produce LPG for cooking and heating. Propane and butane are also used to manufacture the chemical building blocks: propylene and butylene. Propylene oxide produced from propylene is used to sterilize medical and food products and to manufacture surfactants. Propylene glycol, made from propylene, is used as a moisturizer in skin care lotions and cream. Propylene glycol is used as industrial antifreeze and as hydraulic and brake fluid. Butylene is an important chemical used in manufacturing products that improve the quality of gasoline. LPG is also being used in transportation.
Row of Crops at FarmNatural gas is a raw material to make ammonia for agricultural fertilizer. Carbon black, which is used to reinforce rubber and make ink and batteries, comes from natural gas. Paints use lamp black formed from natural gas for tinting. Sulfur impurities contained in natural gas are removed to obtain raw materials for agricultural chemicals.
Crude Oil Products Keep Us Moving
Crude oil is a liquid that comes from reservoirs below the earth's surface. It is called crude oil because it must be processed or "refined" into useable products like gasoline. Crude contains many different compounds with different properties. When these compounds are separated, they produce refined products.
City TrafficThe most important refined product is gasoline. Gasoline is burned in car and truck engines. Gasoline is also the most visible product produced by the oil and gas industry because of the presence of service stations and the importance of the automobile in American life. Think what your day would be like without gasoline.
No way to get to work, school, shopping plazas, movies, amusement parks, and beaches. The partnership between the automobile industry and the oil and gas industry has transformed the American lifestyle and given us greater freedom.
The next most important products from crude oil are home heating oil and diesel fuel. These are the same products except for some minor differences. Home heating oil is used to heat homes. Diesel fuel is used for fuel in truck, bus, train, and ship engines. Diesel fuel is one of the most important fuels in the world's economy because it provides energy to transport products from manufacturers to consumers.
Crude oil is also the source of jet fuel for airlines. Jet fuel allows us to move passengers and freight around the world in a fast and efficient manner. Jet fuel has helped to shrink the earth, allowed us to visit friends and family, and make new acquaintances all over the world.
Residual fuel oil is used for boiler fuel to power industrial plants. These boilers produce steam, heat, and electricity for use in manufacturing processes. Residual fuel is also use as bunker fuel in large ocean-going tankers.
Not only does crude oil provide the fuels that power engines it also produces the lubricants that reduce friction and the wear on the engine parts. Lubricants are used in car and truck motors, airplane engines, railroad engines, and turbines for power plants. Lubricants are also used to make salves, ointments, and cosmetics.
In addition to supplying the fuel used to transport people and products, crude oil also provides the asphalt to pave roads.
Petroleum coke from crude oil is used to make electrodes to produce aluminum and as a raw material to manufacture steel.
Aromatic compounds from crude oil such as benzene, toluene, and xylene are important chemical building blocks and are used to manufacture plastics, agricultural chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Oil and Gas Keep the World Running
The products made from crude oil and natural gas really do keep the world running and improve our lifestyle and standard of living. Where would we be without these products? Oil and gas have allowed us to...
increase the production of food
visit and do business with countries around the world,
heat and cool our homes, businesses, and schools,
improve our health and defeat life-threatening diseases,
manufacture products that make our life easier, and
move around our community and the world with ease.
