Health and environmental impact of the petroleum industry
The environmental impact of the petroleum industry is extensive and expansive due to petroleum having many uses.
Crude oil and natural gas are primary energy and raw material sources that enable numerous aspects of modern daily life and the world economy.
Their supply has grown quickly over the last 150 years to meet the demands of the rapidly increasing human population, creativity, knowledge, and consumerism.
Flaring of gas from offshore oil extraction platforms
Accumulation of plastic waste on a beach.
Petroleum distillates can create a sheen on the surface of water as a thin layer creating an optical phenomenon called interphase.
Microplastics in Mljet National Park, Croatia
Petroleum or crude oil, also referred to as simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil.
A sample of petroleum
Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
An oil refinery in Ahmadi Governorate in Kuwait
A fractional distillation apparatus
