About NOIA
History of Offshore
Scope of Offshore Operations
About Petroleum
About Natural Gas
Oil in the Sea
Suggested ReadingPeople use oil and gas more than any other source of energy. From oil, refineries make or extract gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants. Petrochemical plants make plastics and fertilizers. Natural gas heats our homes and fires steam generators to make electricity. Without oil and gas, everyone's life would be different.
The petroleum industry produces oil and gas from special layers of rocks called reservoirs. Like a multilayered cake, additional beds of rock lie about and below these reservoirs. And, like the frosting on a cake, a relatively thin layer of ground sometimes covers the rock layers. On the other hand, the "frosting" may not be dry land; it may be water instead. Since oceans and seas cover about three-fourths of the earth, it is no surprise that water also covers rock layers.
The petroleum industry's expansion into the seas and oceans of the world has been inevitable. Land sites for these valuable minerals are dwindling, while the world's demand for oil and gas is increasing as more and more countries expand their industrial development.
