petroleum production

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petroleum production

Written by Priscilla G. McLeroy, Ben H. CaudleSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Related Topics:: petroleum refining; petroleum; drilling mud; gas lift pump; cable-tool drilling

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petroleum production, recovery of crude oil and, often, associated natural gas from Earth. Petroleum is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon material that is believed to have formed from animal and vegetable debris in deep sedimentary beds. The petroleum, being less dense than the surrounding water, was expelled from the source beds and migrated upward through porous rock such as sandstone and some limestone until it was finally blocked by nonporous rock such as shale or dense limestone. In this way, petroleum deposits came to be trapped by geologic features caused by the folding, faulting, and erosion of Earth’s crust. Petroleum may ...(100 of 10540 words)

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