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.
Petroleum geology is the study of the origins, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels. It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons.
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation, and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fragrances, and plastics. The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream, and downstream. Upstream regards exploration and extraction of crude oil, midstream encompasses transportation and storage of crude, and downstream concerns refining crude oil into various end products.
Canada has access to all main sources of energy including oil and gas, coal, hydropower, biomass, solar, geothermal, wind, marine and nuclear. It is the world's second largest producer of uranium, third largest producer of hydro-electricity, fourth largest natural gas producer, and the fifth largest producer of crude oil. In 2006, only Russia, the People's Republic of China, the United States and Saudi Arabia produce more total energy than Canada.
The petroleum industry in Mexico makes Mexico the eleventh largest producer of oil in the world and the thirteenth largest in terms of net exports. Mexico has the seventeenth largest oil reserves in the world, and it is the fourth largest oil producer in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States, Canada and Venezuela. Mexico is a member of OPEC+ and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The oil and gas industry plays a central role in the economy of the United Kingdom. Oil and gas account for more than three-quarters of the UK's total primary energy needs. Oil provides 97 per cent of the fuel for transport, and gas is a key fuel for heating and electricity generation. Transport, heating and electricity each account for about one-third of the UK's primary energy needs. Oil and gas are also major feedstocks for the petrochemicals industries producing pharmaceuticals, plastics, cosmetics and domestic appliances.
Petroleum Act is a stock short title used internationally for legislation relating to petroleum.
There are many exemptions for fracking under United States federal law: the oil and gas industries are exempt or excluded from certain sections of a number of the major federal environmental laws. These laws range from protecting clean water and air, to preventing the release of toxic substances and chemicals into the environment: the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.
The Petroleum Act 1998 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which consolidated arrangements for the licensing, operation and abandonment of offshore installations and pipelines. As a consolidation Act, it did not change the substantive law, although certain Acts were amended and repealed.
The Energy Act 2016 is a UK Act of Parliament relating to UK enterprise law and energy in the UK. It created a new Oil and Gas Authority, meaning that a quango rather than a government minister deals with the oil and gas industry.
The Oil Taxation Act 1975 is a UK Act of Parliament relevant for UK enterprise law that was intended to ensure that oil and gas extraction companies operating in British territories and waters paid their fair share of tax. Over many years of amendments it was largely eliminated over 2015 and 2016, as the Petroleum Revenue Tax was cut to zero.
The Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which started the process of privatisation of the oil and gas industries in the UK. It empowered the government to float off and sell shares in Britoil the upstream production side of the British National Oil Corporation. It ended the British Gas Corporation’s monopoly on the transportation and supply of gas, opening up the gas market to other gas suppliers. The Act made miscellaneous provisions relating to the oil and gas industries concerning Petroleum Licences and Offshore Installations.
The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which addressed the licensing, ownership, exploitation, production, transportation, processing and refining of petroleum and petroleum products in the UK. Enacted in 1975 when the UK’s first North Sea oil was produced, the act aimed to provide greater public control of the oil industry. The act established the British National Oil Corporation and a National Oil Account; modified the conditions of petroleum licences; controlled the construction and use of underground pipelines; and controlled the development of oil refineries.
The Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which clarified the ownership of underground petroleum, vesting it in the Crown. It made provision for searching and boring for and getting (producing) petroleum and natural gas, under appropriate licenses.
The Oil and Pipelines Act 1985 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established the Oil and Pipelines Agency to buy, sell or deal in petroleum and to manage on behalf of the Crown petroleum pipelines and storage installations. The act abolished the British National Oil Corporation and transferred its assets to the Agency.
The Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which empowered the Secretary of State to control the production, supply, acquisition and use of petroleum, petroleum derived products, substances used as fuel, and electricity.
The Energy Act 1976 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which empowered the Secretary of State to control the production, supply, acquisition and use of fuels and electricity, and included measures for the conservation of fuels.
The Petroleum Royalties (Relief) Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which exempted certain petroleum licence holders of new offshore oil and gas fields from the payment of petroleum royalties or the delivery of petroleum.
The Petroleum (Production) Act 1964 is an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland which vested in the Northern Ireland Ministry of Commerce the property in undeveloped petroleum. It also made provision for searching for and producing petroleum.
The Offshore Petroleum Development (Scotland) Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which facilitated the onshore construction of offshore oil platforms for the UK Continental Shelf. Its provisions permitted the acquisition of land; the regulation of sea-based operations; the granting of licences for construction; the reinstatement of land; and financial provisions.
