Preface

Petroleum is one of the most important non-renewable fuel sources in the world. It is also a basic source for many raw materials used in both simple and advanced industries, including the chemical industry.

**Figure 1** shows the global distribution of crude oil production in 2020 [1].

Petroleum undergoes many complex processes, from its extraction from the ground until it reaches us in the form of different products. The petroleum industry is one of the most important and complex industries. It involves exploration and drilling, oil production, transportation of oil to refineries, and refinement and separation of oil by distillation or thermal cracking into different products (**Figure 2** illustrates some of these operations). The products obtained from crude oil include:


These processes have been thoroughly investigated in numerous studies, papers, books, and other literature [4–7]. Studies are always being conducted to record and document the latest developments in the petroleum industry. As such, this book presents and discusses some of these recent studies. It is divided into four sections. The first section includes three chapters dealing with some materials used in cracking crude oil and improving its specifications. It also includes a chapter devoted to green materials used in the petroleum industry. The second section includes chapters that discuss some operations for reducing or eliminating the hazardous effects of petroleum pollution by chemical or biological methods. The third section is concerned with studying the environmental effects of crude oil, while the fourth section includes case studies from different countries. This book is a useful resource

**Figure 1.** *Global distribution of crude oil production [Statista, N. Sönnichsen, Jul 29, 2021].*

**V**

process.

review and editing service for the chapters of this book. Finally, we wish to acknowledge IntechOpen publishing for their support throughout the publication

**Manar Elsayed Abdel-Raouf**

**Mohamed Hasan El-Keshawy**

Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute,

Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute,

Professor,

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo, Egypt

#### **Figure 2.**

*Some processes included in the petroleum industry [1–3].*

for those studying or working in the petroleum industry. We wish to thank everyone who contributed to this work, especially Prof. Dr. Abdel Rahim Mahmoud, Director of the Tanks Services Center (TSC), for providing some necessary data. We also thank the Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, which provided the language

review and editing service for the chapters of this book. Finally, we wish to acknowledge IntechOpen publishing for their support throughout the publication process.

> **Manar Elsayed Abdel-Raouf** Professor, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt

> **Mohamed Hasan El-Keshawy** Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt

#### **References**

[1] "Annual petroleum and other liquids production". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[2] https://www.wermac.org/others/ oil\_and\_gas\_transportation.html

[3] http://www.oilflux.com/productodemulsifier.php

[4] HåvardDevold, Oil and gas production handbook, An introduction to oil and gas production,transport, refining and petrochemicalindustry, ABB,ISBN 978-82-997886-3-2

[5] Abdel-Azim A. Abdel Azim, Abdul-Raheim M. Abdul-Raheim, Reem K. Kamel, Manar E. Abdel-Raouf, Demulsifier systems applied to breakdown petroleum sludge, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 78 (2011) 364–370

[6] El Naggar, A.Y., Saad, E.A., Kandil, A.T., Elmoher, H.O., 2010. Petroleum cuts as solventextractor for oil recovery from petroleum sludge. J. Pet. Technol. Altern. Fuels 1 (1),10–19 November.

[7] Storm, D.A., Decanio, S.J., Sheu, E.Y., 1994. In: Sharma, M.K., Yen, T.F. (Eds.), AsphalteneParticles in Fossil Fuel Exploration, Recovery and Refining Processes, SludgeFormation during Heavy Oil Conversion. Plenum Press, New York, p. 81.

### Section 1
