Here I am with
my own sample of thick and gooey Coalinga crude. Smells gross, too!
Here I am with
my own sample of thick and gooey Coalinga crude. Smells gross, too!
Crude oil is petroleum that has been pumped out of the ground and has not been refined yet. It smells like sulfer and is very stinky. Crude Oil can be refined into gas, gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, fuel oil, and long residue.
Coalinga crude, fresh from the ground
Gas is used for things like cigarette lighters. Gasoline is used in making plastics, and for aviation fuel and car gasoline. Kerosene is used for things like lamp oil. Gas oil is used for things like diesel fuel. Fuel oil is used as heating oil for houses and marine diesel fuel for ships. Long residue is used for things like lubricants, paraffin for candles, and asphalt.
This pump in Coalinga brought up the oil in the tank above.
In 1904, oil was used for gasoline in the new cars, sugar refineries, and in steamers, but only after Captain William Matson proved that oil was more efficient than coal, the common fuel at the time. Four barrels of oil produce the same amount of energy as a ton of coal. Back then, a barrel of oil (42 gallons) cost less than a dollar and a ton of Australian coal cost seven to eight dollars. Captain Matson and anyone who followed his idea at the time saved almost half the money they would be spending on coal.
Captain Matson had a good idea when he built the pipeline because it saved him money on fuel for his steamers and he made more profit by selling oil to sugar refineries.