Welcome back. This week, we are going to look into oil. Oil, what is it?

We are
going to define oil, we are going to look at the way
which oil has been formed through various ages
in the earth's crust, and we are going to distinguish between
different kinds of deposit. We will see that the way
which oil is formed influences the way in which
it can be found today. This is something that we
will describe in words, I will try to describe in words. But especially, we will
use a variety of videos, animations, articles to help you
understand what is peculiar about the formation of oil and how it comes about. Once
we have described
how oil is formed, it will be possible to discuss about ways in which
we explore for oil. How do we find oil? Oil is buried deep in the ground, we don't
see it, we
don't know where it is. We have to look for it. There are technologies, special
technologies developed
for exploring for oil. It is very important to adopt advanced technologies
for exploring for oil. We cannot just drill
wells right and left hoping to find oil. In the past, it used
to be like that. People drilled
so-called wildcats. Sometimes they found, many
times they didn't find. Today, a well is
extremely expensive, especially if we need
to be careful about containing the
environmental impact or avoiding negative
environmental impact. So we need to be sure, pretty sure that we have
a high probability of finding something before we start
drilling an exploratory well. Once we have found the deposit, then begins the phase
of production. The phase of production, again, there are
different technologies, technologies that are adapted to specific kinds of deposit.
If the deposit is deep
underground, or rather shallow, whether it is
onshore or offshore, we need different
production technologies. It is important to follow the rules of the different
production
technologies very strictly, because this the way in which we can avoid
negative environmental impact. Anything always can go wrong. In all human activity,
we know that there are
certain things that if they are not properly used, if they are not
properly implemented, may lead to
negative consequences. So we have to be very
careful in making sure that the best techniques, the best practices are utilized in
the process
of oil exploration. If we adopt the best practices
in oil production, then there is a reasonable
expectation that we will be able to avoid severe negative
environmental impact. But if we fail to do so, if we cut corners, if we try to save
money because
it's expensive to follow the rules until the bitter end
and all details, then there is a danger,
it becomes risky. There is a danger and sometimes
there is loss of life, or there is even a serious
environmental impact as we have learned, even recently, in
some major accidents. We will cover those accidents. So with a variety of tools,
videos, animations, and
articles as I said, I hope that during this week, you will learn and will evolve a
better understanding of what it means to
be producing oil.