Petrol - Lets not discuss its price

By -

Petrol is a light fuel obtained by distillation of Petroleum. Petroleum is an oil in its raw and unrefined form which is found in natural wells under the earth’s surface. So petrol is a petroleum product and is used in internal combustion engines. It is a highly volatile flammable mixtures of hydrocarbons mainly Hexane, Heptane and Octane. It also contains additive such as AntiKnock Compounds and corrosion inhibitors. It is Greenish blue or Greyish Blue in colour. In United States and Canada, Petrol is known as GASOLINE.

Importance

In running era, fuel plays a very important role in running the wheels of modern life. Fuel Is much needed in this modern era of Industrial Revolution and rapidly increasing human population. Fuel is required to run automobiles on roads and factories for manufacturing of goods.
Petrol is the major and foremost liquid fuel used for various purposes-
  • Transportation:- Petrol and Diesel are the main sources for running of all kinds of vehicles whether on road, rail, water or air.
  • Electricity:- Petrol and Diesel are used in gas turbines for production of electricity to be used for Domestic and Industrial purposes.
  • Lubricants:- Petroleum is used for production of lubricants and greases which are used in vehicles and sophisticated machinery for factories.
Petrol can be easily transported from the producing areas to the consumers with the help of tanker and pipelines. It emits no smoke, leaves no ash and can be used upto the last drop.

Areas in India

Presently, there are four main areas from where Petroleum is being extracted. Two of them are On-Shore areas and the other two are Off-Shore areas. About two-third of the total petroleum production in India is coming from the Off-Shore oilfields. Below are the four main areas-
  • The Brahmaputra Valley :
It is the oldest oil producing region in India with its belt extending for about 1300 kilometres. The main fields are at Digboi, Moran-Hugrijan, Naharkatia, Rudrasagar and Surma Valley in the district of Dibrugarh and Sibsagar in Assam.
The crude petroleum from Digboi is sent to Digboi refinery, from Naharkatia to Noonmati refinery, from Moran-Hugrijan to Barauni refinery.
  • The Gujarat Coast :
It is the second largest petroleum producing region in India. This area has two district oil-bearing belts. One is Gulf of Cambay( Cambay and Ankleshwar ) and the second is area from Kaira to Mehsana( Kalol, Navgam, Bacharfi and Mehsana ). The petroleum from this area is rich in Kerosene and Petrol. It contains less sulphur and more wax. The entire petroleum from this area is sent to Koyali and Trombay refineries.
  • Western Coast Off-Shore Area :
It is the largest oil producing region in India and is located about 176 km north west of Mumbai. The petroleum contains a higher percentage of petrol and Kerosene. It is extracted from a depth of about 1400 m with the help of a specially designed platform called Sagar Samrat. India has recently discovered an oil field names as ‘The Basselin Oilfields’ situated towards the south of Mumbai High. The petroleum is taken out from a depth of about 1900 m. Its production has been started and is expected to be more than that of Mumbai High. India has also discovered ‘The Aliabet Oilfields’ in the Gulf of Khambhat which is about 45 km from Bhavnagar.
  • Eastern Coast Off-Shore Area :
This area contains the basin and delta regions of Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri rivers. These fields contribute about 3 to 4 million tons of crude oil every year. Crude oil reserves have also been found in Bilaspur( UP ), Jawalamukhi( Punjab ), Barmer( Rajasthan ).

Imports

After Independence, India has to depend heavily on imports of oil for its development in Industry and transportation. Consumption of petrol and its products has always outstripped production in India. The bill of imports has been rising every year due to its increased demand for economic growth and the rising prices of oil in the International market. In 1960’s, India’s oil import bill was less than 9% of total imports. After the first oil crisis in 1973-74, the percentage of import oil bill increased to 30% and after the second oil crisis in 1980’s, the percentage jumped to 75%.
India’s petroleum production declined in 1989-90 and 1993-94 which worsened the balance position between production and consumption. In the year 2003-04, India imported 99495 thousand tonnes of petroleum against production of 33043 thousand tonnes only i.e, the import bill was more than three times the production. This became a very serious concern for India with respect to its foreign exchange reserves. With increase in the growth of Industry and transport, demand for oil will further increase and will worsen the situation further year by year.
India imports a great quantity of oil and its demand has risen to about 300000 b/d. About 65% of crude imports come from the risky Middle East. If Western sanctions are lifted on Iran, India has demand for more imports. India is Iran’s biggest oil customer. India has deep ties with Iran regarding its increased oil and gas imports through pipeline.

Alternatives

The level of crude oil is lowering down and its reserves are going to be exhausted within a few decades. Scientists are making efforts for parallel resourses --
  • Scientists have started utilising inexhaustible sunlight. India is giving big promotions for solar power projects. Solar power projects have high investment but no maintenance cost.
  • Hydel power projects for production of electricity. Several multinational riverine projects are being proposed.
  • Scientists have also find a way for energy generation from wind. A silver line for future can also be seen through windmills. China has already produced over 150000 MW of power using windmills.

Conclusion

No doubt, Petroleum will continue to play a major role in our life in near future. But because of its reducing stock, technologists are inclined to reduce our dependence on this fuel. Secondly, the fuel is highly polluted and cannot remain the basis of a completely sustainable society. Transportation Industry is responsible for consuming about 70% of crude oil produced. Efforts are for production of electric vehicles giving similar performance. The major factors holding back the production of electric vehicles are the cost of batteries, the recycling of batteries and the time that it takes to change a battery. It can take several decades before these batteries become affordable. With the successful manufacturing of electric motors, the burden of fuel cost will reduce to a large  extent. Meantime, we should avoid the usage of Petroleum products like plastics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ram Janambhoomi - Start to End

By -
Image
Ram Janma Bhoomi is the birthplace of Lord Rama, the 7th avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. It is situated on the banks of the river Sarayu in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state of India. According to the history, Mughal Emperor Babar demolished an old temple at Ram Janmabhoomi and built a mosque in its place. The mosque was named as ‘Babri Masjid’ after the name of Babar. This Babri Masjid became a spot of dispute between Hindus and Muslims. The political, historical and social-religious debate over whether a temple was demolished to create mosque , has become an hot issue as ‘Ayodhya Dispute’. The dispute started in 1855 between Hindus and Muslims over the possession of the Babri Masjid. The British administration in 1859 constructed railways to split the place of worship. Inner area was allowed for Muslims and outer for Hindus to worship. It continued for about 90 years. In 1949 , suddenly an idol of lord Rama appeared inside the mosque. Hindus claimed it as ...
Read more

Typhoid - Catch it before it catches you

By -
Image
S ummers are ahead and one should be ready to face various summer diseases. It is not that everyone should suffer from these diseases, but still precautions have to be taken by everyone. Precautions are better than Cure, so be ready to check out common summer diseases so that this summer may stay you healthy and fit. Typhoid is the most chronic disease among the summer diseases. Here are the efforts to give some collected tips about typhoid for one’s sound health. T yphoid fever is an infection caused by a strain of bacteria called Salmonella typhi. Salmonella infection is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. Salmonella bacteria typically live in animal feces(waste matter discharged from the bowls after food digestion). Causes Humans are most frequently infected through contaminated water or food. So this fever is mostly found in those parts of the world where levels of sanitation and hygiene are poor. It is also spread by flying insects f...
Read more

How to live the best phase of your life - Retirement

By -
Image
R etirement is the beginning of a new stage of life after cessation of routine work on attaining a certain age or leaving one’s job. Leaving aside one’s personal tensions, retirement is a stage of relaxation from his routine job work. After retirement, one has to readjust his routine regarding spending time with his family, his friends, on worship and in personal hobbies. This stage is in fact a second innings of his life and he has to readjust his daily routine according to his choice and necessities. Many people sweat dream about retirement , but the reality is not always positive. There are pros and cons of retirement in terms of lifestyle and finances depending upon one’s background, responsibilities and events happened in his life. T ime is very precious and a retiree has an abundance of it. Retirement provides a great level of  freedom and flexibility in doing whatever one wants to do. Retirees who love to travel are free to make any travelling programme instantly wi...
Read more