黑金：石油的故事

油。它被称为“黑金”，它的使用日期回到3000英镑，当巴比伦人将用作砂浆建筑和防水船只时。石油是现代世界的基础之一。在这里，我们看看其迷人的历史。

What is oil?

油是一种自然发生的化石燃料，被困在地下。深色液体由有机材料的混合物组成，包括烃，并通过这些材料加热并在数千年上压缩。

Oil as it’s found in nature is known as crude oil, or unrefined petroleum. Most of the crude oil we use today is extracted from the ground by drilling oil wells. The oil is then refined and turned into a whole range of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heating oil, bitumen, asphalt and feedstocks that are used to make chemicals, plastics and synthetic materials.

The early days of oil

欧洲定居前久，美洲原住民印第安人在美国东北发现的石油。Iroquois部落，包括宾夕法尼亚州的塞内卡印第安人，从地面上提取油，并将其与其他物质混合，以制作战争涂料，蚊子驱蚊剂和愈合酱。

In the 16th century, early settlers were known to trade oil and other materials with the Native Americans. They used the oil as grease for tools and wagons, as fuel for kerosene lamps and for medicinal purposes.

It wasn't until 1859 that Edwin L Drake, backed by the Seneca Oil Company, drilled America’s first commercial oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. He pioneered a technique of using cast iron pipes to line bore holes, which enabled deeper drilling. The well’s success would trigger an oil rush and spawned a新的，利润丰厚的行业。到19世纪末，美国成为世界主导的石油生产商。

20世纪的发现

At the turn of the 20th century, the Standard Oil Company (owned by John D Rockefeller) dominated America’s petroleum industry. But a major discovery would soon change all that.

In 1901, the world's (then) most powerful oil well was discovered at Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas. The gush blew oil more than 50 metres in the air at a rate of 100,000 barrels a day for nine days, making it the largest “gusher” in the world and catapulting the US into an oil boom. Hundreds of new oil companies were launched, and market competition was created in earnest for the first time.

全球各地，英国主体威廉·克诺斯·埃西正在同年期间谈判波斯（现在是伊朗）的独家石油勘探权。D'Arcy的船员继续在1908年发现中东的首批商业石油。在其领先之后，几家欧洲公司在其他中东国家获得了探索权。

汽车和两次世界大战

Back in the US, improvements in internal combustion engines and the proliferation of cars and aeroplanes created a dramatic increase in demand for oil. Concerned over potential oil shortages, government leaders encouraged oil companies to explore abroad, and many major companies responded. The Middle East would come to provide more than 60 per cent of the world’s oil supply.

第二次世界大战的爆发，因为石油成为战略优先事项，我看到第二次石油匆忙。战舰被从煤炭燃烧器转换为油，因为它使他们可以更快地移动并在海上留下来。

第二次世界大战导致武器装备和交通发展，增加了含有石油和天然气 - TNT和人造橡胶的产品数量。到那时，石油也用于加热，发电和农业机械。

20世纪90年代及以后的石油

Due to the constantly changing nature of the oil industry, oil companies continue to pioneer new technologies to allow the most efficient extraction and distribution of oil. For example, the 1990s saw the development of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’ – the pumping of high-pressure fluids into ground fractures of oil-bearing rocks so the oil can be extracted. This technique helped to increase US oil production, which led to a fall in imports from the Middle East.

So why is there continued interest in ‘black gold’? Ultimately, because we still use it – oil makes up more than 30 per cent of global energy consumption. While many people associate oil with cars, petroleum products are now used to produce everything from fertiliser to personal products.