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Petrodollar

Petrodollar

A petrodollar is a dollar earned by a country through the sale of oil. The term was coined by Ibrahim Oweiss, a professor of economics at Georgetown University, in 1973. Oweiss felt there was a need for a word to describe the situation which was occurring in the OPEC countries, where it was entirely the sale of crude oil which allowed these nations to prosper economically and to invest in the economies of the nations which purchased their oil. In the West, the word has been used to reference the large financial leverage the OPEC countries held until the turn of the century, and has been seen by some Arab politicians as offensive because it stereotyped OPEC producers as crude nouveau-riche nations interested in purchasing political goodwill. Considerable concern was being expressed at the time, particularly by the American media, that the American economy was in danger of being held hostage by the interests of some OPEC countries. More recently, speculation has arisen that OPEC may switch from the US dollar to the Euro, inaugurating the Petroeuro. So far, OPEC has resisted this move although some OPEC members (such as Iran and Venezuela) have been pushing for a switch to the Euro. During Iraq's Oil-for-Food Programme, Saddam Hussein did switch to the Euro and some commentators claim this switch was another factor contributing to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. As noted by Cóilín Nunan, "A move away from the dollar towards the euro could have a disastrous effect on the US economy" because the US's negative balance of trade is largely offset by its role as a reserve currency. See The hidden hand of American hegemony : petrodollar recycling and international markets / David E. Spiro. Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1999. xiv, 177 p. ; 25 cm. LOC call # HG3883.A67 S64 1999

External links

- [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/122683/831226008.html Washington Report]
- [http://www.feasta.org/documents/review2/nunan.htm Petrodollar or Petroeuro? A new source of global conflict, by Cóilín Nunan]
- [http://www.tacomapjh.org/petrodollartheories.htm Petrodollar Theories of the War]
- [http://www.hotpotatomedia.com/mpgs/100404cb.mp3 MP3 of interview with Carol Brightman author of "Total Insecurity: The Myth of American Omnipotence"] in which Saddam Hussein's switch to the Euro is discussed
- [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/12/22/2000/main259203.shtml A Look At The World's Economy (December 2000)] from CBS News

Ibrahim Oweiss

Dr. Ibrahim Oweiss is an Egyptian-born American economist, international economic advisor, and professor of economics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, United States. He is currently Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics, Georgetown University. He coined the influential term "petrodollars" in 1973 to describe the US dollar-denominated income of many oil-rich countries, particularly the OPEC states of the Persian Gulf region.

Life and Career

Dr. Oweiss received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Alexandria University in Egypt majoring in economics and political science before moving to the United States to earn Masters and Ph.D. degrees in economics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Oweiss joined the faculty of Georgetown University in 1967. While on leave from Georgetown University, he was appointed to the Cabinet of the Egyptian government as First Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs in 1977 and with rank of Ambassador, held the position of the Chief of the Egyptian Economic Mission to the United States in New York. He is currently on staff at Georgetown's recently established School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Dr. Oweiss has authored over fifty scholarly publications including Petrodollar Surpluses, Arab Civilization, The Political Economy of Contemporary Egypt, and in a pioneering work on oil revenues, he coined the term petrodollars. The Oweiss Demand Curve was first presented at Oxford University. He has been an important faculty member who shaped generations of students at Georgetown in economics, international affairs, and other fields. His academic interests have focused on international trade, especially free trade, and the economics of the Middle East. He has advocated for greater international cooperation and mutual understanding among countries. He has worked for several governments, multinational corporations, and individuals, in the USA and abroad as an economic advisor. Dr. Oweiss is President of the Council on Egyptian-American Relations and was one of the founding members of Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at Georgetown University as well as the College of Commerce and Economics at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.

Family

He is married to Céline Oweiss, professor in the Department of French at Georgetown. They have two children, a daughter, Yasmeen, and a son, Kareem, an accomplished pianist.

External Link

- [http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/oweissi/bio.htm Official Homepage at Georgetown University] Oweiss, Ibrahim Oweiss, Ibrahim

Professor

A professor (Latin: "one who claims publicly to be an expert") (prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. Professors are qualified experts who give lectures and seminars in their field of study, such as the basic fields of science or literature or the applied fields of engineering, music, medicine, law, or business. They also perform advanced research in their fields and are expected to do pro bono community service (including consulting functions, such as advising government and not-for-profit entities) and train young academics who should replace them. The balance of these four classic fields of professorial tasks depends heavily on the institution, place (country), and time. For example, professors at highly research-oriented universities in the U.S. (and all European universities) are promoted primarily on the basis of their research achievements.

Differences

The basic difference between levels of professor according to the national academic system is that in the English-speaking countries, the designation is based on career, whereas in Continental Europe, it is based on position. That means that if a North American Assistant Professor is performing particularly well, he or she can be promoted to Associate Professor, and if this is the case again, on to (full) Professor (in the United Kingdom and other countries the ranks are different, but the same principle applies). In the Continental European system, the different fields and sub-fields of teaching and research are allotted certain (professorial) chairs, and one can only become a professor if one is appointed to such a chair (which then has to be free, i.e., unoccupied, of course). Therefore, the different professorial ranks are not necessarily comparable. Differences may be distinctive in two main groups, "teaching professors" and "research professors" for the same body of knowledge in schools and colleges. There are also "corporate professors" in the work place. For example a student/professional in accounting may have to incorporate many different fields of expertise to be considered adequately trained.

Tenure

A key concept is that of tenure. A professor who holds tenure is virtually immune to dismissal and has an appointment for life. The reason for the existence of tenure is the principle of academic freedom, which holds that it is beneficial for state, society, and academe in the long run if professors are free to hold and advance controversial views without fear of losing their jobs. Tenure ensures that professors can engage with current political or other controversies. Critics assert that it also means that lazy or unpleasant professors cannot be forced to improve, and has thus recently come under attack from those who want a more business-like approach to universities, including performance review, audits, performance-based salaries, etc.

Survey of the main systems and concepts

North American

Main positions

- Assistant professor: the entry-level position, for which one usually needs a Ph.D. or other doctorate, sometimes only a masters degree (at some schools/colleges and exceptions
- such as Clinical Professorship). In some areas, such as the natural sciences, it is uncommon to grant assistant professor positions to recently graduated Ph.D.s, and nearly all assistant professors will have completed some time as Postdoctoral fellows. The position is generally not tenured, although in most institutions, the term is used for "tenure-track" positions; that is, the candidate can become tenured after a probationary period – anywhere from 3 to 7 years. Rates for achieving tenure vary, depending on the institutions and areas of study; in most places about 50% of assistant professors are tenured and promoted to associate professors after the 6th year; however, this number can be as low as 10% in natural sciences departments of top-10 universities such as Princeton, or over 70% in non-PhD granting schools. In unusual circumstances it is possible to receive tenure but to remain as an assistant professor, typically when tenure is awarded early.
- Associate professor: the mid-level position, usually awarded (in the humanities and social sciences) after the "second book" — although the requirements vary considerably between institutions and departments. Generally upon obtaining tenure, one is also promoted to associate professor. In relatively rare circumstances, a person may be hired at the associate professor level without tenure. Typically this is done as a financial inducement to attract someone from outside the institution, but who might not yet meet all the qualifications for tenure. If awarded to a non-tenured person, the position is almost always tenure-track with an expectation that the person will soon qualify for tenure.
- (Full) professor: the senior position. In a traditional school this is always tenured. However, this may not be the case in a for-profit private institution. The absence of a mandatory retirement age contributes to "graying" of this occupation. The median age of American full professors is currently around 55 years. Very few people attain this position before the age of 40. This position is well paid — the annual salary of full professors averages around $90,000, although less so at non-doctoral institutions, and more so at private doctoral institutions (not including side income from grants and consulting, which can be substantial in some fields). Full professors earn on average about 70% more than assistant professors in the same institution. However, particularly in scientific and technical fields, this is still considerably less than salaries of those with comparable training and experience working in industry positions.
- Distinguished (teaching/research) professor, University Professor, Institute Professor: these titles, often specific to one institution, generally are granted to the top few percent of the tenured faculty (and sometimes to under one percent). Life of a typical natural sciences professor in United States:
- Bachelor's degree: 18–22
- Ph.D.: 22–28 (rarely takes less than 5 or more than 8 years)
- Post-doc: 28–32 (highly variably, and multiple post-docs are increasingly common)
- Assistant professor: 32–38
- Associate professor: 38–45 (varies)
- Full professor: 45–70 (professors were forced to retire at 70 during 1986–1993, this is no longer the case; retirement age is now at professors' own discretion; most retire between 65 and 75)
- Professor emeritus (retired): 70+

Other positions

Professor emeritus: after full professors retire from active duties, they may continue to teach and to be listed; they may also draw a very large percentage of their last salary as pension (as tenure is technically for life). NB: The concept has in some places been watered down to include also associate tenured professors; in some systems and institutions, it needs a special act or vote. Visiting professor: someone visiting another college or university to teach for a limited time; this may be someone who is a professor elsewhere or a distinguished scholar or practitioner who is not. The term may also refer simply to terminal (usually 1–3 years) teaching appointments and/or post-doctorate research appointments (which are much like research internships). Adjunct professor: someone who does not have a permanent position at the academic institution; this may be someone with a job outside the academic institution teaching courses in a specialized field; or it may refer to persons hired to teach courses on contractual basis (frequently renewable contracts); it is generally a part-time position with a teaching load below the minimum required to earn benefits (health care, life insurance, etc.), although the number of courses taught can vary from a single course to a full-time load (or even an overload). An adjunct is generally not required to participate in the administrative responsibilities at the institution often expected of other full-time professors, nor do they generally have research responsibilities. The pay for these positions is usually nominal, even though adjuncts typically hold a Ph.D., but most adjuncts also hold concurrent positions at several institutions or in industry. Adjuncts provide flexibility to the faculty, acting as additional teaching resources to be called up as necessary, however, their teaching load is variable: classes can be transferred from adjuncts to full-time professors, classes with low enrollment can be summarily canceled and the teaching schedule from one semester to the next can be unpredictable (furthermore, if the university makes a good faith offer to an adjunct professor of teaching during the following semester (dependent on enrollment), the adjunct generally cannot file for unemployment during the break). In some cases, an adjunct may hold one of the standard ranks in another department, and be recognized with adjunct rank for making significant contributions to the department in question. Named chair: a particularly senior full professor who is awarded a specific, endowed chair that has been sponsored by a fund, firm, person, etc. Named chairs are usually similar to the Continental European model in that they are a position rather than a career rank. Professor by courtesy: a professor who is primarily and originally associated with one academic department, but has become officially associated with a second department, institute, or program within the university and has assumed a professor's duty in that second department as well. Example: "Henry T. Greely is Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics at Stanford University". Usually the second courtesy appointment carries with it fewer responsibilities and fewer benefits than a single full appointment. Professor – research: a professor who does not take on all four of the classic duties (see overview) but instead focuses on research. Typically, such a professor may be invaluable to his university department in procuring research funding and/or in publishing scholarly works, and therefore the department would prefer that he not distract himself with teaching duties that are not directly linked to his research activities. Usually research professors must fund their salary entirely or largely through research grants (although this may be the case with any professor who does not teach a full load).
- By analogy with the above, one often sees assistant or associate research professors, and assistant or associate — but seldom if ever full — teaching professors who focus on teaching and supervising teaching assistants.
- In some institutions, the teaching and research titles do not exist, though professors will often devote more time to one than the other. Honorary professor: normally granted to those who have contributed significantly to the school and community. Say, by donation for furtherance of research and academic development. Gypsy scholar: is an informal term given to some academics who either move several times between institutions and/or work at two or more institutions at a time. There are several possible reasons explaining the existence of gypsy scholars, among these are the fact that many teaching jobs are now either part-time or terminal (1-3 years), with tenure-track positions harder to secure, and also a high cost of housing and living. The latter appears to have become a fairly common situation in California, where the price of housing has skyrocketed (as of 2005). In practice, students at many North American universities will both due to habit and out of courtesy refer to any instructor as a "professor" regardless of status, including those holding adjunct or term-limited appointments; exceptions are usually only made in the case of graduate students (graduate teaching assistants), visiting artists, lecturers, and instructors, as these are technically not faculty positions and have no associated titles.

Most other English-speaking countries

See Lecturer and academic rank for an explanation of these titles In Britain and some Commonwealth countries (but not Canada, which follows the North American system), equivalently senior academics to assistant and associate professors are generally known as "Lecturers", "Senior Lecturers" and "Readers", with professorships reserved for only the most senior academic staff. A Professor in these countries holds either a departmental chair (generally as the head of the department or of a sub-department) or a personal chair (a professorship awarded specifically to that individual). In that sense, only full professors (North American style) are equivalents of professors. The title of "Professor" is a great honour, normally reserved in correspondence to full professors only; lecturers and readers are properly addressed by their academic qualification (Dr. for a Ph.D, D.Phil or M.D. and Mr./Ms. otherwise).

French (France, Belgium)

After the doctorate or a grande école, scholars who wish to enter academe may apply for a position of maître de conférences ("master of conferences"). After some years in this position, they may take an "habilitation to direct theses" [or "to conduct research"] before applying for a position of professeur des universités ("university professor"). In the past, this required a higher doctorate [a "State Degree"]. In some disciplines such as Law, Management ["Gestion"] and Economics, candidates take the agrégation competitive examination. Only the higher-ranked are nominated.

German (Central European)

After the doctorate, German scholars who wish to go into academe are supposed to take a Habilitation, i.e. they write a second thesis and spend some time in an inferior position. Once they pass, they are called Privatdozent and are eligible for a call to a chair. Note that in Germany, there has been always a debate of whether Professor is a title that remains one's own for life once conferred (similar to the doctorate, which becomes part of the legal name), or whether it is linked to a function (or even the designation of a function) and ceases to belong to the holder once she or he quits or retires (except in the usual case of becoming Professor emeritus). The former view has won the day and is by now both the law and majority opinion. When appropriate the joint title "Professor Doctor" has also been heard in the German system. Similar or identical systems as in Germany (where a Habilitation is required) are in place e.g. in Austria, the German-speaking part of Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Main positions

- Professor ordinarius (ordentlicher Professor, o. Prof.): professor with chair, representing the area in question. In Germany, it's common to call these positions in colloquial use "C4" professorships, due to the name of respective entry in the official salary table for Beamte. (Since the recent reform of the salary system at universities, you might now find the denomination "W3 professor".)
- Professor extraordinarius (außerordentlicher Professor, ao. Prof.): professor without chair, often in a side-area, or being subordinated to a professor with chair. Often, successful but junior researchers will first get a position as ao. Prof. and then later try to find an employment as o. Prof. at another university. Colloquially called a "C3 professor" in Germany (or in the new scheme: "W2").
- Fachhochschulprofessor: In addition to universities Germany also has Fachhochschulen as institutions of higher learning, sometimes referred to as polytechnics or universities of applied science. Professors at FH are often looked down on by university professors, they had to go to court to be able to use the title of just plain "Professor", whereupon the university professors assumed "Univ.-Professor" as their title. Since the new salary scheme has been instituted there are both W2 and W3 professors planned for the Fachhochschulen, however, very few have actually accepted positions since the new scheme, which pays much less money than the old one.
- Professor emeritus: just like in Northern America (see above); used both for the ordinarius and for the extraordinarius, although strictly speaking only the former is entitled to be called this way. Although retired and being payed a pension instead of a salary, they may still teach and take exams and often still have an office.
- Juniorprofessor: an institution started in 2003 in Germany, this is a 6-year time-limited professorship for promising young scholars without Habilitation. It is supposed to rejuvenate the professorship through fast-track for the best, who eventually are supposed to become professor ordinarius. This institution has been introduced as a replacement for the Habilitation, which is now considered more an obstacle than a quality control by many. Being new, the concept is highly debated due to the lack of experiences. The main point of criticism is that the Juniorprofessor is expected to apply for professorships at other universities during the later of the six years, as his university is not supposed to offer him tenure itself (other than in the tenure track schemes used e.g. in the USA).

Other positions

- Honorarprofessor: equivalent of the North American adjunct professor, non-salaried.
- außerplanmäßiger (apl.) Professor: either a tenured university lecturer or Privatdozent to whom the title is given if she or he has not attained a regular professorship after a while, or likewise an adjunct professor. The word außerplanmäßig (meaning "outside of the plan (of positions and salaries)") denotes that he is not paid as a professor but only as a researcher.

Other professors:

In the United States, the bestowal of titles on persons is prohibited by constitution. On the other hand, most European governments actively grant different honorifics to their noted citizens. Therefore, the government is actually considered to have a final say in who should be called a professor. This leads to some other uses of professor.
- Professor as a honorary title: In some countries using the German-style academic system (e.g. Austria, Finland, Sweden), Professor is also an honorific title that can be bestowed upon an artist, scholar, etc., by the President or by the government, completely independent from any actual academic assignment.
- Gymnasialprofessor (High School Professor): Senior teachers at certain senior high schools in some German states and in Austria were also designated Professor in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Israel

The rank system largely parallels the American one, except that there are four faculty ranks rather than three: lecturer (martze), senior lecturer (martze bakhir), associate professor (profesor khaver), and full professor (profesor min ha-minyan). The most junior rank is presently in the process of being phased out: depending on the institution, a candidate is considered for tenure together with promotion to senior lecturer or to associate professor.

Professors in fiction

In fiction, in accordance with a stereotype, professors are often depicted as being shy and absent-minded. An obvious example is the 1961 movie The Absent-Minded Professor. Professors have also been portrayed as being misguided, such as the one who helped the villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, or simply evil like the Professor Moriarty who fought Sherlock Holmes. See also: mad scientist. Author and professor of English at Cornell Vladimir Nabokov frequently used professors as the protagonists in his novels.

Quotes

- "Lectures," said McCrimmon, "are our most flexible art form. Any idea, however slight, can be expanded to fill fifty-five minutes; any idea, however great, can be condensed to that time. And if no ideas are available, there can always be discussion. Discussion is the vacuum that fills a vacuum. If no one comes to your lectures or seminars, you can have a workshop and get colleagues involved. They have to come, and your reputation as an adequately popular teacher is saved."
- John Kenneth Galbraith, A Tenured Professor

References

- [http://www.aaup.org/surveys/04z/surveytab4.pdf AAUP Salary Report] Category:Academia Category:Education, training, and library occupations Category:Titles ja:教授 simple:Professor

Georgetown University

:Georgetown University should not be confused with the University of Georgetown in Georgetown, Guyana or Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY. Georgetown University is one of the preeminent and most prestigious research universities in the United States. It is located in Georgetown, a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is both the oldest Roman Catholic and Jesuit university in the United States, having been founded on January 23, 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. It is a member institution of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

The University

Globally recognized for the strength of its academic programs — especially in the fields of international relations, government and law — Georgetown University currently had 6,332 full-time and part-time undergraduate students, 3,768 full-time and part-time graduate students on the Main Campus, 2,043 students at the Law Center and 713 students in the Medical School as of 2002-03. The university employs approximately 1,100 full-time and 330 part-time faculty members across its three campuses.

Competitiveness

Georgetown's overall undergraduate acceptance rate as of 2006 was 20%, a rate among the most selective of any university in the United States and many of the graduate programs, particularly in the Law Center and Medical School, are similarly competitive. The undergraduate schools maintain an Early Action admissions program. According to admissions fact sheets, applicants applying to Georgetown typically consider institutions such as Harvard University, Cornell University, Brown University, Duke University, and the Boston College during their application and subsequent enrollment periods. The Princeton Review rates Georgetown as the eleventh most difficult college to enter in the United States in its latest edition.

Student organizations and media

Georgetown University has a large number of student organizations that cover a variety of interests: student government, club sports, organizations focused on media and publications, performing arts, religion and volunteerism and service. A current list can be found [http://www.georgetown.edu/home/student_organizations.html here] on the university's website. In addition to student organizations and clubs, Georgetown University is also home to the largest student-run company in the nation, [http://www.thecorp.org Students of Georgetown, Incorporated], also known as "The Corp" which does business in excess of $3 million a year. Georgetown University has three student-run newspapers. The Hoya is the university's oldest newspaper. It has been in print since 1920, and since 1987 has published twice weekly. [http://www.georgetownvoice.com The Georgetown Voice] is published weekly and [http://www.thegeorgetownindependent.com The Georgetown Independent] is published monthly. [http://www.georgetownacademy.com The Georgetown Academy] is another student paper, though it is not affiliated with, or recognized by, the university. Its contributors and editors are primarily noted for their interest in traditionalism and conservativism. The University also has a campus-wide television station, [http://www.gutvonline.com GUTV], and a radio station, WGTB.

Alumni

For a comprehensive list of alumni, see the list of notable Georgetown University alumni. Besides numerous members of the United States Congress and the senior diplomatic corps, several chiefs of states (including Bill Clinton, a former President of the United States) are alumni of the university and Georgetown graduates have served at the head of such diverse and important institutions as the AFL-CIO, the United States Marine Corps, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Football League, the University of Illinois, the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the American Medical Association, the Internal Revenue Service, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Conservative Party of Canada, the United States Navy and the Peace Corps. Major corporations run by graduates include Citigroup, Investor AB and Lucent Technologies. Major regulatory bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have had G.U. alumni at the helm in recent years. In any election cycle, a number of state governors will, generally, hold Georgetown degrees (Indiana and New Hampshire elected graduates in 2004, and graduates stood for election in Alabama, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the immediate prior cycles). In the international military arena, both the current head of the U.S. Multinational Force in Iraq and the Supreme Commander of NATO are alumni from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. Two of the fifteen most powerful women in the world as rated by Forbes magazine in 2005, (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, and Patricia Russo, the Chairwoman of Lucent Technologies) are alumni of the university.

Campus

Lucent Technologies Situated upon an area of higher elevation above the Potomac River, overlooking the rest of Washington, DC and northern Virginia, Georgetown University's Main Campus, with its classically collegiate ivy-covered buildings, fountains, cemeteries, open quadrangles, and picturesque groves of flowers and trees, has been described as one of the most beautiful college settings on the East Coast. The Main Campus, primary center of Georgetown student life and intellectual activity, is just over 100 acres (400,000 m²) in size. Within that relatively small space, the University counts over 58 buildings, student residences capable of accommodating a large portion of the student body, and diverse athletic facilities. In late 2003, the Southwest Quadrangle Project was completed. This project brought a new 784-bed student dorm, an expansive cafeteria, an underground parking facility, and new Jesuit Residence to the campus. The school's first performing arts center was completed in November 2005, while longer-term projects include the building of a self-contained Business School campus, the construction of a unified sciences center, and expanded athletic facilities. The Main Campus's main library is Lauinger Library, named after an alumnus killed during service in the Vietnam War. Riggs Library dates from the nineteenth century, and was once the institution's primary library, but is now devoted primarily to storing historical materials and as a setting for important university events and occasions. Vietnam War The Main Campus is approximately two miles from the White House, and four miles from the United States Capitol building. The main gates, known as the Healy Gates, are located at the intersection of 37th and O Streets, NW. A majority of undergraduates live on campus in several dormitories and apartment complexes, though a minority lives off-campus in the surrounding neighborhoods—Georgetown to the east and Burleith to the north—and a few reside further away. As of fall 2004, a limited number of dormitory rooms were available for graduate students, but most still reside off campus. The Medical School is located on a property adjacent to the northwestern part of the Main Campus on Reservoir Road. All students in the Medical School live off-campus, most in the surrounding neighborhoods, with some in Dupont Circle and elsewhere throug Washington DC and environs. The Law Center is located in downtown DC on New Jersey Avenue, near Union Station. Some first-year students at the Law Center live in the one on-campus dormitory. Most second-year and third-year students, as well as some first-year students, live off-campus. As there is little housing near the Law Center, most are spread throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

History

The founding date is the subject of some controversy, as construction on the buildings began in 1788, the first student was admitted in 1791, and classes commenced in early 1792. The official date of 23 January 1789 is when the Jesuit order acquired the title to the land that became the core of the campus. Interestingly, the Jesuit religious order was under prohibition or suppression during the period of Georgetown's founding, and was restored only in the early 19th century. The main campus's location was in Montgomery County, Maryland before the Georgetown neighborhood was absorbed into DC in 1871 (See History of Washington, D.C.). The Georgetown Seal is an anachronism in this respect, with the Latin around it "Collegium Georgiopolitanum ad ripas Potomaci in Marylandia" or, for non-Latin scholars, "The College of Georgetown on the shores of the Potomac in Maryland." Georgetown College suffered from continual financial difficulties during its early years, but was bolstered when it received a federal charter in 1815. The Medical School was founded in 1850, and the Law Department (now Law Center) in 1870. The school nearly collapsed during the U.S. Civil War, as most of the students left to fight for both sides. After the war, students chose to commemorate the actions of their predecessors by adopting blue and gray as the official school colors. The school did not begin to recover until the presidency of Reverend Patrick Healy, S.J. (1868-1878), the first African-American to head an American university. Healy is credited with reforming the undergraduate curriculum and the Medical and Law programs, as well as creating the Alumni Association. In addition to the liberal arts division, now known as the Georgetown College, Georgetown University has eight other divisions. The undergraduate School of Nursing was founded in 1903 and was combined with a graduate nursing program to form the School of Nursing and Health Studies. The School of Foreign Service (SFS) was founded in 1919 by Father Walsh in response to the need for institutions to train American youth for leadership in foreign commerce and diplomacy. The School of Languages and Linguistics (now the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics within Georgetown College) was organized in 1949. The School of Business Administration was created out of the SFS in 1955. It was renamed for Robert E. McDonough in 1999 and is now the McDonough School of Business offering both undergraduate and MBA degrees. The graduate programs are the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law Center, the School of Medicine, the School of Continuing Studies, and the Center for Professional Development. In December 2003, Georgetown completed its Third Century Campaign, joining only a handful of universities worldwide to raise at least $1 billion for financial aid, academic chair endowment, and new capital projects.

Academics

MBABachelors, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the most prominent Georgetown College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, the famed Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the venerable Law Center, the selective School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, the School for Summer and Continuing Education, and the Center for Professional Development.

Majors and certificates

Georgetown University offers undergraduate degrees in 48 different majors in the four undergraduate schools, as well as offering opportunities for students to design their own individualized courses of study. All majors in the College are currently open to students in the College and the School of Business as minors, as are certain other fields, including Catholic Studies, Culture and Politics, Environmental Studies, Justice and Peace Studies, Medieval Studies, Social and Political Thought and Women's Studies. Students in the College and School of Foreign Service may complete certificate programs in African Studies, Arab Studies, Asian Studies, Australian and New Zealand Studies, European Studies, International Business Diplomacy (SFS only), Justice & Peace Studies (SFS only), Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies (SFS only), Muslim-Christian Understanding, Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, Science, Technology and International Affairs (College only), Social and Political Thought (SFS only) and Women's Studies (SFS only).

Georgetown College - Bachelor of Arts

Law Center
- American Studies
- Anthropology
- Arabic
- Art, Music & Theater
- Chinese
- Classics
- Comparative Literature
- Computer Science (created in 2005)
- Economics
- English
- French
- German
- Government
- History
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Italian
- Japanese
- Linguistics
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Economy
- Portuguese
- Psychology
- Russian
- Sociology
- Spanish
- Theology

Georgetown College - Bachelor of Science

- Biology
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Mathematics
- Physics

Walsh School of Foreign Service

School of Foreign Service
- Culture and Politics [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/culp]
- International Economics [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/ieco]
- International History [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/ihis]
- International Political Economy [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/ipec]
- International Politics [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/ipol]
- Regional and Comparative Studies [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/rcst]
- Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA) [http://data.georgetown.edu/sfs/bsfs/majors/stia] The SFS grants the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service to undergraduate students. Graduate students can pursue six interdisciplinary graduate programs- four regional studies programs as well as the Master of Science in Foreign Service and the Security Studies Program. The regional studies programs include- Arab Studies (MAA), German & European Studies (MAGES), Latin American Studies (CLAS), and Russian & East European Studies (REES). The STIA program is the first of its kind. Harvard and Georgia Tech, among others, now have STIA programs as well. In 2005 the SFS joined four other U.S. universities in opening a campus in Education City in Doha, Qatar. All costs for the development of this campus are paid for by the non-profit Qatar Foundation. The requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree are the same as those of the Washington campus. The only major available will be International Politics. Classes will start in August 2005 with 25 students. Enrollment will expand to 100 within four years.

McDonough School of Business

- Accounting
- Finance
- International Business
- Management
- Marketing
- Operations and Information Management

School of Nursing and Health Studies

- Nursing
- Health Studies

Faculty

During December of 2005, Georgetown announced that former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios would join the staff of the Walsh School of Foreign Service. This announcement comes a year after Georgetown announced the appointment of former-CIA director George Tenet to the University teaching staff. Tenet joined other distinguished Georgetown faculty including former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Ambassador at Large Robert L. Gallucci, and former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar.

Sports

The school's sports teams are called the Hoyas. Many years ago, students well-versed in the classical languages invented the mixed Greek and Latin chant of "Hoya Saxa," translating roughly as "What Rocks," in reference to both the stalwart defense of the football team and the stone wall that surrounded the campus. ('Hoia' is Greek for 'what' or 'what a,' and 'saxa' is Latin for 'rocks.') When The Hoya newspaper was founded in 1920, the sports teams were called the Hilltoppers. Writers for the school newspaper began calling the teams the Hoyas. Local press covering Georgetown picked up on the new name and eventually the athletic department officially adopted the name as well. The mascot of Georgetown athletics programs is "Jack the Bulldog." The teams participate in the NCAA's Division I. Most sports teams compete in the Big East Conference, though the football team competes in the Division I-AA Patriot League. Intercollegiate men's sports include baseball, basketball, crew, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field. Intercollegiate women's sports include basketball, crew, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. There is also a co-ed sailing team. The Men's Basketball team, the most successful and well-known sports program at the university, won the NCAA championship in 1984 under coach John Thompson. The current coach is his son, John Thompson III, who took over from Craig Esherick.

Georgetown Trivia

- The 1973 horror film The Exorcist was set in and filmed at Georgetown. It was based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, who received an English degree from Georgetown in 1950.
- The 1985 brat pack movie St. Elmo's Fire revolved around a group of students who had just graduated from Georgetown.
- In the NBC television series The West Wing, President Bartlet's daughter Zoey attends Georgetown. In the show's fourth season, an episode entitled "Commencement" was filmed on campus, with actual Georgetown students used as extras.
- U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson attended Georgetown Law School in 1934 for several months before dropping out. Another well known Georgetown Law School dropout is Donald Rumsfeld who dropped out in 1957.
- Pierce Bush, President George W. Bush's nephew, is currently a sophomore at Georgetown.
- John Carroll, S.J., founder of Georgetown University, was the first Catholic bishop in America.
- U.S. President Bill Clinton (SFS ’68) was elected Freshman and Sophomore Class president, but lost his bid for student body president.
- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visited campus in May 1861 to review the 1,400 Civil War troops stationed in temporary quarters on campus.
- Georgetown students, in 1798, were required to bring six shirts, six pair of stockings, six pocket-handkerchiefs, four cravats, four towels, one hat, and three pairs of shoes with them to campus.
- The Philodemic Debate Society was founded in 1830 and was the first collegiate debate society in the nation.
- Georgetown's Observatory, completed in 1844, was used in 1846 to determine the latitude and longitude of Washington, D.C., and was the first such calculation for the nation’s capital.
- In August 1797, U.S. President George Washington visited the campus and addressed students from the porch of Old North.
- Georgetown University was the first college in the United States to appoint a full time muslim chaplain. The Chaplain is Imam Yahya Hendi.
- Georgetown's first intercollegiate men's basketball team was formed in 1907; the team played its first game February 9, 1907, defeating the University of Virginia by a score of 22-11.

External links

- [http://www.georgetown.edu/ Georgetown University official site]
- [http://www.guhoyas.com/ GUHoyas.com] - official athletics website
- [http://college.georgetown.edu/ Georgetown College]
- [http://www.georgetown.edu/sfs/ Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service]
- [http://www.msb.georgetown.edu/ Robert E. McDonough School of Business]
- [http://snhs.georgetown.edu/ School of Nursing and Health Studies]
- [http://som.georgetown.edu/ Georgetown University School of Medicine]
- [http://www.law.georgetown.edu/ Georgetown University Law Center]
- [http://www.georgetown.edu/grad/ Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences]
- [http://www.thehoya.com/ The Hoya] - student-operated newspaper "of record"
- [http://www.georgetownvoice.com/ The Georgetown Voice] - the school's only current paper officially centered around liberalism
- [http://www.thegeorgetownindependent.com/ The Georgetown Independent]
- [http://www.georgetown.edu/organizations/phantoms/ The Georgetown Phantoms (co-ed a capella group)]
- [http://gutvonline.com/ Georgetown Univeristy Television (GUTV)]

References

- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06458a.htm
- http://traditions.georgetown.edu Category:Universities and colleges in Washington, DC Category:Georgetown University Category:Schools of Medicine in the United States Category:Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Category:Roman Catholic universities and colleges in the United States G Category:Jesuit universities and colleges in the United States

Opec

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is made up of Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela; since 1965, its international headquarters have been in Vienna, Austria. The principal aim of the Organization, according to its Statute, is the coordination and unification of the petroleum policies of its member countries and the determination of the best means for safeguarding their interests, individually and collectively; devising ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations; giving due regard at all times to the interests of the producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income to the producing nations, an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, and a fair return on their capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.

History

OPEC's member countries hold about two-thirds of the world's oil reserves. They supply 40% of the world's oil production and half of the exports. Thanks to OPEC, member nations receive considerably more for the oil they export. "Last year, OPEC's 11 members . . . received $338 billion in revenue from oil exports, a 42 percent increase from 2003, according to figures compiled by the federal Energy Information Administration (New York Times, Jan. 28, 2005). Compare these figures to those from 1972, when oil exporters received $23 billion from oil exports, or 1977, when, in the aftermath of the 1973 energy crisis, they received $140 billion (Daniel Yergin, The Prize [Simon & Schuster, 1991], p. 634). Since worldwide oil sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, changes in the value of the dollar against other world currencies affect OPEC's decisions on how much oil to produce. For example, when the dollar falls relative to the other currencies, OPEC-member states receive smaller revenues in other currencies for their oil, causing substantial cuts in their purchasing power, because they continue to sell oil in the U.S. dollar. After the introduction of the euro, Iraq unilaterally decided it wanted to be paid for its oil in euros instead of US dollars. OPEC decisions have considerable influence on international oil prices. For example, in the 1973 energy crisis OPEC refused to ship oil to western countries that had supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War or October War, which they fought against Egypt and Syria. This refusal caused a fourfold increase in the price of oil, which lasted five months, starting on October 17, 1973, and ending on March 18, 1974. OPEC nations then agreed, on January 7, 1975, to raise crude oil prices by 10%. At that time, OPEC nations—including many who had recently nationalized their oil industries—joined the call for a new international economic order to be initiated by coalitions of primary producers. Concluding the First OPEC Summit in Algiers they called for stable and just commodity prices, an international food and agriculture program, technology transfer from North to South, and the democratization of the economic system. Unlike many other cartels, OPEC has been successful at increasing the price of oil for extended periods. Much of OPEC's success can be attributed to Saudi Arabia's flexibility. It has tolerated cheating on the part of other cartel members, and cut its own production to compensate for other members having exceeded their production quotas. This actually gives them good leverage, because with most members at full production, Saudi Arabia is the only member with spare capacity, and the ability to increase supply, if needed. The policy has been successful, causing the price of crude oil to rise to levels that had, at one time, been reached only by refined products. However, OPEC's ability to raise prices does have some limits. An increase in oil price decreases consumption, and could cause a net decrease in revenue. Furthermore, an extended rise in price could encourage systematic behavior change, such as alternative energy utilization, or increased conservation. Leading up to the 1990-91 Gulf War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein advocated that OPEC push world oil prices up, thereby helping Iraq, and other member states, service debts. But the division of OPEC countries occasioned by the Iraq-Iran War and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait marked a low point in the cohesion of OPEC. Once supply disruption fears that accompanied these conflicts dissipated, oil prices began to slide. After oil prices slumped at around $10 a barrel, concerted diplomacy, sometimes attributed to Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez Frías, achieved a coordinated scaling back of oil production beginning in 1998. In 2000, Chávez hosted the first summit of heads of state of OPEC in 25 years. In August 2004, OPEC began communicating that its members had little excess pumping capacity, indicating that the cartel was losing influence over crude oil prices. Indonesia is reconsidering its membership having become a net importer and being unable to meet its production quota. The Organization now has 11 Member Countries. They are listed below with their times of membership. ;Africa:
- (Full member since July of 1969)
- (Full member since December of 1962)
- (Full member since July 1971) ;Middle East:
- (Full member since founding in September of 1960)
- (Full member since founding in September of 1960)
- (Full member since founding in September of 1960)
- (Full member since December of 1961)
- (Full member since founding in September of 1960)
- (Full member since November of 1967) ;South America:
- (Full member since founding in September of 1960) ;Southeast Asia:
- (Full member since December of 1962 - membership currently under review - Indonesia is no longer a net oil exporter) ;Former Members:
- (Full member from 1975 to 1995)
- (Full member from 1973 to 1993)

Oil-producing non-members

Some non-OPEC oil-producing nations are:
- In Europe: Azerbaijan, Norway, Russia and the UK.
- In North America: Canada, Mexico and the United States.
- In the Middle East: Oman and Yemen.
- In Africa: Angola and Equatorial Guinea
- In South America: Brazil
- In Oceania: East Timor and Australia.

External links

- [http://www.opec.org/ OPEC] website
- http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/opec.html
- [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/OPEC.html Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: OPEC] Category:History of the petroleum industry Category:International organizations Category:International trade Category:Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Category:Petroleum Category:Cartels ko:석유 수출국 기구 ja:石油輸出国機構

Crude oil

]] Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. A widely believed myth is that the oil itself is flammable; however, it is actually the gas that evaporates from the oil that is flammable. Petroleum exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earth's crust. Another name is naphtha, from Persian naft or nafátá (to flow). It consists of a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, largely of the alkane series, but may vary much in appearance, composition, and purity. Petroleum is used mostly, by volume, for producing fuel oil, which is an important "primary energy" source ([http://www.iea.org/bookshop/add.aspx?id=144 IEA Key World Energy Statistics]). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics.

Origin

Biogenic theory

Most geologists view crude oil, like coal and natural gas, as the product of compression and heating of ancient vegetation over geological time scales. According to this theory, it is formed from the decayed remains of prehistoric marine animals and terrestrial plants. Over many centuries this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under thick sedimentary layers of material. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen, and then into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. These then migrate through adjacent rock layers until they become trapped underground in porous rocks called reservoirs, forming an oil field, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping. 150 °C is generally considered the "oil window". Though this corresponds to different depths for different locations around the world, a 'typical' depth for an oil window might be 4 - 5 km. Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: a rich source rock, a migration conduit, and a trap (seal) that forms the reservoir. The reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen breaks down to oil and natural gas by a large set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions.

Abiogenic Theory

The idea of abiogenic petroleum origin was championed in the Western world by Thomas Gold based on thoughts from Russia, mainly on studies of Nikolai Kudryavtsev. The idea proposes that large amounts of carbon exist naturally in the planet, some in the form of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are less dense than aqueous pore fluids, and migrate upward through deep fracture networks. Thermophilic, rock-dwelling microbial life-forms are in part responsible for the biomarkers found in petroleum. However, their role in the formation, alteration, or contamination of the various hydrocarbon deposits is not yet understood. Thermodynamic calculations and experimental studies confirm that n-alkanes (common petroleum components) do not spontaneously evolve from methane at pressures typically found in sedimentary basins, and so the theory of an abiogenic origin of hydrocarbons suggests deep generation (below 200 km) (see results [http://www.gasresources.net/]). As with any petroleum, the idea goes, these hydrocarbons would migrate upwards with methane, sometimes bearing helium and nitrogen and frequently heavy metals such as Nickel, Vanadium, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Zinc, Mercury and others. Diamondoids are common in oil and gas and its nature probably is related to natural diamonds that come from earth's mantle. The proponents of abiogenic petroleum claim that reserves are never exhausted because they are filled from below. This idea has not been supported by any critically reviewed research. It has been widely discredited by scientists and geologists alike. Also, even if oil fields can be replenished from abiotic deposits that exist deeper within the earth, it would be very near impossible that they could be replenished at current rates of depletion, future rates aside. It would certainly take many thousands if not millions of years for oil fields to regain original levels.

Composition

In refining, the component chemicals of petroleum are separated by fractional distillation, which is a separation based on relative boiling points (or equivalently relative volatility). The different products (in order of boiling points) include light gases (e.g. methane, ethane, propane), gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel, gasoil, paraffin wax, and asphalt. Subtler techniques, such as gas chromatography, HPLC, and GC-MS, can separate some fractions of petroleum into individual compounds; these are analytical chemistry methods used mainly in quality control in refineries. Strictly speaking, petroleum consists of hydrocarbons (compounds of hydrogen and carbon) and non-hydrocarbon fractions, which might also include nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, or traces of metals such as vanadium or nickel, such elements often constituting less than 1% of the whole. The four lightest alkanes — CH₄ (methane), C₂H₆ (ethane), C₃H₈ (propane) and C₄H₁₀ (butane) — are all gases, boiling at -161.6 °C, -88.6 °C, -42 °C, and -0.5 °C, respectively (-258.9°, -127.5°, -43.6°, and +31.1° F). Crude oil is non-polar. The chains in the C_5-7 range are all light, easily vaporized, clear naphthas. They are used as solvents, dry cleaning fluids, and other quick-drying products. The chains from C₆H₁₄ through C₁₂H₂₆ are blended together and used for gasoline. Kerosene is made up of chains in the C₁₀ to C₁₅ range, followed by diesel fuel/heating oil (C₁₀ to C₂₀) and heavier fuel oils as the ones used in ship engines. These petroleum compounds are all liquid at room temperature. Lubricating oils and semi-solid greases (including Vaseline®) range from C₁₆ up to C₂₀. Chains above C₂₀ form solids, starting with paraffin wax, then tar and asphaltic bitumen. Boiling ranges of petroleum atmospheric pressure distillation fractions in degrees Celsius:
- petrol ether: 40 - 70 °C (used as solvent)
- light petrol: 60 - 100 °C (gasoline)
- heavy petrol: 100 - 150 °C (automobile fuel)
- light kerosene: 120 - 150 °C (household solvent and fuel)
- kerosene: 150 - 300 °C (jet fuel)
- gasoil: 250 - 350 °C (diesel fuel/heating oil)
- lubrication oil: > 300 °C (engine oil)
- remaining fractions: tar, asphalt, residual fuel

Extraction

Generally the first stage in the extraction of crude oil is to drill a well into the underground reservoir. Historically, in the USA some oil fields existed where the oil rose naturally to the surface, but most of these fields have long since been depleted, except for certain remote locations in Alaska. Often many wells (called multilateral wells) will be drilled into the same reservoir, to ensure that the extraction rate will be economically viable. Also, some wells (secondary wells) may be used to pump water, steam, acids or various gas mixtures into the reservoir to raise or maintain the reservoir pressure, and so maintain an economic extraction rate. If the underground pressure in the oil reservoir is sufficient, then the oil will be forced to the surface under this pressure. Gaseous fuels or natural gas are usually present, which also supplies needed underground pressure. In this situation it is sufficient to place a complex arrangement of valves (the Christmas tree) on the well head to connect the well to a pipeline network for storage and processing. This is called primary oil recovery. Usually, only about 20% of the oil in a reservoir can be extracted this way. Over the lifetime of the well the pressure will fall, and at some point there will be insufficient underground pressure to force the oil to the surface. If economical, and it often is, the remaining oil in the well is extracted using secondary oil recovery methods (see: energy balance and net energy gain). Secondary oil recovery uses various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted or low-pressure reservoirs. Sometimes pumps, such as beam pumps and electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), are used to bring the oil to the surface. Other secondary recovery techniques increase the reservoir's pressure by water injection, natural gas reinjection and gas lift, which injects air, carbon dioxide or some other gas into the reservoir. Together, primary and secondary recovery allow 25% to 35% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered. Tertiary oil recovery reduces the oil's viscosity to increase oil production. Tertiary recovery is started when secondary oil recovery techniques are no longer enough to sustain production, but only when the oil can still be extracted profitably. This depends on the cost of the extraction method and the current price of crude oil. When prices are high, previously unprofitable wells are brought back into production and when they are low, production is curtailed. Thermally-enhanced oil recovery methods (TEOR) are tertiary recovery techniques that heat the oil and make it easier to extract. Steam injection is the most common form of TEOR, and is often done with a cogeneration plant. In this type of cogeneration plant, a gas turbine is used to generate electricity and the waste heat is used to produce steam, which is then injected into the reservoir. This form of recovery is used extensively to increase oil production in the San Joaquin Valley, which has very heavy oil, yet accounts for 10% of the United States' oil production. In-situ burning is another form of TEOR, but instead of steam, some of the oil is burned to heat the surrounding oil. Occasionally, detergents are also used to decrease oil viscosity. Tertiary recovery allows another 5% to 15% of the reservoir's oil to be recovered.

Alternate means of producing oil

As oil prices continue to escalate, other alternatives to producing oil have been gaining importance. The most viable of these is the coal to oil process, known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, that aims to convert coal into crude oil. It was a concept pioneered in Nazi Germany when imports of petroleum were restricted due to war and Germany found a method to extract oil from coal. It was known as Ersatz ("substitute" in German), and accounted for nearly half the total oil used in WWII by Germany. However, the process was used only as a last resort as naturally occurring oil was much cheaper. As crude oil prices increase, the cost of coal to oil conversion becomes comparatively cheaper. The method involves converting high ash coal into synthetic oil in a multistage process. Ideally, a ton of coal produces nearly 200 liters of crude, with by-products ranging from tar to rare chemicals. Currently, two companies have commercialised their Fischer-Tropsch technology. [http://www.shell.com.my/smds Shell] in Bintulu, Malaysia, uses natural gas as a feedstock, and produces primarily low-sulfur diesel fuels. [http://www.sasol.com Sasol] in South Africa uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products. The process is today used in South Africa to produce most of the country's diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol. The process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation under Apartheid. This process has received renewed attention in the quest to produce low sulfur diesel fuel in order to minimize the environmental impact from the use of diesel engines.

History

The first oil wells were drilled in China in the 4th century or earlier. They had depth of up to 800 feet and were drilled using bits attached to bamboo poles. The oil was burned to evaporate brine and produce salt. By the 10th century, extensive bamboo pipelines connected oil wells with salt springs. Ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper echelons of their society. In the 8th century, the streets of the newly-constructed Baghdad were paved with tar, derived from easily-accessible petroleum from natural fields in the region. In the 9th century, oil fields were exploited in Baku, Azerbaijan, to produce naphtha. These fields were described by the geographer Masudi in the 10th century, and by Marco Polo in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads. (See also: Timeline of Islamic science and technology.) The modern history of oil began in 1853, with the discovery of the process of oil distillation. Crude oil was distilled into kerosene by Ignacy Lukasiewicz, a Polish scientist. The first "rock oil" ("petr-oleum") mine was created in Bobrka, near Krosno in southern Poland in the following year and the first refinery (actually a distillery) was built in Ulaszowice, also by Lukasiewicz. These discoveries rapidly spread around the world, and Meerzoeff built the first Russian refinery in the mature oil fields at Baku in 1861. 1861 by Russian engineer F.N. Semyenov, on the Aspheron Peninsula north-east of Baku.38]] The first commercial oil well drilled in North America was in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858, dug by James Miller Williams. The American petroleum industry began with Edwin Drake's discovery of oil in 1859, near Titusville, Pennsylvania. The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, driven by the demand for kerosene and oil lamps. It became a major national concern in the early part of the 20th century; the introduction of the internal combustion engine provided a demand that has largely sustained the industry to this day. Early "local" finds like those in Pennsylvania and Ontario were quickly exhausted, leading to "oil booms" in Texas, Oklahoma, and California. By 1910, significant oil fields had been discovered in Canada (specifically, in the province of Alberta), the Dutch East Indies (1885, in Sumatra), Persia (1901, in Masjed Soleiman), Peru, Venezuela, and Mexico, and were being developed at an industrial level. Even until the mid-(1950s), coal was still the world's foremost fuel, but oil quickly took over. Following the 1973 energy crisis and the 1979 energy crisis there was significant media coverage of oil supply levels. This brought to light the concern that oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out, at least as an economically viable energy source. At the time, the most common and popular predictions were always quite dire, and when they did not come true, many dismissed all such discussion. The future of petroleum as a fuel remains somewhat controversial. USA Today news (2004) reports that there are 40 years of petroleum left in the ground. Some would argue that because the total amount of petroleum is finite, the dire predictions of the 1970s have merely been postponed. Others argue that technology will continue to allow for the production of cheap hydrocarbons and that the earth has vast sources of unconventional petroleum reserves in the form of tar sands, bitumen fields and oil shale that will allow for petroleum use to continue for an extremely long period in the future. Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil. Petroleum also makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States, but is responsible for only 2% of electricity generation. Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important commodities. Access to it was a major factor in several military conflicts, including World War II and the Persian Gulf War. About 80% of the world's readily accessible reserves are located in the Middle East, with 62.5% coming from the Arab 5: Saudi Arabia (12.5%), UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. The USA has less than 3%.

Environmental effects

The presence of oil has significant social and environmental impacts, from accidents and routine activities such as seismic exploration, drilling, and generation of polluting wastes. Oil extraction is costly and sometimes environmentally damaging, although Dr. John Hunt from Woods Hole pointed out in a 1981 paper that over 70% of the reserves in the world are associated with visible macroseepages, and many oil fields are found due to natural leaks. Offshore exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine environment. Extraction may involve dredging, which stirs up the seabed, killing the sea plants that marine creatures need to survive. Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged fragile ecosystems in Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, Spain, and many other places. Burning oil releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. Per energy unit, oil produces less CO2 than coal, but more than natural gas. However, oil's unique role as a transportation fuel makes reducing its CO₂ emissions a particularly thorny problem; amelioration strategies such as carbon sequestering are generally geared for large power plants, not individual tailpipes. Renewable energy source alternatives do exist, although the degree to which they can replace petroleum and the possible environmental damage they may cause are uncertain and controversial. Sun, wind, geothermal, and other renewable electricity sources cannot directly replace high energy density liquid petroleum for transportation use; instead automobiles and other equipment must be altered to allow using electricity (in batteries) or hydrogen (via fuel cells or internal combustion) which can be produced from renewable sources. Other options include using biomass-origin liquid fuels (ethanol, biodiesel). Any combination of solutions to replace petroleum as a liquid transportation fuel will be a very large undertaking.

Future of oil

Main article: Hubbert Peak The Hubbert peak theory, also known as peak oil, is a theory concerning the long-term rate of production of conventional oil and other fossil fuels. It assumes that oil reserves are not replenishable (i.e. that abiogenic replenishment is negligible), and predicts that future world oil production must inevitably reach a peak and then decline as these reserves are exhausted. Controversy surrounds the theory, as predictions for when the global peak will actually take place are highly dependent on the past production and discovery data used in the calculation. The issue can be considered from the point of view of individual regions or of the world as a whole. Originally M. King Hubbert noticed that the discoveries in the United States had peaked in the early 1930s, and concluded that production would then peak in the early 1970s. His prediction turned out to be correct, and after the US peaked in 1971 - and thus lost its excess production capacity - OPEC was finally able to manipulate oil prices, which led to the oil crisis in 1973. Since then, most other countries have also peaked: Britain's North Sea, for example in late 1990s. China has confirmed that two of its largest producing regions are in decline, and Mexico's national oil company, Pemex, has announced that Cantarell Field, one of the world's largest offshore fields, is expected to peak in 2006, and then decline 14% per annum. For various reasons (perhaps most importantly the lack of transparency in accounting of global oil reserves), it is difficult to predict the oil peak in any given region. Based on available production data, proponents have previously (and incorrectly) predicted the peak for the world to be in years 1989, 1995, or 1995-2000. However these predictions date from before the recession of the early 1980s, and the consequent reduction in global consumption, the effect of which was to delay the date of any peak by several years. A new prediction by Goldman Sachs picks 2007 for oil and some time later for natural gas. Just as the 1971 U.S. peak in oil production was only clearly recognized after the fact, a peak in world production will be difficult to discern until production clearly drops off. One signal is that 2005 saw a dramatic fall in announced new oil projects coming to production from 2008 onwards. Since it takes on average four to six years for a new project to start producing oil, in order to avoid the peak, these new projects would have to not only make up for the depletion of current fields, but increase total production annually to meet increasing demand.

Classification

The oil industry classifies "crude" by the location of its origin (e.g., "West Texas Intermediate, WTI" or "Brent") and often by its relative weight (API gravity) or viscosity ("light", "intermediate" or "heavy"); refiners may also refer to it as "sweet", which means it contains relatively little sulfur, or as "sour", which means it contains substantial amounts of sulfur and requires more refining in order to meet current product specifications. The world reference barrels are:
- Brent Blend, comprising 15 oils from fields in the Brent and Ninian systems in the East Shetland Basin of the North Sea. The oil is landed at Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands. Oil production from Europe, Africa and Middle Eastern oil flowing West tends to be priced off the price of this oil, which forms a benchmark. See also Brent crude.
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for North American oil.
- Dubai used as benchmark for the Asia-Pacific region for Middle East Oil
- Tapis (from Malaysia, used as a reference for light Far East oil)
- Minas (from Indonesia, used as a reference for heavy Far East oil)
- The OPEC Basket consisting of
- Arab Light Saudi Arabia
- Bonny Light Nigeria
- Fateh Dubai
- Isthmus Mexico (non-OPEC)
- Minas Indonesia
- Saharan Blend Algeria
- Tia Juana Light Venezuela OPEC attempts to keep the price of the Opec Basket between upper and lower limits, by increasing and decreasing production. This makes the measure important for market analysts. The OPEC Basket, including a mix of light and heavy crudes, is heavier than both Brent and WTI. See also [http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/crude_types1.html]

Pricing

Venezuela References to the oil price are usually either references to the spot price of either WTI/Light Crude as traded on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for delivery in Cushing, Oklahoma; or the price of Brent as traded on the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) for delivery at Sullom Voe. The price of a barrel of oil is highly dependent on both its grade (which is determined by factors such as its specific gravity or API and its sulphur content) and location. The vast majority of oil will not be traded on an exchange but on a over-the-counter basis, typically with reference to a marker crude oil grade that is typically quoted via the pricing agency Platts. For example in Europe a particular grade of oil, say Fulmar, might be sold at a price of "Brent plus US$0.25/barrel".or as an intra-company transaction. IPE claim that 65% of traded oil is priced off their Brent benchmarks. Other important benchmarks include Dubai, Tapis, and the OPEC basket. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) uses the Imported Refiner Acquisition Cost, the weighted average cost of all oil imported into the US as their "world oil price". It is often claimed that OPEC sets the oil price and the true cost of a barrel of oil is around $2, which is equivalent to the cost of extraction of a barrel in the Middle East. These estimates of costs ignore the cost of finding and developing oil reserves. Furthermore the important cost as far as price is concerned, is not the price of the cheapest barrel but the cost of producing the marginal barrel. By limiting production OPEC has caused more expensive areas of production such as the North Sea to be developed before the Middle East has been exhausted. OPEC's power is also often overstated. Investing in spare capacity is expensive and the low oil price environment in the late 90s led to cutbacks in investment. This has meant during the oil price rally seen between 2003-2005, OPEC's spare capacity has not been sufficient to stabilise prices. Energy Information Administration Oil demand is highly dependent on global macroeconomic conditions, so this is also an important determinant of price. Some economists claim that high oil prices have a large negative impact on the global growth. This means that the relationship between the oil price and global growth is not particularly stable although a high oil price is often thought of as being a late cycle phenomenon. A recent low point was reached in January 1999, after increased oil production from Iraq coincided with the Asian financial crisis, which reduced demand. The prices then rapidly increased, more than doubling by September 2000, then fell until the end of 2001 before steadily increasing, reaching US $40 to US $50 per barrel by September 2004. [http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CO/M] In October 2004, light crude futures contracts on the NYMEX for November delivery exceeded US $53 per barrel and for December delivery exceeded US $55 per barrel. Crude oil prices surged to a record high above $60 a barrel in June 2005, sustaining a rally built on strong demand for gasoline and diesel and on concerns about refiners' ability to keep up. This trend continued into early August 2005, as NYMEX crude oil futures contracts surged past the $65 mark as consumers kept up the demand for gasoline despite its high price. (see Oil price increases of 2004 and 2005).) The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) trades crude oil (including futures contracts) and provides the basis of US crude oil pricing via WTI (West Texas Intermediate). Other exchanges also trade crude oil futures, eg the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London trades contracts in Brent crude. International Petroleum Exchange See also [http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm History and Analysis of Crude Oil Prices]

Top petroleum-producing countries

Source: [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables1_2.html Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government] (Ordered by amount (barrels per day) produced in 2004):
- Saudi Arabia (OPEC)
- Russia
- United States ¹
- Iran (OPEC)
- Mexico ¹
- China ¹
- Norway ¹
- Canada ¹
- Venezuela (OPEC) ¹
- United Arab Emirates (OPEC)
- Kuwait (OPEC)
- Nigeria (OPEC)
- United Kingdom ¹
- Iraq ¹ peak production already passed in this state peak production already passed in this state (Ordered by amount exported in 2003):
- Saudi Arabia (OPEC)
- Russia
- Norway ¹
- Iran (OPEC)
- United Arab Emirates (OPEC)
- Venezuela (OPEC) ¹
- Kuwait (OPEC)
- Nigeria (OPEC)
- Mexico ¹
- Algeria (OPEC)
- Libya (OPEC) ¹ ¹ peak production already passed in this state Note that the USA consumes almost all of its own production. Total world production/consumption (as of 2005) is approximately 84 million barrels per day. See also:

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