ENV 233: INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOSSIL FUELS RESOURCES Steve Ampofo Department of Earth & Environmental Science Faculty of Applied Sciences Navrongo Campus

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES Fossil fuels provide almost 90% of the worlds energy supply. They are also referred to as hydrocarbons and include examples such as: 1.Peat & lignite 2.Coal 3.Petroleum 4.Natural gas

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS Petroleum: It is a naturally occurring complex of liquid hydrocrbons (organic carbons) that after distillation yields a wide range of fuels, petro-chemicals and lubricants. Natural gas: This mostly methane gas and frequently associated with petroleum. It is a gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons; both natural gas and petroleum originate from organic matter accumulating in marine sediment.

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS Petroleum and natural gas are concentrated underground and typically obtained by drilling. Petroleum, as well as natural gas requires a source rock, a reservoir rock and a structural or stratigraphic trap into which the oil and gas can migrate for extraction. A source rock is the geologic formation in which the oil and gas originates.

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES A Reservoir rock is a formation such as sandstone with sufficient percentage of pores so that the fluid can flow readily through it into a well. A Structural trap is the result of a structure such as an anticline that traps migrating oil or gas. A Stratigraphic trap forms as a result of natural sedimentation rather than a structure. Stratigraphic traps can be formed as a result a salt dome, sandstone lens.

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES COAL Coal is a readily combustible sedimentary rock formed in freshwater swamps from incompletely decayed plant material. It is rich in carbon and black or brown in colour. Coal if found where abundant plant material has accumulated and been buried in sufficient quantities to form an economic deposit (generally in temperate and tropical climates)

FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES COAL Coal occurs in beds Where the coal beds are deeply buried, mine shafts are required to extract the deposits. If the coal beds lies close to the surface, the overburden can be stripped off and the coal mined directly. Other variants of coal are peats and lignite whish are also combustible.

OTHER ENERGY RESOURCES URANIUM Uranium is a metal that powers nuclear reactors and produce nuclear energy. It occurs as a black uranium oxide or as the mineral carnotite. The element uranium is formed by igneous processes and because it is soluble it is readily in groundwater in the oxidised state Organic matter causes the uranium to precipitate in sandstones and shales.