Assignment Goals
Source Material
Guiding Questions
Writing Prompt
Calibrations, Average Word Count, and Answer Keys

Assignment Goals

In this assignment you will explore the origin and distribution of oil and gas in a region of global significance, the Middle East (in particular, the Persian Gulf region), including the geologic history and the socio-political and environmental issues associated with hydrocarbon exploration and production.

You will write an essay that:
1. Describes the major geologic processes that created oil and gas in the Persian Gulf region.
2. Explains the extraction process, economics, and environmental impact of oil and gas exploration.
3. Discusses the social and political implications of petroleum resource distribution.

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Source Material

GeoSystems Today Case Study

Description

This case study explores the petroleum geology of the Persian Gulf region.

Read the text of the article from GeoSystems Today: An Interactive Casebook pgs 29-38.

Select and read Case Abstract at http://www.wiley.com/college/geocases/cases/case1/index.html.

Select Virtual Tour and Exercises. Select Tour 3 http://www.wiley.com/college/geocases/cases/case3/images/tour_3/tour_3.html.

Go through the slides and study the captions.

Technical Information

If the images are not clear. Click on [Hi-Res Image] on the lower left hand column.

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Source Material Resources: HTML Tutor - This page explains how to use simple HTML commands to format your essay. It includes such formatting items as subscripts and line returns. URL: http://www.cwu.edu/~verheys/howto.html

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Guiding Questions

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Writing Prompt

After taking the online Virtual Tour of the Persian Gulf region and reading Case Study 3, write an essay of the required length on the origin and distribution of petroleum (oil and gas) in the Middle East (in particular, the Persian Gulf region) and its socio-political significance. Be sure to use correct writing style, including a topic sentence that introduces the subject of the essay and correct paragraph form. Use YOUR OWN WORDS (NOT direct cut-and-paste exerpts from the source material) and explain or define technical terms and abbreviations. A brief outline of the important points to cover is as follows (REMEMBER that these items will appear as a checklist for reviewing essays):

• What is the "Persian Gulf region" and why is it significant? (List the nations included AND some information on the region's overall oil production and/or reserves).
• How do the Middle East/Persian Gulf and North America compare in terms of oil production AND oil reserves?
• Does the U.S. depend on imported petroleum? (In answering this queston, state some measure of annual U.S. petroleum consumption and the sources by which it is met).
• Describe the three geological steps leading to petroleum, including: (1) accumulation of source rocks, (2) formation of hydrocarbons in source rocks, and (3) migration and trapping of hydrocarbons in reservoir rocks.
• How has the geological history of the Persian Gulf region been optimal for petroleum both in terms of (1) source rock deposition and (2) tectonics (to cause maturation and trapping of hydrocarbons)?
• For what three reasons is Middle Eastern oil is unusually easy and inexpensive to produce?
• How is oil distributed in the Middle East (what nations are oil-rich vs. oil-poor) and what have been the socio-political consequences of this distribution?
• What are three environmental problems resulting from the utilization of petroleum throughout its stages (exploration, production, transportation, refining, and consumption)?
• How has oil impacted the socio-political history of the Middle East in each of these time periods: WWI to pre-WWII, WWII to the post-war years (1950's-60's), and the last 25 years?
• What do you think the U.S. should do to develop a national energy policy that will benefit our nation in the future?

Note: Formatting from word processors is NOT preserved when you copy and paste into the text box below. Refer to the HTML Tutor in the "Source Material Resources" section to learn how to format your essay with subscripts and superscripts, as well as line returns and paragraphs.

ALWAYS check your formatting by using the "Preview Text" button below. This will show you exactly how your text will appear to reviewers.

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