Book excerpt: Those connected with the petroleum industry will need no introduction to The Petroleum Handbook. It is a technically-oriented manual whose aim is to provide explanations of the processes of today's petroleum industry, from crude oil exploration to product end use, with some historical background and explanation of the economic context in which the oil, gas and petrochemical businesses operation. Much of the material in this sixth edition is completely new and includes the latest information on world oil and gas reserves, future prospects, transportation, storage, refining, marketing, research, and environmental conservation.