How Do Crude Oil and Natural Gas Become Energy for Human Use?
Deposits of crude oil and natural gas are found in many parts of the world. In Canada, they are primarily found in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, a vast 1,400,000 square kilometre area that includes all of Alberta and parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Oil and gas reserves are also found off the Atlantic coast in an area known as Hibernia. A drilling rig being towed off the coast of Nova Scotia to Hibernia. People began drilling for crude oil and natural gas in Canada 150 years ago. Canada now plays a major role in the production and export of crude oil and natural gas. Today, oil and gas companies use the latest scientific techniques and many millions of dollars to explore and drill for oil. To reach deposits, a drilling rig is used to bore a hole down through the upper layers of the Earth’s crust to get to the scattered crude oil deposits that are found in the layers of porous sedimentary rock. Figure 2: An oil drilling rig at work
