Where Does Oil and Natural Gas Come From?
Oil and gas comes from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. The remnants of these plants and animals settled at the bottom of the oceans. As time passed silt, sand, and rock settled on top of the remains. The pressure from the sediments and the increasing temperature changed the silt, rock, sand and organic matter into petroleum. All of this process has taken place at the very bottom of the ocean. The oil and gas that was created at the bottom of the ocean has been able to move upward over the course of millions of years through adjacent rock layers until they finally become trapped in porous rock layers known as reservoirs. These oil reservoirs are located anywhere from 1,000 to greater than 30,000 feet beneath sea level. Since the reservoirs were created thousands of years ago, scientists have to use the latest technology available to locate them. Once the reservoirs are located, a well is drilled. Some rocks may allow the oil and gas to move freely, ma
