Just been watching a movie on TV, someone striuck oil, spurted up out of the ground as usual, daft question... but how does the oil get there in the first place, whats it come from, does it just make itself, why is it in someplaces and not others ?

Isn't it made from prehistoric tree's and plants that have been squashed into the ground after years and years of pressure from the layers of soil above?? :confused:

Mostly from sea living, microscopic plants & animals. According to Shell (http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=royal-en&FC2=/royal-en/html/iwgen/explore_our_industry/oil/zzz_lhn.html&FC3=/royal-en/html/iwgen/explore_our_industry/oil/the_formation_of_oil_and_other_fossil_fuels.html) .

I think that a lot of the terrestrial trees & plants etc. are what are now coal & peat (a lot younger).

Originally posted by poppins
Just been watching a movie on TV, someone striuck oil, spurted up out of the ground as usual, daft question... but how does the oil get there in the first place, whats it come from, does it just make itself, why is it in someplaces and not others ?

Aliens came down to this planet hundreds of thousands of years ago and injected it in to the ground, thus to create a battle arena for their entertainment when we found it.

Poppins,that really weird because I was watching a documentary last night,about BP drilling for oil.They were working for months looking for it and were just about to give up,when they struck oil hundreds of feet down in the ocean.I was just wondering the same, How did it get there ?And right under the sea as well,seams strange to me.

Oil is what you get when you squish plants and animals down for millions of years in a hot environment.

You find oil where the geology of the area has allowed a carboniferous forest or prehistoric sea floor to be covered with sedimentary deposits, which finally crushes down to become rock. Over time the pressure of this rock, and the decomposotion of the matter trapped within it will give you coal, oil and/or gas.

It doesn't always gush either, but will sometimes be pumped out by pumping in water.

This is the reason that oil, gas and coal fields are usually quite close to each other.

Originally posted by pattricia
Poppins,that really weird because I was watching a documentary last night,about BP drilling for oil.They were working for months looking for it and were just about to give up,when they struck oil hundreds of feet down in the ocean.I was just wondering the same, How did it get there ?And right under the sea as well,seams strange to me.


Don't think it was the same thing pattricia, this was an old movie on tv with James Stewart, they took over a small fishing town and struck oil in the ocean, also found a certain kind of big shrimp that these fishermen had been searching for years, so every one struck it rich in the long run.

Interesting film, thought i'd seen all the oldies but never this one , thats what happens when you stay in bed till noon on a Saturday

::clap:

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Oil is what you get when you squish plants and animals down for millions of years in a hot environment.

You find oil where the geology of the area has allowed a carboniferous forest or prehistoric sea floor to be covered with sedimentary deposits, which finally crushes down to become rock. Over time the pressure of this rock, and the decomposotion of the matter trapped within it will give you coal, oil and/or gas.

It doesn't always gush either, but will sometimes be pumped out by pumping in water.

This is the reason that oil, gas and coal fields are usually quite close to each other.

My thoughts exactly
:D