How Oil Is Formed?

Hydrogen and carbon, the substances that make up oil, are also two of the basic ingredients of living
things. We believe that oil has been produced by the decay of matter that was once living. The story of oil
began over 600 million years ago in the Pre-Cambrian period. It was then that simple plant life was
forming in the ancient seas of the Earth. The plants were like the tiny plankton of today.

As the plants died, they sank to the bottom of the seas and were joined by the remains of small animals.
Over long periods of time, the plants and animals became covered with mud and sand. As they decayed,
the hydrogen and carbon that they were made of turned into oil. This oil was trapped in layers by the mud
that covered it. This mud gradually hardened and became rock.

During the history of the Earth, its surface has been pushed up many times by pressures from inside.
These upheavals produced regions where the oil could collect in the rock. Because it is less dense, the oil
floats on top of any water that may also be trapped in the rock. Any gas present, being lighter still, will
rise above the oil.

The plants that formed oil grew by absorbing light from the Sun. Therefore, when we burn oil and gas we
are releasing energy from the Sun that has been locked away for hundreds of millions of years.
How Oil Is Formed? Main idea
1. Introduction
- Hydrogen and carbon, the components of oil, are fundamental to living things.
- Oil is believed to result from the decay of once-living matter.
2. Oil Formation Process
- Simple plant life, akin to modern plankton, formed over 600 million years ago.
- Dead plants and small animal remain sank to the sea floor.
- Over time, mud and sand covered these remains, initiating the transformation of hydrogen and
carbon into oil.
3. Rock Formation and Oil Trapping
- Accumulated organic material became trapped in rock layers as mud solidified.
- Geological upheavals over Earth's history created regions where oil could accumulate within the
rock.
4. Oil, Water, and Gas Separation
- Oil, being less dense, floats atop water in rock layers.
- Any accompanying gas rises above the oil due to differences in density.
5. Energy Source and Solar Connection
- Plants that formed oil absorbed sunlight for growth.
- Burning oil and gas releases stored solar energy from plants that lived hundreds of millions of years
ago.