Oil Found

Oil Found

Man uses much more oil than has come to the surface of the earth in seeps. He has to dig into the earth for it. But first he has to find out where to dig. He can never be sure, when he starts drilling in a certain spot, that he will find oil. But science has helped him to recognized certain telltale signs that show where oil may exist.

We know that oil was formed in rocks that used to be the bottoms of old seas. Finding the bed of a sea that may have existed many millions of years ago is not easy. Nature never seems satisfied with the earth. She is always making changes. The bed rocks of the old sea may have been buried and lifted to the surface a number of times. The rocks may have been uncovered and worn away by wind and water. The layers of rocks may have been tilted, folded, or broken up.

Geologists find old seas by examining rocks. They look for the traces of ancient sea plants and animals that were buried when the rocvks were mud. Some of these traces are so small they must be hunted with a microscope. But oil is not found everywhere a sea splashed once upon a time. It is found only in certain places. It collects only in porous rock, such as sandstone.