Hydrocarbon Formation



Step 1

The oil and gas that we use today began as microscopic plants and animals in the oceans, millions of years ago. After dying, the carbon based life forms would then sink to the bottom of the ocean, where they piled upon each other to form the sediment layers.
Oil formation

Step 2
As more and more biomass began to pile upon each other, the pressure and temperatures of the dead organisms began to increase. With time, the carbon lifeforms began to "cook" into hydrocarbons. The lower temperatures and shallower depths produces heavier oils, while the higher temperatures and lower depths produced natural gasses.

Step 3
As the strati-graphic formations shift, the oil, gas, and water composites migrate through the different geological layers through the source of porous rocks, such as sandstone and limestone. The liquids and gases migration patterns depend on the density and pressure differences in the environment. The flux of the hydrocarbons is closed by a cap (shale rock) due to its' low porosity qualities. Different strati-graphic formations allow for differentiation's in hydrocarbon reserve locations, qualities, and quantities.




 

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