Crude oil is a fossil fuel formed from the buried remains of microscopic marine organisms that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. The Biological Origins of Crude Oil The story of crude oil begins in ancient oceans, lakes, and swamps.
How Oil Migration and Trap Formation Move Crude Oil to Its Reservoir
Here, the increasing weight created intense pressure, while the Earth’s internal heat raised the temperature. During this cooking process, the large organic molecules crack apart, reorganizing into the smaller, complex hydrocarbons that define crude oil.
Oil moves until it encounters a non-porous cap rock, such as shale or salt, which blocks its further ascent. Migration and Trapping As newer sediments piled on top, the organic-rich layer was pushed deeper underground.
How Oil Migration Forms Traps During Crude Oil Creation
This prolonged exposure to heat between 90°C and 160°C "cooks" the kerogen, a process geologists call diagenesis and catagenesis. This prolonged exposure to heat between 90°C and 160°C "cooks" the kerogen, a process geologists call diagenesis and catagenesis.
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