Crude oil was formed over millions of years from the buried remains of tiny sea plants and animals that were transformed by heat, pressure, and time into liquid hydrocarbons. It accumulates in porous rocks deep underground, where it can later be tapped by drilling.

Quick Scoop

Crude oil is a fossil fuel created mainly from microscopic marine organisms like algae and diatoms that lived in ancient oceans long before dinosaurs. When these organisms died, their remains sank to the seafloor and were quickly buried by mud, sand, and silt, protecting them from full decay.

Over millions of years, more and more sediment piled on top, increasing pressure and temperature in the layers below. Under these hot, high‑pressure, oxygen-poor conditions, the organic matter first turned into a waxy substance called kerogen, then broke down further into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons—what we call crude oil and natural gas.

The newly formed oil then migrated through tiny spaces in permeable rocks like sandstone until it became trapped under impermeable “cap rocks,” forming underground reservoirs. These geological traps are what drilling companies look for today when they search for commercially usable crude oil.

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