Petroleum OCEAN OCEAN
Tiny Plants and Animals
SEDI
SAND
MEN
300
to 40
0 MI
LLIO
T AN
AND
D RO
SILT
CK
Trapped gas
N YE
ARS
Plant and Animal Remains
AGO
How Petroleum and Natural Gas Were Formed
50 to
100
M
ILLIO Tiny sea plants and animals died and N YE were buried on the ocean floor. ARS AGO Over hundreds of millions of years, the remains were buried deeper and deeper. Heat and pressure turned the plant and animal remains into oil and gas deposits.
Trapped oil
TOD AY Note: not to scale
Petroleum is a liquid we find underground. Petroleum is nonrenewable. 46
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Primary Energy Infobook
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