1.How did oil form? 2.Why is it that middle east has large oil resources than other parts of the world?
466347
Oil is formed by the compression of many types of matter over several millions of years. It is ultimatly rocks, fossils, plants, and microorganisms which have been compressed and over several thousends of years have reacted with each other to form oil.\n\nI suspect that the middle east is the larged oil resource because it is the easiest place to dig for these fossils. That area of the world is very 'dense' landwise which contributes as well. There are indeed more reason to this as well, but I'm not 100% sure on anything else!
1166752
From Wikipedia:\n\nMost geologists view crude oil, like coal and natural gas, as the product of compression and heating of ancient organic materials over geological time scales. According to this theory, it is formed from the decayed remains of prehistoric small marine animals and algae. (Terrestrial plants tend to form coal.) Over millennia this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under thick sedimentary layers of material. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen, and then into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. Because hydrocarbons are less dense than the surrounding rock, these migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until they become trapped beneath impermeable rocks, within porous rocks called reservoirs. Concentration of hydrocarbons in a trap forms an oil field, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping.\n\nGeologists also refer to the "oil window". This is the temperature range that oil forms in--below the minimum temperature oil does not form, and above the maximum temperature natural gas forms instead. Though this corresponds to different depths for different locations around the world, a 'typical' depth for the oil window might be 4 - 6 km. Note that oil may be trapped at much shallower depths, even if it is not formed there. Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: a rich source rock, a migration conduit, and a trap (seal) that concentrates the hydrocarbons.\n\nThe reactions that produce oil and natural gas are often modeled as first order breakdown reactions, where kerogen breaks down to oil and natural gas by a large set of parallel reactions, and oil eventually breaks down to natural gas by another set of reactions.
207908
oil is scarce.  oil is used to make oil, gasoline, plastic, etc.  If it werent scarce it would be cheaper.
9597
Ehh.. oil is pumped from just below the surface. The Core is made of Molten Lava, which isn't too useful a fuel source yet ;)\n\nNow, as for the caverns where we find oil, which is what I think that you're thinking of, those just empty gradually over time. Oil deposits aren't usually so large that draining the oil causes destability. It's the same thing as underground aquifers, which are a lot easier to find information on IMO.
466572
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nFirst, gasoline is not a simple chemical compound like water or ethanol. It is a mixture of hundreds of different compounds. The reason for this is that gasoline is made from crude oil. Crude oil, or petroleum, is made up of thousands of different compounds, and the exact compounds present and their relative amounts differ depending on where the petroleum is produced. (For example, oil produced in West Texas differs remarkably from oil produced in the Middle East.) After the oil is produced (or taken out of the ground via oil wells), it is shipped to an oil refinery, where it is separated into different products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, among others. \n\n\nThe separation of the oil takes place in a process called distillation. (Note that there are other processes which occur in a refinery as well, but the simplification to consider just distillation is not too far off.) In distillation, the oil is heated until it starts to boil. Some of the thousands of chemical compounds that make up the oil start to boil at low temperatures, and some do not boil until the petroleum has been heated up to higher temperatures. The different products (such as gasoline) that come out of a refinery are defined by their boiling temperatures during distillation. The lightest compounds (those that boil at the lowest temperature) become aviation gasoline, the next lightest become automotive gasoline, the next lightest become lightweight solvents and so on. In order of increasing boiling point, some other categories of refinery products are jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, lubricants, greases, and asphalt. Gasoline is typically made from the fraction of the crude oil that boils at temperatures between about 50 degrees Celsius and 200 degrees Celsius. \n\n\nSo, we can't say for sure exactly what compounds are present in gasoline, but we can define gasoline to some extent. First, it is made up almost entirely of hydrocarbons, which are molecules made up of carbon and hydrogen. (Some of the compounds present in gasoline also contain small amounts of other elements, including sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and some trace metals.) Next, those hydrocarbons which make up most of gasoline boil at temperatures between about 50 and 200 degrees Celsius (120 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit). This means that these compounds are mostly those hydrocarbons that have between 6 and 12 carbon atoms in each molecule. A good average is probably octane, which has eight carbon atoms and 18 hydrogen atoms and is written C8H18. \n\n\nsource:http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/apr2001/987004809.Ch.r.html
1055635
It formed of dead bodies of plankton million years ago, found in certain rock formation called reservoir. Produced by drilling an oil well and gathered into surface facilities. Separated from its impurities (sediments and water), it transported mostly by pipeline to the refineries. The refineries extract the crude components at each weights to make various type of fuel such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil and so on. Crude oil composed by carbons and hydrogen that so called hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons constitute a very large group including alkanes, alkenes, and alykynes.\nIt's non-renewable energy resources.
361778
The oil sands in Alberta have lots. They just have a hard time getting it out of the sand. Enough to last until the second coming I'd say.
58645
The previous guy who answered is already dead.\nAs for your question - Israel does not make oil, so it's irrelevant.
984203
GOOD QUESTION! Many are over-rating the importance of oil in this region when there is enough oil in our emergency reserves and under the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve to make America self-sufficient beyond the expected need for petroleum based energy. The oil is, however, an important natural resource for those in the middle east and with several of those nations supporting terrorism and nuclear power, that makes for a nasty combination that needs to be carefully monitored!
34169
Energy> even though energy has had a big run already, it does not look like the middle east will calm down anytime soon. the government and citizens of america seem loathe to tackle the energy problem and i am afraid that oil prices will contine to rise, taking our economy down. \n\nbuy energy.
1124898
It is a complex process, so I will try to hit on the most important factors. \n\nIn past years oil exploration was done based on the observation of oil seeps at the surface. In many areas oil seeps out of the ground naturally, so these were likely places to drill. As geologic understanding grew, geologists realized that certain structures were likely to contain oil. The first geologist going into Saudi Arabia identified drilling sites from the deck of the ship before he even landed. He could see the structures that were likely to contain oil. As the easy finds have been drilled, the process has gotten much more scientifically rigorous. \n\nOften oil exploration starts with an exercise called basin modeling. Geologists look at ancient basins and use available evidence to determine \n1) if there is adequate source rock of sufficient organic content and of the proper organic content to generate oil\n2) if the burial and subsidence history of the basin was such that at some time in the past the source rock was forced to a depth where the temperature and pressure were ideal for petroleum generation \n3) the oil expelled from the source rock had a migration path that allowed it to escape from the source rock\n4) there were traps created by structure (anticlines, synclines, fault blocks, etc) or stratigraphy (variations in rock composition) that existed at the same time as the migration took place \n5) there was a seal on the trap that prevented escape of the oil or gas over the long period of time that the oil resided there\n6) the past heat gradient of the basin was such that the temperature of the source rock reached the ideal temperature range and did not get too hot or stay too cold. \n\nAs you can guess, a good understanding of a basin's geologic history is necessary, including it's deposition, burial, subsidence, uplift, and faulting history. Misunderstanding or incomplete evidence of any one of these factors results in more risk of failure. \n\nThe efficiency of the kitchen (the area where the organic material in the source rock is being 'cooked' into oil) can be evaluated with several different kinds of data. Certain organic compounds known as vitrinite can be examined and can give visual evidence of the maximum temperature they have reached. These samples are taken from well cuttings so the approximate depth of the sample is known. Bottom hole temperatures of existing wells are commonly measured and plotted on maps, as well as the temperature gradient coming up through the well. Apatite fission track analysis is another method for determining the thermal history of a sample and can tell the story of the burial history. \n\nIf there is adequate organic material of the proper makeup and if it can be predicted that it reached a temperature of more than 140 degrees F, then it was likely to generate oil. While it was between 140 F and 320 F it would have been generating oil, and beyond about 200 F, it would have started generating natural gas. If it stayed in the high end of that range long enough, the oil would have changed to natural gas. Beyond about 390 F both oil and natural gas will break down and change to graphite. Understanding this thermal history will lead to predictions about the existence and the potential quantity of oil and gas in a basin. \n\nPressure is also a factor in this process. When the hydrostatic or lithostatic pressure reaches a certain point, oil will begin cracking to form natural gas. Quite often this change can generate what is called overpressure in the reservoir, where the reservoir pressure actually is higher than lithostatic pressure and it can be dangerous for drilling if not anticipated.\n\nOne of the most fascinating parts of this basin modeling process is that different oil reservoirs can be identified by a geochemical signature that can be traced back to the original source rock. Often when working in a basin there is more than one source rock, and more than one possible mig
446047
OPEC was created to control the price of oil for the benefit of the main countries the produce it (Venezuela and many middle eastern countries). Before it existed, the oil industry was controlled by western interests the got low prices for the west. with OPEC, prices went up and profits for the people of the country increased. OPEC works by deciding quotas for production of oil. with less oil pumped from the ground, the price can go up.
379324
Oil profits are part of the reason for the wars AND the limited capacity of refineries. I wonder what progress could have been made in the development of alternative energy supplies with the billions that have gone down the drain in those wars.
498628
Mostly because of, well, just the way the world works, and the laws of physics and all that. All energy is conserved and simply "transformed" into different kinds of energy. It is never created or destroyed.\n\nSpeaking of petroleum and all of that as previous posters have mentioned - this is merely the converting of different elements or matter into energy. This is not really "creating" energy, because the potential energy is always there, latent in the given element. It simply cannot be "used" yet. I hope that suffices as a layman explanation.
638781
It was another contrived oil shortage like we are in now. The countrys in the middle east got together and stopped production. That shut this country down in three days. But what was not learned is that while their production is down they are making no money either. We could have waited them out and they would never try it again. This oil shortage is differant as they are releasing just enough oil to keep us going and keep prices up.
799286
well like most people say oil may be the main reason but there is another factor also. to get new alliances and balance of power. in the Mid East, the west has Isreal and now (may be) Afganistan, Iraq (may be not), Saudi, Kuwait and neighbouring Pakistan. China is growing it's own power and in this new era, you can't be a powerful nation by standing alone. so that's what they are after i guess.
1153245
Why do people make this so complicated?!\n\nIts easy, if you consider the geo-politics:\n\nSaudi Arabia has been on a knife-edge for years. It has a pretty iffy ruling class and zero democracy. It has a large and growing fundamentalist movement that wants to see the House of Saud brought down. Its probably only a matter of time until it succeeds. \n\nSaudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves in the Middle East (maybe in the World). It is located south and west of Iraq, which separates it from Iran. \n\nIf Saudi Arabia fell to the shi'ite fundamentalists (likely) the West would lose its biggest source of oil. Worse, it would come under the control of the country with the third largest oil reserves and a powerful animosity to all things Western - Iran. In between Iran and its new acquisition, Saudi Arabia, would be Iraq, which has the secoond largest oil reserves. \n\nSo, if Iraq falls to the fundamentalists it falls to Iran, so does Saudi Arabia and, to all essential purposes, the West has lost the Middle East and all its mineral wealth. Worse, the West with its rabid oil dependence would  have to give whatever Tehran demanded for the oil (and that may not be in monetary terms alone).\n\nSo Iraq is a buffer betweeen Iran and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and an ongoing major source of oil on the other. It is the critical domino. If it falls they all fall, and less strategic, but otherwise friendlty places like Jordan would go too.\n\nFinally, in a World where Tehran rules a shi'ite fundamentalist oil-funded empire that extends from Pakistan, through the other 'Stans. including Afghanistan and oil rich Kazakhstan, all the way to the Middle East, the African coast and beyond, where would the West be? Its power would be broken and the new World order would emerge so fast - China, India and much of Asia one side, the West the other and the new Islamic Empire in the middle - with the oil.\n\nSo  - its all about oil. Surprised? Course not ... its simple really!\n\nPS: Never believe any crap about freedom, democracy, WMDs etc. No US Government ever gave a sh1t for such things - its all about power, votes, oil corporations and World dominance. All of that adds up to who owns the oil fields.