How did our oil get under their sand?
922166
In the Carboniferous Period, approximately 300 million years ago, what is today Saudi Arabia and vicinity was part of Pangea, and sort of adjacent to the Appalachian Mountains which is today part of America.  That's when vast swamps were formed, which originally provided the biomass for underground oil, draining into the Paleo-Tethys Sea.  Alas, beginning around the Jurassic Period, Pangea began to break up, forming the new Atlantic Ocean.  So, all that oil that originally belonged to America moved away, and by the time dinsosaurs became extinct, the mideast was being formed, and after a while Arabs were living on it, claiming the oil for themselves.  It's just not fair. \n\nCheck out the website about paleogeography.
41035
An intriguing theory now permeating oil company research staffs suggests that crude oil may actually be a natural inorganic product, not a stepchild of unfathomable time and organic degradation. The theory suggests there may be huge, yet-to-be-discovered reserves of oil at depths that dwarf current world estimates.\n \nThe theory is simple: Crude oil forms as a natural inorganic process which occurs between the mantle and the crust, somewhere between 5 and 20 miles deep. The proposed mechanism is as follows: \n\nMethane (CH4) is a common molecule found in quantity throughout our solar system - huge concentrations exist at great depth in the Earth.\n \nAt the mantle-crust interface, roughly 20,000 feet beneath the surface, rapidly rising streams of compressed methane-based gasses hit pockets of high temperature causing the condensation of heavier hydrocarbons. The product of this condensation is commonly known as crude oil.
436001
Oil is not really from dinosaurs themselves, its from that period in time.  Its actually plant matter compressed over time underground with extreme pressure and heat causing it to turn into the oil we see.\n\nCheck out this site to learn more about oil and how it was created.\n\nhttp://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/n_renew/oil.htm
343533
Bush knocked it down because he heard there was oil there...I think Randi Rhodes said that the other day...or was it on the Daily Kos?  In any case, it was Bush's fault, that I'm sure of.
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.
506379
we thought there was weapons of mass destruction there.. now we find out there isn't any. So we have to clean up our mess and bring stability to Iraq for our mistakes. But more importantly, to protect the oil fields.
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
531651
There rarely exists a "hollow area."  The oil occupies tiny voids within the (sand?) strata and often collects in usable amounts in domes and folds capped by impervious rock.  After the oil is extracted the land above often settles as the voids compact.
299625
This country needs to start becoming more self sufficient when it comes to oil supplies.  We have vast oil reserves both in Anwar and other places in the USA.  Sooner or later we must lose our dependency on fossil fuels completely but until then we at least need to end our dependency our foreign oil.  We stopped drilling during the 70s because of concerns with the environment.  Our technology has advanced enough now that I am sure we could drill and refine oil with out destroying our country.
1058059
You're on to something here. I'm starting to think that the Trojan war was over oil, too. How else could they get that big Horse into Troy?
1183757
Oil is less dense than water.
1085158
we only produce 25 percent of what we use they claim so we get it from other allied countries. its bought alot cheaper than you think. the government pays less than half you see at the pumps for regular. there is enough oil and natural gas in the appalation mountains to last 2,000 years. there are other secret sites but they won't touch it as we would be paying 10 cents a gallon. the more they claim we don't have, the more profit they make. they don't want the easy route. it was discovered that we had so much excess oil athat many empty wells were being used to store it secretly, but they got caught to some point. the oil giants control the government.
624816
Several people on here are actually right. The first two are both right.\n\nThe first one had the most simplistic but straight forward answer.\n\nRocks are eroded and the sediments are carried away as runoff into rivers & other low lying places. Most of this sand is carried onto the coastal plains & into the ocean & deposited there.\n\nSince the desert has very little weathering by water it is usually done by wind through a process called abrasion. Sand grains brushing up against rocks wearing it away like sandpaper.\n\nHowever, like someone pointed out earlier, in earth's past life many times the ocean as regressed & transgressed bringing deposits of sand with it. It could have gotten there by that method but more than likely these deposits became sedimentary rock first & was then worn away later by wind.
1073116
It's because oil is less dense than water, so it floats.
8552
In many cases water is pumped into the wells in order to get the oil out.  I just hope we have a smooth transition from oil to solar and wind power, before we blow ourselves up with nuclear plants.
1072409
They fill naturally with water. \n\nOil is generally found in small pores in rock like sandstone or limestone. The pores range in size from hundredths of a millimeter, to a few millimeters in most cases. In some limestone a form of porosity can form that has much larger pores (vuggy porosity), ranging from centimeters to meters in size in the case of cavernous porosity.\n\nBelow the first few hundred feet of the earths surface all of the pores in rock are filled with water, or oil and natural gas. In most oil reservoirs the water that is there naturally is salt water. Most oil and gas reservoirs have a naturally high pressure when first found, and this natural pressure (often several thousand psi) drives the oil and gas upward and out of the well. Water pushes the oil and gas out of the well, replacing the oil and gas in the rock as it leaves the well. If water did not flow into the voids left by oil and gas, it would be impossible to pump oil out of a well. \n\nWhen the natural pressure is depleted the well is either abandoned or nearby wells can be used to inject more water and create artificial pressure to push the oil up out of the well.   \n\nIf you are wondering if the rock subsides or compacts as the oil is removed, in most cases it does not. The grains in the rock are well cemented and support each other regardless of what is in the pores. In the case of poorly cemented sandstones (called unconsolidated) there can indeed be some compaction and the surface can subside. This also happens with some water wells, and in some areas there has been significant subsidence from both water pumping and oil pumping.\n\nYou might be surprised to learn that in most oil wells only about 50% of the oil is ever recovered. Recovery can range from as low as 20-30% of the oil to as high as 60-70% of it when special methods are applied. Someday if we ever find a new technology that can recover more oil we may be able to go back to long-abandoned oil fields and pump more oil. Current methods of what is called secondary or tertiary recovery involve both water injection into special injector wells and carbon dioxide injection. The water or CO2 helps flush (push) more oil out of the underground sponge-like rock we call an oil reservoir.
388164
B/C there was no oil there