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Though many efforts are being made to find alternative sources of energy to replace fossil fuels, at present crude oil remains the chief source of energy. It is the driving force for many economies and for regions to prosper. oil prices are soaring quite high and many studies are being carried out to find other environment friendly energy sources that might be able to replace fossil fuels. Crude is the basis for running of many industries on a large scale. Crude is also necessary to produce electricity on relatively low scale. Crude oil is formed at sea bottoms and takes 150 million years to form. Living plants and other animals after their death, form a layer on earth. Over the years, large amounts of materials and layers build upon them. Heat and weight is exerted on the layer at the bottom due to this formation. The mud in the layer gets converted to rock while plants and animals are transformed to oil and gas. Fossil fuels lie dormant at the bottom of the ocean for millions of years. The fossil fuels are held in cavities of rocks, which have a sponge like quality. The oil and gas is held by tiny pores that keeps the oil and gas inside the rock. Over the years the rock folds, most often in a dome shape, where the oil and gas lies. It is held in the non porous area of the rock so it’s not easy for the oil to escape. In some circumstances the oil can break and come through to the surface. Today oil can be found at the bottom of the ocean or in areas were there were once sea beds. Crude oil is drawn from the earth by drilling. Drawing oil from the earth requires a lot of processes. The process might differ on where the oil fields are discovered. For example drilling oil from the bottom of the ocean will require a different method than drawing it from dry oil fields. Given that crude cannot be produced on demand, prices on oil are quite high. Most of the oil found today comes from the Middle Eastern Countries. To monitor and avoid exploitation of oil price by creating fake demand, an organisation of oil exporting counties, the OPEC was found. This organisation even monitors the amount of crude that will be pumped out by the oil rich countries depending upon the demand. Kyles Humphrey is an experienced columnist in oil related fields, who frequently writes articles related to oil prices & indexes and crude oil including tips on investment in oil. Please visit oil.com for more details.
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