3.1 Oil comes from the ground

Oil comes from the ground. In some places, like the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, it comes out rather gently, whilst in other places, it gushes out rather dramatically as soon as you dig a hole that’s deep enough. The penetration of oil into our everyday lives is enormous. From the fuels we use for transport, electricity generation, heating, cooking, to the huge number of products that are made from petroleum derivatives, oil affects almost everything we do. The macroeconomics based on the discovery, extraction, buying, and selling of oil has caused the rise and fall of civilizations. And the CO₂ from the last two centuries of burning oil threatens our very survival as a species.

You’ll spend this week learning about where we use oil and its products, what it really is, and how the geology of oil allows us to understand, discover, and extract what has become one of the most important resources of the last 150 years.