How New Sources of Oil Are Located

Crude oil is a fossil fuel which is worth its weight in gold, it is traded heavily, it is highly sought after and it is central to almost every nation’s ability to function. From gasoline to jet fuel, diesel to heating, oil is very much a natural resource which for now at least, is central to all that we do and it is also why oil companies are some of the world’s biggest and richest.

Crude oil comes from just below the Earth’s surface and it is usually obtained by drilling into the ground and creating an offshore oil well. There are some unconventional resources which are extracted in different ways, but by and large this is how we get our oil. How then, do we find the oil in the first place, in the middle of nowhere? Let’s take a look at just how it is located.

Information

Oil is a multi-billion dollar industry which is why oil companies need to know everything about where they are drilling, they must know how much oil there is, at what rate it can be extracted, the strength of the rock and many more minute details which make a huge difference.

Sound Waves

In the modern world sound waves are used to find new oil fields and this is the most common method which is used. Sound waves travel differently through different rock types and using a device called a geophone, scientists can whittle down the options in terms of which rocks may bear oil, which they will then earmark for offshore exploration.

Samples

Using the results from the sound waves, scientists will then move to the area and look to take a number of rock samples called cores. These cores will then be examined and if oil droplets are found trapped in the rock, they will then look to open up the site and start preliminary drilling to confirm that there is indeed oil down below.

Oil companies are able to do this with far more accuracy and speed than they ever have before, and he industry has certainly been boosted with advancements in technology which have lead to this.