11 June, 2012

All about Oil!

All about oil!!

Have you ever wondered how oil is made/ formed or where you get it or, more importantly, what it actually is? Well read on and you’ll find out!

What is oil?
Oil is a flammable liquid and is a general term for fluids that are not able to be mixed with water. The name comes from Latin oleum for olive oil.
How is it made/ formed?
Oil was formed from the left-overs of animals and plants that lived in water millions of years ago (before the dinosaurs). Over the years, the remains have been buried by layers of mud. The layers produced heat and pressure, which helped the remains turn into what we call ‘crude oil’.

What is crude oil?
Crude oil contains a mixture of petroleum. The word ‘Petroleum’ means ‘Rock Oil’ or ‘Oil from the earth.’

Where do we get it?
Crude oil is usually found in underground areas called reservoirs.
Scientists and engineers explore an area chosen by doing rock samples from the earth.  

Here are 4 steps as to how you get oil:

  • Measurements are taken.

  • If the site looks promising, drilling begins.
  • Above the hole, a structure called a ‘Derrick’ is built to house the tools and pipes going into the well.
  • When finished, the drilled well will bring a steady flow of the oil to the surface.   

By Isobel Yaxley

Today at school, we all had to represent something all about Oil for homework. Here is mine! 


  1. Very good Isobel I enjoyed reading it!!
    I specially like the colours very creative :)

    1. Oh okai thank you :)