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Fossil Fuels Are Not Dead Dinosaur Remains

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Contradictory to what many people believe, fossil fuels are not dead dinosaur remains. “In fact, most of the fossil fuels we find today were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). They were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago and are considered non-renewable because they are not sustainable and cannot be easily replaced due to their formation taking billions of years. “When these ancient living things died, they decomposed and became buried under layers and layers of mud, rock, and sand. Eventually, hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet of earth covered them” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). In some …show more content…

The oil is extracted by simply being forced through a rock, which the droplets can actually do on their own, as they are pushed by large amounts of pressure that exist beneath the surface. This pressure comes from a build-up of rock lying on the oil and from heat from the earth that builds up in a reservoir and expands any gases from the inside of the rock. When an oil well strikes a reservoir, the pressure is released and forces the oil through the rock and up to the surface. The oil may squeeze into any fractures in the reservoir, and if these fractures run in the direction of an oil well, they can act as pipelines in which the oil will flow. After scientists have tested the oil and the rocks, oil companies will begin drilling in the wells and rock samples will be brought to the surface. After the scientists have studied the rock samples from above ground and are convinced that they have found the right type of rock, companies begin drilling production wells. “When the wells first hit the reservoir, some of the oil begins coming to the surface immediately” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). However, with today’s technology, oil companies are able to install special equipment to help the oil from spurting hundreds and hundreds of feet from the ground. When a new oil field begins its production process, nature takes its course and does most of the work. The natural pressures from the reservoir force the oil into production

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