Seismology
Oil
is formed from dead plants and animals that died 10-600 million years ago. After the organisms died the fell into the
sandy mud at the bottom of the ocean.
Over the years, the organisms have formed sedimentary layers that contain
oil. The job of finding the oil in these
layers is up to geologists.
Some techniques in finding the oil are:
Gravity Meters to measure Earths gravitational field to see if any oil is
moving/flowing. Seismology that creates shock waves to send through hidden rock
layers. And finally there are magnetometers which measures changes in the
Earth’s magnetic field.
Once the site has been selected, you
have to survey it to find where the oil is exactly. You must then set up a rig
and start to drill. There are five basic
steps when you drill a hole, they are.
1. Attach the
drill bit
2. Attach the
Kelly and turntable to start to drill
3. While you
drill, you need to circulate the mud through the pipe
to get rock
cuttings out of the hole.
4. Add new
drill pipes as the hole gets deeper
5. Remove
everything and leave the ocean floor as untouched as possible.