Petroleum, crude, crude oil, fossil fuel are all names used for one thing. What is oil? Where does it come from and how do we use it? One thing is for sure, something you're touching, wearing or using is made from oil. Cars need oil, plastics are made from oil and even clothing and shoes are made using oil to manufacture. We use oil as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, natural gas and for many other things. Let’s dig into this a little deeper.

Crude oil is a dark liquid substance found deep in the earth in places where there used to be an ocean. This was a long time before the dinosaurs. The plants and animals in the ocean would die and be covered by sand, mud and silt. The weight of all the mud turned the plant and animal matter into crude oil. Millions of years later scientists discovered huge pockets called reservoirs of crude oil and today we use it for many things. Another word for crude oil is petroleum.

The first evidence that humans used oil happened 6,000 years ago. There is a town in Iraq named Hit. A by-product of oil called pitch was next to the river and the ancient people figured out it could be used to help build boats and buildings. 2,000 years ago in China the people  used oil for light and heat in their homes. Almost 250 years ago, in 1859, the first modern oil well was dug in the state of Pennsylvania. 

To get oil out of the ground, oil wells are drilled. Many people help in getting oil out of the ground but it begins with finding the oil. The first people needed are scientists called geologists. The geologists use many ways to find the oil so a well can be drilled and pumped up out of the ground. They use sound waves to listen to the rocks. Once oil is found a lot of other people are needed. A deep well is drilled and the oil is pumped to the surface. After that it is processed and turned into products that we use every day.

Most of the oil drilled in the world comes from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China. 

A gusher happens when a well is first drilled and pressure is released. Think about poking a hole in a balloon. The air comes out fast at first and then slows down.

Oil reserves are limited but even though scientists have been trying for years to find another way to create enough energy another way we still primarily use oil.