How is oil found off shore?

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How is oil found off shore?

In: Earth Science

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Oil tends to be found in certain types of rock formations. If you know what kind of rock is under the ocean bed, you can make an educated guess as to whether oil is there or not.

Oil companies are extremely secretive about the exact processes they use. Those are trade secrets and are how the companies stay in business. A *lot* of work goes into making the best guess possible, and a lot of very expensive equipment is used to try and verify those guesses.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s all geology and geophysics. As /u/cavalier78 said they know generally where to find oil based on types of geological formations and patterns.

Oil and Gas companies will then invest in more detailed exploration to find exactly where the oil and gas is specifically (and whether or not there’s enough in a given area to make it worth the investment). If there’s a business case, they’ll drill exploratory wells or do further research or things like seismic to confirm. If it works out, they do full drilling and then work to develop the asset.

Source: Have worked for many O&G companies.