How is oil discovered on the ocean floor?

Guilty as I have not watched “deepwater horizon” yet . I have interpreted deepwater core and logs for hydrocarbon exploration so I think I can give you fair enough answer. I remember as a child every time someone mentioned an oil well I would imag... read more

Oil and gas is present in the subsurface rocks (be it offshore or on land). Hydrocarbons (oil & gas) are not present accumulated at one place as we may imagine like in the case of a tank. Rather they are present in the pore spaces in rocks (as shown in figure below). read more

Oil mixed with dispersants floated on the surface of the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But scientists say as much as 10 percent of the spilled oil rapidly sank to the sea floor after it mixed with a sticky substance spewed by phytoplankton and clay from the Mississippi River. read more

A 2010 explosion at an offshore oil rig released millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This environmental disaster contaminated over 1,000 miles of coastline and caused health problems for coastal residents. read more