Both oil and natural gas are formed deep in the earth.

They are fossil fuels, so named

because fossil fuels take a long time to form—millions of years, in fact. However, fossil fuels
are not made from fossils. The fossil part of the name refers to the fact that fossil fuels are
ancient, which is true.

Petroleum is indeed made up of dead animals, mainly small organisms called plankton,
billions of which float in the oceans today and are still eaten by many animals. When these
microbes die, their remains sink to the bottom of the ocean. Living things absorb energy
from the sun, and this energy is stored in their bodies in the form of carbon molecules. As
more and more plankton and other animals died, debris covered them and they were eaten
by bacteria. This and other processes create chemical reactions that eventually result in the
formation of substances called kerogen and pitch, which turn into hydrocarbons under high
pressure

Both oil and natural gas are formed deep in the earth. They are fossil fuels, so named
because fossil fuels take a long time to form—millions of years, in fact. However, fossil fuels
are not made from fossils. The fossil part of the name refers to the fact that fossil fuels are
ancient, which is true.
Petroleum is indeed made up of dead animals, mainly small organisms called plankton,
billions of which float in the oceans today and are still eaten by many animals. When these
microbes die, their remains sink to the bottom of the ocean. Living things absorb energy
from the sun, and this energy is stored in their bodies in the form of carbon molecules. As
more and more plankton and other animals died, debris covered them and they were eaten
by bacteria. This and other processes create chemical reactions that eventually result in the
formation of substances called kerogen and pitch, which turn into hydrocarbons under high
pressure