PASSAGE
Crude mineral oil comes out of the earth as a thick brown or ** liquid with a strong smell. It is a complex mixture of many different substances, each with its own individual qualities. Most of them are combinations of hydrogen and carbon in varying proportions. Such hydrocarbons are also found in other forms such as bitumen, asphalt and natural gas. Mineral oil originates from the carcasses of tiny animals and from plants that live in the sea. Over millions of years, these * creatures form large deposits under the sea-bed; and ocean currents cover them with a blanket of sand and silt. As this mineral hardens, it becomes sedimentary rock and effectively shuts out the oxygen, so preventing the complete decomposition of the marine deposits underneath. The layers of sedimentary rock become thicker and heavier. Their pressure produces heat, which transforms the tiny carcasses into crude oil in a process that is still going on today.
Sedimentary rock leads to the formation of oil deposits because
(a) there are no saline conditions below it.
(b) it allows some dissolved oxygen to enter the **** organic matter below it.
(c) weight of overlying sediment layers causes the production of heat.
(d) it contains the substances that catalyze the chemical reactions required to change **** organisms into oil.
