Question: Is oil made of ancient (dead) creatures?

Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 24 Jun 2010:

Yes, it is. Just like our oceans today, oceans in the past were full of tiny
plankton. When these plankton died, their bodies sank to the bottom of the ocean onto the sea bed. Over time, more layers covered these organisms, burying them deeper and deeper. As they were buried, they were heated up, until the pressure and temperature conditions were just right so that chemical reactions occurred that turned their bodies into oil. Essentially, when we burn oil we are burning the bodies of creatures that have been dead for millions of years. Coal is formed in a similar way, but instead of the bodies of plankton, it is the remains of ancient swamps and marshes full of plant matter that becomes coal.

In the past there have only been a limited amount of these plankton, so there is a
limited amount of oil. It seems like we are already running out of oil, so it’s really important that we try
to conserve energy whenever possible, and develop new sources of energy, like electric and hybrid cars.