How and where is oil found?

In this activity, students will assume the role of a petroleum geologist to determine where oil deposits can be found. Students will determine why deserts and arctic areas seem to hold the largest hydrocarbon reserves on Earth. Working in small teams, they will discover how continental drift, subduction, and collision with other continents provide the movement of oil reservoirs from swamps, river deltas, and mild climates to the poles and deserts, where they have ended up today.