Natural gas is made from the buried

Natural gas is made from the buried remains of tiny plants and animals that died between 200 and 400 million years ago, according to the opinions of many geologists and chemists. Some studies show that natural gas is formed from the decomposition of organic marine creatures deposited in an even more ancient time, such as over 550 million years ago.When these creatures died, they were buried by layers of sediment and were mixed with sand, mud, and silt.Over the years, these layers of sediment or sedimentary rocks got thicker, as thick as a thousand feet, which placed enormous pressure on the dead bodies of the buried animals and plants. Many scientists believe that the pressure was combined with the heat of the earth, sealing the remains off from oxygen. The heat and pressure inside the earth broke down these rich organic materials slowly and transformed them into natural gas, the same process by which oil and coal were made.Fig. 1.10 illustrates the formation of natural gas and petroleum from plants and animals inside the marine environment.