What are the four steps in forming fossil fuels?

Answer 1

I will limit this to oil and gas. 1. There must be sufficient and the right organic material 2. There must be a trapping mechanism. In many cases, the deposit is underlain by water which forms a seal. The cap rock must also form a seal. 3. The organics must have the right conditions in terms of temperature and pressure. 4. There must be sufficient time from the time of deposit to form oil (Oil is found in deposits ranging from 10 million years old to over 300 million years old). The fact that oil and gas is formed does not mean it can be produced once it is discovered. Note the requirements for commercial deposits of hydrocarbons: 1) The deposit must be of sufficient size and have sufficient ability to flow, in order to justify investment in development. Large deposits of heavy oil have been discovered that can not be commercially justified because of their slow flow rates. 2) It must be environmentally safe and in compliance with all environmental laws to drill wells and produce the field. 3) Prior to producing oil, an economic evaluation is needed to justified the investments, which includes cost of construction of producing facilities and the cost of transporting gas and oil to a shipping point. The available market is considered, especially for gas. You may want to do a Google search or Wikipedia under Petroleum.