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What is petroleum?
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The fossil fuels that drive modern industry, for example crude oil and natural gas, are compounds of carbon and hydrogen, known as hydrocarbons. They were mostly formed from living things that existed millions of years ago. The living things absorbed carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere, using the energy of the Sun, and were then trapped and preserved. When fossil fuels are burned today, the carbon dioxide returns to the atmosphere and energy is released. | | Modern rotary drills can drill wells more than 7,600 metres deep in the search for oil. |
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