Energy

The origins of natural gas

On our planet hydrocarbons, including methane, are mainly located on rock pores that constitute the higher part of the Earth’s crust and result from chemical and physical processes that have taken place during the history of the Earth. The action of atmospheric agents provokes the erosion of mountains whose debris, transported by water courses arrive at the sea, where sand and clay layers deposit. As well as the debris, sea-origin materials deposit on the seabed: salts that precipitate due to evaporation, and above all animals and materials that live in the sea. With time passing, due to crystallization of salts, sediments transform into compact rocks that still have some tiny holes occupied by water and organic substances. Subject to the micro-organisms disintegrating action, these organic substances convert into hydrocarbons like methane and oil. This process is called mineralization: plants and animals become gas, oil and coal, and these fuels are called “fossil” because they originated from the fossilization of plants and animals.