Today, science can narrow down potential oil reserves with surprising accuracy — especially when it comes to shale oil, found embedded within sedimentary rock. By studying sediments in China's Sichuan Basin, researchers found that variations in the Earth's orbit can help prospectors better predict where shale oil is most likely to form.
Unlike crude oil, which pools in subterranean reservoirs, shale oil is found within shale rocks. Shale forms from layers of fine sediment deposited in ancient lakes or seas, where low-oxygen conditions allow organic matter to accumulate and, over millions of years, generate oil within the rock.
