Finding oil near the surface?

Question

my grandpa told me a story about when he was a kid. he said his family tried to dig a well for water and hit oil. they owned 40 acres so they dug somewhere else on the 40 and had water. is finding oil like that common? would it be worth trying to sell the oil? i tried looking it up on google but couldnt find anything related to finding oil on the surface. any info would be appreciated.

Answer 1

This is how oil was found in the first place. Tar sands in Canada are on the surface

Answer 2

Yes it would be worth selling the oil!  Oil is at a premium now and that may be worth a fortune!

Answer 3

California (La Brea (sp?) Tar pits

Penn oil strikes 1880's

  Oil sands

   These are some good seach tools

  Enjoy

Answer 4

The first oil deposits were shallow.  But the shallow stuff is mostly gone by now.

Answer 5

Oil will regularly seep to the surface or close to the surface.  That is how oil was used by ancient Egyptians and ancient Chinese.  

If the oil was very close to the surface, then all the light components would have evaporated leaving only tar and asphalt.  Which wouldn't be worth selling in small amounts.