Many people believe that oil is found in underground caves. In fact, the spaces the oil occupies are much tinier—the microscopic pores in sedimentary rocks such as sandstone. These rocks hold oil (or water) like a sponge holds liquid.

Petroleum engineers and scientists study porosity because it is one of the important factors in determining how much oil may be found in a rock formation. Higher porosity means the rock can hold more oil.

The Porosity Explorer provides a way for you to investigate this phenomenon. 

After you’ve played with the Porosity Explorer, look at the Porosity Explanation for more about how porosity works and what it shows.

Also look at our Hands-On Porosity Demonstration to try this at home.

For more about porosity look at the sections of the SEED Web site in Related Links below.