Oil Seep: Oil and gas seeps to the Earth's surface are important in exploration because they can indicate the presence of hydrocarbon source rocks and deep faults. When oil seeps to the surface, it undergoes various stages of decomposition including vaporization of the light-end hydrocarbons, microbial degradation, polymerization, and oxidation. This decomposition tends to thicken the migrating oil, resulting in lower °API gravity oil as it reaches the surface. The liquid oil is gradually conver