Upstream (petroleum industry)

When you go to the gas station to fill up your mom or dad's car with gas, that gas comes from something called "upstream." This is a fancy way of saying it comes from deep underground where we can't see it.

People who work in the "upstream" part of the petroleum industry use huge machines called drills to dig tunnels far beneath the earth's surface. They are looking for places where oil is stored deep in the ground. When they find it, they use big pipes to pump the oil up to the surface.

Once the oil is up to the surface, it is sent to a place called a refinery. People who work at the refinery do things like clean the oil and turn it into the different kinds of gas you see at the gas station.

So, basically, "upstream" is where the oil and gas come from before they are turned into things like gasoline for cars!