follow up to yesterday
The evidence that oil derived from fossils has always been scant.
This is great, but not a blow to peak oil theory. Peak oil theory is not that we’re running out, but that, absent large investments we don’t appear ready to make, we’ll reach a peak extraction rate that will fall short of economic demand. Peak oil says “higher prices ahead”, not “no oil.”
The molten core of the earth is a refinery of hydrocarbons. They push outward, gassing into open fissures in the earth's crust, expand and cool to precipitate out the oil.
The theory of dead dinosaurs and prehistoric carbonized humus turned into oil is just nonsense.
Oil wells pumped dry in the 1920's have refilled. Imagine that?
I believe the Russians have been saying this for 50 years.
Thanks.
The article title does not match the content:
“About 99 percent of all the hydrocarbons in oil and natural gas are derived from the compressed, heated remains of ancient living organisms like zooplankton and algae. These critters were buried under layers of sediments five to 10 miles beneath the surface of the Earth.”
Can we stop calling them fossil fuels?
Petroleum and natural gas people have been saying this for years. Greenies have been saying this is not right. I believe the pet nag guys.
I don't even thing that billions of years of microorganisms would do it.
There are literally oceans of oil deep underground, far below where life has EVER existed.
How do you explain THAT?
“Fused-methane oil would be far less common than your typical petroleum, of course”
Uh huh. What about the petroleum OCEANS throughout the solar system? Are they mosty from dinosaurs too?
Of course hydrocarbons are created by high pressure water and carboniferous rock. It’s ridiculous that the “mushed-up dinosaurs” theory has survived so long.
It’s a mineral like any other mineral. The old wells are refilling.
Oil- the other renewable energy
One kind of oil is organic and the other is inorganic, one has C13 isotope and the other has C14 isotope. This has been going around for a long time.
This statement is flat-out false.
Oil was found deep in Sweden's Siljan ring, 6 kilometers deep in granite basement rock. This oil was clearly of abiogenic origin.
Its documented deep mines in non-carboniferous ore bodies still have to deal with methane buildup far in excess from what is expected from human presence. Funny why no one has ever asked the obvious......>PS
It doesn't matter how oil was formed. What matters is the current rate of extraction is FAR greater any any likely rate of replenishment, and is eventually going to exhaust available supplies.
We have been extracting oil in significant quantities for only the last 70 years or so, and are spending more and more time and effort finding oil and a LOT more effort extracting it from hard-to-reach places.
Yes, if oil is being continually replenished, we may find all the reservoirs refilled in a few hundred million years -- but by then we will have moved on to other fuel sources.