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http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/asteroid_oil_991213.html
“Tar-coated comets and oily asteroids
The idea that complex hydrocarbons (the main components of petroleum oil) are a natural part of the Earth’s crust should come as no surprise to scientists who study comets and asteroids. Some of the meteorites that fall to Earth are rich in tar-like hydrocarbons. Comets such as Halley and Hale-Bopp are thought to have a skin of tar-like material covering a “dirty snowball” — like an ice cream dipped in chocolate.
The early Earth was made of the same stuff as comets and asteroids, so the presence of hydrocarbons deep within the Earth is to be expected. It used to be thought that the fierce heat deep underground was sufficient to break up any hydrocarbon molecules. However, Russian scientists have demonstrated that the enormous pressures prevent this.
Even if the Earth did not manage to retain its original supply of hydrocarbons it is likely that the rain of comets, space dust and asteroids over billions of years would have kept the crust of the Earth topped off with the raw ingredients for oil.
Could there be too much oil?
Oil is best found near impact structures. Oil forms deep underground from non-biological processes. If these ideas prove correct then Donofrio’s estimates for the United States should apply to other parts of the world. For areas of similar size there are possibly 20 buried impact craters with perhaps half having commercial oil reserves. The search for these elusive craters could be very rewarding.
It may turn out that there is too much oil for our own good. A massive increase in known oil reserves could lower oil prices and drastically devalue existing reserves...”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DD123EF935A25757C0A961948260
Oil From Comets? Shades of Velikovsky!
April 16, 1987
To the Editor:
It appears that Prof. Thomas Gold of Cornell University has discovered natural gas and oil beneath a meteorite crater in Sweden (news article, March 22). If this finding is confirmed, then vast amounts of hydrocarbons lie deeply hidden in the earth’s crust. This finding would have far-reaching implications for energy-related industries.
According to Professor Gold’s hypothesis, once the planets were forming, they generated enough gravity to alter the orbits of comets and asteroids. Many of these objects rich in hydrocarbons and other organic compounds struck the earth. Therefore, natural gas and petroleum were derived from substances that fell from the sky.
The conventional view of most scientists is that natural gas and petroleum originated from fossil remains of living organisms. However, the extraterrestrial source of hydrocarbons was suggested much earlier by Immanuel Velikovsky in 1950 in his book ‘’Worlds in Collision.’’ Velikovsky argued that the earth’s petroleum deposits came from comets. The idea that petroleum came from space was ridiculed at the time. Now it is put forward by others in perfect seriousness.
A related article, ‘’A New Light in the Sky’’ (New York Times Magazine, March 29), described ‘’a tarlike chemical, mainly molecules of carbon and hydrogen, that was discovered in Comet Halley last year.’’ The article continued: ‘’There are strong suspicions that the dark substance contributes to the blast crust that was found to cover Halley’s. Such dark surfaces are also seen on some of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, leading scientists to wonder if there are connections between the planetary satellites and comets.’’
Perhaps Velikovsky was right! Clearly, his ideas are intriguing and have attracted many supporters. Recent discoveries in space and in the earth’s crust have demonstrated, at the least, that his cataclysmic concept of the world’s history must be taken seriously. ROBERT R. GALLO Auburn, N.Y., April 1, 1987