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While I don't actually have a dog in this fight, since I'm perfectly willing to believe the biological origin of oil...

What is served by 'fighting' about how oil is formed? Why not use all available ideas to find more?
Could it be that some men believe that oil should be scarce & expensive? Hmmmmmm.

Still... I do wonder why, if this is a continual process of compressing biomass into oil... where is the halfway made oil?

According to Gold, methane is being converted to oil way down deep, in the "hot biosphere". -- A blasphemous idea, apparently.

I'm not fighting about it...

I didn't claim you were. Those who 'own the dog' are fighting to keep oil scarce & expensive.

If it is compressed biomass shouldn't the in-process oil be shallower than the "finished" product?

Exactly. That's part of Golds theory on why the 'current wisdom' on oil formation is all wrong.