Yeah, I know! It comes from dead dinosaurs. Just look at the old Sinclair gas logo. That is the biogenic theory.

Were there really enough dead dinosaurs to produce all the oil in the world? If there were, how did so many die in ways that they were not eaten by scavengers and were buried to produce hydrocarbons that were free of the calcium and potasium that would have been in their bones?

Enter the abiogenic theory. Oil is mainly produced by the earth itself from carbon and hydrogen deep within the Earth and it bubbles up from below. If so there is a vast untapped reserve of petroleum yet to be used at very deep levels below the surface.

Interestingly, this theory was first put forth by Russian scientists in the 1950's. Today, Russia is one of the few nations increasing its petroleum output.

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1983 300SD "Guderian"
1987 MR2
2015 Camry
2015 Chevy Spark
2006 Hyundai Tucson

I've read about this version more and more lately - seems more plausible than the dino theory.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

I believe it's formed from layer upon layer of organic material - plants, trees, animals that form over the millinea and are compressed under great pressure. Think of all the leaves that fall in the forest every year. Multiply it by millions of years and the depth and density would be staggering.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

The trouble with that is the plants, trees and vegetable matter supposedly became coal. There was a recent news story about a fossilized forest found within a coal bed.

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1983 300SD "Guderian"
1987 MR2
2015 Camry
2015 Chevy Spark
2006 Hyundai Tucson

Have you ever seen a squirrel liquefy after getting stuck in a garbage can full of water? Not a pretty sight and an even more horrific smell. But that same process, sans the water and garbage can, on larger critters killed within the same general period of time, along with the other organic ingredients and some pressure...Voila!

The abiogenic theory certainly sounds plausible, though. Unfortunately if these abiogenic reserves do exist within the borders of the U.S. we'll never be able to tap them. It might/would be good news for other oil producing and wannabe oil producing countries, though, if the extraction technology becomes available.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Add to that, the fact that no laboratory has ever been able to recreate a single drop of petroleum from organic matter. Although most crude oil pumped to the surface has traces of organisms even from very great depths. I think the subterranean critter theory makes more sense than anything else. They are down there right now, pooping out oil.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

http://www.google.com/

Organic matter has been made from inorganic matter in a lab.

The stork brings it.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

I always thought it came from my garage floor. For years, I've discovered a vast untapped reserve every morning where the W124 was parked overnight.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I'm not holding my breath, but if gas did go back to $2 a gallon a Range Rover sport would be just sexy. Thats really all I care about when it comes to oil.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I thought I was going to be the next "Jed Clamppet" until I sold my MGB.

Its still cool, even if its $4 a gallon.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Oil (and gas) come from decayed plants and animals. It forms under high pressure and temperature. Coal is just another form of it, I can't remember if it is more or less mature. Oil and gas come in many flavors.

The stories you see where Russia is sitting on a pile of oil below 25,000 feet is crap. Even if it was there, the pressure is too great to be oil. It would be gas.

But lets just assume it is there. The amount of reservoir energy for it to flow to the surface would be tremendous. At some point the energy decreases to where the well will not flow. The hydrostatic pressure of the oil column is greater than the reservoir pressure. You then have to use artificial lift.

You have rod pumps, good to about 12,000 feet. Electric submersible pumps, good to about 14,000. Gas lift, about 10,000. Basically there would be no way to lift it. And drilling 25,000 foot wells is EXPENSIVE. Depending where you are in the world (pressure regime-wise) you will need several strings of casing.

The company I used to work for drilled the US land record well in 1974 (I was 14) and it cost $7MM back them. They had to stop drilling at 33,000 roughly since liquid sulphur was flowing into the well. It hardened on the way up.

At those depths you have so much crap in the hole something will go wrong. It is way too expensive, wells like this are drilled for science.

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MB-less

In Texas? CO2 is going that deep in other states.