[RobRoy]

This debate has been going on for a while. I’m no expert, so my opinion is not worth much but here it is anyway. Evidence that I have read seems to suggest that oil really is actually produced by the planet. I think Thomas Gold was the guy that first wrote about this.

[I Buried My Guns]

I work in oil and gas. There is a theory called The Abiotic Theory that says oil is not created from fossils and dinosaurs and stuff, but rather earth processes.

Supporting evidence for this is when a company drains an old field and comes back 10 or 20 years later to suck up any residue, they sometimes find that oil has seeped up into the empty spaces, filling up the previously-empty reservior with oil that is geologically younger than the previously-extracted oil. This is counter intuitive, since oil at a lower level should actually be OLDER than the oil on top of it. Wierd.

I don't profess to know anything about it except what I have just explained, and several old oil men have laughed loudly when I mentioned the theory to them. Still, it would be cool.

[BGHater]

Any idea how much total Oil we have taken out of the ground these past decades?

It has to be an incredible amount. I’m unsure if all the dead material that created oil in theory is enough to cover what we have taken out of the ground. -shrug-

[Red Boots]

I think Thomas Gold was the guy that first wrote about this.

His book, The Deep, Hot Biospshere, I think it was, makes fascinating reading.