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I actually wrote a short story (fiction) about that WAY back in high school — using surfactants and chelating agents to emulsify oil and also creating genetically engineering bacteria to be facultative oil-eaters which form spores after eating in order to be NATURALLY available for the next oil spill.

In my short story however, the EVIL envirowhackos broke into the lab and stole a culture of the bacteria before they were ‘ready’ (ie the mutagen was still acting on the DNA) and when these aberrant bacteria were released into the environment to fight a small spill in Charleston harbour (near a “sensitive” area of course) they did in fact metabolize the oil. BUT!!! due to their incomplete genetic transformation the excreted a powerful carcinogen as they PARTIALLY metabolized the crude oil. The effect was that of a DEMON BUG released into the biome. The hero of the story had to rescue the world by continuing his genetic engineering work on a super bacteria to ‘fix’ what the envirowhackos had released — despite a firestorm of protest and opposition. Fun. This was back in 1973. I guess I was ahead of my time.

In my short story however, the EVIL envirowhackos broke into the lab and stole a culture of the bacteria before they were ‘ready’ (ie the mutagen was still acting on the DNA) and when these aberrant bacteria were released into the environment to fight a small spill in Charleston harbour (near a “sensitive” area of course) they did in fact metabolize the oil. BUT!!! due to their incomplete genetic transformation the excreted a powerful carcinogen as they PARTIALLY metabolized the crude oil.

I remember another story in which the bacteria went on to consume all the oil in the world.

Interesting (and you must be a real SF nut if you were writing stuff like that in HS). Me too, but I've never had the urge to write.

The critical distinction between your story and my hypothesis is that in my case, the bacteria would be the naturally occurring one rather than genetically modified. Ole Mom Nature (red of fang and claw) already knows how to handle them.