[p2p-research] Where Does The Oil Come From?

[Ryan]

What the anti-peak oil people are saying....

Sent to you by Ryan via Google Reader: Where Does The Oil Come From?
via Power and Control by M. Simon on 10/29/09
There is some relatively new sciece out about the origins of oil and
natural gas. ScienceDaily (Sep. 12, 2009) — Researchers at the Royal
Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm have managed to prove that
fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and
natural gas to be generated. The findings are revolutionary since this
means, on the one hand, that it will be much easier to find these
sources of energy and, on the other hand, that they can be found all
over the globe.

“Using our research we can even say where oil could be found in
Sweden,” says Vladimir Kutcherov, a professor at the Division of Energy
Technology at KTH.

Together with two research colleagues, Vladimir Kutcherov has simulated
the process involving pressure and heat that occurs naturally in the
inner layers of the earth, the process that generates hydrocarbon, the
primary component in oil and natural gas.

According to Vladimir Kutcherov, the findings are a clear indication
that the oil supply is not about to end, which researchers and experts
in the field have long feared.

He adds that there is no way that fossil oil, with the help of gravity
or other forces, could have seeped down to a depth of 10.5 kilometers
in the state of Texas, for example, which is rich in oil deposits. As
Vladimir Kutcherov sees it, this is further proof, alongside his own
research findings, of the genesis of these energy sources – that they
can be created in other ways than via fossils. Well isn't that
interesting. So called fossil fuels may not be from fossils after all.

That would tend to confirm the work of Thomas Gold and Freeman Dyson:

The Deep Hot Biosphere : The Myth of Fossil Fuels

What other findings do we have that might add further confirmation?
There is some other work done in Sweden. When Gold proposed this theory
in the early 1980s, few scientists took him seriously. However, he did
persuade the Swedish State Power Board to drill into a slab of granite
fractured by an ancient meteor impact. Since oil is supposed to be
found only in sedimentary rocks, it was a good test of Gold's theory.
If gas is coming up from deep in the Earth, it might be expected to
accumulate beneath the dense granite cap, and migrate slowly up through
any fissures, perhaps turning into oil or tar. In the event, the
prospectors did strike oil - about 12 tons of it. This was not enough
to make the well commercially successful, but it did confirm that Gold
was on to something.

It was not the Swedish oil that proved the most significant discovery
though. Mixed in with the sludge at the bottom of the well, at a depth
of over 6 km, was a large quantity of magnetite - a reduced form of
iron oxide often associated with bacterial activity. After further
investigation, Gold announced to the world that life exists not only on
the surface of our planet but, in microbial form, deep inside the crust
too. Ah but that is not all.

There seem to be more than a few oil wells in the world that refuse to
run dry. Mystery in the Gulf

In 1973 oil was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 80 miles
south of Louisiana known as Eugene Island 330. Producing 15,000 barrels
per day, it was thought the well had seen better days when in 1989 its
output dropped to 4,000 barrels per day. In 1990 the production of the
well increased to about 13,000 barrels daily and has held steady.
Although its output has slightly dropped it still refuses to run dry.

Want a Refill - Is That Possible?

Scientist working at the site discovered two important changes in the
oil properties. Its age was was more recent than in previous years and
its temperature was hotter. Using 3-D seismic technology scientist
found a deep fault at the bottom of the well. What they saw startled,
intrigued, and forced them to rethink the origins of oil. What they
clearly saw was a deep fault gushing oil and refilling the well. There
was no debate about it.

Mystery in the Mideast and Elsewhere

It's been said that the Mideast oil was a finite resource and could
last 40 or 50 years at best. Yet over the past 25 years, reserves have
more than doubled. With no new wells geologist have been hard pressed
to explain why and it appears there is no end in sight. These fields
have been methodically exploited since the first gusher was discovered.
Today, OPEC is pumping over 30 million barrels of oil per day.

Cook Island in the Gulf of Mexico and oil fields in Uzbekistan are
other examples of wells that refuse to dry out. Many wells around the
world are refilling.Peak oil? I dunno. Maybe not.

And then there is the biology of the Gulf of Mexico. We hear a lot
about killer oil spills. But what if oil is life? Here is an article
about all the oil seeping out of the gulf of Mexico. The discovery of
abundant life where scientists expected a deserted seafloor also
suggested that the seeps are a long-duration phenomenon. Indeed, the
clams are thought to be about 100 years old, and the tube worms may
live as long as 600 years, or more, Kennicutt said.

The surprises kept pouring in as the researchers explored further and
in more detail using research submarines. In some areas, the
methane-metabolizing organisms even build up structures that resemble
coral reefs.

It has long been known by geologists and oil industry workers that
seeps exist. In Southern California, for example, there are seeps near
Santa Barbara, at a geologic feature called Coal Oil Point. And,
Roberts said, it´s clear that "the Gulf of Mexico leaks like a sieve.
You can´t take a submarine dive without running into an oil or gas
seep. And on a calm day, you can´t take a boat ride without seeing
gigantic oil slicks" on the sea surface.

Roberts added that natural seepage in places like the Gulf of
Mexico "far exceeds anything that gets spilled" by oil tankers and
other sources.

"The results of this have been a big surprise for me," said Whelan. "I
never would have expected that the gas is moving up so quickly and what
a huge effect it has on the whole system."

Although the oil industry hasn´t shown great enthusiasm for the idea --
arguing that the upward migration is too slow and too uncommon to do
much good -- the search for new oil and gas supplies already has been
affected, Whelan and Kennicutt said. Now, companies scan the sea
surface for signs of oil slicks that might point to new deposits. Well
what do you know. Look for an oil slick, find oil.

If you do some searching around on your favorite search engine you can
find lots more of this stuff. Which made me think of the Firesign
Theater Album: Everything You Know Is Wrong.

Peak oil? Probably more like peak hysteria. Well it used to sell
newspapers. Today? Not so much.

Cross Posted at Classical Values
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Power and Control using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your
favorite sites
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listcultures.org/pipermail/p2presearch_listcultures.org/attachments/20091101/fa5b74bc/attachment.html>