Abiotic oil

{{pseudosciencenav}}
The '''abiotic oil''' hypothesis proposes that a small amount of [[oil]] originates from non-[[biology|biological]] origins. Research on the topic is ongoing; however, oilempire.us has noted the hypothesis as "[[wishful thinking]]" and a way to ignore "resource limits".<ref>http://www.oilempire.us/abiotic.html</ref>

==Outline of the hypothesis==
The theory's adherents believe that [[oil]] originated as carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas rising through the deep layers of the Earth's crust. If this mixture was lucky enough to find zirconium-containing minerals, it could react and produce petroleum hydrocarbons. Some of these would move close enough to the surface to be exploitable by humanity.

This idea seems plausible because:
* Methane can result from volcanic activity<ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037702730700128X</ref> and a certain type of theoretical volcano, {{wpl|cryovolcano||,}} can release methane instead of rock. Methane converts in the atmosphere to water, CO, and CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/science/methane</ref>
* Methane will form short-chain hydrocarbons under mantle pressures, as discovered in the USSR, and reproduced periodically since.
* Modern '[[coal]] to liquids' and synthetic motor oil are based on hydrocarbon conversion.
* [[Methane]] exists on {{wpl|Methane#Extraterrestrial methane|Saturn's moon, Titan, on Mars, on Jupiter, Saturn, really on every planet or moon one can check|.}}
* Methane has been proposed to be abiotically produced in a process called {{wpl|Serpentinite#Abiotic_methane_production_on_Mars_by_serpentinization|serpentinization on Mars|.}}

Cranks argue that [[Overgeneralization|some hydrocarbons may be formed inorganically; therefore most or all hydrocarbons are formed inorganically.]]

===Alternative scenarios===
*[[Immanuel Velikovsky]] suggested in his book ''Worlds in Collision'' (1950) that oil was [[extraterrestrial]] in origin and came from [[comet]]s.
*Velikovsky follower [[Robert W. Felix]] puts his own spin on this with hydrocarbon nano-[[diamond]]s raining down from the sky as a result of [[pole shift]]s.
*[[Jeffrey Wolynski]] proposed that oil and natural gas formation was a direct result of polymerization of hydrocarbons during intermediate stages of stellar evolution. The oil/natural gas rained down into the interior of the evolving star which was then subsequently trapped via crust deposition.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210830104051/http://vixra.org/abs/1303.0157</ref>.
*[[God]] [[creationism|created]] oil for the benefit of mankind.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/geology/origin-of-oil-creationist-answer/ The Origin of Oil—A Creationist Answer], John Matthews, [[Answers Research Journal]], December 17, 2008</ref>

==Views in the world==
The [[hypothesis]] by itself is not [[pseudoscience]]; however, [[cranks]] peddle the hypothesis as a fact, and this ''is'' pseudoscientific. Save for a handful of gadflies, geologists in the West and the OPEC states, the world's primary oil producers and consumers, have little use for the abiotic oil hypothesis; they have learned through experience that you can't find petroleum anywhere close to the mantle (where the hypothesis claims it is formed) due to the fact that it breaks down in the high temperatures found at depths greater than 15,000 feet, and know that decades' worth of successful oil exploration has upheld the mainstream biotic model and where it predicts oil might be found. Most of its support is found in the [[Russia]]n oil industry, at least partly for ideological reasons, and even there, its supporters are a minority, albeit a vocal one.<ref>[https://richardheinberg.com/richard-heinberg-on-abiotic-oil Richard Heinberg on Abiotic Oil]</ref><ref>http://peakoil.com/geology/abiotic-oil-and-gas-a-theory-that-refuses-to-vanish</ref> The bastardization of the hypothesis has been used to push [[climate change denial]] arguments and ignore a diminishing amount of limited resources.

===Supporters===
#[[Rush Limbaugh]]
#[[Jerome Corsi]], who wrote a book, ''Black Gold Stranglehold'', promoting the idea.
#[[George Noory]] promotes it from time to time.
#[http://viewzone.com/abioticoilx.html viewzone.com]
#[http://www.rense.com/general67/oils.htm rense.com]

==External links==
*Geoffrey P. Glasby. [http://www.zo.utexas.edu/courses/THOC/Glasby2006-abioticOil.pdf Abiogenic origin of hydrocarbons: an historical overview] ''Resource Geology'', vol. 56, no. 1, 85–98, 2006
*Hook et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140726194739/http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:338107 Development of oil formation theories and their importance for peak oil.] ''Marine and Petroleum Geology'', vol. 27, iss. 9, 2010, pp. 1995-2004. (full text available as PDF file in the link)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041124231547/http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/102104_no_free_pt1.shtml No Free Lunch: A Critique of Thomas Gold's Claims for Abiotic Oil] by Jean Laherrere.
*[https://explorer.aapg.org/story/articleid/40988/vietnam-finds-oil-in-the-basement Vietnam Finds Oil in the Basement] by David Brown
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080823224408/http://www.energybulletin.net/node/2423 The "Abiotic Oil" Controversy] by Richard Heinberg
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070223061512/http://www.theoildrum.com/tag/abiotic_oil Abiotic oil posts at The Oil Drum]
*http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21627542-unexpected-source-methane-just-keeps-popping-up-fuel-loose-and-fossil-free

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Energy]]
[[Category:Energy woo]]

Categories: Pseudoscience, Energy, Energy woo