On Wed, 27 May 2009 19:19:56 -0700, "T.Alan Kraus"
wrote:

Oil is constantly being produced. Do you really think that all the oil
that has been used since 1900 was the result of decaying dinosaurs and
prehistoric forests? Even if you add prehistoric sea life the biomass
does not add up. Also how does one explain oil pockets under oil fields
that have been used up replenishing after laying fallow for a period of
years?


I think if you talk to a Reservoir Engineer he will tell you that what
happened is that a high rate of production exhausted the oil that was
local to the well. When the well/field was closed in it allowed time
for oil outside the production area to migrate to the well location.

Many fields use secondary production techniques to overcome this
problem. Water injection to raise formation pressure, steam injection
to reduce viscosity, etc.

Although some geologists favor the "abiogenic petroleum origin
hypothesis which argues that hydrocarbons of purely inorganic origin
exist. The theory seems to be accepted by some Russian geologists but
I'm doubtful if it is popular in the West.



Cheers,

Bruce in Bangkok
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)