Here are some articles by more "conventional" thinking scientists re. the abiotic oil theory.
Abiotic Oil: Science or Politcs by Ugo Bardi, Professor of Chemistry, University of Florence.
SNIP
The debate has become highly politicized and has spilled over from geology journals to the mainstream press and to the fora and mailing lists on the internet. The proponents of the abiotic oil theory are often very aggressive in their arguments. Some of them go so far as to accuse those who claim that oil production is going to peak of pursuing a hidden political agenda designed to provide Bush with a convenient excuse for invading Iraq and the whole Middle East.
Normally, the discussion of abiotic oil oscillates between the scientifically arcane and the politically nasty. Even supposing that the political nastiness can be detected and removed, there remains the problem that the average non-specialist in petroleum geology can't hope to wade through the arcane scientific details of the theory (isotopic ratios, biomarkers, sedimentary layers and all that) without getting lost.
Here, I will try to discuss the origin of oil without going into these details. I will do this by taking a more general approach. Supposing that the abiogenic theory is right, then what are the consequences for us and for the whole biosphere? If we find that the consequences do not correspond to what we see, then we can safely drop the abiotic theory without the need of worrying about having to take a course in advanced geology. We may also find that the consequences are so small as to be irrelevant; in this case also we needn't worry about arcane geological details.
In order to discuss this point, the first task is to be clear about what we are discussing. There are, really, two versions of the abiotic oil theory, the "weak" and the "strong":
- The "weak" abiotic oil theory: oil is abiotically formed, but at rates not higher than those that petroleum geologists assume for oil formation according to the conventional theory. (This version has little or no political consequences).
- The "strong" abiotic theory: oil is formed at a speed sufficient to replace the oil reservoirs as we deplete them, that is, at a rate something like 10,000 times faster than known in petroleum geology. (This one has strong political implications).
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/100404_abiotic_oil.shtml No Free Lunch Part1: A Critique of Thomas Gold's Claims for Abiotic Oilby
Jean Laherrere
edited by
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
SNIP
No scientist has ever argued that simple hydrocarbons such as methane cannot originate inorganically. Methane and carbon dioxide are the major components in the atmosphere of the gas giants of our outer solar system (Saturn, Jupiter, et cetera). And it is believed that the early atmosphere of the Earth consisted mostly of these gases, until they leaked into space. Nor is there much question that simple hydrocarbons could possibly be generated abiotically within the Earth. However, the quantity of methane which might be generated abiotically is likely to be insignificant.
When we move on to more complex hydrocarbons, this becomes another matter. Here we must look at how stable these molecules are at varying combinations of temperature and pressure similar to what is found at depth in the Earth. While some lab experiments have produced somewhat complex hydrocarbons at pressures and temperatures consistent with the upper mantle, they have not explained how these compounds would remain stable as they slowly rose to the crust though zones where pressure was not sufficient to hold them together but where temperatures were still high enough to break them down into methane.
Also, when testing a scientific hypothesis, it is necessary to ascertain whether a phenomenon can be achieved by any mechanism other than that which is central to the hypothesis. If there are other possible mechanisms, then they must be ruled out before any particular test can be claimed to support a certain hypothesis. As Jean Laherrere points out in his critique, Thomas Gold repeatedly failed to take other possibilities into account. This results in sloppy science, and it cannot hold up.
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/102104_no_free_pt1.shtml No Free Lunch Part 2by
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
SNIP
Siljan, Sweden
One of the most notable efforts to prove the existence of abiotic hydrocarbons was undertaken by the Swedes at the urging of Thomas Gold. Dr. Gold had pointed to the Siljan meteorite impact crater as the ideal place for discovering hydrocarbon seepage from the mantle. Although Dr. Gold pronounced the effort a success, as Jean Laherrere has pointed out,1 this venture could be used as the definition of a bust.
From 1986 to 1992, two commercial wells were drilled in the Siljan crater, at a reported cost of over $60 million.2 Only 80 barrels of oily sludge were taken from the field. While Dr. Gold claimed this oil to have an abiotic origin, others have pointed out that the early drilling used injected oil as a lubricant, and that this is the likely origin of the oily sludge.3 It has also been mentioned that sedimentary rocks 20 kilometers away could have been the source of hydrocarbon seepage.4 Others have observed that during World War II, the Swedish blasted into the bedrock to produce caverns in order to stockpile petroleum supplies. The Swedes now face environmental problems as these petroleum stockpiles are leaking into the groundwater.5 These stockpiles could well provide the source of the oil produced from the Siljan crater.
Even if we grant that these hydrocarbons are abiogenic (though it is a highly dubious claim), this exploration could only be termed a success in the most attenuated sense of the word. These 80 barrels of oily sludge cost investors three quarters of a million dollars per barrel. And if they had gone to the trouble of extracting the oil from the sludge and refining it, they would have had even less oil, and their expenses would have increased by the cost of extraction and refining.
In 1984, a Swedish state-owned power company had an independent team of geoscientists evaluate the Siljan crater for commercial abiogenic gas production. The research team found only minor hydrocarbon gas shows in the crater. However, they did prove through geochemical analysis of oil, oil-stained rocks and organic rocks, that an Ordovician aged bituminous shale was the source rock for hydrocarbons found in the Siljan crater. They concluded that claims that this oil was abiogenic were without merit. Dr. Donofrio updated these findings in 2003 and stated that nothing has happened since 1984 to change their conclusion. There are no abiogenic hydrocarbons in the Siljan crater, nor are there commercial amounts of hydrocarbons in any form.
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/011205_no_free_pt2.shtml No Free Lunch Part 3by
Ugo Bardi & Dale Allen Pfeiffer
The Abiotic Fingerprint
January 28, 2005, PST 0800 (FTW) -- Guess what? The Earth does produce abiotic methane. It can be found in minute quantities along the world's mid-ocean ridges, venting from some volcanoes, and in some mine shafts. The amount of methane generated in these situations is minor, especially when compared to commercial natural gas reserves. As stated in part 2 of this series (and elsewhere), there is more methane produced annually from cow farts than from abiotic sources. No scientist has ever denied the existence of abiotic methane. We have said that there is no evidence that it is produced in useful quantities, and we have stated that abiotic generation of simple hydrocarbons such as methane does not indicate abiotic production of the complex hydrocarbons we refer to as crude oil.
A group of scientists from the University of Toronto has analyzed abiotic methane taken from a mineshaft in the Canadian Shield. The team, led by geologist Barbara Sherwood Lollar, took methane samples from a deep borehole in the Kidd Creek mine, located in Ontario, Canada. The mine extracts lead, silver, zinc and cadmium. The samples were taken from a depth of 6,800 to 6,900 ft. The Kidd Creek gases were a mixture of methane, ethane, H2 and N2, along with minor amounts of helium, propane and butane.1
The samples underwent isotopic analysis, quantifying the isotopes of carbon and hydrogen present in the gas.2 The isotopic ratios of a substance (particularly the ratio of carbon and hydrogen isotopes) provide us with a profile of the substance, a sort of isotopic fingerprint which indicates how the substance was generated. Most naturally occurring carbon is isotope C-12, with a small percentage of C-13 (1.11%) and a trace of radioactive isotope C-14. Organic matter, however, has a lower ratio of C-13 because photosynthesis preferentially concentrates C-12. Hydrocarbon reserves reflect their organic origin in their C-12/C-13 ratio.
Isotopic analysis of the Kidd Creek samples did not match that of organically derived hydrocarbon reserves. The ratio of carbon isotopes instead pointed to an abiotic origin. Studying the isotopic ratio of carbon in these samples-particularly comparing the ratios found in single carbon alkanes3, double carbon, triple carbon and quadruple carbon alkanes-instead suggested an abiotic origin. And when the isotopic ratios of hydrogen were also taken into account, the analysis not only indicated an abiotic origin, it also suggested how the simple hydrocarbons were generated.
Dr. Lollar and her associates found that the "isotopic trends for the series of C1-C4 alkanes indicates that hydrocarbon formation occurred by way of polymerization of methane precursors."4 They theorized an origin in rock-water interactions. The gases were closely linked to saline groundwaters and brines having 10 times the saline content of ocean water.
The carbon and hydrogen isotopic profiles of these samples finally gave us the fingerprint for abiotic hydrocarbons. As Dr. Lollar observed, "The key point is that abiogenic hydrocarbons have been talked about for a long time, but until now we didn't have a very good constraint on what they looked like."5 Now we had the isotopic fingerprint for abiotic hydrocarbons. The next logical step was to compare these isotopic ratios to those of commercial gas reserves.
Dr. Lollar and associates made this comparison in their study. "Based on the isotopic characteristics of abiogenic gases identified in this study, the ubiquitous positive correlation of d13C and d2H values for C1-C4 hydrocarbons in economic reservoirs worldwide is not consistent with any significant contribution from abiogenic gas."6
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/012805_no_free_pt3.shtml