Thread: renewable oil?

Someone I work with, who is admittedly an extream conservative, told me tonight that oil is not a finite fossile fuel that we will eventually run out of, but is some how renewing itself within the earth. According to him old, used up, oil wells are being found to have oil in them again. To me this sounds like conservative junk science. You know, like rape induced birth control. Anyone have any real info related to his claim?

Well there is a lot of pseudoscience about abiotic oil going about. Think the conventional science considers it possible but a minor contributer is one at all to our reserves.

Yes some old wells to refil but mostly because our extraction technologies were'nt all that good half a century ago as compared to today.

Originally Posted by Lynx_Fox

Well there is a lot of pseudoscience about abiotic oil going about. Think the conventional science considers it possible but a minor contributer is one at all to our reserves.

Yes some old wells to refil but mostly because our extraction technologies were'nt all that good half a century ago as compared to today.

Conventional science (geology) considers abiotic oil impossible.

---Futilitist

Fracking is one way they are getting more oil from the earth but that isn't using existing oil wells but finding underground deposits of new places that they can use the fracking process. There's a problem with fracking though, it does contaminate the underground water supply which we need to drink so therefore should be prevented from continuing because there's not allot of CLEAN fresh water any longer here on earth.

"Finding new deposits" still refers to fossil deposits. There's no new abiotic oil being "made".

Originally Posted by Sealeaf

According to him old, used up, oil wells are being found to have oil in them again.

You can always squeeze an old sponge stronger and get more juice out of it. It does not replenish/renew in anyway.

The point where 'squeezing' starts to be problematic has been debate on other threads. The various positions are:
-Ultra Capitalism (conservatives or democrats). While EROEI is positive or more specifically while profit margin is greater then selling water to drown people. (may last 20 years)
-Technocopians (copyright Futilitist . We will find new sponge and squeeze stronger, don't worry, be happy. (may last 50 year)
-Environmentalist: Building a civilization on sponge technology is a recipe for disaster, and was already stupid 100 years ago.

Pick one !

oil and water migrate through porous rock
pump some out and lower the pressure, and more migrates in to balance the pressure, or drill another well and pump in water or steam to force the oil to migrate to your pumping well.

I seriously doubt that any new oil is being created to replace that which is being pumped out----
also true of aquifers------some are being recharged, but slowly, and the more that is pumped out, the less remains
It has been estimated that at the rate the ogallala is being pumped out, the resource has less than 50 years remaining, some say 25 years. And some places may see the loss much sooner.