Deep-Gas, Deep Hot Biosphere Theory

Thomas Gold said he could find hydrocarbons anywhere within the Earth and someone funded a drilling project he directed but no oil was found. After that he was looked at in a different way so the lesson is: don't make claims about this stuff.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Thomas Gold said he could find hydrocarbons anywhere within the Earth and someone funded a drilling project he directed but no oil was found. After that he was looked at in a different way . [Jim]<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

That is not quite what he claimed, and not quite what happened with the "drilling project." I'll lay out my findings as time permits for anyone interested.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">so the lesson is: don't make claims about this stuff<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Unless of course one can back the claims up with the evidence, and then it's ok.

Neil DeRosa

There are "trace" metals found within petroleum which are completely incompatible with it having a biologic origin. Nickel and Vanadium are the chief examples.

A number of petroleum reservoirs, which were presumbly pumped to exhaustion, refilled with petroleum from below.

Speculation: If the core of a planet is simply a monstrous nucleus, which undergoes radioactive decay at its surface - then this is how the isomers of the isotopes of the elements come into existence. It is random breakdown - not the mainstream nuclear synthesis that is supposedly occurring within the Sun at ridiculously high temperatures.

But I digress......


Gregg Wilson

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">There are "trace" metals found within petroleum which are completely incompatible with it having a biologic origin. Nickel and Vanadium are the chief examples [Gregg]<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

If I recall, the depth from which the hydrocarbons travel from the upper mantel of the earth can be calculated from the amounts and isotopes of these trace metals found. Also, according to Gold, the helium association with methane and nitrogen can only be explained by the deep-gas theory. Since helium is the by-product of uranium and thorium, is not found in sufficient quantities in sedimentary rock, and does not have enough pressure/force to move through the porous basement rock without an accompaniment of a much more abundant gas, i.e., methane carrying the helium up from the mantel hundreds of kilometers below the sedimentary layers.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">A number of petroleum reservoirs, which were presumably pumped to exhaustion, refilled with petroleum from below.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Apparently this is a common occurrence in Middle East and U.S. Gulf Coast oil wells.

From a practical standpoint at present it may not matter which theory is correct, except perhaps for nations with little or no proven reserves in sedimentary layers. In the 1970s the consensus of opinion among the experts was that we would run out of oil, gas, and coal in a few short years, oil being first to go. Today the world is awash in proven reserves. But some strategists may think it would actually be better if we ran out of “fossil fuels,” the result would be much less CO2 emission and less “global warming.” It goes on and on.

Neil, where exactly are these "proven reserves" the world is "awash" in? Also is there any documentation for these "exhausted" reservoirs "refilled" from below?