why is there oil in the earth??that is--whats left of it.?
413429
oil forms when marine microorganisms (plankton) die and accumulate.  given the right amount of time (millions to tens of millions of years) and temperature (100-200C), they mature and become trapped below ground in the oil source rock.  this has nothing to do with the Earth moving off its axis.  all it means is that we know where to look for oil and we know that we're using it up far faster than it can form.
1144949
Absolutely.  There is plenty of oil, enough to last for 100's of years.  Actually if you look at it logically, we will never really run out of oil.  Supplies will dwindle, we will tap into other sources, like oil shale, and oil sand, but the production cots will go up.  Eventually we will get to a point, where the cost is high enough, to make alternative energy sources, profitable.  Once that happens, competition and the free market system will find a cheap efficient substitute, and we will leave oil usage to the third world.
470657
The perfect Geological combination of source material, good reservoir rock and a good seal material along with the right conditions for the organic material to mature and produce the oil.  Actually has nothing to do with current geography as all this happened millions of years ago when Saudi was seabed.\n\nThe supergiant Gehwar field initially contained (depending on what figures you read) 25% of all the oil on the planet. It alone accounts for the bulk of the worlds daily production of oil, so when it runs out which it will one day the impact will be felt around the world.
154000
uh... WHAT OIL would that be, Sparky? Liberals keep whining about it but no one can ever seem to answer the question as to WHERE *EXACTLY* THAT STOLEN OIL IS LOCATED.\n\nJust a guess, but I suspect that the question WON'T get answered here either... Go figure.
200251
Because oil means much more to them than soil.
684361
A scientist by the name of Gold theorized that the Earth itself produces oil, I can't remember all the details, but the idea is the mechanism for this production is beneath the Earth's mantle, farther than anyone has ever drilled. There is a little evidence to support it, and I believe the Canadian gov't was sponsoring a drilling operation to see if it was true. Gold had a reputation for pushing forth seemingly insane theories that eventually proved true.
285073
Jacarta Monkey has the right answer. He gets the points for saying it first.\n\nFor as long as the Earth exists it will contain fresh water and hydrocarbon fuel (notice I re-defined these a bit to be more specific), since both are continuously being replenished by biomass and the hydrologic cycle. People will stop drilling and mining hydrocarbons as soon as it becomes uneconomical, which is way before the Earth runs out. The deadline on all of the Earth's resources is about 3-5 billion years from now when the sun expands and destroys the entire Earth. Until then, only poor people will run out of fuel and water, because only humans are greedy enough to purposefully deny basic resources to other living creatures because they can "own" them.
317929
Earth isn't being destroyed, everyone knows that unless they are morons.  Earth doesn't care if we deplete the ozone- people do.  If the water rises, people's overpriced homes go away- poo poo.  Earth was fine before people crawled out of the water, and will be here after people go to the molten core.  Earth is just some Aluminum, Carbon, etc. (all names we make up).  Sad, but true.  If you seek comfort- read the Bible, that's what it is there for.
46530
it's the same reason that if you mix oil and water in a glass, the oil will float to the top and the water will sink to the bottom.  oil has a lower density, which makes it lighter.  the heavier water gets pulled down by gravity and it displaces the oil.  since it is a liquid, the molecules of oil and water can move relative to each other.\n\nthe inside of the earth is a liquid, too - it is very hot and all but the outer surface of the earth is molten rock.  this has over time allowed the lighter minerals like quartz and feldspar to rise to the surface, while the heavier minerals like nickel and iron make up the earth's core.
1085552
I'm afraid no...  We will not be able to get oil from garbage dumps ever (besides what we leave in there as "garbage"), but as the bio matter degrades and decomposes, the garbage does create methane gas (natural gas like we use to heat homes and run power plants).  Oil actually comes from decayed oceanic plant matter mostly.  It dies, falls down to the bottom of the ocean, and in the right conditions, is preserved.  With time, the right temperatures and pressures, and with a proper reservoir, it becomes free oil.  One thing about garbage dumps though.  As steel, aluminum, and other metals become more scarce, I fully expect us to one day "mine" our garbage for resources we foolishly throw away today.
1179534
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Stop right there!\n\nPetroleum is found in the crust of the earth. As a matter of fact, it is found in porous permeable rock. That simply means it is found in rock that has tiny interconnected holes.\n\nThe oil is held in place by water beneath & a cap rock above. The oil sits on the water b/c it is less dense. The cap rock keeps it from escaping b/c it is impermeable & will not allow the oil through.\n\nEven though the crust is relatively thin, the oil is no where near the next layer, the mantle. If it were, it would be too hot & the oil would become part of the mantle melt.\n\nThe mantle is "plastic" being neither liquid or solid due to the immense pressure there. The crust "floats" atop the mantle b/c it is less dense.\n\nBottom line... petroleum does NOT lubricate anything in the earth & most certainly does not lub up the mantle/crust.\n\nAlso, while there is convection in the mantle, it does not "spin" around in the manner in which you speak.\n\nMy job is done here. :)
200432
I personally believe that oil is renewing itself daily at a rate equal to or greater than our current consumption rate; thus it'll last as long as there are plants and animals to die and decay.\n\nBear in mind, this is only my opinion.
439572
Oh my GOD!!!! WHAT ABOUT BABY OIL!?!?!?! I just realized what they use to make it.... all of those innocent children!!!!
41035
An intriguing theory now permeating oil company research staffs suggests that crude oil may actually be a natural inorganic product, not a stepchild of unfathomable time and organic degradation. The theory suggests there may be huge, yet-to-be-discovered reserves of oil at depths that dwarf current world estimates.\n \nThe theory is simple: Crude oil forms as a natural inorganic process which occurs between the mantle and the crust, somewhere between 5 and 20 miles deep. The proposed mechanism is as follows: \n\nMethane (CH4) is a common molecule found in quantity throughout our solar system - huge concentrations exist at great depth in the Earth.\n \nAt the mantle-crust interface, roughly 20,000 feet beneath the surface, rapidly rising streams of compressed methane-based gasses hit pockets of high temperature causing the condensation of heavier hydrocarbons. The product of this condensation is commonly known as crude oil.
1107645
Quite simply NO that is not true.  There is plenty of oil and gas left.  Enough to last your lifetime and probably most of your kids lifetime.  However, the rate at which countries like China and India and other emerging economies are growing there is going to a strain on current levels of production.  This is why there is a huge amount of activity in the exploration and drilling sector right now, we see this future demand and are working to compensate.  However there are countries like the USA and Britian that consume much more than they produce, and the majority of their fields are depleted or on the down hill slope.  This is why they must forge alliances, you didn't think they fight these wars just in the name of freedom, but that's another question.  This is also why Bush has given the go ahead to drill in Alaska.  We know where almost all the oil and gas is, now it's just a matter of getting it out of the ground.  But we don't want to flood the market, because then everyone will think they can use as much as they want.  Then there is the politics, pipelines,environment,etc.  It's a delicate balance.  Any way, Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of hydrocarbons and still has the largest reserves.  Canada has the second largest reserves, but it is hard to produce because it is mostly tar sands.  Iran is third(friendly with China), Kuwait is fourth, Iraq is fifth(soon to be friendly with USA) others among top ten Nigeria, Venesuala, and others I remember off the top of my head.  In the future alternative fuels will have to be researched and put into common use.  Some of these we see already, such as hybrid cars, fuel cells, corn oil,processed fish fat can burn in diesel engines.  Nuclear fuel will be used for everyday power, solar power is not practical, takes up to much room, wind power is only practical on a small scale, and they need to be where it's windy, and since you lose power when it travels down lines, only windy places can utilize wind turbines.  My personal favorite is hyrogen power.  Although to volitile with current technology, it is abundant, powerful, and emission free.  By product is pure water.  All these will come to be as future governments covet what's left of the natural resources and we think about the environment a little more.  But there will be oil and gas to heat your homes and run your cars for many years to come.  So long as you got the money to fill the tank.
193365
Specifically as crude oil the best estimate is 2.2 trillion barrels. That includes estimates of undiscovered oil. Known remaining reserves of crude oil are about 890 billion barrels.\n\nHowever, to truly consider remaining reserves you must consider natural gas and NGL's (natural gas liquids). The most reliable estimate is that about 4.9 (Four and nine-tenths: sorry Yahoo seems to be censoring nines)trillion barrels of oil equivalent remain. The "equivalent' part is because natural gas and condensate are also included in that estimate, while these are normally measured in cubic feet and not barrels. This estimate does not include tar sands, oil shale, or gas hydrates which may all make significant contributions in the future. Tar sands are already producing significant oil in northern Canada.   \n\nThe estimate includes remaining reserves, reserve growth (a phenomenon where initial estimates of oil in place often are found to be too low after the fields are fully explored), and estimates of undiscovered oil. Undiscovered oil can be estimated by examining what are called petroleum systems, where basins have formed significant deposits that should contain oil. \n\nThis estimate was made by the USGS in 2000 and the results are published in an American Association of Petroleum Geologists book titled "Global Resource Estimates from Total Petroleum Systems".
91760
money. there are already alternate things we could use in place of oil. but corporations want to suck every penny out before we start using different pollutions.