New representations on oil and gas origin in connection with the opening of the phenomenon of reserves replenishment in exploited oil fields

• Main Author: Azariy A. Barenbaum
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georesursy Ltd. 2019-10-01
• Series: Georesursy
• Subjects: oil and gas origin; carbon circulation via earth’s surface; replenishment of reserves exploited deposits
• Online Access: https://geors.ru/archive/article/1006/

New ideas about the origin of oil and gas are discussed. They are caused by the discovery of the phenomenon of replenishment of oil and gas reserves in exploited fields. This phenomenon was discovered by the Russian geologists a quarter of a century ago, and a little later it was theoretically justified on the basis of the biosphere concept of oil and gas formation. As a result, the well-known «organic hypothesis» and «mineral hypothesis», which have long time competed in oil and gas geology are being replaced by new representations today, according to which oil and gas are the inexhaustible useful fossils of our planet. And their deposits are traps of movable carbon that circulates via the Earth’s surface in three main cycles with periods of ~108-109, ~106 -107 and ≈ 40 years. The 40-year carbon biosphere cycle, which was not previously taken into account at all, plays a main role in replenishment of deposits. Its accounting makes it possible to balance the carbon and water cycles in the biosphere, taking into account the economic activities of people and modern formation of oil and gas in the bowels, and also open up the possibility of exploiting deposits as constantly replenished sources of hydrocarbons.