Reply #12: Basic Petroleum Geology 101

[Coastie for Truth]

Petroleum exists in porous rock formations (not unlike sand stone - when you built a hot dog or burger fire on top of sand stone - the entrapped water boiled and threw off sand stone shrapnel).

The petroleum is a complex mixture. Just from simple biology 101 and biochem 101 - as the vegetation/flora/fauna decomposes you get a complex mixture of everything from natural gas (methane - CH4) to complex asphalts and tars - C35H72 (with all manner of ether and ester oxygen, and mecapto Sulfur).

The lighter stuff evaporates off first - that is "swamp gas" or "coal mine gas" or "abiotic methane" - we are talking about the CH4 (methane) to C4H10 (propane) fraction. That is the "biotic hydrocarbons."

Meanwhile - over geologic time, even the C5H12 and C6H14 fractions slowly evaporate. This leaves behind the "heavies".

As the CH4 to even trace amounts of C8H18 evaporate - the residue left behind becomes "richer" in the gooo and gunk of the tars and asphalts. That is the Alberta Tar Sands and Oil Sands.

Now, another point, the deep ocean abiotic hydrocarbons (which percolate up through nanopores in the seabed) form "clathrates" with sea water.

A clathrate is a molecular size hollow "ice cube" - with a few hydrocarbon molecules inside the hollow. The sea water freezes quickly when it contacts super-cooled hydrocarbon. Why - we have a fancy word for it - "Joule Thompson Expansion" - just means when the hydrocarbon comes out of the seabed nanopores - it expands quickly -- and cools quickly.