There is, as they say, an XKCD for every situation: https://xkcd.com/1330/
And showing relative depths -- it always surprises me that modern oil wells aren't actually _all_ that shallower: https://xkcd.com/1040/
And showing relative depths -- it always surprises me that modern oil wells aren't actually _all_ that shallower: https://xkcd.com/1040/
> reached 12,262 metres (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) in 1989
While Deepwater Horizon's deepest drill:
> In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m)
It's maybe not a useful technical measure, but it's a lot closer in "depth" than I imagined it would be given the amount of attention given to the Kola borehole, and especially the tales of the difficulties they faced. Makes me think that one of the big oil companies could probably beat the record if they wanted.
There is a theory that oil is actually generated as a by product of the mantle itself, not by buried prehistoric plants.
If that's the case, oil could truly be a limitless resource, which is bad news for the climate.
I think the best argument against abiogenic petroleum in the mantle is that if the theory had any merit Exxon would have figured out a way to bore into the mantle decades ago.
Sounds like more like alchemy than actual science. What magical process transmutes rock into long chain hydrocarbons?