Do you subscribe that there are bacteria actually creating the oil?
Albeit at a very slow pace compared to our consumption.
Researchers were taping the hotsprings in yellowstone to learn how bacteria could survive such a hostile environ, hoping to find enzymes that could facilitate existing and new processes.
If I had to leave out that the bacteria cannot survive those conditions, good sci-fi doesn't have to be totally accurate, and can leverage that we are still learning.
Improving oil recovery
Scientists have known for a long time that bacteria could be used to make it easier to get oil out of the ground. However, most of the research on microbial-enhanced oil recovery or MEOR began in the 1980s, and has progressed to current testing of those applications in the field. Essentially, the bacteria are used to make the oil flow better, so that more of it can be recovered from an underground deposit.
Some MEOR methods use bacteria which already live in the oil deposit. In other methods, laboratory-grown bacterial cultures are injected into the underground oil reservoir. The ways in which MEOR processes work also vary. Some methods depend on the growth of the bacteria themselves, and some rely on the by-products of bacterial growth (such as the production of enzymes) to improve oil recovery.
For example, two researchers at Mississippi State University are currently testing an MEOR method in oil wells, using naturally occurring bacteria. To recover the oil that is near the bottom of a well, drillers pump in water to flush it out. The researchers are working to make this process more efficient.
By feeding certain strains of bacteria a special mixture of nutrients, the researchers cause these bacterial populations to grow significantly. The masses of bacteria plug the porous areas of rock and soil in the well. As they seal the permeable areas, the bacteria keep the oil from seeping out, and push it back into the centre of the well. The bacteria also keep the water used to flush the well from seeping into the surrounding area. As a result, the water comes in contact with more oil, and brings more of it to the surface. Testing of this method is expected to be completed this year, however, early results show it improves efficiency of oil recovery.
agwest.sk.ca
1980 Diamond v. Chakrabarty
Prior to 1980, life forms were considered a part of nature and were not patentable. Diamond v Chakrabarty changed this with the 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision that genetically engineered (modified) bacteria were patentable because they did not occur naturally in nature. In this case, Chakrabarty had modified a bacteria to create an oil-dissolving bioengineered microbe.
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