Return to Answer

Even a planet without a history of life could have plenty of petroleum like fuel

Here on Earth, nearly every molecule of water has been some animal's pee at least a couple of times and every complex hydrocarbon was some animal's corpse. But just like water does not need to go through an organism's body to exist, neither do complex hydrocarbons.

How Inorganic Abiogenic Complex Hydrocarbon Fuels Form

Here on Earth, we have identified several processes capable of forming hydrocarbons from simple molecules under the right conditions. While traditional petroleum geology focuses on biogenic origins, there is growing evidence that some hydrocarbons may form through abiogenic processes occurring within the Earth’s crust.

In particular, hydrothermal systems within ultramafic rocks suggest that hydrocarbon formation can occur at relatively shallow depths on the order of 2 to 10 km, where temperatures range from approximately 150–400°C and pressures from 100–1,000 bar.

In these environments, water penetrates fractured rock containing olivine (peridotite) and undergoes a process known as serpentinization. During this reaction, the iron in olivine is oxidized to form magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while the water is reduced to produce hydrogen gas (H₂):

$$ 3FeO + H_2O \rightarrow Fe_3O_4 + H_2 $$

This process generates both a continuous hydrogen source and magnetite, which serves as a catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis.

Carbon can be introduced into the system through any carbonate minerals in the rock or dissolved carbon compounds in the water. Under various expected reactions, these carbonates can contribute carbon in the form of CO₂ which is reduced to CO in the presence of the Hydrogen being released in the Serpentine process. As long as you are created more H₂ than CO₂, your have CO and H₂ which will be able to undergo FTT synthesis to form complex hydrocarbons at the pressure and temperature commonly experianced at depths of over 2km.

$$ nCO + (2n + 1)H_2 \rightarrow C_nH_{2n+2} + nH_2O $$

After millions of years, plate tectonics will cut off the influx of water and the process of Catagenesis can begin. Just like with organic petroleum the pressure will squeeze out the excess Hydrogen and and Water over the course of millions of additional years leaving you with a liquid of long chain hydrocarbons similar to crude oil.

How it Will be Different Than Earth

Here on Earth, we have a relatively large amount of fossil fuels close to the surface where they are easy to mine. Your terraformed planet may have some near-surface oil reserves due to plate tectonics and volcanic activity, but the vast majority of its usable fossilless fuels will require deep sea oil rigs to reach.

That said, you can offset this difficulty with a more carbon rich planet. Compared to other solar systems, the Sol System is relatively carbon scarce meaning that the average Earth-Like planet in another solar system will actually have much more Carbon than Earth. That means more natural hydrocarbons in the environment, meaning that you could have much larger abiogenic oil reserves than on Earth to offset the greater difficulty in reaching them.

Even a planet without a history of life could have plenty of petroleum like fuel

Here on Earth, nearly every molecule of water has been some animal's pee at least a couple of times and every complex hydrocarbon was some animal's corpse. But just like water does not need to go through an organism's body to exist, neither do complex hydrocarbons.

How Inorganic Abiogenic Complex Hydrocarbon Fuels Form

Here on Earth, we have identified several processes capable of forming hydrocarbons from simple molecules under the right conditions. While traditional petroleum geology focuses on biogenic origins, there is growing evidence that some may form through abiogenic processes occurring within the Earth’s crust, as well as spectrographic evidence that similar complex hydrocarbons are common naturally occuring substances on exoplanets without any other evidence of life.

In particular, hydrothermal systems within ultramafic rocks suggest that hydrocarbon formation can occur at relatively shallow depths on the order of 2 to 10 km, where temperatures range from approximately 150–400°C and pressures from 100–1,000 bar.

In these environments, water penetrates fractured rock containing olivine (peridotite) and undergoes a process known as serpentinization. During this reaction, the iron in olivine is oxidized to form magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while the water is reduced to produce hydrogen gas (H₂):

$$ 3FeO + H_2O \rightarrow Fe_3O_4 + H_2 $$

This process generates both a continuous hydrogen source and magnetite, which serves as a catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis.

Carbon can be introduced into the system through any carbonate minerals in the rock or dissolved carbon compounds in the water. Under various expected reactions, these carbonates can contribute carbon in the form of CO₂ which is reduced to CO in the presence of the Hydrogen being released in the Serpentine process. As long as you are generating more H₂ than CO₂, your will end up with CO and H₂ which will be able to undergo FTT synthesis to form complex hydrocarbons at the pressure and temperature commonly experienced at depths of over 2km.

$$ nCO + (2n + 1)H_2 \rightarrow C_nH_{2n+2} + nH_2O $$

After millions of years, plate tectonics will cut off the influx of water and the process of Catagenesis can begin. Just like with organic petroleum the pressure will squeeze out the excess Hydrogen and and Water over the course of millions of additional years leaving you with a liquid of long chain hydrocarbons similar to crude oil.

How it Will be Different Than Earth

Here on Earth, we have a relatively large amount of petroleum like fuels close to the surface where they are easy to mine. Your terraformed planet may have some near-surface reserves due to plate tectonics and volcanic activity, but the vast majority of its usable petroleum like fuels will require deep sea oil rigs to reach.

That said, you can offset this difficulty with a more carbon rich planet. Compared to other solar systems, the Sol System is relatively carbon scarce meaning that the average Earth-Like planet in another solar system will actually have much more Carbon than Earth. That means more natural hydrocarbons in the environment, meaning that you could have much larger abiogenic oil reserves than on Earth to offset the greater average depth.

Even a planet without a history of life could have plenty of petroleum like fuel

Here on Earth, nearly every molecule of water has been some animal's pee at least a couple of times and every complex hydrocarbon was some animal's corpse. But just like water does not need to go through an organism's body to exist, neither do complex hydrocarbons.

How Inorganic Abiogenic Complex Hydrocarbon Fuels Form

Here on Earth, we have identified several processes capable of forming hydrocarbons from simple molecules under the right conditions. While traditional petroleum geology focuses on biogenic origins, there is growing evidence that some hydrocarbons may form through abiogenic processes occurring within the Earth’s crust.

In particular, hydrothermal systems within ultramafic rocks suggest that hydrocarbon formation can occur at relatively shallow depths on the order of 2 to 10 km, where temperatures range from approximately 150–400°C and pressures from 100–1,000 bar.

In these environments, water penetrates fractured rock containing olivine (peridotite) and undergoes a process known as serpentinization. During this reaction, the iron in olivine is oxidized to form magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while the water is reduced to produce hydrogen gas (H₂):

$$ 3FeO + H_2O \rightarrow Fe_3O_4 + H_2 $$

This process generates both a continuous hydrogen source and magnetite, which serves as a catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis.

Carbon can be introduced into the system through any carbonate minerals in the rock or dissolved carbon compounds in the water. Under various expected reactions, these carbonates can contribute carbon in the form of CO₂, CO, or bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻).

In the presence of magnetite, further reactions will occur that resemble FTT synthesis, where carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen to form a range of complex hydrocarbons:

$$ nCO + (2n + 1)H_2 \rightarrow C_nH_{2n+2} + nH_2O $$

After millions of years, plate tectonics will cut off the influx of water and the process of Catagenesis can begin. Just like with organic petroleum the pressure will squeeze out the excess Hydrogen and and Water over the course of millions of additional years leaving you with a liquid of long chain hydrocarbons similar to crude oil.

How it Will be Different Than Earth

Here on Earth, we have a relatively large amount of fossil fuels close to the surface where they are easy to mine. Your terraformed planet may have some near-surface oil reserves due to plate tectonics and volcanic activity, but the vast majority of its usable fossil fuels will require deep sea oil rigs to reach.

That said, you can offset this difficulty with a more carbon rich planet. Compared to other solar systems, the Sol System is relatively carbon scarce meaning that the average Earth-Like planet in another solar system will actually have much more Carbon than Earth. That means more natural hydrocarbons in the environment, meaning that you could have much larger abiogenic oil reserves than on Earth to offset the greater difficulty in reaching them.

Even a planet without a history of life could have plenty of petroleum like fuel

Here on Earth, nearly every molecule of water has been some animal's pee at least a couple of times and every complex hydrocarbon was some animal's corpse. But just like water does not need to go through an organism's body to exist, neither do complex hydrocarbons.

How Inorganic Abiogenic Complex Hydrocarbon Fuels Form

Here on Earth, we have identified several processes capable of forming hydrocarbons from simple molecules under the right conditions. While traditional petroleum geology focuses on biogenic origins, there is growing evidence that some hydrocarbons may form through abiogenic processes occurring within the Earth’s crust.

In particular, hydrothermal systems within ultramafic rocks suggest that hydrocarbon formation can occur at relatively shallow depths on the order of 2 to 10 km, where temperatures range from approximately 150–400°C and pressures from 100–1,000 bar.

In these environments, water penetrates fractured rock containing olivine (peridotite) and undergoes a process known as serpentinization. During this reaction, the iron in olivine is oxidized to form magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while the water is reduced to produce hydrogen gas (H₂):

$$ 3FeO + H_2O \rightarrow Fe_3O_4 + H_2 $$

This process generates both a continuous hydrogen source and magnetite, which serves as a catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis.

Carbon can be introduced into the system through any carbonate minerals in the rock or dissolved carbon compounds in the water. Under various expected reactions, these carbonates can contribute carbon in the form of CO₂ which is reduced to CO in the presence of the Hydrogen being released in the Serpentine process. As long as you are created more H₂ than CO₂, your have CO and H₂ which will be able to undergo FTT synthesis to form complex hydrocarbons at the pressure and temperature commonly experianced at depths of over 2km.

$$ nCO + (2n + 1)H_2 \rightarrow C_nH_{2n+2} + nH_2O $$

After millions of years, plate tectonics will cut off the influx of water and the process of Catagenesis can begin. Just like with organic petroleum the pressure will squeeze out the excess Hydrogen and and Water over the course of millions of additional years leaving you with a liquid of long chain hydrocarbons similar to crude oil.

How it Will be Different Than Earth

Here on Earth, we have a relatively large amount of fossil fuels close to the surface where they are easy to mine. Your terraformed planet may have some near-surface oil reserves due to plate tectonics and volcanic activity, but the vast majority of its usable fossilless fuels will require deep sea oil rigs to reach.

That said, you can offset this difficulty with a more carbon rich planet. Compared to other solar systems, the Sol System is relatively carbon scarce meaning that the average Earth-Like planet in another solar system will actually have much more Carbon than Earth. That means more natural hydrocarbons in the environment, meaning that you could have much larger abiogenic oil reserves than on Earth to offset the greater difficulty in reaching them.

Here on Earth, we've discovered a number of processes for making long chain polymers from methane. Most textbooks will tell you that complex hydrocarbons only form in the mantel at depths of over 60km based on a single experiment done at room temperature without any catalysts, and that these are destroyed in the process of trying to get to the crust. However, there is growing evidence that Abiogenic Complex Hydrocarbons actually do form inside the crust at depths as little as 2km.

Part of the claim that it only happens deeper is based on the idea that methaine only exists in a defused state underground; however, there are several known natural serpentine engines where water meets minerals like olivine which create large underground pockets of pure, high-pressure methane before it has time to dissipate into the surrounding rock. While we have only observed this phenomenon at the ocean floor near hydrothermal vents, we know that groundwater under the Ocean can penetrate all the way to the mantel. Anywhere the water forms a serpentine engine ~5-10km underground, you can recreate the exact conditions we use in factories to create LDPEs from methane; so, we can naturally assume that LDPEs must form at these natural serpentine engines at these depths which over time and pressure will refine into something very closely resembling crude oil. So while organic oil stores energy from the sun, this oil would store geothermal energy.

This process becomes even more efficient if it happens in the presence of a natural catalyst like magnetite. If magnetite is present, the reaction could happen at depths of as little as 2km.

Here on Earth, we have identified several processes capable of forming hydrocarbons from simple molecules under the right conditions. While traditional petroleum geology focuses on biogenic origins, there is growing evidence that some hydrocarbons may form through abiogenic processes occurring within the Earth’s crust.

In particular, hydrothermal systems within ultramafic rocks suggest that hydrocarbon formation can occur at relatively shallow depths on the order of 2 to 10 km, where temperatures range from approximately 150–400°C and pressures from 100–1,000 bar.

In these environments, water penetrates fractured rock containing olivine (peridotite) and undergoes a process known as serpentinization. During this reaction, the iron in olivine is oxidized to form magnetite (Fe₃O₄), while the water is reduced to produce hydrogen gas (H₂):

$$ 3FeO + H_2O \rightarrow Fe_3O_4 + H_2 $$

This process generates both a continuous hydrogen source and magnetite, which serves as a catalyst in Fischer–Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis.

Carbon can be introduced into the system through any carbonate minerals in the rock or dissolved carbon compounds in the water. Under various expected reactions, these carbonates can contribute carbon in the form of CO₂, CO, or bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻).

In the presence of magnetite, further reactions will occur that resemble FTT synthesis, where carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen to form a range of complex hydrocarbons:

$$ nCO + (2n + 1)H_2 \rightarrow C_nH_{2n+2} + nH_2O $$

After millions of years, plate tectonics will cut off the influx of water and the process of Catagenesis can begin. Just like with organic petroleum the pressure will squeeze out the excess Hydrogen and and Water over the course of millions of additional years leaving you with a liquid of long chain hydrocarbons similar to crude oil.