A geologist is getting hounded online for a claim that oil is a renewable resource.
The post, reposted on the r/TopMindsOfReddit subreddit, incorrectly asserts that oil is a renewable resource constantly produced from the bottom layers of the Earth's crust before rising from the ground.

It further states that Big Oil conglomerates like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are colluding to limit production to keep oil prices up artificially, and the United States is using the overheating planet as an excuse to cut oil production as well.Â
Although it is true that more oil reserves have been discovered within the last few decades, it is not true that oil and natural gas are renewable resources.
A renewable resource is one that cannot be depleted by human use and can be replaced indefinitely. Examples include the sun, wind, and hydroelectric power.
Oil is not. Even though the global supply of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons is expected to adequately meet the worldwide demand through 2050, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's International Energy Outlook 2023, that does not mean oil is a renewable resource.
It simply means we are discovering more of it more quickly, but oil itself will eventually run out. Perhaps not in our lifetimes, but at some point, it will be gone, unlike the sun or wind, which are natural and perpetual.Â
The post cites a 2002 Washington Times article claiming that new oil reserves were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico where there were previously none, showing that we have much more oil than previously believed.Â
Oil fields typically result from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals, which are transformed into oil and gas over millions of years by heat and pressure.Â
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It is important to find ways to avoid disinformation online. Even information that is not entirely true can count as such, and in today's increasingly interconnected world, it is more important than ever to both know how to identify disinformation and combat it.
"Even if it was, burning it as inefficiently as we do is a very bad idea, just from a smog standpoint," said one Reddit user.Â
"Even if oil was continuously forming … that doesn't mean that its formation would outpace its use or that it was good for the environment," added another user.
Another added: "I feel dumber for having even seen it."
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