New theory says India's oil-rich

India has almost unlimited oil reserves. Or so says 22-year old Samar Abbas, researcher in geophysics at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

Abbas bases his views on the `non-organic theory,' according to which the world's oil resources are much more than is suggested by the `biogenic theory'. He says India, poor in oil in the biogenic framework, is rich in the non-organic one.

Based on the conventional organic theory of the origin of petroleum, it is believed that recoverable crude oil reserves will be exhausted within a few decades. But Abbas says the origin of petroleum is yet to be fully ascertained.

The young geophysicist has been appreciated for his attempt in a recent issue of Current Science, an international science journal.

The dichotomy arises because there are two theories on the origins of petroleum. The organic theory, which is currently favoured, hold that petroleum is of organic origin. It predicts limited reserves worldwide.

But the non-organic theory maintains that petroleum is of primordial origin. As the Earth formed, it acquired hydrocarbons via accretion and through meteorite impacts. Some of these hydrocarbons got trapped in formations such as oil and gas, tar sands, oil shales, bitumen and mud volcanoes.

On the basis of the latter theory, the Earth's oil reserves are much larger than hitherto believed. In fact, it has helped locate oil in some areas where according to the accepted theory, there should have been one.

`There is therefore the crucial need, especially for countries like India, to objectively assess the situation and investigate the latter possibility,' says Abbas.

According to him, since the Western nations possess or control much of the world's petroleum reserves, there is no incentive for them to innovate. `Hence it is up to petroleum-poor countries like India to take the risk of exploring the not both theoretically and experimentally.' ...