It is interesting that you say that. I have the same question. I also know of a company that is supposedly using high pressure systems to turn algae into crude oil. My guess is that any carbonaceous substrate might do to supply the basic substrate. Whether it's organic matter from the surface, or from deeper strata or some kind of natural carbon deposit that has been there since roughly the beginning doesn't appear to matter. The paper does make a claim that there are no biological factors in oil production, but I have to wonder why the mainstream theory says that the carbon isotopes in crude oil favor a biological source. I think the important practical takeaway is that the supply is larger than expected, and abandoning relying on *only* the current biotic theories will cause us to miss drilling in good candidate zones for oil. Combined with what are likely to be much larger overall oil supplies, the true reason I don't believe we will ever 'run out' of oil is because we'll see improvements in our ability to chemically alter other petro substances, like natural gas for example. I agree about the Russians.