From methane to liquid gold

The world's supplies of oil may be larger than we think - or at least that is what researchers from the US, Russia and Sweden are speculating now they have shown that hydrocarbons can be formed in the mantle from methane.

Hydrocarbons are generally thought to have a biological origin via the decomposition of ancient life over millions of years, hence the name 'fossil fuels'. However, there is another theory that suggests hydrocarbons may also be created from non-biological (abiogenic) sources. Previous experiments have shown that abiogenic methane could exist in the Earth's upper-mantle and theoretical models have predicted that this could then be converted to heavier hydrocarbons.  More...

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/July/27070902.asp