Oil and the Young Earth

The standard evolutionary paradigm for the formation of oil, coal and so forth involves millions of years. Creationists have correctly disputed this, and it has been known for quite a while that these things can be formed in a short period of time.

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Since evolution requires belief that the earth is ancient, people interpret data through old earth spectacles. They have attempted to say that the Bible is wrong about the Genesis Flood and oil at the Tower of Babel. Part of the problem is their use of the word "pitch" in Genesis 6.14. (This is understandable to some extent, because כֹּפֶר, kopher in Hebrew, is an uncertain word and has several meanings. More consistently and accurately, it means "covering" and not "petroleum product". If the Genesis-deniers had done a bit of research, they would not be making such statements.) Instead, the rapid formation of oil supports the biblical Flood timeline and is problematic to evolutionists.

My earlier Acts & Facts article “Oil, Fracking, and a Recent Global Flood” dealt with the origin of hydrocarbons and the oil generation process. This article will examine the timing of oil and gas generation and their migration into reservoirs. Unfortunately, the scientific information communicated to the public is slanted by pro-evolutionary rhetoric. The occurrence of oil is even used as an argument against a recent global flood. Evolutionist David Montgomery insists all sedimentary rocks could not have formed during the year-long Flood, arguing that “a literal reading of the Bible requires that such rocks already existed at the time of the Flood because bitumen, the pitch or tar Noah used to caulk the ark (Genesis 6:14), comes from sedimentary rock.” 

However, as Dr. Henry M. Morris III pointed out, the Hebrew word used in this verse, kopher, doesn’t literally translate as “pitch.” He stated, “The word is used 17 times in the Old Testament, and is translated ‘pitch’ only in Genesis 6:14. Most of the time, kopher is translated with some term that represents money.”3 It seems that kopher was some sort of expensive (hence the possible reference to money) sheathing or covering that was placed over the wood of the Ark. Dr. Morris added that “the kopher that sheathed or coated the Ark is not specified….The idea that kopher was liquid is merely assumed….Even if the material was a liquid coating, the development of resins or other non-petroleum coating materials has long been known to man.” 

Once the floodwaters drained off the continents, deeply buried marine algal and planktonic deposits that were disseminated in the sediments (source rocks) began to heat up, reaching the geothermal gradients we observe today. How quickly did this heating occur, and how rapidly was oil generated?

You can read the rest of this slick article at "Rapidly Forming Oil Supports Flood Timeframe".