Can underground or undersea oil or gas become ingnited in any way, and then burn making a large fire?

Underground NO, there is no source of oxygen and no source of combustion.





As the gas or oil comes up and the pressure decreases and the volume increases, but it can come up under tremendous pressures. Once it comes to the surface and oxygen is available, that is where the trouble can begin.Can underground or undersea oil or gas become ingnited in any way, and then burn making a large fire?
There is a coal seam in Colorado that has been burning for several years. You can see it off I-70 between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs.


Fire needs three elements to exist: Oxygen, fuel and heat. If any one element is missing there is no flame.Can underground or undersea oil or gas become ingnited in any way, and then burn making a large fire?
Fire depends on the presence of oxygen. If air can get to the fire then it will continue to burn. There have been coal mines that have caught fire and have continued to burn (or smolder) for years. I saw one such mine in Scranton, PA about 50 years ago. For all I know it is still burning. Most of the rock surrounding a coal seam has cracks, called joints or cleavage. This allows air to seep into the presence of the fire. Oil is a liquid and does not have cracks. Therefore it would tend to seal off any supply of air.


To sum it up, an underground (or undersea) oil or gas fire would be highly unlikely. I worked as a geologist for an oil company once upon a time and I never heard of such a fire.