A number of questions concerning the origin and production of oil have been considered in the paper. Two alternative approaches to the genesis of oil are scrutinized: the biogenic origin and the abiogenic one; arguments of supporters of the former point of view and its opposite are given, and the authors' standpoint as to the question considered is worded. In this research, they proceeded from the following alternative hypotheses: firstly, oil has a biogenic origin; secondly, oil has an abiogenic origin and it is generated continuously in the process of cyclic endogenic activity in the depths of the Earth. If the second approach is valid, this means the reserves of oil are virtually inexhaustible. The factors confirming the abiogenic origin of oil in the Kola geological block of the Arctic zone have been examined. Some prospects and difficulties of oil extraction are estimated with environmental problems of oil production in the Arctic emphasized.