With all the geological shaking and moving, erupting, quaking, shifting, etc. that goes on around the planet, does anything like the Gulf oil leak ever occur naturally?
Yes - asphalt domes formed from underwater oil flows found off California.
Si
Seeps occur naturally but the oil isn’t released into the ocean at anything near the same rate as what was leaking from the BP well.
Actually, I was doing a bit of my own research, and found several cites that say that the total amount of oil released from natural seeps is about the same as the total amount released by spills. Here’s one:
These natural seeps aren’t as catastrophic, however, since they’re spread out and each only releases a relative trickle. Some fraction of the oil forms tarry deposits, others are volatile and eventually evaporate, and marine microorganisms will (slowly) eat what they can. Natural seeps do not release huge plumes of oil into delicate ecosystems…
Most romantic walks on the beach in Santa Barbara end with baby oil - for getting the tar off the soles of your feet.
It’s very common for tar and oil to seep out of the sea floor in California.