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Doesn't the existence of organic lifeforms (obviously an assumption which can be debated) almost surely guarantee the presence of fossil fuels? Given the average time evolution takes to produce intelligent life, won't there most likely be sufficient deceased organic matter which can be turned into a source of fuel?

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>> guarantee the presence of fossil fuels

Absolutely not. Just recently a bacteria (or maybe an archae, I can't find an article) was discovered that efficiently breaks organic matter in anaerobic conditions. There is a sharp decrease in the amount of coal formed after that bacteria evolved a few dozen million years ago.

It's just an accident, that we are the 1st life form capable of extracting the energy from fossil fuels.

I remember reading that most of the fossil fuels on earth were deposited before mushrooms and other fungi evolved which break down organic matter. Before they existed, organic material did not decay nearly as fast as it does now, so it would just pile up. That's why there is so much fossil fuel around, but it probably wont ever be replenished to the same levels. I forget where I read this, so I could be misremembering. In any case, there's no guarantee that fossil fuels will exist.

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