My comment wasn't clear - I'm talking about abandoned rigs. So the well is sealed.
Some of the more extreme "environmentalist" (in my opinion extreme) also demand that the ocean floor near the well is scrubbed clean to 'leave no trade' which is good in theory but in practice will wipe out the fish and plant life which has grown up around it.
Instead of saying "wasting", OP should have said "emitting CO2 to the atmosphere", which is the real problem here. Including from refinery flare stacks, and emissions of non-CO2 GHGs like methane from leaks.
Unbalanced fractions aren't so much of a problem as they can be cracked.
To be pedantic, assuming the fuel is used in a combustion engine, there will always be a percentage of the fuel wasted as heat energy. This depends on the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine and various other conditions, of course.
Oil is not part of the dispute parent is talking about. Abandoned rigs provides shelter for a multitude of species and helps marine diversity. On the other hand, they are manmade structures and essentially ocean trash.
There are many types of toxic sludge, the fact that rare organics can live within them not only points to the possibility of life off planet earth, it also hints at potential uses in remediation of human created toxic wastes (binding to heavy metals in wetlands capturing industrial run off, etc.).
How much percent recyclable plastic could we extract out of raw oil? Like real recyclable plastic, where it is worth money to do so.
Maybe making more bitumen/asphalt for roads/roofs, or graphite for batteries?