It's been awhile since I did some depth research on this, but if I remember right, this isn't exactly new.
The news consistently sensationalizes everything in order to sell more news. In reality this isn't a big deal. Also, the trigger word "genetically engineered" tends to make average people invent some fantastical 'sci-fi' style Star Trek craziness that has nothing to do with reality.
Genetically engineered, simply means they bred specific cultures of micro-organisms to produce the highest yield of oil. Just as you would breed cows that produce the most milk, or just as they breed sheep that have no horns. Even breeding dogs to keep the best floppy ears and fluffy tail.. could technically be called 'genetic engineering'.
That said, the first discovery of bacteria that produce oil was back in 1957, or earlier. Again... this is not new. Does the technology work? Of course. Can it be profitable and commercially viable? That remains to be seen.
There are a huge host of problems that must be dealt with first. The host tank must be kept in near perfect environmental state for the micro-organisms (mi-orgs) to work best. As in around 30ºC. This requires perfect heat and cooling to maintain temp, or the mi-orgs all die, and the whole batch is ruined and must be scrapped. There must not be any contamination, both of food and air supply. Too much, or too little oxygen, or if anything gets mixed into the food, again the mi-orgs die and repeat.
Finely, this specific plan calls for wood chips and straw waste. If you think about a full barrel of crude oil... verses a pile of wood chips and straw waste, it would take a whole ton of waste to make one barrel of oil. Further, from what I've come up with, the conversion ratio is at about 5%-15%. As in ton of food, for relatively small amount of oil. Granted that was based on 1957 figures, so hopefully things have improved.
Oh and Scottsman, nothing to fear here. These are mi-orgs that are naturally found in nature. If they could survive in the ocean, and convert the planet into an oil pool, they would have done so 6,000 years ago at least. My best understanding is that they will die the moment they are not in a controlled environment.