Current and authoritative with many advanced concepts for petroleum geologists, geochemists, geophysicists, or engineers engaged in the search for or production of crude oil and natural gas, or interested in their habitats and the factors that control them, this book is an excellent reference. It is recommended without reservation. AAPG Bulletin.

Inhalt
Production and Accumulation of Organic Matter: A Geological Perspective.- Production and Accumulation of Organic Matter The Organic Carbon Cycle.- Evolution of the Biosphere.- Biological Productivity of Modern Aquatic Environments.- Chemical Composition of the Biomass: Bacteria, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, Higher Plants.- Sedimentary Processes and the Accumulation of Organic Matter.- The Fate of Organic Matter in Sedimentary Basins: Generation of Oil and Gas.- Diagenesis, Catagenesis and Metagenesis of Organic Matter.- Early Transformation of Organic Matter: The Diagenetic Pathway from Organisms to Geochemical Fossils and Kerogen.- Geochemical Fossils and Their Significance in Petroleum Formation.- Kerogen: Composition and Classification.- From Kerogen to Petroleum.- Formation of Gas.- Formation of Petroleum in Relation to Geological Processes. Timing of Oil and Gas Generation.- Coal and its Relation to Oil and Gas.- Oil Shales: A Kerogen-Rich Sediment with Potential Economic Value.- The Migration and Accumulation of Oil and Gas.- An Introduction to Migration and Accumulation of Oil and Gas.- Physicochemical Aspects of Primary Migration.- Geological and Geochemical Aspects of Primary Migration.- Secondary Migration and Accumulation.- Reservoir Rocks and Traps, the Sites of Oil and Gas Pools.- The Composition and Classification of Crude Oils and the Influence of Geological Factors.- Composition of Crude Oils.- Classification of Crude Oils.- Geochemical Fossils in Crude Oils and Sediments as Indicators of Depositional Environment and Geological History.- Geological Control of Petroleum Type.- Petroleum Alteration.- Heavy Oils and Tar Sands.- Oil and Gas Exploration: Application of the Principles of Petroleum Generation and Migration.- Identification of Source Rocks.- Oiland Source Rock Correlation.- Locating Petroleum Prospects: Application of Principle of Petroleum Generation and Migration Geological Modeling.- Geochemical Modeling: A Quantitative Approach to the Evaluation of Oil and Gas Prospects.- Habitat of Petroleum.- The Distribution of World Oil and Gas Reserves and GeologicalGeochemical Implications.