ABSTRACT
Petroleum is scattered throughout the earth’s crust, which is divided into natural groups or strata, categorized in order of their antiquity (Table 2.1) (Speight, 2014a). These divisions are recognized by the distinctive systems of organic debris (as well as fossils, minerals, and other characteristics) that form a chronological time chart that indicates the relative ages of the earth’s strata. It is generally acknowledged that carbonaceous materials such as petroleum occur in all these geological strata from the Precambrian to the recent, and the origin of petroleum within these formations is a question that remains open to conjecture and the basis for much research. The answer cannot be given in this text, nor for that matter can it be presented in any advanced treatise.
