Wednesday Words

Abiogenic theory | theory of petroleum formation in which petroleum is thought to have formed from hydrocarbons trapped inside the earth while the planet was forming

Biogenic theory | theory of petroleum formation in which the petroleum is thought to have originated from plant and animal matter that has undergone transformation by heat and pressure resulting from deep burial

Organic theory | most widely accepted theory explaining the origins of petroleum: as organic materials become deeply buried over time, heat and pressure transform them into hydrocarbons