ABSTRACT
In any text dealing with the science of petroleum, there must, of necessity, be a section dealing with kerogen. This will help the reader to understand kerogen and its place as a naturally occurring organic material. It is not the intent of this chapter to replace the excellent texts already available on the nature of kerogen (Tissot and Welte, 1978; Durand, 1980; Pelet and Durand, 1984). It is hoped that this chapter will assist the reader to understand the nature of kerogen as well as understand the role that kerogen might play in petroleum science. It is anticipated that this chapter will also serve as an introduction to the more complex constituents of petroleum and aid in an understanding of the nature of the asphaltic constituents (i.e., the asphaltenes and the resins) of petroleum (Chapters 7, 10, and 11).
