Transformation of Petroleum in Nature is a a comprehensive account of the thermodynamic principles governing petroleum transformations in nature. Topics covered range from the dependence of petroleum properties on geologic-geochemical conditions to processes of spontaneous alteration of organic matter. A considerable section of the book is devoted to the thermodynamic transformation of hydrocarbons. Comprised of nine chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the connection between the properties of petroleum and its geologic age, as well as the basic aspects of the natural phenomenon and the many observed deviations from this basic phenomenon. The role played by a number of catalysts in connection with the transformable material is also considered, along with geochemical transformations of petroleum during the process of migration into the reservoir rocks. Subsequent chapters focus on the phenomenology of spontaneous transformation processes of organic matter; thermodynamics of low-temperature transformation of hydrocarbons; oxidative transformations of petroleum in nature; and the significance of clays in the formation and conversion of petroleum in the earth's crust. The thermocatalytic transformations of heterogeneous organic compounds are also analyzed. This book will be of interest to petroleum geologists and geochemists.