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The petroleum hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and kerogen macromolecules are abundant within the
extraterrestrial atmospheric particles. These hydrocarbons occur as reservoir of lakes and oceans
or in hydrate forms on various planets (Earth, Mars, moons of Saturn and Jupiter), asteroid belts,
carbonaceous chondrites, and as solid residue within the planets or moons in the Solar System
and beyond.
The abundance of PAHs in the outer Solar System may indicate that the genesis of these
primitive biomarker hydrocarbons may have formed abiogenically much earlier (> 5Ga) than the
formation of our Solar System (~ 5 Ga). However, the origin of petroleum on Earth is
overwhelmingly connected to the biogenic organic matter that is related to source rocks (thermal
degradation of macromolecular kerogen). This may show a similar genesis of the kerogen
macromolecules and petroleum hydrocarbons (oil and gas) within the carbonaceous chondrites
(CCs), Mars, and selected moons from Saturn and Jupiter. They may be biologically and
genetically related.
Recent evidence of the possible presence of source rocks (organic rich black carbonaceous
rocks) and associated petroleum system elements within Eberswalde and Holden areas of Mars
may indicate similar terrestrial associations. Similarly, studies of Carbonaceous Chondrites
using biological, petrological, SEM/EDS, and petroleum geochemical methods may also indicate
the presence of source rock macromolecule within the CCs. These studies pointed out two new
issues: (1) approximately, the major part of the CCs possibly originated from archaea, bacteria,
and primitive algal remains; and (2) three types of temperature events affecting the petroleum
generation within these carbonaceous chondrites: (i) lower temperature events (<200oC) in
comets and cooler asteroids or planets (examples: Murchison, Tagish Lake, Orgueil); (ii)
intermediate temperature events (200 - 300oC) as associated within the deeper section of the
comets, asteroids or planets (examples: ALH 840001, and NWA); (iii) high temperature induced
zones (>400-500oC) within asteroids or planets or moons (examples: Allende, Vigarano, EET)
where organic matter is closely associated with the volcanic or intrusives. The processes of
forming oil and gas within Mars and the Moons of other Planets may be connected to both low
and high temperature events of kerogen transformation. As such, (a) in the low temperature
events, hydrocarbons may be genetically related to petroleum system elements (source, reservoir,
seal, and carrier bed systems; (b) in the high temperature events, bitumens and PAHs were
derived from the organic remnants (e.g bacterial clusters) which may be connected to volcanic
sources possibly associated with a bacterial mat.
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