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research for the past four years. I’ve developed a close collaboration with Professor Kenji Sato at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He’s a mathematician and has been helping with some of the more theoretical aspects of my work.”
    With this enlightenment into his father’s research, Peter was feeling somewhat frustrated. “I’m obviously missing something, Jim. How does Dad’s work tie into your concerns?”
    â€œOur analysts believe that Professor Savage may be on the verge of discovering the mechanism for oil formation from geological sources—from rocks and minerals. To date, the abiogenic theory of oil formation is only a half-theory. By that I mean that it says oil can be formed from geological mechanisms rather than solely by biological mechanisms, but how this happens has never been explained or put forward in a widely accepted theorem.”
    â€œIs that right, Dad?”
    â€œWell, yes, I suppose Jim is correct. The Russians first came forward with the idea that oil and gas were formed not only by decomposed organic life but also by inorganic chemical mechanisms occurring deep in the Earth. That idea, by the way, was published in 1951. Since then, the Russians and Ukrainians have successfully exploited the hypothesis to make significant oil and gas discoveries in places where, according to conventional wisdom, it should not have been found. Examples include more than 80 fields in the Caspian district, 90 fields in the Siberian Cratonic-rift basin, and twelve major fields in the Dneiper-Donets basin. Oil companies are drilling at impact crater sites in base rock and making oil strikes more often than not.”
    â€œForgive me, Professor, but you seem to know an awful lot about a topic you say is not your field of study.”
    â€œI’m a scientist and an academic. My profession is seeking knowledge, whether from my own original research or reading the results of others. Obviously, I want to know as much as possible about terrestrial geochemistry to aid in my research of the geochemical processes that may be occurring on planetary moons.”
    Peter was still trying to understand fully the obvious depth of Jim’s concern. “And what have others learned about conventional and unconventional oil formation theories that are relevant to your work?” Peter asked his father.
    â€œNot much, really. You see, the fundamental problem with the biogenic theory of oil formation—the notion that organic life somehow decays under tons and tons of sediment to yield complex hydrocarbons—is, quite simply, that it is thermodynamically impossible. Unless, that is, you invoke pressures and temperatures that are far greater than can be achieved in the mantle. You’d have to go deep into the Earth, and that’s what we can’t explain—not yet.”
    Peter was fascinated, and again he regretted the rift with his father.
    The professor continued, “But there has to be more to it. I mean, how did the vast hydrocarbon reserves on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, get there? I just don’t believe it had anything to do with biological origins. So Kenji—uh, Professor Sato—and I have been looking into geochemical processes. We think that under the right circumstances, hydrogen can be reduced from water, where it can then react with mineral carbonates, converting the carbon to hydrocarbon molecules.”
    Peter leaned forward, “Dad, if you’re right, couldn’t the process be used to make oil?”
    â€œOh, don’t get too excited. We still haven’t worked it all out. There are a multitude of details that would have to be resolved. And the conditions on Saturn’s moons are thought to be completely different from conditions on Earth. We don’t even know that Earth has the required minerals that are present on Titan. My research could be a complete dead end.”
    â€œJim, I understand what Dad is saying,