Petroleum is a naturally occurring complex mixture of hydrocarbons, predominantly alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic compounds, with variable amounts of heteroatom-containing species (sulfur-, nitrogen-, oxygen-bearing molecules) and trace metals, formed from the thermal maturation of organic matter in sedimentary basins. As a research topic, it encompasses source rock characterization, kerogen typing, basin modeling, fluid thermodynamics, and multiphase flow in porous media, as well as geochemical fingerprinting for provenance and migration studies. Petroleum research also addresses phase behavior under reservoir conditions, enhanced recovery processes, and environmental impacts associated with extraction, processing, and accidental release.
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