It is believed by a number of geologists that oil shale is genetically related to petroleum and that it represents the initial stage in the transformation of organic material into oil. These investigators have assumed that at elevated temperatures and pressures, induced by deep burial, the "kerogen" of oil shales would be converted into petroleum which might accumulate under favorable structural conditions to form pools of oil.

In order to test this hypothesis the writers undertook a series of flowage experiments on typical oil shale both at ordinary temperatures and at elevated temperatures. In view of the results obtained there is reason for doubting that important quantities of petroleum have been formed from oil shales except in the vicinity of igneous intrusions where the temperatures have been unusually high. It is suggested that the initial stages of transformation of organic debris have been different in the formation of "kerogen" than in the formation of oil.