SESSION I. DISCUSSION 119 



the minerals of which rocky formations are composed (the Khibinsk massif in particular). 

 Later, in order of diminishing rates of migration to the surface, there appear methane, 

 and to a lesser extent, its homologues. 



Methane and its homologues leave the magmatic formations and enter a stratum of 

 sedimentary deposit where, if the thermodynamic conditions and hydrostatic pressure are 

 suitable, they cease to be gaseous and become liquid. This seems to us to be the way in 

 which condensation petroleum is formed. 



We have no basis for explaining the presence of inflammable gases in the igneous 

 formations of the Kola peninsula as being derived from organic substances of sedimentary 

 formations. 



We must not be held prisoner by the deeply rooted ideas of some very highly authorita- 

 tive scientists, that methane and its homologues (the heavier hydrocarbons) are formed 

 in any considerable amount only as a result of the transformation of organic material. 

 All this is a result of the fact that many workers dogmatically repeat the theory of petroleum 

 formation put forward by I. M. Gubkin in his own time. It is now time to make a radical 

 revision of our ideas about the nature of the inflammable gases in petroleum. We do not 

 wish, in the least, to belittle the tremendous part played by that outstanding scientist 

 I. M. Gubkin in the development of petroleum geology in our country. All the same, we 

 must boldly eradicate incorrect explanations of any natural phenomena if this is required 

 by the facts. This must be done in the matter of the origin of the combustible gases and 

 of petroleum. The demonstration of the inorganic origin of considerable amounts of 

 methane and heavier hydrocarbons in igneous formations is of great significance in the 

 deliberations of this present session about the question of the origin of life on the Earth, 

 based, as they are, on the ideas which have been developed in recent years by A. I. Oparin 

 & V. G. Fesenkov. 



The question of hydrocarbons and other carbon-containing substances in igneous 

 formations, therefore, requires special and deep study. In the course of this, methods 

 must be worked out for the more detailed analysis of gases and a series of such deter- 

 minations must be made on types of igneous formations of different geological ages. In 

 this connection we shall watch with great interest the investigations of formations of 

 the fundament (pre-Cambrian) of the Ural-Volga region, the Ukrainian crystalline 

 massif, Kamchatka, Elbruz and other places. 



L. Pauling (U.S.A.): 



In connection with the origin of life, I should like to say that it is sometimes easier to 

 study a subject than to define it. 



For many years I have been studying the nature of the chemical bond and I have even 

 written a book about it, which has since been criticized. However, when I discussed this 

 question with Prof. N. D. Sokolov, we found that it is extremely difficult to define a 

 chemical bond. 



