  Two discoveries have greatly impacted understanding relevant to the
origination and emplacement of petroleum and natural gas deposits. One
discovery, pertaining to hydrocarbon formation from methane broadens
significantly potential regions where abiotic petroleum and natural gas
deposits might be found. The other, discovery of the physical impossibility of
Earth-mantle convection, restricts the range and domain of geodynamic behavior,
and leads to new insights on the formation of petroleum and natural gas
deposits. This article highlights the impact and implications of those
discoveries, especially as they relate to petroleum and natural gas exploration
in India and throughout the world. From the reasoning developed here, the
generality of the considerations involved, the understanding developed with
respect to the East African Rift System, and the experience garnered from the
larger and older Siberian Traps, the prognosis and potential for the region
beneath the Deccan Traps of India to eventually become a major source of
petroleum and natural gas seems quite favorable.
