Final answer:
The statement is true; kerogen is a mixture of hydrocarbons found in oil shales and is a precursor to petroleum and natural gases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement saying kerogen is the name given to the mixture of hydrocarbons found in oil shales is true. Kerogen is indeed an organic compound from which petroleum and natural gases are formed through heat and pressure processes over geological times. Oil shales are a type of source rock, which is rich in organic material and has the potential to generate oil or gas under the right conditions. As such, kerogen encapsulated within oil shales, when subjected to heat and pressure, can transform into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons, which are primarily petroleum and fossil gas, are produced by the breakdown of large amounts of microscopic plants and animals that settled in ancient oceans. Over hundreds of millions of years, these materials were subjected to conditions that allowed them to transform into the fossil hydrocarbons we use today as energy sources.