This book is intended for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and professional earth scientists requiring an overview of the essential processes of sedimentary basin formation and evolution and their implications for the development of hydrocarbon resources. The mechanisms of formation, the subsequent burial history and the resultant stratigraphic and depositional patterns are linked by an integrated approach. Numerous worked examples are designed to familiarize the reader with important techniques used in basin analysis. The application to petroleum exploration of the improved understanding of how basins work is an underlying theme.