It was science fiction and the plot was time travel involving the USA travelling back in time to pump the oil from under the Arab States to a location that was in present time under USA control. This was beset with problems as the time co ordinates were not exact and the time travellers did not arrive in the order they were sent. Plus it was a one way journey.
The first few chapters dealt with artifacts in the present day that were actually modern items.

The Last Day of Creation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Day_of_Creation)