Explorer President’s Column

Providing energy to the world is a heroic journey. In my preface to the 2017 DPA publication “Heritage of the Petroleum Geoscientist,” I wrote that the philosopher Joseph Campbell described that the world has a few stories, and many storytellers. The “Hero’s Journey” starts with a call to adventure, overcoming trials (think of the Greek character Odysseus), and returning to tell the story.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Innovations Bring Once-dying Shale Plays Back to Life Join us in Houston Texas, on April 26, 2018 to uncover the technologic innovations applied to the Haynesville gas play, that have seen a spike in production due to these advances.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The Energy and Environmental Science & Technology Directorate at the Idaho National Laboratory has scientists working diligently to better understand how fluids might flow through the small pores in shales where the silt- and clay-size particles can measure as small as less than 0.004 millimeters.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column EMD

The Energy Minerals Division was organized in 1977 as an international forum for those working in the exploration, development and production of energy sources other than conventional oil and natural gas. Our purpose then, as now, is to serve the AAPG by advancing the science, energy economics, technology and geology as it relates to energy resources other than conventional oil and gas.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

AAPG President Charles Sternbach likes to quote the late Marlan Downey, a past AAPG president, about the secrets to a successful career in the profession. “Go where the energy is.” And in London, during the Discovering Thinking seminar at this year’s ICE, Sternbach, along with others, will revisit the world’s most petroliferous basins with new technology.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Director’s Corner

As U.S. production continues to grow, all eyes are focused on OPEC and its recent May 25 meeting to determine whether to keep production cuts in place in an effort to maintain oil prices.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Geologists, engineers, geophysicists and entrepreneurs are invited to the Mid-Continent Playmakers Forum on May 11 in Oklahoma City at the headquarters of the Oklahoma Geological Society.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

For anyone interested in the methods of observing and quantifying the pore systems that control hydrocarbon and flow in unconventional reservoirs, AAPG’s new volume is what you’ve been waiting for. AAPG recently released Memoir 112: “Imaging Unconventional Reservoir Pore Systems.”

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Fasken Oil and Drilling Info have a data set encompassing hundreds of square miles and thousands of wells, and they’re willing to share.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The Permian Basin has been known for black gold and clear methane for almost 100 years. Today, it’s just as closely associated with little green pieces of paper. Those dollars are flowing into the area as fast as oil and gas are flowing out. Companies and investors dropped almost $30 billion into Permian deals last year.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

Production from unconventional petroleum reservoirs includes petroleum from shale, coal, tight-sand and oil-sand. These reservoirs contain enormous quantities of oil and natural gas but pose a technology challenge to both geoscientists and engineers to produce economically on a commercial scale. These reservoirs store large volumes and are widely distributed at different stratigraphic levels and basin types, offering long-term potential for energy supply. Most of these reservoirs are low permeability and porosity that need enhancement with hydraulic fracture stimulation to maximize fluid drainage. Production from these reservoirs is increasing with continued advancement in geological characterization techniques and technology for well drilling, logging, and completion with drainage enhancement. Currently, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Egypt, USA, and Venezuela are producing natural gas from low permeability reservoirs: tight-sand, shale, and coal (CBM). Canada, Russia, USA, and Venezuela are producing heavy oil from oilsand. USA is leading the development of techniques for exploring, and technology for exploiting unconventional gas resources, which can help to develop potential gas-bearing shales of Thailand. The main focus is on source-reservoir-seal shale petroleum plays. In these tight rocks petroleum resides in the micro-pores as well as adsorbed on and in the organics. Shale has very low matrix permeability (nano-darcies) and has highly layered formations with differences in vertical and horizontal properties, vertically non-homogeneous and horizontally anisotropic with complicate natural fractures. Understanding the rocks is critical in selecting fluid drainage enhancement mechanisms; rock properties such as where shale is clay or silica rich, clay types and maturation , kerogen type and maturation, permeability, porosity, and saturation. Most of these plays require horizontal development with large numbers of wells that require an understanding of formation structure, setting and reservoir character and its lateral extension. The quality of shale-gas resources depend on thickness of net pay (>100 m), adequate porosity (>2%), high reservoir pressure (ideally overpressure), high thermal maturity (>1.5% Ro), high organic richness (>2% TOC), low in clay (<50%), high in brittle minerals (quartz, carbonates, feldspars), and favourable in-situ stress. During the past decade, unconventional shale and tight-sand gas plays have become an important supply of natural gas in the US, and now in shale oil as well. As a consequence, interest to assess and explore these plays is rapidly spreading worldwide. The high production potential of shale petroleum resources has contributed to a comparably favourable outlook for increased future petroleum supplies globally. Application of 2D and 3D seismic for defining reservoirs and micro seismic for monitoring fracturing, measuring rock properties downhole (borehole imaging) and in laboratory (mineralogy, porosity, permeability), horizontal drilling (downhole GPS), and hydraulic fracture stimulation (cross-linked gel, slick-water, nitrogen or nitrogen foam) is key in improving production from these huge resources with low productivity factors.

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