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Shale Gas

Explorer Regions and Sections

Frigid temperatures and blizzard conditions moved across Europe in early February, setting new records – and as temperatures fell, gas prices from the main pipeline in Russia rose to the highest levels since 2006.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer President’s Column

My co-author for this month’s column is Jim McGhay, AAPG Treasurer. Later this month, you will receive your dues statement, where there are two items that might attract your attention. We address them here.   

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

A team player: 3-D seismic technology is more than just a stand-alone tool – its true value shines when it is combined with other well data.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

An added dimension: 3-D seismic data is an essential ingredient in operators’ efforts to understand the risks and nuances of shale plays.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

Geoscientists and others working the booming plays of Latin America know experience is a great tool.

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

If you have a pulse and have been to an AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition (ACE) over the past couple of years or so, or a recent AAPG International Convention and Exhibition (ICE) such as those held in Calgary or Milan, you would have noticed.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Home grown: A recent National Petroleum Council study suggests America has enough oil resources to meet its growing demand for several decades.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The rest of the story? High expectations dominate current outlooks for U.S. energy independence, but a past AAPG president warns against overenthusiasm on shale capacity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

A wise adage states that anything worth having is not easily obtainable – and it just so happens that the most promising source of cleaner, domestic, cost-effective energy of the near future also is incredibly controversial.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Let’s make a deal: AAPG’s annual Prospect and Property Expo – best known as APPEX– is the place to be to find international potential.

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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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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