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Bitumen/Heavy Oil (Oil Sands)

Explorer Emphasis Article

Canadians have an appropriately descriptive word to describe both themselves and their country’s energy scene: Resourcefulness.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

An overriding theme for the Canada Region always has been its close ties with the United States, especially in regards to providing a secure, stable supply of energy to them from a friendly neighbor to the north, Region president David Dolph said.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

This month’s column deals with determining reservoir heterogeneity in Athabasca oil sands from surface seismic data. 

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

As North America tries to obtain energy security it will have to rely on more unconventional resources to fulfill its energy needs over the next decades – and balanced with that is the need for stewardship of the environment and the need to develop more sustainable strategies.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Show me the money: Investors are looking for new opportunities to spend their capital. Let’s make a deal?

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

Are you passionate about unconventional energy resources? Would you like to learn as much as possible about the latest concepts and technologies to explore and develop these?

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

AAPG’S Energy Minerals Division (EMD) will respond to heightened awareness of global energy issues by offering an extensive and diverse selection of sessions, short courses, field trips and forums at the upcoming 2009 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, set for June 7-10 in Denver.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

In January 2007 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order announcing that California would develop a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). The purpose of the LCFS is to reduce by at least 10 percent the carbon intensity of fuels used for passenger vehicles in California by 2020. The governor’s action put the state into the familiar position of crafting unique and occasionally controversial environmental policy. And there is an old saying about these policies:

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

February proves itself the busiest month of the year for AAPG’s Distinguished Lecture program, with seven speakers – five domestic and two international – set to be on speaking tours. The tours involve stops at 40 cities in North America and at least 12 stops throughout Europe and Asia. Some tours continue into early March.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

This year’s Distinguished Lecture program, funded in part by the AAPG Foundation, will offer 14 lecturers largest slate of speakers in the program’s history– nine domestic and five international.

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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