Learn! Blog

Despite intensive research, the origin of dolomite remains subject to considerable controversy. This is partly because some of the chemical and hydrological conditions of dolomite formations are poorly understood. Here's a great chance to see an overview of dolomite research and highlight its major advances and controversies in recent years. This will be done by revisiting specific case studies and implementing newly developed concepts and models.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Discover more on sandstone reservoir quality and the modern tools and techniques needed for petrographic rock characterization.This one day course taught by, Kitty Milliken a Senior Research Scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, will feature a series of lectures covering the basic architecture of particulate sedimentary rocks,methods for petrologic characterization, grain assemblages, and diagenesis, including compaction, cementation, grain replacement,and fracturing

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

There may be job openings on Capitol Hill as some Senators and Representatives, and their staffs are replaced after the election. If you want to apply for one of those staff jobs check out HillZoo.com.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

We are just a few months out from the 2014 AAPG Fall Education Conference (FEC). This years FEC will be bringing together new technologies, techniques, and lessons learned to offer four great days of geosciencetraining to enhance and advance your career.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

Those of us in the petroleum industry have been tracking the rapid expansion of oil and gas production from shales and in the process we may not have noticed the rapid expansion of renewable energy, especially wind. Read the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

China plans to significantly increase its natural gas consumption to help cut its appalling air pollution. But natural gas is still a small part of its energy mix. In addition, and to confound environmentalists, a significant part of China’s gas supply comes from Coal-to-Gas technology, which generates large volumes of greenhouse gas and other pollutants, but does allow China to deliver clean-burning gas to locations with severe air pollution.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Independent companies, both large and small, are widely acknowledged for spearheading the shale play phenomenon. “Nimble” usually is the operative word here.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

AAPG offers two short courses in conjunction with this year’s Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC). A wealth of information in a short period of time, theses short courses are an effective and efficient way to learn about the industry.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) recently published a series of reports assessing how rapid growth in U.S., and possibly global, oil and gas production from shales may impact various net-energy exporting or importing countries.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

ICE 2014 marks the first time an AAPG international conference will be held in Istanbul – but that’s not the only new dynamic being offered. This meeting also marks the first time the APPEX Regional meeting will be held in conjunction with an ICE.

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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