Explorer Emphasis Article

Geomechanics has emerged as a major aspect of unconventional resource development, as demonstrated by its preeminence within this year’s URTeC program.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

As oilfield tech advances keep pace with Moore’s Law, unconventional resources drive U.S. crude production to record heights.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Shale has already revolutionized American energy production, and Switch Energy Alliance Chair Scott Tinker says we’re only beginning to unlock its mysteries.

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

A magic moment for me happened last year at the Division of Professional Affairs Heritage Luncheon at ACE in Houston. An actor portraying Wallace Pratt read from Pratt’s writing and told a large packed room that “Everything is possible, anything is possible.” In that time and place we believed.

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

I was pleased to serve as the organizer, general chair and creator of the AAPG Global Super Basins Leadership Conference. I will remember it as a highlight of my year as AAPG president and my entire career. I would like to share a few observations resulting from this conference.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The University of Oklahoma’s STACK-MERGE- SCOOP Consortium educates students and industry alike.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Middle East Blog

This 2.5 day symposium will attract world experts in exploration, characterization, drilling, fracturing and completion. Best practices and case studies of what the industry has learned on shale gas exploitation in the last few years will be presented and discussed so the attendees can greatly benefit from the exchange of knowledge and expertise of the contributors.

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

Being involved as an officer in the DPA has truly opened my eyes to the importance we play to the organization and most importantly to our members. It has been a great pleasure for me to work with the people that really make the organization work.

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

CERA was a diverse and dynamic week. A record-breaking 4,500 CEO’s, leaders, energy ministers and global representatives from more than 70 countries attended the March 4-9 event to ponder the future of the industry. And this year, AAPG got to play an important role in this conversation.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Events Blog

Whether you are an energy executive, investor, geoscientist, or consultant, AAPG’s Global Super Basins Leadership Conference, held 27-29 March 2018 in Houston, Texas at the Hilton Americas Hotel, will give you the information you need to be successful in the world’s most significant basins. Co-hosted by IHS Markit, the event will feature regional experts who will share their unique first-hand knowledge of each of the globe’s super basins.

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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