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Stratigraphic Traps

Explorer Geophysical Corner

A pair of scissors always sat next to the box of colored pencils on Kees Rutten’s desk, littered with seismic sections, time-to-depth curves and well logs.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Accidental discovery? One paper in the History of Petroleum Geology forum remembers Mobile Bay sharing the combination of luck, sound decisions and overcoming obstacles that led to its development.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Experts have spoken about its oil potential for decades. Finally, Iraq is primed to fulfill its promise – and its opportunities aren’t just for the super-big players, either.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Geoscientists exploring the Spraberry trend in Texas are supplementing 3-D seismic with advanced technologies to improve results.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Europe needs a remedy: Years of worry about reliable gas supply from Russia has Europe looking north for gas exploration. Algeria may be just what the doctor ordered.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Sometimes finding the Big One doesn’t call for high-tech applications. Past AAPG president John Amoruso talks about having a concept, which led to the 2004 discovery of his namesake.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Past, but not forgotten: For more than years the untapped 14 potential of Canada’s East Georges Bank Basin has tantalized explorationists – and its day of truth is getting closer.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Three-dimensional seismic data can be invaluable with regard to mitigating risk associated with the presence of reservoir, source and seal facies.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Watch this: Non-stop advances in visualization technology are giving geologists a front row seat for everything from initial project framing to final project review.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Deep in the heart of Texas . . . there are a lot of new approaches and strategies that are being applied in a lot of older areas, providing a fresh appearance to a familiar face.

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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