Explorer Article

Perception vs. reality: Any opinions that the energy industry is old school are definitely old hat – high-tech advances are being encouraged and embraced by 21st century geoscientists.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The key to successful completion – and use – of a complex 3-D vertical seismic profile lies in the planning.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

A multi-disciplinary team of geoscientists has developed a new framework for the north Red Sea region – and their findings may cause a new reassessment of the area’s resource potential.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Angola’s oil industry continues to benefit from new oil discoveries and ever increasing oil production, according to a paper presented at the Deepwater Offshore West Africa Conference (DOWAC) by AAPG member, Tako Koning.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Wet and wild: The world’s increasing demand for hydrocarbons is a good sign that deepwater exploration will remain a key source of new global reserves.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

James R. “Jim Bob” Moffett, co-chairman of the board at McMoRan Exploration, likes to say he cut his teeth on the onshore Miocene.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Shallow water, deep treasure: The recent Davy Jones discovery is a game-changer for the Gulf of Mexico – and maybe the entire industry.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

At last, a reason to thank your kids for playing video games: PlayStation 3 technology is elevating seismic imaging to a whole new level of refinement.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Latin America’s current story of exploration, development and potential may be the best known among all parts of the globe – and not just because AAPG recently held its successful international conference in Rio de Janeiro.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

What’s the difference? When it comes to the terms subsalt and presalt, the answer is, “a lot – and it matters.” 

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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