Explorer Emphasis Article

Who’s in charge? Successful shale production strategies should include a crucial mantra: “Plan, Plan, Plan.”

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Something old, something new: The venerable Austin Chalk has been a part of the U.S. oil story for more than three decades – but a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey has added a new chapter to its tale.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

Historical Highlights: In spite of secrecy, lack of access to well data, long-time BP employee was privileged to become involved in a major petroleum province before it was discovered and stayed with it until it reached maturity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

Oil production in Nigeria started in 1958 after the discovery of Oloibiri oil field in 1956.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

Even from the beginning, the discovery well gave a hint that the Permian Basin was going to be a major oil province. That well was the Santa Rita #1 – Santa Rita, the patron Saint of the Impossible.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

Geology’s role in unconventional natural gas production (via hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling) often is overlooked by the public, but it is a key factor in ensuring that natural gas production is efficient, economic and environmentally responsible.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Wolfberry isn't the latest flavor at the smoothie bar, but it may be the tastiest discovery in the past 50 years in the Permian Basin.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The golden oldie: Operators’ eyes tend to light up when talking about the Permian Basin, with good reason – the venerable play is not only still going strong, it keeps providing exciting new chapters to its history.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Going deeper: The Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis project continues to prove that there’s still much to learn about the Gulf of Mexico.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

Shale gas production is booming throughout the United States and the world due to the success of the cutting edge – and in some corners, controversial – drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing.

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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