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Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

Explorer Emphasis Article

To help convention-goers 'Pursue The Unconventional,' EMD offers a forum to discuss the 'Future of Unconventional Resource Plays.'

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)
Explorer Article

Government and the private sector are joining hands – and expertise – to tackle the potential production that lies in Canada’s unconventional gas resources.

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

The Energy Minerals Division (EMD) will be sponsoring an unprecedented number of sessions, forums and short courses at the upcoming 2008 AAPG Annual Convention, which will be held April 20-23 in San Antonio.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Fred F. Meissner is an honored exploration geologist and receives the Sidney Powers Memorial Award. Learn more about his achievements and life work.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

See how the Barnett shale gas plays in the Fort Worth Basin.

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

It is not unusual today to hear a speaker dealing with resources. Water supply is lurking as the greatest resource challenge facing much of the world’s population.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Operators big and small continue to grab attention for their efforts in the high-profile Barnett Shale play in the Fort Worth Basin.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Just because someone else 'made it' in the Barnett Shale doesn't guarantee another will have the same sort of success in this complex geologic play.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

AAPG and the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council in early July signed a Letter of Intent for AAPG to assume management of PTTC activities.

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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