Explorer Emphasis Article

In the under-appreciated “The Two Jakes,” a 1990 film in part about the burgeoning oil deposits in the Los Angeles Basin circa 1940, we hear the line: ' ... you might think you know what's going on around here, but ... you don't.'

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

The Energy Minerals Division is excited to present its technical program and luncheon for the AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif., April 1-4.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Good vibrations: Something is always shaking in the world of seismic technology, and the results have been good for the industry and the environment alike.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Intriguing seismic examples are being developed in multi-component seismic research at the Bureau of Economic Geology, specifically examples documenting which one of the S-wave seismic modes images a key geologic feature better than does the P-wave mode -- the only seismic mode many explorationists have ever used.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Vertical seismic profile (VSP) has been around for some time as a tool to provide time-to-depth for seismic well-ties.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Widely available and ever-popular seismic technologies are great for detecting subsurface structures and identifying potential reservoirs.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Improved drilling technology and higher commodity prices have resulted in a burst of gas drilling activity on the Western Slope of Colorado.

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

The success of technological plays such as the Barnett Shale and other shales has proven the potential of shale-gas resources -- and if the recent number of technical sessions, short courses and workshops on gas shales is any indication of its significance, gas shales will be an important component of the world gas supply in the future.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Since 1994, the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) has been a recognized force in the realm of technology transfer in the oil and gas industry.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

When Chevron in September announced a flow test of 6,000 barrels of oil per day from its Jack 2 well -- which tapped the Lower Tertiary age deposits in the Walker Ridge area of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico -- and simultaneously noted potential reserves as high as 15 billion barrels for the region, the mainstream media hype machine kicked into high gear.

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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