Explorer Historical Highlights
By Ross Coen
The history of oil development in Alaska is often presented as a heroic tale, but long before the 1968 discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field (16 billion barrels and counting), the industry experience was marked by a great deal of frustration and failure.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 June, 2014
Explorer Article
By David Brown
Mystery of the deep: No one knows for sure what quantity of gas hydrates awaits discovery deep in the earth, but projections are auspicious.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 May, 2014
Explorer Article
By Mike Mitchell
On March 27, 1964, Mike Mitchell and others were in the field working on a research project with professor Ruth Schmidt from the geology department at ACC when they experienced the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in recorded U.S. history.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 April, 2014
Explorer Article
By Heather Saucier
Ruth Schmidt, one of the first 100 women members of AAPG, is celebrated for her brilliant and adventurous career geologic career.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 April, 2014
Explorer Emphasis Article
By Louise Durham
A multi-client seismic database maps prospects and pitfalls in the largely uncharted Arctic North Slope.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 March, 2014
Bulletin Article
Umiat field in northern Alaska is a shallow, light-oil accumulation with an estimated original oil in place of more than 1.5 billion bbl and 99 bcf associated gas. The field, discovered in 1946, was never considered viable because it is shallow, in permafrost, and far from any infrastructure. Modern drilling and production techniques now make Umiat a more attractive target if the behavior of a rock, ice, and light oil system at low pressure can be understood and simulated.
The Umiat reservoir consists of shoreface and deltaic sandstones of the Cretaceous Nanushuk Formation deformed by a thrust-related anticline. Depositional environment imparts a strong vertical and horizontal permeability anisotropy to the reservoir that may be further complicated by diagenesis and open natural fractures.
Experimental and theoretical studies indicate that there is a significant reduction in the relative permeability of oil in the presence of ice, with a maximum reduction when connate water is fresh and less reduction when water is saline. A representative Umiat oil sample was reconstituted by comparing the composition of a severely weathered Umiat fluid to a theoretical Umiat fluid composition derived using the Pedersen method. This sample was then used to determine fluid properties at reservoir conditions such as bubble point pressure, viscosity, and density.
These geologic and engineering data were integrated into a simulation model that indicate recoveries of 12%–15% can be achieved over a 50-yr production period using cold gas injection from five well pads with a wagon-wheel configuration of multilateral wells.
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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 28 February, 2014
Explorer Division Column EMD
By Jeremy Boak
Every six months, chairs of the Energy Minerals Division committees convene and report on developments in the areas they cover. In this column, we highlight important observations from these recent reports.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 February, 2014
Explorer Emphasis Article
By Brian Ervin
Icebreaking vessels are the key to navigating the Arctic, and so are in high demand as oil producers set their sights on the vast oil reserves at the top of the world.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 February, 2014
Explorer Emphasis Article
By Louise Durham
Oil spills are a potential challenge in any corner of the world, but the Arctic brings its own set of challenges to oil production and transportation, and so it needs its own dedicated technologies for meeting them.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 February, 2014
Explorer Emphasis Article
By David Brown
Arctic pioneers will relate their lessons and experiences from exploring and producing in the frozen north at the third annual Arctic Technology Conference this month in Houston.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 February, 2014