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Lawmakers Rush to Stop 'Catastrophic-Level Event' at Texas Oil Fields - 01 April, 2024 07:30 AM

Bulletin Article By Alexei Milkov,Jack Samis

Facies variability within a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic sea-floor fan (upper Wolfcamp Formation, Permian, Delaware Basin, New Mexico)

Sea-floor fans containing both carbonate and siliciclastic detritus are rarely recognized in the rock record but are common within the Permian upper Wolfcamp Formation in the Delaware Basin in southeast New Mexico and west Texas. One such compositionally mixed fan has been studied in detail as part of an unconventional oil and gas exploration and development program in southeast New Mexico.

Added on 24 February, 2020

Explorer Geophysical Corner By Paritosh Bhatnagar,Ron Bianco,Sumit Verma

Delineating the Geomorphological Character of Mass Transport Deposits

With the advent of 3-D seismic technology and its remarkable spatial resolving power, mass transport deposits are better defined in terms of their full areal extent and their morphologic features in areas affected by slope failure. Though mass movements have been extensively studied within the Permian Basin, little work has been published on the nature of these MTDs and their related geomorphological expression on seismic. The goal of this study is to understand sediment flow and delineate the anatomy of the MTD that was deposited 275 million years ago in the Midland Basin. This feature was deposited in the Upper Leonard interval which overlies the Upper Spraberry formation.

Added on 01 February, 2020

Explorer Emphasis Article By Heather Saucier

Technological Evolution Creates Super Basin Renaissance

Now referred to as a “super basin,” the Gulf of Mexico Basin has joined other top super basins in the world that, despite their maturity, have the potential or have proven to be significant new plays all over again. The driving force behind this renaissance is, for a large part, the evolution of technology over the last two decades that has jumpstarted both offshore and onshore basins.

Added on 01 January, 2020

Explorer Article By David Brown

2019: The Year in Review

The oil and gas industry began 2019 hoping to thrive and ended the year mostly happy to survive. Offshore drilling dominated exploration but, despite several significant discoveries, reserve replacement rates remained low. Global geopolitical tensions simmered and sometimes boiled over throughout last year. In oil and gas prices, “Lower-for-Longer” came back to linger. The world saw abundant crude oil production and a surfeit of natural gas.

Added on 01 January, 2020

Explorer Article By David Brown

Data Analysis Suggests a Future 'Second Act' for Shale

Pity the Permian Basin. Investors complain about disappointing returns from Permian production. Stockholders worry about the financial outlook for operators in the play. Lenders have started to cast a skeptical eye at the basin’s profit potential. So it’s surprising to find that a data-derived solution for addressing the Permian Basin’s current challenges might be readily available. And it’s somewhat startling to hear that, someday, unconventional resource plays in the United States could fly higher than ever.

Added on 01 December, 2019

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

New Tech Breathes New Life into Well Logging

Basic. Humble. Old school. Whatever you call them, petrophysical well logs are a workhorse for the oil and gas industry. Today, geoscientists are using machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques to glean even more information from logs. And a new generation of downhole instruments now provide loggers with more, and more relevant, data

Added on 01 October, 2019

Explorer President’s Column By Mike Party

The Importance of Geology

At the recent URTeC conference, I gave a luncheon talk about the importance of the geology within the Permian Basin as it relates to the unconventional and horizontal plays within the basin. As we move into the “mining stage,” one tends to forget that these plays exist because of the geology. Technology allows us to get the oil out, but the geology put the oil in.

Added on 01 September, 2019

Explorer Article By David Brown

Big Oil Moves Toward Big Shale

Some of the world’s largest oil companies have pumped up their shale investments recently, targeting increased future production from shale oil plays. At the same time, some independents have been cutting back on shale spending, in part because of lower oil and gas prices and shareholder demands for improved returns. The result is a not-so-subtle shift toward shale dominance by Big Oil.

Added on 01 September, 2019

Search and Discovery Article

Mudstone Diagenesis 2016 - Hedberg Abstract Collection

A collection of abstracts from more than 50 academic papers regarding the controls and impacts of inorganic and organic diagenesis on mudstone hydrocarbon generation, reservoir properties and seal quality.

Added on 29 August, 2019

Bulletin Article By Adriana Potra,Bryan Bottoms,John R. Samuelsen,Stephen R. Schutter

Improving three-dimensional high-order seismic-stratigraphic interpretation for reservoir model construction: An example of geostatistical and seismic forward modeling of Permian San Andres shelf–Grayburg platform mixed clastic–carbonate strata

The three-dimensionally complex, highly progradational mixed siliciclastic–carbonate strata of the San Andres and Grayburg Formations have long been the backbone of conventional hydrocarbon reservoir production from the Permian Basin, and significant recovery continues via waterflooding and CO2 injection.

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