Explorer Article

4-D seismic proves its value in the harsh but prolific West of Shetlands ground.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Economics and risk: Borehole imaging using microresistivity images have become important, efficient, cost-effective tools

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Many attempts have been made throughout the history of modern seismic to image thin beds (<1/4 of dominant wavelength) by extracting higher frequencies from seismic. In addition to simply imaging zones below normal resolution, two of the more common goals to aid in reservoir development are: to define pinch-outs of producing zones and to resolve internal bed geometries.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

It's been through the best of times, the worst of times and the most uncertain of times. Amazingly, Destin Dome is still a big, tantalizing part of the industry's GOM strategy.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The Gulf of Mexico is the only focus for Houston-based Spinnaker Exploration, which was founded in 1996 with the mission to explore the Gulf using vast, regional 3-D seismic data sets.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Time-lapse, or so-called 4-D, seismic technology is proving its worth as a reservoir management tool -- not just on new fields where the technique is applied from inception, but at all stages of a field's lifecycle.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Talk about a big story. In Denver, one giant talking about other giants drew a giant crowd. The speaker at the podium was legendary oil finder Michel T. Halbouty, a giant of the industry who's been a part of the industry for seven decades, talking about 'Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade -- 1990-2000.'

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Deep water and subsalt plays are the two hottest exploration frontiers in the Gulf of Mexico and searching for structures below the salt in waters thousands of feet deep is the most exciting play with the greatest potential for reward vs. the risk.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The oil and gas business continues to be among the crown jewels of the United Kingdom's economy, sustaining an impressive performance for over three decades -- and through innovative approaches, officials mean to keep it that way.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Wildcat Recollections Column

In the mid-1990s, Arco International reviewed a farm-out proposal from Enterprise Oil for drilling on a block held by Enterprise in the Romanian Black Sea. Enterprise already had completed a seismic program and had mapped a variety of structures on the block.

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.

Show more

Request a visit from Ameed Ghori!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Related Interests

See Also ...