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Extensional Systems

Explorer Article

Strong demand from both old and new unconventional plays is having a huge impact on drilling technology – and on rig availability as well.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

This two-part series describes how Sinopec’s local operating company, Southwest Petroleum Branch (SWPB), utilized full-wave seismic data to improve production from a fractured tight-gas reservoir in XinChang Field, Sichuan Province, China. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Three-dimensional seismic data can be invaluable with regard to mitigating risk associated with the presence of reservoir, source and seal facies.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Watch this: Non-stop advances in visualization technology are giving geologists a front row seat for everything from initial project framing to final project review.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Game changer: Shale plays like the Haynesville are keeping the onshore Gulf region active and exciting.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Broadcast news: The explosion of new broadband Internet sites over the past year has opened the door to a lot of niche programming based on industry topics.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Who knows? It’s a safe bet that carbon sequestration has a big future, but how that’s going to occur remains a gamble.

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

AAPG’s Energy Minerals Division (EMD) will sponsor a plethora of activities at this year’s International Conference and Exhibition, Oct. 26-29 in Cape Town.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Success stories may abound, but a lot of innovative thought already has been required for the complex Woodford Shale play in Oklahoma’s Arkoma Basin.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

A story to be shared: U.S. geologists may know all about the Fayetteville Shale, but the innovations that have helped bring success there are getting a global spotlight.

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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