Mid-Continent Section

It may be hard to imagine how, where, and how the petroleum industry will look twenty years from now. Technology is changing how we explore for and drill for oil and natural gas, and it is making reserves accessible that were once too difficult to produce, too deep, or otherwise problematic. Should universities offer a multi-disciplinary MS in Petroleum Geology? This post is intended as a discussion piece — a point of departure.

It is not easy to witness the departure of so many talented and dedicated geologists. Every month, we read of more losses within our ranks, and it’s very painful to see how fleeting one’s impact is, particularly when juxtaposed with the almost unfathomable unfoldings of geological time.

Shale reservoir characterization and seismically-detectable drivers for success in shale exploration will be the topics of discussion in this AAPG E-Symposium taught by David Paddock and to be held on February 9 at 2 pm CST.

IBM’s new CEO, Virginia Rommety, sees opportunity as cloud computing expands to many realms and more companies leverage the information from web-based sources to make strategic decisions. How can general information gleaned from the web provide strategic guidance to exploration and production? What are the uses of non-technical information? The answers may surprise you.

Join us to learn new techniques for determining heterogeneity in carbonates, and the best ways to find sweet spots and to effectively produce hydrocarbons from complex, often frustrating yet highly productive plays. Sign up for Heterogeneity in Carbonate Reservoirs, an hour-long webinar, plus day’s worth of additional materials / readings / questions (for CEU credit).

This presentation demonstrates how 3D seismic data will contribute significantly to the understanding of the Marcellus. Geophysical analysis and evaluation, although in the early stages, look very promising for optimizing well locations.