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Explorer Emphasis Article

Experts agree that exploring and doing business in today’s oil world demands innovative approaches to your work, whether it’s in looking at new areas for hydrocarbons or looking at old areas in a new way. This month’s EXPLORER takes a look at some of the innovative approaches and visions that already have surfaced – plus some hints at new potential. Cover photos include a view of drilling operations at the Coos Bay Basin in southwestern Oregon (top).

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Geophysical officials say that rising energy prices have triggered an increase in demand for seismic services “across the board” — including new data acquisition. The geophysical industry is humming, thanks to recent demands for both land and marine seismic services.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

A gift that keeps on giving: The Gulf of Mexico is not only healthy, it continues to be the star of the show for the U.S. petroleum industry.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Let's make a deal: Summer in Houston is about to get even hotter thanks to the Summer NAPE, a prospects and properties expo that carries the AAPG banner.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

To optimize subsurface geophysical interpretations, it is beneficial to place seismic attributes into the proper regional geological context; knowledge of regional geology may assist exploration/exploitation efforts in advance by high-grading attribute selection and attribute intersection for purposes of risk analysis.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer A Look Back Column

Few people remember our past impediments to exploration created by false knowledge.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

AAPG's three Divisions will be honoring members for their service at the AAPG Convention in Calgary.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Luncheon speakers for Annual Convention.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Who's got the last laugh now? A number of companies passed on the chance to explore the Buzzard prospect in the North Sea. One didn't.

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

Energy Minerals Division members will find much of interest within the 11 themes that form the technical program at the 2005 AAPG Annual Convention in Calgary.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Monday, 27 May Wednesday, 29 May 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Today’s oil and gas industry encounters two major challenges. In order to secure global energy supply increasing exploration and production from complex stratigraphic-diagenetic conventional and unconventional plays remains highly important. At the same time, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) poses new technological challenges that will impact both the industry and academia for decades to come. This workshop will bring together invited experts and interested researchers from both industry and academia to review and discuss technology developments in geological process-based forward modeling achieved during the last 2 years.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tuesday, 30 January Wednesday, 31 January 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

AAPG and EAGE have teamed up to deliver the upcoming New Discoveries in Mature Basins workshop to be held from 30-31 January, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Save the date! Registration to open soon.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Monday, 4 December Wednesday, 6 December 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The fifth annual AAPG Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East Workshop will take place in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia from 4-6 December 2023. This workshop will bring together professionals from the region to share their knowledge and experience related to siliciclastic reservoirs and showcase the best success stories in the industry on understanding and utilizing oil and gas siliciclastic reservoirs in the region.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Monday, 4 March Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Join us for the 4th Edition of: "Stratigraphic Traps of the Middle East" workshop. The workshop will be hosted by AAPG in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia 4-6 March 2024.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Paramaribo, Suriname
Wednesday, 17 January Thursday, 18 January 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Plan now to attend an interactive in-person workshop with industry leaders, government representatives and technical experts working in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.

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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