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Play Types

Explorer Emphasis Article

Given all the success stories, it’s intriguing to realize these plays are still far from being a known – variability is indigenous. The players talk about “cracking the code,” but the “code” can differ even between adjacent wells.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The current, free-flowing supply of hydrocarbons has brought a sigh of relief to many who have been scrambling to find alternatives to dwindling supplies of conventional fossil fuels. But while some estimate the shale energy boom has handed the nation at least four decades of energy security, this is not a time to rest easy, said past AAPG president Scott Tinker, the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and state geologist of Texas

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

This year, URTeC has added an enhanced preview of “Coming Attractions.” In addition to looking at established plays, URTeC will provide significant information about emerging unconventional resource possibilities in North America and around the world.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Wiki Article

An oil shale is defined as a fine-grained sedimentary rock that contains a high proportion of endogenous organic matter (kerogen) mostly insoluble in ordinary petroleum solvents, from which substantial amounts of synthetic oil and/or gas can be extracted by heating it to a sufficiently high temperature, a process called retorting. Oil shales have a low calorific value and high ash and mineral content.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

This is Energy Week in the House, bringing a flurry of hearings and votes. But, topics in the news may not be on the agenda; for example, induced seismicity is an area of public concern, but Congress will not be considering the topic.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

The Ayoluengo field, commonly cited as Spain’s only onshore oil field, was discovered in June 1964. Today, 50 years later, the field is still active, with an average production of some 100 barrels oil per day and a total cumulated oil production of nearly 17 million barrels of oil.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The history of oil development in Alaska is often presented as a heroic tale, but long before the 1968 discovery of the Prudhoe Bay field (16 billion barrels and counting), the industry experience was marked by a great deal of frustration and failure.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

AAPG member Zell Peterman, U.S. Geological Survey scientist emeritus, is busy with colleagues examining Williston Basin Bakken formation water and the role of shale filtration.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

As the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Marcellus and other shale plays make national news, the Cane Creek reservoir might be the dark horse poised to emerge as another major shale play. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

With an economy in decline and a population exodus only a few short years ago, North Dakota has transformed into a boom state, thanks to the Bakken formation. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tuesday, 18 February Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Join us for AAPG Orphan, Abandoned, Idle and Marginal Wells Conference 2025. This workshop will focus on orphan, abandoned, idle, and marginal wells and the business opportunities and technology associated with plugging and repurposing wells, reducing methane emissions, protecting water supplies, and extending the lives of marginal wells.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Houston, Texas
Tuesday, 10 December Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Join us for an AI and analytics workshop that focuses specifically on subsurface energy, and provides the needed knowledge, tools, and insights. Opportunities are emerging, and those who have the tools, skills, and knowledge will be at the forefront. Specifically, the conference will bring together AI and Machine Learning and a wide range of data issues in the form of technical presentations, probing panel discussions and poster sessions.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Houston, Texas
Saturday, 1 February 2025, 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Everyone in Houston lives within a few miles of a bayou. Some people think of them as permanent, but the bayous are constantly changing, especially during high water events like Hurricane Harvey. This trip is a 2.5 mile walk down a section of Buffalo Bayou where we will look at the archives of past storms and discuss what to do for future storms.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Thursday, 20 February 2025, 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

This introduction to methane monitoring, measurement, and quantification is for all those who would like to understand the requirements and regulations regarding methane emissions and to be able to design a measurement and monitoring solution, complete with the appropriate types of technologies, techniques, and safety protocols.

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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