Force Majeure in Syria
The much-vaunted Arab Spring, which has brought new life to the Libyan oil industry, where production is reportedly already nearly back to pre-revolution volumes, is having a less satisfactory impression…
Exploration
Collaboration is the Future
A new atlas of the North East Atlantic region is the outcome of collaboration between national survey organizations. In the present straitened times, finances are tight for all research organizations,…
Cyprus: Historic Gas Discovery
The inhabitants of the island of Cyprus had a very exciting late Christmas present, when Noble Energy announced that they had made a significant gas discovery offshore on December 28…
From Trickle to Gusher: The Bakken Oil Story
Discovered in the 1950s, North Dakota’s Bakken Formation oil production was just 1,500 bpd in 2004. Today, it exceeds 440,000 bpd and is expected to be 700,000 bpd within the…
How can we explore the Russian Arctic Shelf?
The Arctic is often referred to as ‘the next global frontier’ – but is it possible to explore at reasonable cost? Western oil and gas technical journals as well as…
Malaysia: Two Gas Discoveries
At the tail end of 2011 Petronas, the state oil company of Malaysia, announced the success of an offshore well in moderately deep waters in Block SK316, about 100 km…
South East Asia – Where Are the Giant Fields Hiding?
Exploration in South East Asia has a long history – almost 150 years. Is its heyday gone or do giant fields still lie in wait? The state-run oil and gas…
Persia Land of Black Gold
Iran holds about a tenth of the world’s proven reserves of oil and 16% of the gas, and is the fifth largest oil exporter. Here we review the country’s oil…
EGI: Celebrating 40 Years
EGI, the Energy & Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, is celebrating 40 years of global research and scientific collaboration. It is the world’s largest…
Mozambique: 2nd Giant Discovery in Block
As reported in GEO ExPro Vol.8, No. 6, exploration in the Mozambique’s deepwater Offshore Area 4 looks to be following the trend set by drilling in Area 1 to its…
Is There Oil Offshore East Africa?
There is definitely gas – but do the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean also hold promising oil reserves? The emergence of East Africa as a petroleum province has been…
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
The recent Bath Discoveries Conference was devised as a celebration of the 30th birthday of the Geological Society of London’s Petroleum Group. The opportunity to celebrate such an auspicious occasion…