The energy that never arrives
In the previous article, we talked about geology being the ultimate scorekeeper and that what exists is not the same as what we can use. This time, I want to take that a step further. Because between what exists, what…
In the News
Subsurface noise #11
IT’S NOT ALWAYS A MATTER OF VISION Sometimes it is worth flicking through the notebooks that I keep in my drawer. A few years ago, after interviewing someone about exploration drilling in Libya, I wrote down how the company Lasmo,…
Subsurface noise #10
THE REALITY BEHIND PRESS RELEASES Talking to people is still the best way to find out what really happened when a well has been completed. “We drilled hundreds of meters of shale,” an exploration geologist recently told me about an…
Why geology still calls the plays in every energy system
The Earth is not a suggestion box. It doesn’t negotiate. It doesn’t adjust to aspirations. Its rules were written long before we arrived, and they remain in force no matter how many times “crisis” is mentioned in the media. This…
Ideas over barrels
When France launched the slogan «On n’a pas de pétrole, mais on a des idées» during the oil shock, it wasn’t clever copy – it was national reframing. Lacking domestic crude became a spark for ingenuity: Efficiency drives, speed limits,…
Subsurface noise #9
THE REALITY BEHIND FLASHY JOB TITLES I recently spoke with someone who works for a large international operator. To me, as a representative of a very small company, the job titles these people have always sounded very impressive. Exploration manager,…
Subsurface noise #8
CORING MUDSTONES A wellsite geologist told me the other day that he was on one of the major oil platforms in the North Sea some years ago, drilling yet another development well. To his surprise, the operator had chosen to…
Europe versus US oil majors
European oil majors face a structural dilemma: How to balance near-term hydrocarbon revenue with long-term renewable ambitions under relentless shareholder and public scrutiny. While USA peers largely doubled down on hydrocarbons, European companies spent two decades allocating billions to offshore…
Subsurface noise #7
REDEVELOPING AN OIL FIELD WITHOUT DRILLING A NEW WELL During a lunchtime talk in Aberdeen in October, Curtis Bracher from NEO Next presented on the Affleck field redevelopment in the UK North Sea. The room was full of people eager…
When carbon storage becomes a game
Imagine playing chess – but underground. Every move you make affects not only your own position, but also the stability of the entire board. Welcome to the world of carbon capture and storage (CCS), where injecting CO2 into deep geological formations…
Subsurface noise #6
MOPANE DOES NOT GIVE AWAY ITS SECRETS Namibia is an exploration hotspot, and for that reason, many people flocked to the presentation that GALP was delivering about the Mopane discovery at the recent IMAGE Conference in Houston. But for those…
A loss of connection to our energy system
Three essential pillars of modern society are food, energy and access to clean water. The World Resources Institute refers to insecurity in these resources as a “Triple Threat”. The UN describes them as “a nexus at the heart of sustainable…