Exploration Geochemistry in the Digital Age
The companies that lead the next wave of exploration will be those that concentrate their time on analysis and not on data acquisition. Oil and gas exploration is experiencing revolutionary…
Oil & Gas
A Light in the Downturn
Geochemical innovation for today’s explorers In today’s hardscrabble upstream economy, meager analytical budgets are the rule even among E&P companies with a strong scientific focus. When only ‘necessary’ analyses are…
The Geochemist’s Tool Box
The conjugate petroleum systems of the North Atlantic, finding hydrocarbons and developing the assets – all viewed through the oil-stained spectacles of geochemistry. The North Atlantic region has seen some…
Quantifying Reservoir Performance for Deepwater Slope Channel Deposits
Turbidite slope channel deposits pose many challenges during exploration and development planning. Spectacular exposures in southern Chile provide useful insights in predicting sandstone distribution and connectivity in these complex reservoirs.…
Predicting Reservoir Properties
Reservoir lithology and fluid properties can be characterized using seismic, CSEM and rock physics. Surface measurements such as seismic and controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) data are commonly used to estimate…
East Baghdad Super-Giant Field Under a Populated Area
The super-giant East Baghdad oil field lies in the heavily populated outskirts of Baghdad. Can it be successfully and safely exploited? Prior to 1956, the eastern part of the Baghdad…
Western Arctic Russia – The Kara Sea
In 2012, ExxonMobil and the Russian state oil company, Rosneft, signed a partnership deal that would give ExxonMobil a stake in developing Russia’s vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black Sea. Universiteskaya-1…
An Electrical Rock Physics Framework For CSEM Interpretation
A low-resolution rock physics framework relating CSEM-derived Rn measurements to reservoir properties can provide precise property estimates even in high-uncertainty settings. In the November 2015 issue of the AAPG Explorer,…
Teamwork at Rangely
Colorado’s Rangely oil field, with over 900 MMb of oil produced, has been viable and economic for more than seven decades thanks to an innovative and flexible approach. One of…
Paraguay Draws Industry Attention
It is fashionable to identify deepwater regions, unconventional plays and the Arctic as the ‘hot spots’ in the current global exploration scene. In recent years, violence, tension with governments and power struggles…
Avoiding Reservoir Souring
Determining the source of hydrogen sulphide on an offshore oil production platform is an important part of preventing or controlling this unwanted gas. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a corrosive and…
Oil Production Surges in Texas
In spite of the recent decline in oil price, rig count, drilling permits and well completions, with an estimated 1.284 Bb of production in 2015, Texas is expected to break…