Technology

Solving Hydraulic Fracturing ‘Controversies’

Hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a vast, new oil and gas resource from very tight rocks. Innovative developments in nanotechnology are poised to make hydraulic fracturing more efficient, accountable, and much…

Marine Seismic Sources Part X: Seismic Surveys and Fish

The possible effects of seismic surveys on fish and fisheries have been given a great deal of media attention in Norway. Here, we summarise results from the Fish Rock experiment…

Gas Hydrates – Part I: Burning Ice

Scientists have known and studied natural gas hydrates for decades. Vast deposits of hydrates have been found, both in the permafrost and the continental shelves of the oceans of the…

Longer Runs at Higher Speeds

Maximising fixed cutter bit performance in shales and carbonates. Fixed cutter bits – generally termed PDC bits for their poly-crystalline diamond cutters – have been achieving high rates of penetration…

Bringing the Lab to the Field

Bringing advanced laboratory analysis to the field: Weatherford International’s new formation evaluation service brings advanced, laboratory-based testing techniques to the field, enabling faster, more informed reservoir management decisions for unconventional…

Working Under Pressure

Working under pressure may not be everyone’s ideal job, but Richard Swarbrick and his team at Ikon GeoPressure at Durham in the north-east of England are doing it all the…

Gas Hydrates – Part II: Rock Physics, an Introduction

Most oceanic gas hydrates are mapped using seismic data. How much do key seismic parameters vary from a hydrate rock to a water-saturated rock? Should the hydrate be considered as…

Unconventional No Longer

What exactly are unconventional resources – and is it time we stopped using the term? The fundamental idea in this article is that oil and gas technology has progressed to…

Marine Seismic Sources Part IX: Seismic Surveys and Fish

What is known about the impact of seismic surveys on fish and fisheries? “I know that the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully.” George W. Bush, 43rd U.S. President (1946-…