Issue 1

Vol. 11

This edition of GEO ExPro Magazine focuses on the Middle East and Petrophysics

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Columns

6 Update

14 Market Update

16 Licensing Opportunities

18 A Minute to Read

50 Recent Advances in Technology: A Change of Thinking

56 GEO Profile: Eddy Belle – Promoting the Seychelles

84 GEO Tourism: Sea of Sand – Dunes of the Namib

90 What I Do: The Petrophysicist NEW COLUMN

92 GEO Cities: Muscat – Mountains and the Sea

94 Exploration Update

96 GEO Media: Novel Digital Platforms

98 Q&A

100 Hot Spot: Mexico

102 Global Resource Management

Features

22 Cover story: Petroleum Systems in Jordan

30 Geoscience Explained: Petrophysics – Looking Down the Wellbore

36 Seismic Foldout: West of Shetland – A New Regional Dataset

42 Exploration: How Much Oil in the Middle East?

60 Technology Explained: Petrophysics in High Angle and Horizontal Wells

64 Industry Issues: Premature Predictions for LNG?

70 Technology Explained: Real-Time Data = Proactive Field Decisions

74 Seismic foldout: Early Carboniferous Battleground on the UKCS

80 Geology: The Predictive Power of Palynology

Articles

Hubbert’s Peak: Not yet reached

In 1956, Shell geophysicist M. King Hubbert predicted that US oil production would reach its highest level in the 1970s. Hubbert’s prediction came true in 1971. The geoscientist got his Read More

Novel Digital Platforms: OneGeology and OpenGeosci

Digital information technology has taken the world, including geoscience and the petroleum industry, to new horizons of research and data sharing. OneGeology and OpenGeosci are two online sources of immense Read More

Petrophysics in High Angle and Horizontal Wells

The benefits of directional drilling are widely known – increased reservoir exposure and greater production. However, the practice can pose formation evaluation challenges in high angle and horizontal wells, making Read More

Mountains and the sea: Muscat

Muscat is indeed a unique city, surrounded by high barren mountains and for centuries almost inaccessible except by sea. Even the modern air traveller cannot fail to be impressed, as Read More

Transferring Skills Mitigates Risk

Unlocking the potential of skills transfer to local communities is vital for mitigating risk in Africa. The discovery of huge hydrocarbon reserves will potentially transform East Africa. International energy companies are set to Read More

How Equal is Equal?

The results of a recent online ‘Global Diversity and Inclusion’ survey of over 3,000 oil and gas professionals worldwide suggests that career prospects for women in the hydrocarbon industry have Read More

Tales of the unexpected

The Brent oil price is expected to be marginally lower, at US$106/barrel in 2015, down from US$108/barrel in 2013. Non-OPEC oil production will increase more than growth in demand until Read More

Petroleum systems in Jordan

Jordan is located within the producing sedimentary basin in the North-West Arabian Plate. Exploration was initiated in the country in 1947 by the Iraqi Petroleum Company, yet to date only Read More

Eddy Belle: Promoting the Seychelles

“We have everything we need to make the Seychelles the next big oil province,” exclaims Eddy Belle, CEO of the national oil company, PetroSeychelles. “We have source, reservoir and cap Read More

The predictive power of palynology

In a major turnaround for a profession that fell out of favour in the 1980s, a number of palynology consultancies are growing rapidly and struggling to meet the demand for Read More

The Petrophysicist

This new column takes a look at the different geoscience careers available in the oil industry and shows exactly what each one entails. In this inaugural article Jackie Mullinor describes Read More

Bad science for good reasons?

In his book, ‘Bad Science’ (Fourth Estate, London), Ben Goldacre expertly attempts to explain ‘why clever people believe stupid things’. When offered up so succinctly the pitfalls to bad decision Read More

Premature predictions for LNG?

The trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) has risen almost without interruption for thirty years, doubling since 2000. However, 2012 saw an unexpected ‘blip’ in the upward trend and in Read More

Sea of Sand: Dunes of Namib

The Namib Desert stretches eastwards from the coast of south-west Africa as far as the escarpment of the central plateau, and extends more than 2,000 km from Angola in the Read More

How much oil in the Middle East?

Part Two of a two-part series by author Rasoul Sorkhabi, focusing on oil and gas in the Middle East. Part One – Why So Oil in the Middle East? Current Read More

Achieving staff integration through training

HOW DID ESANDA GET INVOLVED IN TRAINING? The training arm of Esanda has developed organically as our client companies have identified a need to improve integration among their staff and, in particular, to demystify Read More

Early carboniferous battleground for the UKCS 28th licence round

New data reveals potential The northern parts of Quads 42 and 43 in the UKCS Southern North Sea have received limited exploration to date. New data in open acreage north Read More

West of Shetland: SHarp broadband 2D regional well tie survey

A new regional dataset for West of Shetland The use of deep tow streamers and proprietary processing algorithms has resulted in excellent imaging both above and below the basalt in the Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective