Issue 3

Vol. 12

This edition of GEO ExPro Magazine focuses on Europe and on unconventional exploration.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Market Update

8 NEW COLUMN Regional Update: Europe

10 Update

16 Licensing Opportunities

18 A Minute to Read

42 Recent Advances in Technology: Gas Hydrates in Outer Space

54 GEO Profile: Ian Forrest – “Oil Has Been Good to Me”

86 GEO Tourism: Malta – A Country Shaped by Limestone

92 History of Oil: The First Oil Shock

98 GEO Cities: Ceyhan – An Unassuming Hub 100 Exploration Update

102 GEO Media: The Buraimi Affair

104 Q&A: NORM

106 Hot Spot: The Weald Basin

108 Global Resource Management

Features

22 Exploration: Russian Fold Belts – The Next Hot Play?

28 GEO Education: Field-Based Training – Luxury or Necessity?

32 Industry Issues: Iran – The Implications of Peace

36 Seismic Foldout: Ireland – South Porcupine Basin

46 GEO Science Explained: Shale Gas in South Africa

50 Reservoir Management: Integrating Data Types for Reservoir Characterisation

58 Seismic Foldout: Foz do Amazonas Basin

64 Technology Explained: A Simple Guide to Volumetrics

70 Exploration: Palaeozoic Plays of the Great Basin

76 Technology Explained: Hoop Area – Testing Ground for Geophysics

80 Seismic Foldout: Horda Platform – Exploring the Cretaceous

Articles

Ireland: South Porcupine Basin

New insights into the geology and exploration potential of this underexplored Atlantic basin. The Porcupine Basin is a north-south trending elongate sedimentary basin located 200 km west of the Irish Read More

Horda Platform: Exploring the Cretaceous

Recent discoveries and development of hydrocarbon fields on the Horda Platform have led to considerable interest in the northern North Sea. Cretaceous Reservoirs in the Northern North Sea The seismic Read More

The Buraimi Affair

Buraimi: The Struggle for Power, Influence and Oil in Arabia, Michael Quentin Morton. I.B. Taurus (2013) Buraimi and Al Ain are twin towns that today sit astride the fenced border between Read More

A Gloomy Future?

Will the crude oil price break through in 20 years’ time? Or will tight oil and renewable energy work in parallel to keep the price low? At the time of Read More

Well Completion Technology for Complex Environments

The new Weatherford technology for optimal completion design. Two key focus areas in unconventional exploitation are cost efficiencies and managing well production variance. A better understanding of rock behaviour as measured by Read More

The Hoop Area: New Testing Ground for Geophysical Technologies

The Hoop Basin was named after Der Hoop, a ship belonging to one of the great Arctic explorers, William Barents. Meaning ’hope’ in his native Dutch, this continues to reflect Read More

Smart Fields: People, Processes and Technology

The implementation of Smart Fields solutions has enabled Shell to increase production, reduce deferment, and improve ultimate recovery while reducing costs and HSSE exposure. Intelligent digital oil or gas fields Read More

Foz do Amazonas Basin: Latest Exploration Enhances Prospectivity

New 2D seismic data is unlocking the hydrocarbon potential of the deepwater part of this underexplored north Brazilian basin. With a record $1.4 billion bid total, Brazil’s 11th licensing round Read More

Integrating Data Types for Reservoir Characterisation

From microscopic core analysis of the wellbore to seismic data measurements of rock properties between wells, a multidisciplinary team is essential when solving exploration and production problems in complex reservoirs. Read More

Levelling the Playing Field …

How much do fossil fuel companies benefit from the public purse? In May this year, the IMF announced their revised calculation of global fossil fuel subsidies. The figure is an Read More

Russian Fold Belts: The Next Hot Play?

Three successful cycles of petroleum reserve build-up can be recognised in the history of Russian petroleum exploration. Could the fold belts be the basis of the next cycle? After decades Read More

Palaeozoic Plays of the Great Basin

The Palaeozoic tectonic history of the Great Basin of Nevada in south-western USA parallels that of the US east coast, where the Marcellus Shale has been a target of intense Read More

Shale Gas in South Africa

‘South Africa’ and ‘energy giant’ are words infrequently strung together, as the country has almost no conventional onshore or offshore hydrocarbons of note. However, over the past couple of years Read More

Geophysics: A Simple Guide to Volumetrics

A Simple Guide to Volumetrics We start this article with an example that many geoscientists may find uncomfortable, if not downright contentious. A top structure depth map from a depth Read More

Field-based Training: Luxury or Necessity?

What is the role of field geology today, what will it be in the future and what specifically is the importance of field-based training to petroleum geosciences? Is it a Read More

The First Oil Shock

At a time when oil prices spiralled down from over $100 to below $50 within half a year, talking about ‘oil shock’ may seem odd. Yet, the oil shock of Read More

Malta

A country shaped by limestone (and a bit of very old poo). If one word could sum up the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, it would be ‘limestone’. Limestone has Read More

The Weald Basin: Hot Spot or Hot Air?

Billions of barrels have been reported to lie under South East England, but how much of it is recoverable? There was great excitement in the newsrooms of the UK in Read More

Gas Hydrates – Part VIII

Hydrates in Outer Space (1) Today found widespread on Earth wherever stability conditions are met and an ample supply of natural gas is present, methane hydrate was originally thought to Read More

Iran. The Implications of Peace

An agreement on Iran’s nuclear industry should be signed by the end of June. What are the implications for the oil price, OPEC and the industry? It seems that the Read More

NORM in Shale Gas and Oil Operations

As unconventional gas and oil operations expand in Europe, understanding the nature of naturally occurring radioactive material is necessary for managing environmental effects, as Anna Kaniewska at Golder Associates explains. Read More

“Oil Has Been Good to Me”

Ian Forrest was a founder member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Raised in one of the poorer parts of Glasgow Read More

Ceyhan. An Unassuming Hub

Most inhabitants of this strategically important oil export centre are unaware of the significance of their town in the world’s economy. It would be hard to overstate the importance of Read More

The Great Black Giant

On a dream – and a bit too close to her garden – the old wooden derrick was skidded to its third location on Mrs. Daisy Bradford’s 970 acre, East Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective