Issue 2

Vol. 13

This edition of GEO ExPro magazine focuses on Europe, New Technologies and Alternative Energy.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Market Update

8 Regional Update

10 A Minute to Read

34 GEO Tourism: Australia’s ‘Big Red’ Centre

46 GEO Profile: Ceri Powell – A Passionate Geologist

60 Recent Advances in Technology: Gravity for Hydrocarbon Exploration

64 Exploration Update

66 GEO Media: Groundbreakers

68 Q&A: Meeting Society’s Expectations

70 Global Resource Management

Features

16 Cover Story: Alternative Energy in Iceland – Harnessing the Earth

20 Exploration: Promising Portugal

24 Exploration: Unlocking Iran’s Potential

28 Seismic Foldout: Southern Central Graben, North Sea

38 Exploration: Petroleum Basins of Yemen

44 Industry Issues: Yemen – The Issues

50 Seismic Foldout: Offshore Somalia – East Africa’s Oil Frontier

56 Technology Explained: Identifying Oil in Tight Reservoirs

Articles

Where Wise Birds Stay Awhile

Qeshm Island: Geoheritage Pearl versus Gasfields in the Persian Gulf? WEB UPDATE 2016 This article first appeared in our iPad edition (2013) and as we were preparing it for debut on Read More

Offshore Somalia: East Africa’s oil frontier

Somalia’s Exploration Journey Exploration in Somalia began onshore in 1956 with the drilling of the Sagaleh-1 well, followed by a number of wells drilled mostly in the north of the Read More

Good sediment thickness; multiple trapping mechanisms; excellent energy-hungry markets nearby; and large areas available for leasing: time to take a look at underexplored Portugal. Lying at the far south-western end Read More

Unlocking the Petroleum Potential of Iran

GIS databases are a powerful tool for minimising exploration risk in Iranian hydrocarbon basins through geospatial analysis. Iran’s enormous surface area stretches over 2,300 km in a north-west to south-easterly Read More

A Passionate Geologist

Executive Vice President of Exploration for Shell, Ceri Powell, talks to us about her life and career – and how it felt to be described (in Fortune Magazine) as the Read More

What Chance a Production Freeze?

Saudi Arabia and Russia increase pressure on Iran In February Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to freeze oil production at the January 2016 level, but only if they are joined Read More

The Future is Shale

Shale oil and gas were considered rarities ten years ago. In the future these resources will constitute a sizable share of the market. The ‘shale shock’ is very well illustrated Read More

Groundbreakers

A new book on the history of the upstream petroleum industry is itself a groundbreaker in a fascinating field. Groundbreakers: The Story of Oilfield Technology and the People Who Made Read More

Western Europe: Production Up – Exploration Down

Oil production in Western Europe increased for the first time this century. Oil and gas production in Western Europe* was in decline from 2000 to 2014, with liquid production decreasing Read More

3D Broadband Seismic in the Southern Central Graben

Enabling an enhanced regional perspective and revealing new potential plays. The ongoing acquisition by PGS of true broadband seismic in the Southern Central Graben of the North Sea can help Read More

Gravity for Hydrocarbon Exploration

Can an unexplored sedimentary basin be unravelled by gravity? How can gravity in cross-disciplinary workflows estimate the base of salt domes and gas saturation in shallow sedimentary traps ? Read Read More

Iceland. Harnessing the Earth.

Iceland is one of the pioneers in the use of geothermal energy, both for heating homes and generating electricity. Iceland is a country shaped by and reliant on its geology Read More

Meeting Society’s Expectations

IPIECA is the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues. Executive Director Brian Sullivan tells us about its aims and its importance to the industry and Read More

Identifying Potential Oil Zones in Tight Reservoirs

Low-cost epifluorescence microscope techniques have delineated a prospective, relatively untested oil-prone fairway in the Cane Creek shale play, Paradox Basin, Utah. When it comes to liquid-rich shale production and potential, Read More

Embracing Energy

What are the alternatives? The mood in the O&G industry is undoubtedly pessimistic. In a recent survey of 6,000 industry professionals*, nearly 50% of respondents declared themselves to be ‘not Read More

Exploration Update

News of recent discoveries in both China and Myanmar signals a bright start to exploration in 2016. China: First Ultra-Deepwater Discovery Qiongdongnan Basin in the north-western part of the South Read More

Petroleum Basins of Yemen

Yemen’s petroleum resource base will be a critical part of reconstruction efforts once peace is restored, but this will require high-resolution exploration and development in both onshore producing basins and Read More

Yemen: The Issues

Yemen has plenty of potential – but the country’s war has significance far beyond its boundaries. Despite having known reserves and promising potential, as discussed in the complimentary article Petroleum Basins Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective