Issue 5

This edition of GEO ExPro focuses on Africa and the Middle East; Carbonate Reservoirs; New Technologies; and Business Models.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Regional Update

8 Licensing Update

10 A Minute to Read

18 Hot Spot: Oil Bonanza in Guyana

34 Recent Advances in Technology: Arrhenius to CO2 Storage – Part IV

48 Technology: Bringing the Outcrop to Your Desk

58 Technology: New Technologies Through Collaboration

74 Exploration: Exploring the Last Frontier Offshore South Gabon

78 Exploration Update

80 GEO Media: Billions at Play

82 Q&A: Developments in the Marine Seismic Business

84 FlowBack: The Carbon Capture Conundrum

Features

14 Cover Story Exploration: Namibia in the Spotlight Again

20 Seismic Foldout: North Gabon Sub-Salt Trend

26 Industry Issues: Look Under a Different Rock!

30 Exploration: Shale Plays of the Middle East

38 GEO Profile: Maggy Shino – Championing Namibia

42 Seismic Foldout: Côte d’Ivoire – Regional Understanding to Unlock Potential

50 Geology: Are Carbonates ‘Difficult’?

54 GEO Tourism: The Master Sculptor: The Dead Sea Transform

60 Exploration: What is a Super Basin?

64 Seismic Foldout: The MSGBC Basin – Aiding The Next Steps in Exploration

70 Country Profile: The Comoros Islands

Articles

Volatility and Change Ahead for Oil and Gas?

With geopolitical uncertainty, a slowing shale industry, volatile oil prices and the energy transition, 2020 promises to be an interesting year in the upstream oil and gas industry. Brent crude Read More

The Dead Sea transform: the Master Sculptor

The history of the world’s three great monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – has unfolded in the so-called Holy Land, a starkly rugged landscape that stretches from the Read More

Billions at Play: The Future of African Energy and Doing Deals

Oil and gas in Africa – resource curse or blessing? Billions at Play By NJ Ayuk Clink Street Publishing, 2019. The phrase ‘resource curse’ is widely used in political economy Read More

North Gabon: lightning strikes connect the Gulf of Mexico subsalt trend to North Gabon

The tanzanites, hickories, mahoganies and mad dogs of West Africa Stacked depth conformant amplitude anomalies indicating huge hydrocarbon potential similar to the Gulf of Mexico. Heterogeneous salt distribution in North Read More

Bringing the geological outcrop to your desk

Staff who may not normally have the opportunity to visit the field will be introduced to field trips through interactive Virtual Reality training. The outcrops selected for this pilot project Read More

Are Carbonate Reservoirs ‘Difficult’?

Up to 60% of the world’s conventional petroleum is reservoired in carbonate rocks – but they are often regarded with apprehension by the industry. Despite their reputation, carbonate reservoirs are Read More

Looking for the Latest Licensing Round Bid Block Perimeters?

Upstream data services company, Lynx Information Systems, provide an interactive web map for the latest oil and gas licensing round bid block perimeters. Interface of interactive web map. © Read More

New Nodal Technologies for Oil and Gas Exploration

New nodal systems for both land and marine deployment demonstrate that it is important that companies keep innovating and collaborating to improve oil and gas technologies. When discussing new technologies Read More

Petroleum Geology: What is a Super Basin?

There is a trend away from frontier oil and gas exploration towards finding more in less risky proven basins, fuelled by learning gleaned from studying the most successful petroleum basins Read More

Shale Plays of the Middle East

The Middle East is best known for its conventional oil and gas reserves, which have been a critical part of the world’s supply for nearly a century. Could the US Read More

Comoros Islands: Multi-Billion Barrel Deepwater Hydrocarbon Potential

Hopes are high for an exciting new frontier, with multi-billion barrel oil prospects in the same plays that have found giant gas fields in Mozambique. The ylang ylang tree in Read More

The Carbon Capture Conundrum

Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage will continue to need a kick-start, from the chilly depths of the North Sea to the heat of Texas. Ultimately capturing carbon will have to Read More

Hydrocarbon Potential in Ultra-deep Offshore South Gabon

A new seismic survey and integrated study reveals hydrocarbon potential in the ultra-deep offshore Gabon petroleum systems. Figure 1: Map of South Gabon showing seismic coverage, locations of wells mentioned Read More

Côte d’Ivoire: regional understanding to unlock hydrocarbon potential

Extending Oil and Gas Exploration Potential to Western Côte d’Ivoire Regional seismic data allows petroleum plays to be interpreted in full for the first time across the Côte d’Ivoire. Exploration Read More

Maggy Shino: Championing Hydrocarbon E&P in Namibia

Maggy Shino describes herself as an inquisitive child who was drawn to science, a subject she excelled at in school. Therefore, it was no surprise that at the University of Read More

The Hydrocarbon Potential of Onshore Namibia

This year Namibia has again moved into the spotlight as major oil companies increased their presence along the Namibian margin, with plenty of onshore hydrocarbon potential just waiting for adventurous Read More

Reversing the Hydrocarbon Discovery Slump

Activity from upstream operators is starting to pick up from the post-2014 oil slump. However, global discovered oil and gas volumes still lag far behind where they stood before the Read More

Exploration Update: Two Oil Discoveries in Guyana

Two discoveries in Guyana were announced on 16 September 2019, further progressing the exciting story of oil in South America. Two discoveries in Guyana were announced on 16 September 2019, Read More

Exploration Update: Light Oil Discovery in Barents Sea, Norway

Although the quantities discovered are relatively small, with estimates of between 20-60 MMbo recoverable, the well proves the presence of oil in the blocks north of the Wisting field, Barents Read More

Exploration Update: Gas Discovery in Otway Basin, Australia

Cooper Energy have made a gas discovery in the large Late Jurassic–Cenozoic Otway Basin, Australia. Cooper Energy have made a discovery in the large Late Jurassic–Cenozoic Otway Basin, on the Read More

Ongoing Oil and Gas Licensing Round in Cuba

Although underexplored, two oil-bearing provinces have been identified in Cuba and there is plenty of open acreage available in the ongoing oil and gas licensing round. In June Cuba announced Read More

GEO ExPro Vol. 16, No. 5 Out Now!

Geoscience magazine GEO ExPro Vol. 16, No. 5 is available for download. This edition of GEO ExPro focuses on Africa and the Middle East; Carbonate Reservoirs; New Technologies; and Business Read More

Oil Jackpot in Guyana

With 14 oil discoveries adding up to an estimated six billion barrels of recoverable oil over the last two years in just one block (Stabroek), offshore Guyana is proving to Read More

The Key to Transformative Energy Change in Africa

Positive moves are afoot in the continent of Africa to ensure more gas is used domestically, to help electrification and industrialisation, diversify economies and create jobs. The world’s first commercial Read More

Geognostics Develops GEM+SEEBASE® 4D GIS

By combining GEM and SEEBASE in a 4D GIS environment, Geognostics has produced a series of marginscale, time-slice-based plate reconstructions. Example of Geognostics GEM+SEEBASE 4D GIS (Late Jurassic). © Geognostics. Read More

Aiding the Next Steps of Oil and Gas Exploration in the MSGBC Basin

A new integrated approach to oil and gas exploration in the MSGBC Basin, North West Africa. The Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry (MSGBC) Basin is home to several Read More

Recent Advances in Climate Change Research: Part IV – Challenges and Practical Issues of Carbon Capture & Storage

“If you really could take the CO2, when you burn hydrocarbons – coal, for example – if you could really capture the carbon and sequester it – they call it Read More

Jobs? Better operations? Look under a different rock!

We have witnessed a tremendous transformation in the oil industry in the last few years, beginning with the adoption of the new techniques of ‘factory drilling’ of horizontal wells, with Read More

GII Purchases Silenced Mini-Vibrator Fleet

The Geophysical Institute of Israel (GII), a leading global seismic acquisition provider, has purchased a brand new silenced mini-Vibrator fleet from INOVA Geophysical and coupled it with the Quantum nodal Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective