Issue 1

This edition of GEO ExPro focuses on the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean; Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence; and Reservoir Management.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Regional Update: Egypt – A New Regional Hub?

8 Licensing Update: Timor-Leste

10 A Minute to Read

30 Hot Spot: Empires of Gas in the Eastern Mediterranean

42 Recent Advances in Technology: From Arrhenius to CO2 Storage – Part VI

56 Reservoir Management: Revolutionising the Prediction of Reservoir Performance

68 Exploration Update

70 Q&A: The Saudi Aramco IPO

72 FlowBack: The Africa Factor

Features

14 Cover Story: Industry Issues: Pangea III: At the Heart of E&P

18 Industry Issues: Teaching the Machines

22 Country Profile: Ras Al Khaimah – Great Hydrocarbon Potential

26 Reservoir Management: AI and Petroleum System Risk Assessment

32 GEO Profile: Bernard Duval – Vive L’Aventure!

36 Seismic Foldout: Maximus Survey: Opportunities in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

46 Industry Issues: Comprehending Climate Complexities

50 GEO Tourism: Oman’s Musandam Peninsula – Geodynamic and Geopolitical Nexus

58 History of Oil: The Land That Oil Forgot – Palestine, 1913–1948

62 Reservoir Management: Salt Biostratigraphy – An Untapped Source of Data?

66 Obituary: Ken Glennie − The Passing of a Legend

Articles

The Land That Oil Forgot: Palestine, 1913–1948

Israeli premier Golda Meir once said, “Moses took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no Read More

Comprehending Climate Complexities

The Global and European Calculators are tools that can be used for both exploring the future of our climate and working out what can be done about it, helping us Read More

Oman’s Musandam Peninsula: Geodynamic and Geopolitical Nexus

Admire soaring, fjord-like walls of Mesozoic limestone as you glide through the Strait of Hormuz by dhow, the type of traditional wooden ships that today share this strategic waterway with Read More

The Africa Factor: Africa’s Cleaner Energy Mix

While oil will continue to have a role in Africa for the foreseeable future, both in production and consumption, natural gas can and should have a bright future as part Read More

Great Hydrocarbon Potential in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is the northernmost Emirate of the UAE and borders the Musandam Peninsula, the Omani exclave that protrudes into the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Emirate is Read More

Hydrocarbon Discovery Offshore Suriname

In January 2020, Apache Corporation announced several oil and gas shows in the Maka Central-1 well, offshore Suriname, in the Campanian sands and the Upper Cretaceous Santonian clastics. Location of Read More

Bernard Duval: Vive L’Aventure!

According to Bernard Duval, geologists are the happiest people around because “we have fun!” He tells us about his long and illustrious career in oil and gas exploration, for which Read More

Ken Glennie – The Passing of a Petroleum Geology Legend

Obituary: Professor Ken Glennie was a legend in a number of fields, from the petroleum geology of the North Sea to modern and ancient desert environments, particularly in the Middle Read More

Egypt: A New Regional LNG Hub?

Egypt became a net importer of LNG in 2015. However, the country announced its intention to cease imports and begin exporting LNG through its main LNG terminal at Damietta in Read More

The Leviathan Gas Field: First Gas Delivery & Exports

Leviathan, the giant Israeli gas field discovered by Noble Energy in 2010, delivered its first gas to the Israeli domestic market in December 2019, with the first exports, to Egypt Read More

Pangea III: A Supercomputer for Oil and Gas Exploration

Total’s new supercomputer, Pangea III, was ranked the number one most powerful HPC in the industry and the 11th most powerful computer globally – but what does this mean for Read More

Recent Advances in Climate Change Research: Part VI – More on the Simple Greenhouse Model

We continue the discussion of the simple greenhouse model introduced in Part III. “Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject.” Thomas Mann (1875–1955), 1929 Read More

Digitalisation: The Hot Topic in Oil & Gas

Everyone across the world, including in the oil and gas industry, is talking about digitalisation, although it could be admitted that in some ways we were a little bit slow Read More

New Multi-Client Seismic Surveys Planned in the Permian Basin

CGG and Fairfield Geotechnologies will acquire a series of large-scale, high-density, multi-client seismic surveys in one of the most prolific hydrocarbon regions in North America – the Central Basin Platform Read More

Oil and Gas on the North West Shelf of Australia

A number of drilling campaigns continue to expand on the oil and gas plays on the North West Shelf of Australia. Location of Shell’s Bratwurst-1 well in Block AC/ P64. Read More

Major Gas Discovery in Sharjah

Italian giant Eni recently reported a significant gas condensate discovery, Mahani-1, in Sharjah. Location of the Eni operated Area B and the Mahani-1 well onshore Sharjah. Italian giant Eni reported Read More

What is the Saudi Aramco IPO?

Saudi Arabia’s leadership recently floated part of its giant state oil company, Saudi Aramco, on the Saudi stock exchange, selling shares in what was the biggest IPO (Initial Public Offering) Read More

Mexico: Maximus survey – opportunities in deepwater Gulf of Mexico

The importance of depth imaging Depth modelling using several algorithms has significantly improved salt imaging in the deepwater Bay of Campeche. The Bay of Campeche lies along the western border Read More

Artificial Intelligence and Petroleum System Risk Assessment

Using artificial intelligence to assess hydrocarbon charge risks. AI and Petroleum System Risk Assessment At this turning point for the oil and gas industry, with escalating competitiveness and a need Read More

Machine Learning in Oil and Gas Exploration

Machine learning in oil and gas exploration and production has successfully begun to scale up from pilots to specific and bespoke industrial solutions – but must remain grounded in the Read More

Salt Biostratigraphy in Oil and Gas Exploration: An Untapped Source of Data?

Salt and evaporites in general are often regarded as both an excellent seal for hydrocarbons and an operational challenge to drill through – but salt biostratigraphy can also provide a Read More

A Brief Overview of Gas E&P Activity in the Eastern Mediterranean

This ‘Hot Spot’ feature gives a brief overview of the exploration and production activity of gas in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean theatre has become a pressure point for Read More

Timor-Leste: 2nd Oil and Gas Licensing Round

In October 2019 the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor) launched the county’s second licensing round, releasing a total of 18 new blocks for public tender, covering a large percentage Read More

Revolutionising the Prediction of Reservoir Performance using AI

Coupling deep learning methods with dynamic reservoir models can result in tremendous time saving and more reliable production forecasts in oil and gas production. Reservoir models are vitally important in Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective