Issue 4

Vol. 18

This issue of GEO ExPro focuses on the Middle East and Asia; Geophysics, Machine Learning and AI.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Regional Update: When Will We See Confidence in Asian M&A Activity?

8 Licencing Update: Pandemic Affects Licensing Plans

10 A Minute to Read

14 Geology: Secure Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste

30 Energy Transition Update: The Power of Data

36 HotSpot: Progress in Pakistan

38 New Technology: How Machine Learning is Helping Seismic Structural Interpreters in The Age of Big Data

52 GEO History: Adventures in Middle Eastern Oil

56 Exploration: A Journey of a Thousand Miles

74 Geochemistry: Hot Enough in the South-East Adriatic?

78 Exploration Update

80 Industry Issues: Representing Geoscience for Over 200 Years

82 Q&A: Kirsti Karlsson: 2,000 GEO ExPro Articles and Counting

84 FlowBack: No Transition Without Offsets

Features

20 Seismic Foldout: Countdown to CCS

26 GEO Tourism: Cliffs, Kayaks and Krabi

32 Exploration: Suriname’s Demerara

42 Seismic Foldout: Can Sparse OBN Equal Savings and Data Quality?

48 Energy Transition: New Life for Old Wells

60 New Technology: AI: a Game Changer in Seismic Acquisition and Processing

64 Seismic Foldout: AI Seismic Interpretation for a Better, More Sustainable Tomorrow

70 Geology: What Drives Continents Apart?

Articles

When Will We See Confidence in Asian M&A Activity?

So far, the increase in oil price has not brought back the level of confidence to M&A activity that was expected, which is very apparent when looking at exploration opportunities Read More

Jabillo – Prolific Liza Trend out of Reach on Canje Block, Guyana

ExxonMobil, with partners TotalEnergies, JHI and Mid Atlantic, have come up dry again on the Canje Block, offshore Guyana. ExxonMobil, with partners TotalEnergies, JHI and Mid Atlantic, have come up dry again on the Canje Read More

Serinus Falters in Northeast Pannonian

Serinus Energy, have reported a gas discovery at Sancrai-1 on the EIV-5 Satu Mare Block in Romania, but further testing of the well did not deliver expected results. Serinus Energy, Read More

What Drives Continents Apart?

Rather than convection currents within the mantle – could the forces at play be related to the Earth’s velocity? During a visit to Bolivia in 2001, the sight of marine Read More

Geotourism: Thailand – Cliffs, Kayaks and Krabi

A popular tourist destination, the Thai Peninsular has plenty to tempt the geotourist. Geological map of the Gulf of Phang-Nga, modified after Ridd, Barber and Crow (2011). The heavy black Read More

Secure, Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste

What skills can oil and gas geoscientists contribute to the UK’s delivery of a long term solution to nuclear waste? Nuclear power generation has been part of the United Kingdom’s Read More

2,000 GEO ExPro Articles and Counting

GEO ExPro was founded in 2004 and is now a well-established Geoscience publication. Kirsti Karlsson, Sales and Marketing Director of GEO ExPro talks about her career with the magazine and Read More

Working Petroleum Systems Offshore Montenegro

Evidence for working petroleum systems offshore Montenegro as new geochemical information reveals the presence of an oil-prone Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous source rock on The Dalmatian platform. The Dalmatian platform offshore Read More

Frontier Energy Network Africa E&P Summit Live in London

The Africa E&P Summit, taking place 22-23 October 2021, prepares to convene at a crucial time for the oil & gas industry and the stakes could not be higher for Read More

New Life for Old Wells

Geothermal energy currently plays a small role in meeting the world’s energy demand. Recent research focuses on high temperature Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and Advanced Geothermal Systems (AGS); however, there Read More

AI seismic interpretation for a better, more sustainable tomorrow

A catalyst of change for net-zero How can state-of-the-art AI tools be used to better understand the subsurface and make more informed decision on the suitability of storage sites for Read More

AI: a Game Changer in Seismic Acquisition and Processing

Leveraging artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, predictability and performance in seismic acquisition and processing. A recent Gartner seminar made the bold prediction that “in the near-term AI will not replace Read More

Progress in Pakistan

Hydrocarbon success in the hinterland of Pakistan’s major fold and thrust belts. Pakistan is an important gas-producing country with growing demand for energy. Like other mature petroleum provinces with strong Read More

Suriname: Demerara Plateau Oil and Gas Potential

Will Suriname’s Demerara Plateau be an exploration hotspot for the coming years? In this article we dive deeper into the region’s geological setting and hydrocarbon potential. Guyana, close to Western Read More

Pandemic Affects Oil and Gas Licensing Plans

The upstream part of the oil and gas industry has been particularly disrupted with the global impact of the pandemic massively reducing the demand for oil and gas during 2020 Read More

Major Gas Success for Eni in the Mahakam Delta

20 years after the discovery well, Eni has drilled a successful appraisal to the Maha gas field in the mature Mahakam Delta within the Kutei Basin, offshore Indonesia. Eni Read More

How Machine Learning is Helping Seismic Structural Interpreters in The Age of Big Data

This seismic fault interpretation workflow integrates geological knowledge, machine learning (ML) and deterministic techniques aimed at mapping and characterizing a fault framework with geological consistency. The availability of large 3D Read More

Can sparse OBN equal savings and data quality?

Geology The study area is in ultradeep waters (2 km) of the Santos Basin and the geology is comprised of a 2–4 kilometer-thick sequence of mostly clastic sedimentary rocks overlaying Read More

Dr Wendell Phillips: Adventures in Middle Eastern Oil

The 20th century American explorer Dr Wendell Phillips is best known for his colorful exploits in archaeology, and for being an independent oilman who broke into the Middle East at Read More

No Transition Without Offsets

If you are a big emitter of carbon, then reaching net zero means investing in carbon offsets – in the short term at least – and it’s perhaps no surprise Read More

Countdown to CCS

Large commercial scale CCS projects less than five years away in Europe Europe is leading the way in the energy transition with growth in renewable energy sources being part Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective