Issue 2

This issue of GEO ExPro focuses on North West Europe; North Africa; Reservoir Management; Seismic Acquisition and Processing.

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Columns

5 Editorial

6 Regional Update: North Africa Round-up

8 Licensing Update: Egyptian Activity Buoyant with a 2022 Exploration Bid Round Expected

10 A Minute to Read

13 Geology: Nature Shows Off

32 Recent Advances in Technology: From Arrhenius to CO₂ Storage – Part XV

36 HotSpot: The High Impact Potential of the Orange Basin

48 Exploration: Responsible Upstream Investment in the UKCS

62 History of Oil: The History of Oil and Gas in Dragon Country

66 Technology Explained: Artificial Intelligence – Its Use in Exploration and Production

76 Exploration Update

77 Energy Transition: An Exciting Future for Geoscientists

79 Reservoir Management: Exploring Uncertainty in Subsurface Modelling and Forecasting

82 FlowBack: Transition That’s Fit for Purpose

Features

15 Cover Story: Exploration: The Future of Gas Exploration in the Transition

20 Seismic Foldout: Exploration Opportunities in The Gambia and Senegal

26 Exploration: OBN Seismic Unlocks New Play Potential

30 Energy Transition Update: Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Carbon-Free Flying?

37 Reservoir Management: Who Owns the Oil?

42 Seismic Foldout: Northern North Sea: A Dual-Azimuth Solution

51 Palaeontology: “Gone Fossil Hunting…”

56 Seismic Foldout: UK Mid North Sea High: Defining and De-risking Exploration in the Zechstein Play

70 Seismic Foldout: Seismic Imaging-Led Sedimentology Insight Reveals Extraordinary New Potential in the Gulf of Papual

Articles

UK Mid North Sea High: defining and de-risking exploration in the Zechstein Play

Newly acquired, high quality 3D date accelerates exploration insight in the Zechstein Play The Zechstein play in the UK sector is increasingly in the industry spotlight after the 2019 Ossian-Darach Read More

Recent Advances in Climate Change Research: Part XV – A Greenhouse Model for Stratospheric Cooling

Stratospheric cooling is considered to be one of the fingerprints of anthropogenic global warming. In this article, we present observations. It should be apparent from the title of this article Read More

The Future of Gas Exploration in the Transition

Drilling flat spots in the North Sea, with a minimal CO2 footprint can rejuvenate Dutch offshore sector. The Q10-A development, 20 km off the Dutch coast, demonstrates how it is Read More

An exciting future for geoscientists

Max Brouwers is an experienced geoscientist who spent 25 successful years with Shell. In this interview, Max tells us about his journey with the energy transition. Max Brouwers is an Read More

Who Owns the Oil?

The why and how of unitisation. Nature does not respect the licence boundaries drawn on a map by humans. Oil and gas accumulations straddling licence boundaries are common. The size Read More

Egyptian Activity Buoyant With a 2022 Exploration Bid Round

The Egyptian Oil Ministry began 2022 by concluding its 2021 licensing round which offered three blocks in the Gulf of Suez, twelve in the Western Desert and nine in the Read More

Krabdagu-1: Extending the Play Eastwards in Suriname

TotalEnergies (with 50% partner APA Corp) announced in late February 2022 that their Block 58 well, Krabdagu-1, is a discovery, encountering ~90m net oil and gas pay. Krabdagu-1: Extending the Read More

The High Impact Hydrocarbon Potential of the Orange Basin

While the Mississippi, Congo, Nile, and many other major deltas around the world have been, and are being, successfully explored and developed, the vast Orange Basin offshore South Africa and Read More

GEO ExPro Vol. 19, Issue No. 2 Out Now!

Geoscience magazine GEO ExPro Vol. 19, No. 2 is now available for download. This issue of GEO ExPro focuses on North West Europe; North Africa; Reservoir Management; Seismic Acquisition and Read More

UK Unconventionals

What is the future for the onshore UK unconventional oil and gas business? In March 2022 the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) rebranded to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) Read More

Exploration opportunities in the Gambia and Senegal

Connecting the shelf to the deepwater A flurry of hydrocarbon exploration activity continues in The Gambia and Senegal, and it is fuelled by drilling successes. The Gambia, bid opportunity prospects Read More

Artificial Intelligence – Its Use in Exploration and Production – Part 1

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has at least one feature in common with hydrocarbon exploration: a history of boom and bust. Other industries might complain about the unpredictability of demand for their Read More

Artificial Intelligence – Its Use in Exploration and Production – Part 2

Machine Learning: magical or mathematical statistics? De-mystifying AI and setting it in a geo-exploration context. When film studios remake classic films, critics and audiences often ask why. GEO ExPro has Read More

“Gone Fossil Hunting…”

In the first article in this series, I highlighted the staggering breadth of utility that fossils have, from academic research to applied industrial analysis, value in commercial trade and preservation Read More

Nature Shows Off

Most Surtseyan style eruptions involve a relatively small amount of water encountering magma. But the explosion in January this year at the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcanic island erupted in a Read More

The History of Oil and Gas in Dragon Country

From cannel coal to offshore production – Wales has a colourful history of resource exploration and success. Broadly, the offshore of Wales contains parts of six main Permo-Mesozoic basins which Read More

Responsible Upstream Investment in the UKCS

In the UK’s ambitious net zero regulatory context, exploration can make a positive contribution to energy security, emissions reduction, local employment and revenue and tax generation to facilitate and subsidise Read More

North Africa Round-Up

The North Africa region offers huge energy opportunities, but the bottom line is that its social challenges need to be solved. The North Africa region offers huge opportunities, but the Read More

South Erregulla-1: Striking South to Extend the Perth Basin Permian Gas Play

In February 2022, Strike Energy reported a discovery at South Erregulla – encountering two gas intervals in the Wagina and Kingia sands onshore Australia. Map showing location of the South Read More

OBN Seismic Unlocks New Play Potential in the Gulf of Suez

Rejuvenating exploration in the Gulf of Suez through the application of modern wide azimuth OBN seismic technology. The Gulf of Suez is a prolific rifted hydrocarbon province that has been Read More

Exploring Uncertainty in Subsurface Modelling and Forecasting

Ensemble-based modelling has been delivering value to the E&P industry for over ten years, causing a fundamental re-think of what exactly is needed to more accurately forecast the future behaviour Read More

Seismic imaging-led sedimentology insight reveals extraordinary new potential in the Gulf of Papua

Stunning unexplored turbidite play revealed offshore Papua New Guinea Exceptional imaging from modern multi-client PSDM 2D seismic data in south-east Papua New Guinea has uncovered exciting new reservoir potential within Read More

Sustainable aviation fuels: carbon-free flying?

For the sake of the planet, I am happy to consider an electric car, to change my electricity supplier and to install solar panels or a heat pump – but Read More

Venus-1X: Introducing a New Distal Basin Floor Fan Play for Margins

TotalEnergies has made a significant discovery of light oil with associated gas on the Venus prospect, located in Block 2913B in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia. Map showing location Read More

Transition That’s Fit For Purpose

Transition is a word on many lips. Energy transition, certainly, but also of the alliances and relationships which keep the world secure, solvent and conflict-free… Transition is a word on Read More

Northern North Sea: a dual-azimuth solution

Northern North Sea: a step-change in de-risking prospectivity New seismic coverage and high-quality dual-azimuth data over the Northern Viking Graben reveal crucial details for de-risking prospects and encouraging activity. Read More

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective