Tectonically-influenced carbonate platform, Greece
A Pliocene carbonate platform (Rhodos Formation) is exposed in the NE part of the isle of Rhodes, Greece. Sedimentation was largely controlled by faulting relating to a late Pliocene or Read More
How data analysis and 1D models help understand messy vitrinite data
In my last column, I hinted at a case study, where I was able to interpret likely fluid migration based on temperature and vitrinite data in a single well. This Read More
Is it a true conjugate fracture set?
Conjugate faults or fractures are a set of shear fractures that formed simultaneously under the same stress conditions. According to Andersonian Fault Theory, this could involve a series of left-lateral Read More
How interested is Eavor in sharing drilling results of the Geretsried project?
If I fail to hear back from companies when enquiring for information about a project, I mostly decide not to write about it at all. But in the case of Read More
Fault-valve behaviour of petroleum traps
When evaluating fault-bound traps, it is common practice to map around-the-fault pathways through diligent seismic interpretation, juxtaposition diagrams, and 3D structural framework construction. It is also common practice to address Read More
How AI helps democratize seismic interpretation
“The times of gurus telling younger staff how to plough through a seismic volume and what to interpret is over,” says Herman van Nieuwoudt from Bluware. Herman started as the Read More
Preventing scaling in geothermal production wells
The Munich area in Germany is lucky when it comes to its geothermal potential. There is a good Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir at the right depth, and the water composition Read More
The geology of Bronze Age epics
A New Year brings new challenges, and for me, that means writing for GEO EXPRO. I am writing after the Xmas break which is traditionally eating, drinking and watching old Read More
Indonesia bid round push continues
In Asia Pacific, Malaysia has been arguably the most successful country in promoting its exploration and development opportunities over the past few years, with the vast majority of its acreage Read More
“You need some chaos to thrive as a company”
“Let’s get this straight,” Benoît Matha says at the start of our conversation on a Friday morning in February, “the subsurface upstream business is not a big data environment.” It Read More
Hunting for marine minerals in the Baltic Sea
While Norway is by far the most dominant player amongst the Nordic countries in terms of marine minerals, some activities are also being performed in Swedish waters. The presence of Read More
“We’re in this weird time of pre-AI and post-AI”
A few months ago, I published some thoughts on how Norway has proven to be such a hotspot when it comes to new subsurface technology. Dan Austin, who has been Read More
A legacy of hyperpycnal flows
The cretaceous U and T sandstones, key petroleum reservoirs in the Oriente Basin of Ecuador, have been the focus of a groundbreaking reinterpretation. Recent studies of subaqueous systems and high-resolution Read More
Exploring the deepest parts of the Bolivian Subandean fold and thrust belt
The southern Subandean fold and thrust range in Bolivia hosts multi-TCF gas fields, where production mainly comes from naturally fractured sandstones of the Lower to Middle Devonian Huamampampa Formation. But Read More
Can technology replace fieldwork?
At times of better access to digital outcrop imagery, drone footage and satellite shots, is it still worth going into the field to have a look at the rocks in Read More
From scratch
“No data, no problems,” laughs Tanguy Lomme from Epslog when he reminisces on his years at Shell when he worked as a reservoir engineer. As soon as he joined founder Read More
Oil in porous intrusive rocks
Basement plays are found in quite a few areas globally and have been well studied and reported on. Norway, Yemen, Vietnam and China are amongst those places where oil is Read More
Pushing the limits of tracer technology
“The conventional oil and gas industry has been familiar with tracer technology for a long time,” says Roy Greig from RESMAN Energy Technology. “There, it is mostly used to determine Read More
Developing the Kuda Tasi and Jahal discoveries offshore Timor-Leste
Continuing the exploration and development success of the Laminaria High In 2024, Finder Energy underwent a transformational change, acquiring the rights to develop several oil discoveries on the Laminaria High Read More
Action in Andaman
Before taking a dive into the past, recent and future exploration activity in the Andaman Sea, it is good to take note of an important above-ground advantage of the area. Read More
Turning adversity into opportunity
“I grew up in the state of Perak, north of Kuala Lumpur, in the town of Batu Gajah. Being the oldest of eight children, I felt the responsibility to take Read More
Subsurface noise #1
HOW TO KEEP PEOPLE ON YOUR PAYROLL WHEN YOUR ASSETS HAVE ALL CEASED PRODUCTION? That’s the question one particular operator faces in the North Sea. And they have found a Read More
Die Metallkrise ist in sicht: A call for German deep-sea involvement
“Japan, Saudi-Arabia, Norway – more and more countries rely on raw materials from the deep sea. Germany can’t escape this trend.” The Federation of German Industries (BDI) published a report Read More
Exploration at times of war
In the face of unprecedented challenges posed by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Ukrgasvydobuvannya (UGV) JSC, a subsidiary of Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC and Ukraine’s largest national gas producer, has demonstrated Read More
Revitalising geothermal exploration: A path toward efficiency and sustainability
On behalf of the University of Bucharest, the implementation team was formed by Florina Ţuluca, Dumitru Ioane, Lucian Petrescu, Iulian Popa, Lonelia Panea, Ioan Munteanu, Nicolae Cruceru, Mihaela Roca, Mihaela Read More
New hydrogen prospectivity map released for the USA
“For decades, the conventional wisdom was that naturally occurring hydrogen did not accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used for energy purposes,” says Sarah Ryker, United States Geological Survey (USGS) Read More
Finding scribbles on the sides of composite well logs
It must have been in November 2018, as I chaired a session at the PETEX Conference in London, when Ronny Parr from bp gave a talk entitled “From Trash to Read More
Energy sobriety – a moment of clarity in a “dry January”
As we enter a new year it’s always important to ponder what we have learned from the previous year. I discovered that most people think that energy is simple and Read More
The home of the world’s first deep-water gas development
Following World War II, a number of US-companies drilled onshore but never found anything commercial despite the presence of surface seeps. Fortunes changed in the 1970s with Cities Service making Read More
What happened to the Allseas vessel that brought nodules to surface in 2022?
When the interviewer asks the CEO of Allseas, Pieter Heerema, how much money the company sunk into converting the former ultra deep-water drill ship Vitoria 10000 into getting the newly Read More
Can Oman engineer a subsurface hydrogen kitchen?
Exploration for geological hydrogen has taken off over the past few years. However, nothing close to a major success case has been reported yet. Companies such as Gold Hydrogen in Read More
Less oil, more water
It is something that I am not often exposed to, but that does not mean it is unimportant – produced water. The SPE Aberdeen section organized a panel discussion around Read More
How do recent geoscience graduates experience the job market?
During panel debates, where industry-stalwarts share their visions on how the energy sector is evolving, it is often said that the job market for geoscientists in the energy sector will Read More
The writing was on the wall
Yesterday, Reuters broke the news that Shell has written off a $400 million exploration investment over “an oil discovery” in PEL39 in Namibia’s deep-water area. Even though a field name Read More
Finding the right store for CO2 can lead to very different outcomes
It happens quite regularly that people’s surname seem to be closely linked to the profession they operate in. This certainly applies to Alexander Bump from the University of Texas in Read More