Subsurface noise #4
“SOMEONE EVEN CALLED ME TO ASK HOW I WAS” “People who have always worked offshore in the North Sea really don’t know how good they have it,” told a well Read More
Seabed mapping – let AI do the work
“I spent days, if not weeks, trawling through high-resolution photos,” a geoscientist from an oil and gas company recently told me. Why did he do that? He carried out this Read More
The hidden lithium treasure of South Australia
Despite receiving just 165 mm of rain annually, Coopers Creek flows year-round, an anomaly that has lured generations of explorers in pre-history to early European settlers. Exploration by geologist Reg Read More
Why target the surface synclines in the flat foreland of a fold-and-thrust belt?
Imagine an onshore petroleum province that has three proven plays and a supergiant oil field suddenly opening up for international business and exploration companies. Except, it has no modern seismic Read More
Are deep closed-loop geothermal systems doomed?
“Claims of universal geographical scalability of Closed Loop Geothermal Systems (CLGS) in power generation at competitive prices are not supported by simulation results,” is what the authors conclude in a Read More
Better illuminating the Rotliegend beneath a heavily deformed overburden
In April 2025, the main stakeholders in the offshore energy landscape in the Netherlands signed the so-called “Sector Accord”, which brought more clarity and momentum to exploring for and subsequently Read More
Cuba – the next hydrogen hotspot?
“I have concluded that this area should not be explored for oil, but for hydrogen instead. And I believe that the potential is colossal,” wrote Marcello Rebora in his email. Read More
Revisiting the southern boundary of Sangomar
Recently published maps of the Sangomar field offshore Senegal depict the southern boundary of the accumulation exactly lining up with the maritime boundary between Senegal and The Gambia, suggesting that Read More
Blurring the line between geology and reservoir engineering
How often has it happened that a dynamic simulation grid turns out to be not fit for purpose because something goes wrong – too fast a pressure build-up, too fast Read More
Exploring young petroleum systems comes with risks
Any exploration well carries risk, and ultimately, it is the drill bit that will either prove or disprove a play concept. In South Korea’s Ulleung Basin, despite the presence of Read More
An under-communicated factor for CCS
“We did not want the same unexpected situation like we had at Ekofisk,” recalls Ola Eiken, CEO of Quad Geometrics. He refers to the discovery of 2.5 m of seabed Read More
Elastic MP-FWI imaging: Changing geophysics
Deriving rock properties from field data with elastic MP-FWI imaging The seismic method has proven to be an invaluable tool to determine subsurface structures and properties since the first experiments Read More
Submarine avalanches in a serendipitous find
In the depths of the North Sea lies one of the most spectacular records of turbidity currents: The Claymore Sandstone. During the Upper Jurassic, these rocks were born from a Read More
The Athabasca oil sands
Recent governments in Canada have not been particularly supportive of the oil industry, which mainly concentrates in Alberta. Some people are even actively contemplating separation from the Canadian federation and Read More
Crushing report on TMC’s deep-sea mining plans
“We believe the economics of TMC’s operations are not viable and that the company will be a repeat of Nautilus. We expect Gerard Barron to leave the ship when this Read More
“I’m exceptionally bullish about the future”
“As an industry, we have come a long way. From drilling vertical wells to slanted wells, then using slotted liners in horizontal wells, via passive inflow strategies to now active Read More
Why peer reviews often don’t work
Reputations are both made and destroyed in the aftermath of the drill sequence. But what is behind the ranking that determines where the rig goes next? It is the prospect Read More
“No concern at all”: The economist’s view
“I thought we would be speaking for 15 minutes, now it has turned into half an hour already!” Carole Nakhle is sought after when it comes to her view on Read More
Producing the next 50 % of the world’s oil reserves
In 1967, an oil embargo imposed by the Arab producers on a select group of Western nations failed badly. One of the reasons for this failure was the fact that Read More
Bottom-up meets top-down
If there is one positive aspect to this day and age, it is the ability to form solid working relationships even when people are living at opposite ends of the Read More
Liberating well data with modern data science and AI
AI-driven well data revolution: Unifying traditional expertise with modern data science The oil and gas industry is navigating a transformative era fueled by the convergence of geoscience, data science, and Read More
Are half of the Tano Basin’s reservoirs in the Keta Basin?
Ghana’s ascendancy as a significant oil and gas producer commenced with the landmark Jubilee discovery in 2007, leading to first oil in 2010. This success was subsequently reinforced by the Read More
A subsea tie-back to a subsea tie-back?
The name of the discovery may suggest that it is the most distal find in the Gulf of Mexico ever, but that is not the case. bp’s recently announced Far Read More
Flame structures
Outcrops remind us of the risks of applying a layer-cake approach to correlating well data. Turbidite lobes pinching out, channels abruptly transitioning to floodplain deposits or carbonate platforms only developing Read More
A surge in exploration for natural hydrogen
The global search for natural hydrogen is centered around a few hotspots, and the Timiskaming Graben in Canada is one of them. The graben is located on the Canadian Shield, Read More
Gulf of America: Salt-driven structures, data-driven discoveries
Sharper imaging, smarter exploration How cutting-edge seismic techniques are transforming risk assessment in the GOA Since 2019, long-offset Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) technology has become a cornerstone for advanced imaging Read More
Global trends in petroleum fiscal terms: A race to the top?
As competition for upstream investment intensifies, countries across the globe have responded with a wave of fiscal and regulatory reforms aimed at attracting limited capital. Since the 2014 oil price Read More
Energy is politics, is community, is pride
My dear friend William invited me last month to Brecon, mid Wales. Another dear friend, Ian, lives in Penarth, just outside Cardiff, south Wales, so it made perfect sense to Read More
It’s all in the planning
Angola is host to a number of recent exploration highlights, driven by a well-organised and energetic energy regulator, ANPG and a strong appetite for low-risk growth in the upstream sector. Read More
Self-similar structures and DHI indicators in the Greater Caribbean
Bridging proven plays and frontier potential The offshore of the Caribbean has experienced a dramatic and enduring tectonic history full of movement and continuous accommodation. Forming in the Late Cretaceous Read More
From Moscow to Mohkínstsis
“I was the first generation of students that graduated in the Soviet Union without having a job lined up for me,” says Svetlana Bidikhova. “When I started university, few people Read More
How to stand your ground as a YP working in the oil and gas industry?
“Let’s not forget that the oil and gas industry is not the sole source for the environmental problems the world is facing,” wrote one of the young professionals during the Read More
Kasawari – gas production has commenced, but when does the CO2 storage project?
At industry events in South-East Asia, the Kasawari CO2 storage project has been a talking point for years. It should be the first large-scale CO2 storage project in the region, Read More
Successful near-field helium exploration
Blue Star Helium and joint venture partner Helium One, have successfully concluded a six-well development campaign at the Galactica project in Las Animas County, Colorado. The company reported positive results Read More
Syria – opening up again
In May 2025, the US Treasury eased most sanctions on Syria, followed by the easing of restrictions by the UK and EU. While significant hurdles still remain, oil and gas Read More
The evolution of fault interpretation
Before the advent of 3D seismic data in the 1980s and 2D seismic in the 1970s, subsurface geologists typically depicted or interpreted faults as vertical or nearly vertical. Consequently, these Read More
What is a good source rock?
I recently worked in a well-established basin with proven hydrocarbon accumulations. To my surprise, all reports and published papers routinely talked about local source rocks with barely 1 % Total Read More
AI and the future of subsurface discovery: Are we asking the right questions?
The question at the heart of geoethics today isn’t just whether we should use artificial intelligence (AI) in geoscience, it’s how we use it, to what end, and what that Read More
Storing radwaste: Transcending the limits of geoscience
Today, we have an estimated total of 370,000 to 400,000 tons of spent radioactive waste globally, which is the equivalent of 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools, that have been generated since Read More
Technology is always missing in the debate about seabed mineral extraction
“If you talk to organisations opposing seabed mineral extraction,” says Annemiek Vink, “they all speak about the terrible environmental damage that this will cause. But none of them relate this Read More
Has the Aarhus geothermal project become a little less geothermal than initially planned?
In a recent statement on LinkedIn, geothermal exploration and development company Innargi announced that its flagship project in Aarhus, Denmark, will be developed differently from what was originally foreseen. Where Read More