Tanzania: Third LNG Train Likely?
The partnership of BG (operator) and Ophir have confirmed an important new gas discovery in deepwater Block 1, Tanzania. Drilled using the ‘Deepsea Metro 1’ drillship, the Taachui 1ST well, close to the…
Africa
Côte d’Ivoire: Key Deepwater Find
Although untested, the Total-operated Saphir-1XB in Block CI-514 is described as an important discovery in a frontier part of deepwater offshore Côte d’Ivoire, as it has demonstrated a working petroleum system. Located in a water depth…
Guinea-Bissau: New insights into the geology and deepwater exploration potential
Improved imaging and new insights A detailed reconnaissance study of Polarcus’s 3D multi-client data has revealed a complex shelf to basin sediment transport system feeding into classic deepwater West African…
Bakken’s Billion Barrel Milestone
The Bakken shale means that North Dakota is now the second largest producing state in the US. Late in 2013 the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated crude oil production…
The Exploration Country Manager
Mfon Udofia, Shell’s Exploration Manager for Algeria, gives us a few insights into the role and the skills and experience it requires. “This is a really exciting job, and one…
The Magnificent Southern Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rocky Mountains rise majestically from the interior plains of Alberta, and the mechanisms which formed them are well illustrated on the scenic drive from Calgary to Banff and…
Improving Reservoir Characterisation
Reservoir characterisation can be improved through the integrated analysis of CSEM, seismic and well log data. Determining reservoir geometry and properties from the surface is a challenging but important task.…
River of Oil – Early Oil Exploration in Iraq
Knowledgeable but squabbling geologists; summary dismissals; camel transport; ‘lagoonal’ oil; and 40m-high gushers. All in a day’s work for the first oil explorers in Iraq.
Angola, Kwanza Basin: Sub-salt plays of the ultra-deep water
Exploring further and deeper Acquisition of marine seismic data using CGG’s broadband solution BroadSeis™, has greatly improved the imaging and interpretation of subsurface oil and gas reservoirs. Pre-salt reservoir targets…
A New Oil Play in East Africa
Following the recent discoveries off Tanzania and Mozambique, a newly acquired 2D seismic data set (MAD13) which clearly illustrates the tectonic setting and prospectivity of offshore western Madagascar is set…
Western Tanzania: The Lake Rukwa and Lake Nyasa Rifts
Independent explorer Heritage Oil focuses on regions which may have been overlooked and where it can participate as an early entrant. We look at its exploration efforts in two blocks…
The Great Sphinx of Egypt: Nature’s Shabby-Chic Trick?
There has long been a debate as to the true age of the Great Sphinx of Egypt. Some experts believe that an analysis of weathering and erosion can help fix…