Oil – and increasingly gas – on steroids
“We went from two to nineteen mudlogging units recently”, said a representative from Geolog at the IPTC Conference in Saudi Arabia this week. “It is obvious that things are picking…
Middle East
A tent and a rig
Looking out of the plane window when approaching Dammam, Saudi Arabia’s oil capital, the darkness of the desert is interrupted by star-shaped lights in places. I wondered what they were…
Are outcrops the key to unlock the CCUS potential in the Middle East?
The Middle East region is under the spotlight of the carbon-neutral worldwide ambition. COP28 was a testimony of the effort put by the regional energy powerhouses. What if the success…
Oil in the Dammam field overburden – lateral migration or an imperfect seal?
Next week, I’ll be attending the IPTC Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It made me look at the local geology of the area, only then to realise that Dammam is…
Ghawar keeps on going
In November last year, Aramco announced that it produced its first unconventional tight gas from the Ghawar South project, producing up to 300 mmscf/day of gas and 38 kbpd of…
Bid rounds in the Middle East and South Asia – the shop front is still open
As June is drawing to a close, the Middle East and South Asia region have a number of licensing rounds open, with three more offshore rounds anticipated during the year.…
Eocambrian outcrops and hydrocarbons in Southern Oman
The author took part in a 10-day industry field trip to study the Huqf and younger exposures in 2011, from which many outcrop photos are used to illustrate this article.…
New studies in the Levant Basin offshore Israel
The Israeli Ministry of Energy has been at the centre of these activities, both from a technology and analysis and interpretation perspective. It has also facilitated recent initiatives and research…
An Exposed Salt Dome
The salt exposed here consists of halites of the Ara Salt, which was deposited around 540 million years ago during the earliest Cambrian. The core of the dome, where the…
Mesopotamia – the Cradle of Civilization
Several thousand years ago, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, the rich and fertile soil of Mesopotamia gave birth to civilization. Today, deeply buried oil and gas reservoirs provide Mesopotamia…
Encouraging Exploration
In the barren landscape of the Syrian desert you may find an occasional drilling rig exploring for hydrocarbons. In the years to come several more rigs are expected to enter,…
Iraq: Targeting Giants in Kurdistan
Oil is flowing to the surface in several seeps within the license area, and nearby giant fields have been producing for decades. The well Tawke # 1 is certainly being…