North America

Subsurface bio-stimulated hydrogen

The quest for affordable, low-carbon hydrogen is far from over. While well-established techniques such as steam reforming and electrolysis exist, they come with significant drawbacks in terms of cost and…

The Koloma Enigma

The company describes itself as a technology-enabled explora­tion firm that leverages indus­try expertise, proprietary data, specialised exploration tools, and ad­vanced data analytics to facilitate large-scale natural hydrogen production. Backed by…

Sponge clasts in calciturbidites

At the recent IMAGE Conference in Houston, somebody told me that the Permian Basin in Texas is not only famous for its hydrocarbon resources, but also because the uplifted areas…

Finding big fields by detecting the smallest element

“We are changing the world of explo­ration,” says Denis Krysanov from He­ologic, when we meet on Teams. “I’m now planning on expanding Heologic’s operations in the United States,” he says.…

Decoding slip with tension gashes

Tenson gashes are fractures in rocks formed under ex­tensional stress, of­ten filled with minerals like quartz or calcite. These fea­tures are key kinematic indi­cators in structural geology, revealing fault slip…

Sometimes an old well is better than a fancy new one

While there is always press around he­lium discoveries, companies that are actually producing it often go unno­ticed. That doesn’t mean they don’t have interesting stories to tell. Ca­nadian-based Thor Helium,…

The tech powering the future of geothermal energy

Geothermal energy, once overshad­owed by other renewables, is entering a new era. Historically, its use depended on rare geological conditions: Underground heat, permeable rock, and natural water supplies — usually…

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.…

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…

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…