North America

Hydrocarbon Exploration Suriname: Perseverance Rewarded

Perseverance pays off; following two high-profile, high-cost dry holes drilled in Suriname, Apache hit their third consecutive major condensate-light oil discovery on Block 58.   Map showing location of the…

Oil and Gas Exploration Challenges in South East Asia

South East Asian oil and gas explorers started 2020 with new licensing rounds and extensive exploration drilling and seismic programmes planned but the current economically challenging conditions created by Covid-19…

Australia: Offshore Wildcat Spuds

BP’s much-anticipated Ironbark-1 offshore wildcat was finally spudded at the end of October 2020 offshore the North West Shelf of Australia. Map showing the location of the Ironbark-1 well offshore…

Potential Impactful Hydrocarbon Discoveries West of Shetland

Underexplored West of Shetland has potential for big oil and gas discoveries in newly awarded UK licensing round. The recently concluded 32nd offshore licensing round in the United Kingdom has…

The Elusive Deepwater Gippsland Gas Prize

ExxonMobil have recently completed a three-well drilling campaign on VIC/P70 offshore Gippsland Basin, south-east Australia.   Location of the Sculpin-1 well. ExxonMobil have recently completed a three-well drilling campaign on…

Update on the Deepwater Luiperd-1 Well, Offshore South Africa

Total, with partners Africa Energy, Qatar Petroleum and CNR, have returned to the deepwater Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin, offshore South Africa, to spud the Luiperd-1 well. Location off…

Norway Surprises with 25th Oil and Gas Licensing Round

Norway surprised many observers in June by announcing plans for a licensing round that signalled a major expansion of the availability of areas for oil exploration in the Norwegian sector…

Cinder Cone or Mud Volcano?

A triangular feature identified in modern seismic on the Papuan Plateau went ‘viral’ on social media amongst the geoscience community as geoscientists from all over the world debated their theories…

Latin America Leads the Way with FSPO Developments

South America’s upcoming floater projects could help sustain fabrication yards that are struggling to keep their doors open, with FPSO developments driven by Brazil and Guyana. While the rest of…

Calculating Fluid Saturation in Unconventional Reservoirs

A new way to accurately model and calculate true moveable fluid phase saturation in unconventional, organic-rich shale reservoirs. New and greatly improved technologies in drilling, hydraulic fracturing and imaging have…

Locating Sweet Spots: Shale Petroleum Systems

Petroleum system analysis has been a major tool in petroleum geoscience and exploration – but can it help locate shale ‘sweet spots’ and thus increase production, reduce risk and minimize…