Australia: Santos Building Reserves
Although not tested, Santos has claimed its Lasseter 1 wildcat in WA-274-P in the Browse Basin off Western Australia as a significant gas/condensate discovery. The well, located in 404m of water, was targeting…
North America
Argentina: Significant Reserves Below Las Mesetas
YPF has made what it describes as the largest conventional gas/condensate discovery in the province of Santa Cruz in the last 20 years by drilling beneath already mature formations in…
Quantifying Reservoir Performance for Deepwater Slope Channel Deposits
Turbidite slope channel deposits pose many challenges during exploration and development planning. Spectacular exposures in southern Chile provide useful insights in predicting sandstone distribution and connectivity in these complex reservoirs.…
Induced Earthquake Hazards Finally Addressed
The US Geological Survey just published their first seismic hazard forecast to include both induced (human-caused) and natural earthquakes, identifying populated areas in the centre of the US that could…
A World of Opportunity?
Regional screening for unconventional resources: geological techniques to locate new opportunities. The success of shale gas and shale oil exploitation in North America in plays such as the Bakken, Eagle…
EUR Per Well Heading Upwards
Well performance in North American shales has improved significantly. The United States and Canada have been driving global shale production. Out of the 15.6 MMboepd produced from shale last year,…
On Shaky Ground Induced Earthquakes
Over the last decade, certain oil and gas producing areas have come alive, experiencing an escalating number of felt earthquakes, some even large enough to cause property damage. Most people…
The East Shetland Platform and Mid North Sea High
An introduction to the Devonian-Paleogene prospectivity of the key areas of interest for the UKCS 29th Frontier Licensing Round. The East Shetland Platform (ESP) and Mid North Sea High (MNSH)…
Beyond Sight of Land
Oil exploration moved from the land to the sea only a few years after Titusville. Here we take a look at how offshore oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico…
A Cleaner Future for Heavy Oil Extraction
Climate change has raised questions about the future of carbon-intensive industries, including the development of unconventional oil reserves. But emerging technology from Canada is proving that heavy oil extraction can…
Identifying Potential Oil Zones in Tight Reservoirs
Low-cost epifluorescence microscope techniques have delineated a prospective, relatively untested oil-prone fairway in the Cane Creek shale play, Paradox Basin, Utah. When it comes to liquid-rich shale production and potential,…
Mediterranean Carbonate Potential: Lessons from Existing Discoveries
The opening of new areas and the changing regional political and economic situation, together with innovative technologies, new seismic data and improved imaging, have revitalised exploration activity in the Central…