North America

From Trickle to Gusher: The Bakken Oil Story

Discovered in the 1950s, North Dakota’s Bakken Formation oil production was just 1,500 bpd in 2004. Today, it exceeds 440,000 bpd and is expected to be 700,000 bpd within the…

The Wonders of Yellowstone

The world’s first national park established a new concept in preservation and protection of special areas for future generations. Now, 140 years later, millions have benefited from the founder’s foresight…

How can we explore the Russian Arctic Shelf?

The Arctic is often referred to as ‘the next global frontier’ – but is it possible to explore at reasonable cost? Western oil and gas technical journals as well as…

Tight Oil Plays

Horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing technologies that have enabled companies to unlock large amounts of gas from shaley source rocks are now targeting similar rocks for oil and gas liquids.…

Malaysia: Two Gas Discoveries

At the tail end of 2011 Petronas, the state oil company of Malaysia, announced the success of an offshore well in moderately deep waters in Block SK316, about 100 km…

Persia Land of Black Gold

Iran holds about a tenth of the world’s proven reserves of oil and 16% of the gas, and is the fifth largest oil exporter. Here we review the country’s oil…

EGI: Celebrating 40 Years

EGI, the Energy & Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, is celebrating 40 years of global research and scientific collaboration. It is the world’s largest…

Mozambique: 2nd Giant Discovery in Block

As reported in GEO ExPro Vol.8, No. 6, exploration in the Mozambique’s deepwater Offshore Area 4 looks to be following the trend set by drilling in Area 1 to its…

Is There Oil Offshore East Africa?

There is definitely gas – but do the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean also hold promising oil reserves? The emergence of East Africa as a petroleum province has been…

The Many Lives of Belridge

Nearly declared dead by its owners only eight years after discovery, new technologies introduced over the past century allowed Southern California’s Belridge Field to grow into a prolific oil producer.…

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

The recent Bath Discoveries Conference was devised as a celebration of the 30th birthday of the Geological Society of London’s Petroleum Group. The opportunity to celebrate such an auspicious occasion…