North America

Sourcing an Oil Boom

Underlying an area approximately the size of France, the Bakken Formation oil reservoir keeps expanding into what has become North America’s hottest onshore oil play. While the recent U.S. Geological…

Western newfoundland geo-museum

Mantle rocks, ancient continental land masses, evidence of oceans far removed, and barely explored sedimentary basins await discovery on this enchanting island in eastern Canada. A museum is a place…

Jurassic Targets

While the first deep water wells in the Norwegian Sea failed to reach the Jurassic, significant data improvements may now make it possible to delineate Jurassic targets in deep grabens…

Prolific Miocene Trend Hurt by Blowout

Miocene deep water sands were the target for the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252, and it is probably from one of these sands that the blowout originates. The…

The Lofoten Islands

The Lofoten-Vesterålen region is one of the last unexplored provinces of the Norwegian Sea. It could hold 1.3 Bboe, but is a very environmentally sensitive area. Geological knowledge of the…

Faroe Islands: Success Near

For years the Faroe Islands have had to look on while their larger neighbours in north-west Europe have extracted untold riches in hydrocarbons from offshore acreage. Has their turn finally…

A Hot Spot in the Barents Sea

3D seismic in the Barents Sea reveal promising traps and convincing flat spots. As the twenty-first Norwegian licensing round approaches, the Barents Sea remains an area of high exploration interest…

Eagle Ford Shale

What started as a major shale gas play, the Eagle Ford Shale could be the sixth largest U.S. oilfield ever discovered and the largest in forty years. Like many of…

Andaman Basin

India’s Andaman Sea Basin is still considered frontier with respect to hydrocarbon exploration. Recent 2D seismic reprocessing has highlighted the potential of this area and has identified likely source, reservoir…

Western Canada’s First Oil Discovery

It took nearly a year for the cable-tool rig to reach a total depth of 427m. The Lineham No. 1 well had oil shows throughout the drilling process, and oil…

Western Florida: A new exploration frontier in the US Gulf of Mexico

A new perspective on rifting Long-offset seismic reflection data over the western Florida shelf and eastern Gulf of Mexico provide new insights into local geology, illuminate new exploration plays and…

Big Time for Small Companies

Although some major oil producers view the prospects offshore UK as too small for their attention, their exit leaves interesting opportunities for smaller companies. The recent 25th UK offshore Licensing…