North West Europe Archives

North West Europe

Recent study points at North Sea being the highest global emitter of methane from abandoned wells – but is that true?

In a study recently published in National Science Review (NSR), the North Sea appears to be the basin that is home to the largest emitters of methane from abandoned oil and gas wells. This has already raised eyebrows with journalists, and calls into…

Henk Kombrink

July 1, 2025

Keeping geoscientists busy

Geoscientists can go too far in the relentless pursuit to de-risk all elements that could cause a CO2 store to leak. At least, that is my take based on listening to a presentation by a member of the Endurance Partnership…

Henk Kombrink

June 26, 2025

Why data obtained by legacy gas wells are not always a good indicator for assessing geothermal potential

The Upper Permian Rotliegend sandstone in the Netherlands is a very well-explored reservoir. That is because a lot of gas fields are reservoired in this aeolian and fluvial succession that attains thicknesses up to 300 m in places. But the…

Henk Kombrink

June 20, 2025

Has the Aarhus geothermal project become a little less geothermal than initially planned?

In a recent statement on LinkedIn, geothermal exploration and development company Innargi announced that its flagship project in Aarhus, Denmark, will be developed differently from what was originally foreseen. Where the idea was to build seven production facilities with associated…

Henk Kombrink

June 12, 2025

Making small pools work

Despite there still being major uncertainties for operators on the UK Continental Shelf, as Niall McLean from Brodies Solicitors clearly explained in his talk about the Finch ruling, when talking to people during coffee breaks at the recent Devex Conference,…

Henk Kombrink

May 30, 2025

“We’re in this weird time of pre-AI and post-AI”

A few months ago, I published some thoughts on how Norway has proven to be such a hotspot when it comes to new subsurface technology. Dan Austin, who has been in Norway for quite a few years, got in touch…

Henk Kombrink

March 21, 2025

The presence of oil and gas at a geothermal conference

“I work on gas installations, but I have come to this conference to network, as so many people from the sector are here,” somebody tells me at the lunch table when I get into a conversation. Another company I speak…

Henk Kombrink

February 24, 2025

Picking prospects: Exploring the Orchard Platform’s Haupt Dolomite play

The UK mid North Sea High (MNSH) can be considered as one of the least explored hydrocarbon provinces on the UK Continental Shelf. Early drilling campaigns targeted pre-Permian structures, with the Z2 Haupt Dolomite only regarded as a secondary reservoir…

Peter Browning-Stamp and Carlo Caldarelli, Horizon Energy Partners

February 5, 2025

Less oil, more water

It is something that I am not often exposed to, but that does not mean it is unimportant – produced water. The SPE Aberdeen section organized a panel discussion around the challenges of produced water yesterday, during which five experts…

Henk Kombrink

January 23, 2025

Finding the right store for CO₂ can lead to very different outcomes

It happens quite regularly that people’s surname seem to be closely linked to the profession they operate in. This certainly applies to Alexander Bump from the University of Texas in Austin. Even when he wasn’t really advocating for storing CO2…

Henk Kombrink

December 19, 2024

Northern North Sea: A decade of seismic acquisition and exploration success

Figure 1. Discoveries within the NVG surveys from 2018 – 2024. Source: Viridien. In this article, we go back more than ten years to 2013, when the area west and north of the giant Troll field experienced a sudden spike…

Henk Kombrink

December 18, 2024

No licensing round for seabed minerals in Norway next year

On Sunday 1 December, the results of the national budget negotiations were presented. The Socialist Left Party won approval to stop the upcoming licensing round for seabed minerals. It was originally expected that the first licenses would be awarded to…

Ronny Setså

December 2, 2024

The global energy sector from a subsurface perspective