A mystery
The upper Permian Zechstein of the UK Southern North Sea is experiencing a little revival these days. The main reason is that gas and some oil were discovered last year…
North West Europe
How subsurface data helped answer the question why flow testing results of a geothermal well disappointed
“Why would we need resistivity data if we are drilling for water”, some people argued when the Amstelland-01 geothermal exploration well was planned a couple of years ago. Now, almost…
A personal Petex
When I attended Petex for the first time, it must have been around 2010, I took it all for granted: the big booths, the enormous exhibition floor, the large number…
Why is so much subsurface technology coming from Norway?
First of all, a warning. I am not going to provide a well-researched answer to the question posed in the title. Instead, I intend to put forward a few recent…
Gravel and geothermal energy
It is well-known that Munich is benefiting from a favourable setting in terms of deep geothermal energy production. A little less well-known is that Munich also sits on a much…
Does Denmark really want onshore CO2 storage?
Less than a year ago, we published an article about what was supposed to be Europe’s first full-scale and commercial onshore CO2 storage project, aimed to be operational next year.…
Has Norway’s drive to find more gas in the Barents Sea paid off yet?
Fuelled by the gas crisis that unfolded in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegians voiced hopes that the Barents Sea was the place where additional gas resources were…
The geological record of a highly eruptive part of North Sea history
The Kveikje discovery in the Norwegian North Sea was proven with a play-opening well in 2022, discovering a significant hydrocarbon accumulation in shallow Eocene-aged remobilised sands and injectites. These strata…
Well to Watch: UK Block 48/8b Selene Prospect
A few days ago, Shell spudded the 48/8b-3 exploration well with the Valaris 123 jack-up to drill the Selene exploration well in the UK Southern North Sea gas basin. This…
386 blocks
It is 59 years since Norway announced the first round of hydrocarbon concessions for the Norwegian continental shelf. At that time, the offer included 278 blocks south of the 62nd…
Putting a stop on oil and gas licensing now compares to taking away a cake when most of it has already been eaten
British politicians used to be honorary guests when new oil fields were taken into production. That was how things worked in the past. A celebration of technological ingenuity, drilling deep…
The first high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage project in Europe
“We have a unique geothermal energy solution here”, says geologist Eva van der Voet from Ennatuurlijk Aardwarmte in Middenmeer, the Netherlands. “The complex of greenhouses we deliver energy to is…