Fracture connectivity and power laws
It was about a year ago that I heard about a deep geothermal drilling project in Finland (St1 Deep Heat Project), during which a couple of 6 km deep wells…
Worldwide
The forgotten science
The perceived “talent crisis” in geology is a multifaceted issue rooted in historical, economic, and cultural shifts. In the mid-20th century, geology thrived. The post-war industrial boom and global demand…
The human touch in reservoir modelling
As our 30-minute conversation took place on a Tuesday morning in early September, three emails arrived in Bastian’s inbox. Three separate and unrelated enquiries from customers in Switzerland, Germany, and…
Subsurface noise, Issue 4, 2025
“SOMEONE EVEN CALLED ME TO ASK HOW I WAS” “People who have always worked offshore in the North Sea really don’t know how good they have it,” told a well…
The shrinking pool of large international E&P companies
The group of large international E&Ps has been steadily shrinking. Over the past five years, companies in the peer group, including Noble Energy, Marathon, and Hess, have been acquired. These…
Using horizontal drilling technology to permanently store radioactive waste
“We get that question a lot,” says Rod Baltzer, CEO of Deep Isolation, when he calls in from Dallas. “But no, oil and gas wells cannot be easily converted to…
Maybe there is silver lining, but does that mean there is an obvious upturn in marine seismic data acquisition?
This week, I read two very different articles about the state of the marine seismic business; one by Andrew McBarnet – columnist for EAGE’s First Break – and one by…
The age of snake oil
Keir’s famous poster portrays petroleum as an effective remedy for every conceivable want, highlighting how any product may be marketed with absurd false promises. For hype to be a successful…
Blurring the line between geology and reservoir engineering
How often has it happened that a dynamic simulation grid turns out to be not fit for purpose because something goes wrong – too fast a pressure build-up, too fast…
A return to energy realism
In today’s interconnected world, nothing of significance happens without insurance. While often associated with personal matters – such as driving a car, building a home, or securing health and life…
New study on global CO2 storage capacity met with fierce criticism
“Oh no! I’d better call the Porthos office to stop construction (of our CO2 injection project)! Apparently, we are injecting in unviable depths!”, wrote Joop de Kok from EBN in…
“I’m exceptionally bullish about the future”
“As an industry, we have come a long way. From drilling vertical wells to slanted wells, then using slotted liners in horizontal wells, via passive inflow strategies to now active…