Basin Analog Investigations Answer Characterization Challenges of Unconventional Gas Potential in Frontier Basins

Author(s):  
Kalwant Singh ◽  
Stephen A. Holditch ◽  
Walter B. Ayers

To meet the global energy demand of the coming decades, the energy industry will need creative thinking that leads to the development of new energy sources. Unconventional gas resources, especially those in frontier basins, will play an important role in fulfilling future world energy needs. To develop unconventional gas resources, we must first identify their occurrences and quantify their potential. Basin analog assessment is a technique that can be used to rapidly and inexpensively identify and quantify potential unconventional gas resources. We have developed a basin analog methodology that is useful for rapidly and consistently evaluating the unconventional hydrocarbon resource potential in exploratory basins. The center of this approach is computer software, Basin Analog Systems Investigation (BASIN), which is used to identify analog basins. This software is linked to a database that includes geologic and petroleum systems information from intensely studied North America basins that contain well characterized conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources. To test BASIN, we selected 25 basins in North America that have a history of producing unconventional gas resources and began populating the database with critical data from these basins. These North American basins are “reference” basins that will be used to predict resources in other North American or international “target” or exploratory basins. The software identifies and numerically ranks reference basins that are most analogous to the target basin for the primary purpose of evaluating the potential unconventional resources in the target basin. We validated the software to demonstrate that it functions correctly, and we tested the validity of the process and the database. Accuracy of the results depends on the level of detail in the descriptions of geologic and petroleum systems. Finding a reference basin that is analogous to a frontier basin may provide critical insights into the frontier basin. Our method will help predict the unconventional hydrocarbon resource potential of frontier basins, guide exploration strategies, provide insights to reservoir characteristics, and help engineers make preliminary decisions concerning the best practices for drilling, completion, stimulation and production.

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalwant Singh ◽  
Stephen A. Holditch ◽  
Walter B. Ayers

To meet future global oil and gas demands, the energy industry will need creative thinking that leads to the discovery and development of new fields. Unconventional gas resources, especially those in frontier (exploratory) basins, will play an important role in fulfilling future energy needs. To develop unconventional gas resources, we must first identify their occurrences and quantify their potential. Basin analog systems investigation (BASIN) is a computer software that can rapidly and inexpensively evaluate the unconventional gas resource potential of frontier basins. BASIN is linked to a database that includes petroleum systems and reservoir properties data from 25 intensely studied North American “reference” basins that have both conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources. To use BASIN, limited data from a frontier or “target” basin are used to query the database of North American reference basins and rank these reference basins as potential analogs to the frontier basin. Based on analog comparisons, we can predict unconventional gas resources and make preliminary engineering decisions concerning resource development and the best drilling, completion, stimulation, and production practices to use in the frontier basin. Initial software validation shows consistent results. If a basin is selected as the target basin while the same basin is also in the reference basin list, the results show that the basin is a 100% analog to itself. Other basins in the reference basin list are less than 100% analogs. Also, BASIN performed favorably when it was tested against analog basin decisions made by of a team of industry experts. BASIN rapidly and inexpensively identifies and ranks reference basins as analogs to a frontier basin, providing insights to potential gas resources and indicating the preliminary best engineering practice for resource development. It is an effective tool that provides guidance to inexperienced professionals and new perceptions for seasoned experts.


2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.M. Carlsen ◽  
K. Ameed R. Ghori

There are more than 131 giant and super-giant oil and gas fields with Palaeozoic source and reservoir that are similar to the Canning Basin. These include Palaeozoic basins of North America, North Africa, and the North Caspian Basin of Kazakhstan and Russia.The productivity of these Palaeozoic petroleum systems depends on timing of generation and preservation of charge. Thick Ordovician, Permian, and Triassic evaporite deposits played a very important role in creating and preserving the North American, north Caspian, and north African giant oil and gas fields, respectively.The Mesozoic–Tertiary charged Palaeozoic systems are typically more productive than the Palaeozoic charged systems as exemplified by the north African basins.The Ordovician sourced and reservoired giant oil fields of the North American Mid-Continent are also highly productive. Within the Canning Basin, Ordovician sourced oil has been recovered on the Barbwire Terrace (in Dodonea–1, Percival–1 and Solanum–1) on the Dampier Terrace (in Edgar Range–1 and Pictor–1) and along the Admiral Bay Fault Zone (in Cudalgarra–1, Great Sandy–1, and Leo–1).The Canning Basin may be the least explored of the known Palaeozoic basins with proven petroleum systems. The Palaeozoic basins of North America are the most explored with 500-wells/10,000 km2 compared to the Canning Basin with only 4-wells/10,000 km2.The presence of five oil fields, numerous oil and gas shows and the well density in the Canning Basin (200 wells in 530,000 km2) suggests that further exploration is warranted. Critical analysis of the distribution of source rock, reservoir, seal, timing of generation versus trap formation and post accumulation modification for each tectonic unit of the Canning Basin is required.


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1151-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Dusabenyagasani ◽  
G Laflamme ◽  
R C Hamelin

We detected nucleotide polymorphisms within the genus Gremmeniella in DNA sequences of β-tubulin, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, and mitochondrial small subunit rRNA (mtSSU rRNA) genes. A group-I intron was present in strains originating from fir (Abies spp.) in the mtSSU rRNA locus. This intron in the mtSSU rRNA locus of strains isolated from Abies sachalinensis (Fridr. Schmidt) M.T. Mast in Asia was also found in strains isolated from Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. in North America. Phylogenetic analyses yielded trees that grouped strains by host of origin with strong branch support. Asian strains of Gremmeniella abietina (Lagerberg) Morelet var. abietina isolated from fir (A. sachalinensis) were more closely related to G. abietina var. balsamea from North America, which is found on spruce (Picea spp.) and balsam fir, and European and North American races of G. abietina var. abietina from pines (Pinus spp.) were distantly related. Likewise, North American isolates of Gremmeniella laricina (Ettinger) O. Petrini, L.E. Petrini, G. Laflamme, & G.B. Ouellette, a pathogen of larch, was more closely related to G. laricina from Europe than to G. abietina var. abietina from North America. These data suggest that host specialization might have been the leading evolutionary force shaping Gremmeniella spp., with geographic separation acting as a secondary factor.Key words: Gremmeniella, geographic separation, host specialization, mitochondrial rRNA, nuclear genes.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278
Author(s):  
Michael Glenn O’Connor ◽  
Amjad Horani ◽  
Adam J. Shapiro

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, under-recognized disease that affects respiratory ciliary function, resulting in chronic oto-sino-pulmonary disease. The PCD clinical phenotype overlaps with other common respiratory conditions and no single diagnostic test detects all forms of PCD. In 2018, PCD experts collaborated with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to create a clinical diagnostic guideline for patients across North America, specifically considering the local resources and limitations for PCD diagnosis in the United States and Canada. Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) testing is recommended for first-line testing in patients ≥5 years old with a compatible clinical phenotype; however, all low nNO values require confirmation with genetic testing or ciliary electron micrograph (EM) analysis. Furthermore, these guidelines recognize that not all North American patients have access to nNO testing and isolated genetic testing is appropriate in cases with strong clinical PCD phenotypes. For unresolved diagnostic cases, referral to a PCD Foundation accredited center is recommended. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide insight on the North American PCD diagnostic process, to enhance the understanding of and adherence to current guidelines, and to promote collaboration with diagnostic pathways used outside of North America.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1033
Author(s):  
Lloyd C. Irland ◽  
John Hagan

Why have a special issue on North American options for reducing national CO2 footprints through forest management [...]


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 751
Author(s):  
Francesco Dovana ◽  
Paolo Gonthier ◽  
Matteo Garbelotto

Phlebiopsis gigantea (Fr.) Jülich is a well-known generalist conifer wood saprobe and a biocontrol fungus used in several world countries to prevent stump infection by tree pathogenic Heterobasidion fungal species. Previous studies have reported the presence of regional and continental genetic differentiation in host-specific fungi, but the presence of such differentiation for generalist wood saprobes such as P. gigantea has not been often studied or demonstrated. Additionally, little information exists on the distribution of this fungus in western North America. The main purposes of this study were: (I) to assess the presence of P. gigantea in California, (II) to explore the genetic variability of P. gigantea at the intra and inter-continental levels and (III) to analyze the phylogeographic relationships between American and European populations. Seven loci (nrITS, ML5–ML6, ATP6, RPB1, RPB2, GPD and TEF1-α) from 26 isolates of P. gigantea from coniferous forests in diverse geographic distribution and from different hosts were analyzed in this study together with 45 GenBank sequences. One hundred seventy-four new sequences were generated using either universal or specific primers designed in this study. The mitochondrial ML5–ML6 DNA and ATP6 regions were highly conserved and did not show differences between any of the isolates. Conversely, DNA sequences from the ITS, RPB1, RPB2, GPD and TEF1-α loci were variable among samples. Maximum likelihood analysis of GPD and TEF1-α strongly supported the presences of two different subgroups within the species but without congruence or geographic partition, suggesting the presence of retained ancestral polymorphisms. RPB1 and RPB2 sequences separated European isolates from American ones, while the GPD locus separated western North American samples from eastern North American ones. This study reports the presence of P. gigantea in California for the first time using DNA-based confirmation and identifies two older genetically distinct subspecific groups, as well as three genetically differentiated lineages within the species: one from Europe, one from eastern North America and one from California, with the latter presumably including individuals from the rest of western North America. The genetic differentiation identified here among P. gigantea individuals from coniferous forests from different world regions indicates that European isolates of this fungus should not be used in North America (or vice versa), and, likewise, commercially available eastern North American P. gigantea isolates should not be used in western North America forests. The reported lack of host specificity of P. gigantea was documented by the field survey and further reinforces the need to only use local isolates of this biocontrol fungus, given that genetically distinct exotic genotypes of a broad generalist microbe may easily spread and permanently alter the microbial biodiversity of native forest ecosystems.


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