A PERSPECTIVE OF EXPLORATION FOR PETROLEUM

Geophysics ◽  
1940 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Rosaire
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
Capital Investments ◽  
Geophysical Prospecting ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
Geochemical Prospecting ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diminishing Returns ◽  
Local Geology

The first petroleum prospecting technique, based on the recognition of visible seeps of oil and gas, was rational and direct. The exhaustive application of megascopic geochemical prospecting led to diminishing returns, and a period of rule‐o’‐thumb prospecting ensued. Geological prospecting appeared on the scene, and, as a result, the anticlinal theory was evolved, to become a bone of contention for years within that profession. Eventually, however, the anticlinal theory was accepted by petroleum geologists, and so structural prospecting developed. The exhaustive application of structural prospecting by geological methods led to the discovery of many oil fields, but, eventually, diminishing returns ensued. A period of pessimism as to the nation’s reserve followed, as rule‐o’‐thumb prospecting became the only possible prospecting procedure. Geophysical prospecting appeared on the scene in 1923, and was successful in the solution of a highly specialized problem without reliance upon depth estimations. With the passage of time, geophysical prospecting took on a structural complexion, and with the development of the reflection seismograph, a renaissance in structural prospecting took place. The geophysical phase of structural prospecting opened the vast basins for prospecting, and so revolutionized exploration for petroleum. However, geological prospecting did not experience a similar renaissance. Structural prospecting, in both its geological and geophysical phases, has been a rational but indirect prospecting method. Outstandingly successful, its exhaustive application is leading to diminishing returns. However, it has imposed a specialization upon both geological and geophysical prospecting which has stifled the natural development of geochemical prospecting from geological prospecting, has directed geophysical prospecting into an unduly narrow path, and, in permitting prospecting to greater depths, has resulted in an impasse wherein its success involves capital investments with prohibitive payouts. Though tacitly neglected in the past, there exists a geochemistry of a petroleum deposit, depending primarily upon the effects of the slow effusion of hydrocarbons through the sedimentary environment of the petroleum deposit throughout geologic time. Geochemical prospecting depends upon the chemical and physical measurement of one or more of the geochemical manifestations of a petroleum deposit, and the interpretation of the resulting data in terms of the local geology. Since structure is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the accumulation of petroleum, geochemical prospecting is a rational and direct approach to exploration for petroleum, and in its turn will revolutionize prospecting to at least the extents that geological and geophysical prospecting did in the phases of structural prospecting which they initiated.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SURFACE INDICATIONS OF PETROLEUM

1971 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
C. P. Meakin
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Hydrocarbon Gases ◽  
Geochemical Prospecting ◽  
Petroleum Accumulation ◽  
Petroleum Field ◽  
Gaseous Hydrocarbons ◽  
Gas Seeps

Seeps are of interest to the petroleum geologist because:—they indicate a section capable of producing hydrocarbons, and very often are related to a petroleum accumulation, andmany of the Important oil-producing regions were discovered by surface indications of petroleum.There are five main types of seeps:- those emerging from homoclinal beds exposed at the surface; those associated with beds in which the oil was formed; those arising from definite large petroleum accumulations, either bared by erosion, or ruptured by faulting; those emerging at an unconformity; and those associated with intrusions. These types of seeps are associated with, and have led to the discovery of many major oil fields throughout the world.The reports of oil and gas seeps in Australia, however, are only meagre. This may be because:—of a lack of exploration and documentation,the basins are a type that do not have the conditions necessary to produce seeps,the seeps that do exist are unrecognized. For instance, even large gas seeps may pass unnoticed in dry areas,of a lack of petroleum.The detection of the gaseous hydrocarbons, methane, ethane, propane and the butanes, in soils by gas chromatography could aid petroleum exploration because:—it would enable the detection of gas seeps over a potential petroleum field that would otherwise remain undetected, andeven for small quantities of hydrocarbon gases, low ratios of methane to higher hydrocarbons indicate a petroliferous origin.This is the technique of geochemical prospecting. It is based on three assumptions:—It must be possible for the hydrocarbons to migrate to the surface.The concentration of migrating hydrocarbons should not be altered by chemical reaction, bacteria, or hydrocarbons derived from another source.An anomalous hydrocarbon concentration at the surface can be correlated with a petroleum deposit.A search of the literature shows that, on the whole, these assumptions are correct. It would therefore appear that geochemical prospecting, particularly when used in conjunction with geological and geophysical work, can be useful for locating petroleum deposits.

THE URBAN MIGRANT FUTURE DESIRE: A STUDY OF REVERSE MIGRATION IN MALAYSIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Nur Huzeima Mohd Hussain ◽  
Hugh Byrd ◽  
Nur Azfahani Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Peak Oil ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Reverse Migration ◽  
The Past ◽  
Urban Migrants ◽  
Urban Migrant ◽  
Oil Crisis

Globalisation combined with resources of oil and gas has led to an industrial society in Malaysia.  For the past 30 years, rapid urban growth has shifted from 73% rural to 73% urban population. However, the peak oil crisis and economic issues are threatening the growth of urbanisation and influencing the trends of population mobility. This paper documents the beginnings of a reverse migration (urban-to-rural) in Malaysia.  The method adopted case study that involves questionnaires with the urban migrants to establish the desires, definite intentions and reasons for future migration. Based on this data, it predicts a trend and rate of reverse migration in Malaysia. 

The Geologic Time Spiral - A Path to the Past

10.3133/gip58 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Graham ◽  
William Newman ◽  
John Stacy
Keyword(s):  
Geologic Time ◽  
The Past

Financing Energy Access in Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kayode Oniemola ◽  
Jane Ezirigwe
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Capital Investments ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Diesel Motors

To achieve universal energy access will attract huge capital investments. If sub-Saharan Africa is to realize anything close to the ambitious goals set for its energy access, then new actors, innovative funding mechanisms and sustainable technologies will have to be attracted. Finance is needed for activities such as rural electrification, clean cooking facilities, diesel motors and generators, other renewable energy technologies, oil and gas infrastructures, etc. Finance is also needed in research and development of suitable technologies and funding options as well as investment in the capacity to formulate and implement sound energy policies. This chapter examines the varied financing options for energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that with appropriate laws in place and effective mechanism for implementation, African countries can significantly engage private sector financing, international financial institutions and foreign donors. The role of the law here will be in creating an enabling environment for financing.

Did Ground Cover Change Over Geologic Time?

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben A. LePage ◽  
Hermann W. Pfefferkorn
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
The Other ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
The Past ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Plant Fossil

When one hears the term “ground cover,” one immediately thinks of “grasses.” This perception is so deep-seated that paleobotanists even have been overheard to proclaim that “there was no ground cover before grasses.” Today grasses are so predominant in many environments that this perception is perpetuated easily. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the absence or lack of ground cover prior to the mid-Tertiary. We tested the hypothesis that different forms of ground cover existed in the past against examples from the Recent and the fossil record (Table 1). The Recent data were obtained from a large number of sources including those in the ecological, horticultural, and microbiological literature. Other data were derived from our knowledge of Precambrian life, sedimentology and paleosols, and the plant fossil record, especially in situ floras and fossil “monocultures.” Some of the data are original observations, but many others are from the literature. A detailed account of these results will be presented elsewhere (Pfefferkorn and LePage, in preparation).

Waste Мanagement of Oil and Gas Fields

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
K.L. Chertes ◽  
O.V. Tupitsyna ◽  
V.N. Pystin ◽  
G.G. Gilaev ◽  
N.I. Shestakov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
Secondary Products ◽  
Large Capacity ◽  
Oil And Gas Fields ◽  
Gas Fields

The features of maintaining large-capacity waste from oil and gas fields that are suitable for recycling into secondary products are considered. A step-by-step system for selecting and justifying a waste is proposed taking into account the development of the deposit, its natural and manmade features, as well as the selected stages of operation. Pieces of technological schemes of waste preparation are given, as well as the design of the waste preparation complex for disposal constructed at one of the largest oil fields of the Samara region.

Technology Focus: Decarbonization (July 2021)

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (07) ◽  
pp. 64-64
Author(s):  
Nigel Jenvey
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technology Focus

Have you noticed the change in the oil and gas industry over the past year with its engagement in carbon management, decarbonization, and net-zero-emissions targets? Policy support and technology advances in alternative energies have delivered massive cost reduction in renewables more quickly, and to a greater degree, than expected. Over the past few years, more of the world’s capital has been spent on electricity than oil and gas sup-ply, and more than half of all new energy-generation capacity is now renewable. Some elements of society, therefore, have suggested that this is the beginning of the end for the fossil-fuel sector and call for investors to turn away from oil and gas and “leave it in the ground.” In more than a century of almost continuous change, however, the oil and gas industry has a long track record of innovative thinking, creative solutions, and different business models. SPE papers and events that covered decarbonization during the past year show that a wide variety of solutions already exist that avoid, reduce, replace, offset, or sequester greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is clear, therefore, that decarbonization technologies will now be as important as 4D seismic, horizontal wells, and hydraulic fracturing. That is why we now bring you this inaugural Technology Focus feature dedicated to decarbonization. The experience and capability of the entire JPT community in decarbonization is critical. Please enjoy the following summary of three selected papers on the role of natural gas in fuel-switching; carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS); and hydrogen technologies that deliver the dual challenge of providing more energy with less GHG emission. There are many ways to engage in the SPE decarbonization efforts in the remainder of 2021. Regional events have addressed CCUS, hydrogen, geothermal, and methane. There is also the new SPE Gaia sustainability program to enable and empower all members who wish to engage in the alignment of the future of energy with sustainable development. The Gaia program has an on-demand library of materials, including an existing series on methane, and upcoming similar events on other energy transition, natural capital and regeneration, and social responsibility priorities. Get involved through your SPE section or chapter or contact your regional Gaia liaison to find out what Gaia programming you can support or lead at www.spe.org/en/gaia.

Technology Focus: Offshore Facilities (September 2021)

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (09) ◽  
pp. 50-50
Author(s):  
Ardian Nengkoda
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Oil Price ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Past ◽  
Offshore Technology ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Oil ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

For this feature, I have had the pleasure of reviewing 122 papers submitted to SPE in the field of offshore facilities over the past year. Brent crude oil price finally has reached $75/bbl at the time of writing. So far, this oil price is the highest since before the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a good sign that demand is picking up. Oil and gas offshore projects also seem to be picking up; most offshore greenfield projects are dictated by economics and the price of oil. As predicted by some analysts, global oil consumption will continue to increase as the world’s economy recovers from the pandemic. A new trend has arisen, however, where, in addition to traditional economic screening, oil and gas investors look to environment, social, and governance considerations to value the prospects of a project and minimize financial risk from environmental and social issues. The oil price being around $75/bbl has not necessarily led to more-attractive offshore exploration and production (E&P) projects, even though the typical offshore breakeven price is in the range of $40–55/bbl. We must acknowledge the energy transition, while also acknowledging that oil and natural gas will continue to be essential to meeting the world’s energy needs for many years. At least five European oil and gas E&P companies have announced net-zero 2050 ambitions so far. According to Rystad Energy, continuous major investments in E&P still are needed to meet growing global oil and gas demand. For the past 2 years, the global investment in E&P project spending is limited to $200 billion, including offshore, so a situation might arise with reserve replacement becoming challenging while demand accelerates rapidly. Because of well productivity, operability challenges, and uncertainty, however, opening the choke valve or pipeline tap is not as easy as the public thinks, especially on aging facilities. On another note, the technology landscape is moving to emerging areas such as net-zero; decarbonization; carbon capture, use, and storage; renewables; hydrogen; novel geothermal solutions; and a circular carbon economy. Historically, however, the Offshore Technology Conference began proactively discussing renewables technology—such as wave, tidal, ocean thermal, and solar—in 1980. The remaining question, then, is how to balance the lack of capital expenditure spending during the pandemic and, to some extent, what the role of offshore is in the energy transition. Maximizing offshore oil and gas recovery is not enough anymore. In the short term, engaging the low-carbon energy transition as early as possible and leading efforts in decarbonization will become a strategic move. Leveraging our expertise in offshore infrastructure, supply chains, sea transportation, storage, and oil and gas market development to support low-carbon energy deployment in the energy transition will become vital. We have plenty of technical knowledge and skill to offer for offshore wind projects, for instance. The Hywind wind farm offshore Scotland is one example of a project that is using the same spar technology as typical offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Innovation, optimization, effective use of capital and operational expenditures, more-affordable offshore technology, and excellent project management, no doubt, also will become a new normal offshore. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 202911 - Harnessing Benefits of Integrated Asset Modeling for Bottleneck Management of Large Offshore Facilities in the Matured Giant Oil Field by Yukito Nomura, ADNOC, et al. OTC 30970 - Optimizing Deepwater Rig Operations With Advanced Remotely Operated Vehicle Technology by Bernard McCoy Jr., TechnipFMC, et al. OTC 31089 - From Basic Engineering to Ramp-Up: The New Successful Execution Approach for Commissioning in Brazil by Paulino Bruno Santos, Petrobras, et al.

Pipeline Dent Management Program

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Ironside ◽  
L. Blair Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
The Past

Enbridge Pipelines Inc. operates the world’s longest and most complex liquids pipeline network. As part of Enbridge’s Integrity Management Program In-Line Inspections have been and will continue to be conducted on more than 15,000 km of pipeline. The Inspection Programs have included using the most technologically advanced geometry tools in the world to detect geometrical discontinuities such as ovality, dents, and buckles. During the past number of years, Enbridge Pipelines Inc. has been involved in developing a method of evaluating the suitability of dents in pipelines for continued service. The majority of the work involved the development of a method of modeling the stresses within a dent using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The development and validation of this model was completed by Fleet Technology Limited (FTL) through several projects sponsored by Enbridge, which included field trials and comparisons to previously published data. This model combined with proven fracture mechanics theory provides a method of determining a predicted life of a dent based on either the past or future operating conditions of the pipeline. CSA Standard Z662 – Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems provides criteria for the acceptability of dents for continued service. There have been occurrences, however, where dents that meet the CSA acceptability criteria have experienced failure. The dent model is being used to help define shape characteristics in addition to dent depth, the only shape factor considered by CSA, which contribute to dent failure. The dent model has also been utilized to validate the accuracy of current In-Line Inspection techniques. Typically a dent will lose some of its shape as the overburden is lifted from the pipeline and after the indentor is removed. Often there can be a dramatic “re-rounding” that will occur. The work included comparing the re-rounded dent shapes from a Finite Element model simulating the removal of the constraint on the pipe to the measured dent profile from a mold of the dent taken in the field after it has been excavated. This provided a measure of the accuracy of the tool. This paper will provide an overview of Enbridge’s dent management program, a description of the dent selection process for the excavation program, and a detailed review of the ILI validation work.

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