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- Volume 25, Issue 10, 2007
First Break - Volume 25, Issue 10, 2007
Volume 25, Issue 10, 2007
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UK entering critical phase of its oil and gas history
The evolution of the mature UK Continental Shelf oil and gas province has reached an important crossroads, according to the 2007 Economic Report by Oil & Gas UK, the trading name for the new expanded UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA). We publish here some of the highlights. The UK continues to produce very large volumes of oil and gas from its continental shelf (UKCS). During 2006, some 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) were recovered, making a total of just over 36 billion boe over the last 40 years. These volumes satisfied the vast majority of domestic demand. In the case of oil, production contributed 588 million barrels (i.e. 96%) of the 615 million barrels consumed. For gas, 80 billion cubic metres (bcm) were produced, or 92% of the 87 bcm consumed; the remainder was met by imports.
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Cash rich, prospect hungry oil companies face challenging future
Authors J.S. Herold and H. LovegroveUS petroleum research company John S. Herold and UK-based Harrison Lovegrove, a global oil and gas corporate advisory firm, have collaborated again to create the 40th annual Global Upstream Performance Review (GUPR),* which focuses on the upstream investment performance of 228 energy companies. We reproduce here some salient points from the report’s abridged version. (By coincidence, both companies were subject of acquisitions last month, see news for details). Global economic expansion continued to boost petroleum demand while the world’s oil production capacity was constrained, partly by political factors, and its refining capacity was curtailed by maintenance needs or operational issues. The resulting higher prices fuelled a 16% jump in the average price per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) realized by the 228 companies in the Global Upstream Performance Review universe.
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Redefining what we mean by shared earth model
Authors D. Gawith and P. GutteridgeDavid Gawith and Pamela Gutteridge of Ikon Science* argue that a new generation of interactive and integrated earth models will revolutionize subsurface interpretation projects and reservoir management. There is an assumed ‘earth model’ implicit in the work of every subsurface discipline. Seismic interpretation, for instance, is guided by a constantly reviewed mental model. A flow simulation model is a numerical abstraction guided by the engineer’s feeling for the dynamic effects of geological features and rock properties. Sedimentologists and petrophysicists form a geological concept in order to make internally consistent interpretations of well data.
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Imaging hydraulic fracture zones from surface passive microseismic data
Authors V. Kochnev, I.V. Goz, V.S. Polyakov, I. Murtayev, V.G. Savin, B.K. Zommer and I.V. BryksinVladimir A. Kochnev, Ilya V. Goz, Vitaly S. Polyakov, Issa S. Murtayev, Vladimir G. Savin, Boris K. Zommer, and Ilya V. Bryksin provide some Russian examples of passive microseismic applications for imaging hydraulic fracture zones. Most of the current microseismic methods for hydraulic fracture imaging employ multi-level receiver systems deployed on a wireline array in one or more offset wellbores. A high frequency range (over 100 Hz) of receivers is required (Rutledge et al., 2003, Li et al., 1998, Block et al., 1994, Meadows et al., 1994). Locations of microseisms are calculated from the direction of arrived elastic waves and delays of S-waves from corresponding P-waves. To determine the direction of arrival of separate waves is not a trivial task, further complicated by a large numbers of microseismic events (microearthquakes). For robustness, multiple receiver locations are necessary.
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Geomechanics of faults: impacts on seismic imaging
Authors G. Couples, J. Ma, H. Lewis, P. Olden, J. Quijano, T. Fasae and R. MaguireGary Couples, Jingsheng Ma, Helen Lewis, Peter Olden, Juan Quijano, Tomi Fasae, and Rebecca Maguire, from Heriot-Watt Institute of Petroleum Engineering, describe several ways in which the role of rock deformation can affect the imaging and interpretation of faults. Seismic investigations represent one of the major means of characterizing the spatial variability of reservoirs. Maps may show several regions of distinctive seismic attributes within an interval; these can assist in resolving the depositional and diagenetic patterns of the reservoir, and in building constrained geomodels of the inter-well regions. The shape of the reservoir can be mapped, and the larger faults that disrupt it can be delineated in terms of their horizon intersections, and their displacements.
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Advanced history matching solutions: an integrated field case application
Authors M. Feraille, F. Roggero and L. ReisMathieu Feraille and Frederic Roggero of Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) and Leandro Reis of Petrobras (Petrobras) present an innovative integrated methodology for constraining 3D stochastic reservoir models to well data and production history. In this paper the proposed approach makes it possible to history match complex reservoir models in a consistent way by updating the entire simulation workflow. Advanced parameterization techniques are used to modify either the geostatistical model directly or the fluid flow simulation parameters in the same inversion loop.
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Integrated Operations: how Statoil is managing the challenge of change
Authors A. Henriquez, I. Fjaertoft, C. Johnsen, O. Yttredal and T. GabrielsenAdolfo Henriquez, Inger Fjærtoft, Camilla Johnsen, Olav Yttredal, and Thomas Gabrielsen describe the ongoing efforts by Statoil to institute the concept of Integrated Operations into its business and the management challenges involved in this process. At the beginning of July 2007, EAGE organized a very successful workshop on Integrated Operations (IO) in Stresa, Italy. More than 50 leading practitioners from oil companies, service and technology providers, and research institutions met to share and discuss experiences from the implementation of IO in different companies. A key lesson was that further progress for the industry depends on exchanging experiences and creating a common base on which to compete for new business opportunities. The first phase of implementation in various companies has been relatively easy; the next phase requires a common understanding not only in each company but across companies and across geographical boundaries. In that spirit, we are presenting some of our experiences regarding the management challenges we have tackled, and how this corresponds to the eight-step guide suggested by Kotter (Kotter, 1995).
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Near-surface gradients of rock quality, deformation modulus, Vp and Qp to 1 km depth
By N. BartonIn hard rock areas, the uppermost 50 m of the ground may consist of soil, weathered jointed rock, and increasingly sound, more massive rock as depth increases. From experience with seismic refraction work, it is well known that there are extreme seismic velocity gradients in this zone. This is so even if we discount the step increase in P-wave velocity, Vp, at the water table. There are many reasons for the rapid increases in velocity with depth. These include increased stresses, increased rock quality because less weathering has occurred, fewer open joints, less clay, and usually a reduced frequency of jointing.
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Wide angle converted shear wave analysis of a North Atlantic volcanic rifted continental margin: constraint on sub-basalt lithology
Authors J. Eccles, R.S. White, A.W. Robert and P.A.F. ChristieContinental break-up between Greenland and Europe in the early Tertiary was accompanied by the eruption of > 1 million km3 of basalt flows generated by decompression melting of the underlying, abnormally hot mantle of the proto-Iceland plume (White and McKenzie, 1989). Extrusion occurred extremely rapidly in two phases, an early pre-breakup phase between 62-58 Ma and a main syn-breakup phase from 56 to ~54 Ma (Saunders et al., 1997) with a high rate of magmatism continuing to the present time in Iceland. Lava produced during continental break-up flowed up to 150 km away from the rift across sedimentary basins while intrusion into the lower crust of large volumes of melt caused permanent crustal thickening and uplift across the continent-ocean transition (White et al., 1987). A profile across the NW European volcanic rifted continental margin close to the Faroe Islands was studied as part of a joint UK research council and industry sponsored project: integrated Seismic Imaging and Modelling of Margins (iSIMM, White et al., 2002).
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Volumes & issues
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Volume 42 (2024)
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Volume 41 (2023)
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Volume 40 (2022)
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Volume 39 (2021)
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Volume 38 (2020)
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Volume 37 (2019)
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Volume 36 (2018)
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Volume 35 (2017)
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Volume 34 (2016)
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Volume 33 (2015)
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Volume 32 (2014)
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Volume 31 (2013)
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Volume 30 (2012)
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Volume 29 (2011)
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Volume 28 (2010)
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Volume 27 (2009)
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Volume 26 (2008)
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Volume 25 (2007)
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Volume 24 (2006)
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Volume 23 (2005)
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Volume 22 (2004)
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Volume 21 (2003)
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Volume 20 (2002)
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Volume 19 (2001)
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Volume 18 (2000)
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Volume 17 (1999)
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Volume 16 (1998)
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Volume 15 (1997)
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Volume 14 (1996)
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Volume 13 (1995)
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Volume 12 (1994)
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Volume 11 (1993)
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Volume 10 (1992)
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Volume 9 (1991)
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Volume 8 (1990)
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Volume 7 (1989)
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Volume 6 (1988)
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Volume 5 (1987)
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Volume 4 (1986)
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Volume 3 (1985)
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Volume 2 (1984)
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Volume 1 (1983)