Petroleum Exploration A Quantitative Introduction

This book is about exploration for oil and gas and focuses particularly on seismic exploration in the hunt for hydrocarbons. The first part, "The Hunt for Hydrocarbons," gives general background informa tion, with an introductory chapter on the beginnings of the oil business followed by three chapters that in clude elements of petroleum geology, geophysical methods, and drilling and logging. The second part, "Seismic Exploration for Hydrocarbons," consists of two chapters that describe rudiments of the seismic method and velocity measurements; two chapters dis cussing theory based on wave propagation and the convolutional model; and a chapter devoted to each of the three phases of seismic exploration: acquisi tion, processing, and interpretation. I have concen trated on seismic exploration because most of the oil and gas that has been found has been located by this method, and it is the only method that has the poten tial for the increased precision needed in what Hal bouty (1982) calls "the deliberate search for the subtle trap. " In contrast to elementary and introductory books that present the seismic method superficially and qualitatively, this book develops the method quanti tatively, using only elementary mathematics (algebra and trigonometry), so that readers should be able to do things afterwards that they couldn't do before, and thereby get a deeper appreciation of the business of hunting for hydrocarbons. The book also probes into some sophisticated topics that wouldn't be mentioned IX x use in short courses at a variety of levels.

This book is about exploration for oil and gas and focuses particularly on seismic exploration in the hunt for hydrocarbons. The first part, "The Hunt for Hydrocarbons," gives general background informa tion, with an introductory chapter on the beginnings of the oil business followed by three chapters that in clude elements of petroleum geology, geophysical methods, and drilling and logging. The second part, "Seismic Exploration for Hydrocarbons," consists of two chapters that describe rudiments of the seismic method and velocity measurements; two chapters dis cussing theory based on wave propagation and the convolutional model; and a chapter devoted to each of the three phases of seismic exploration: acquisi tion, processing, and interpretation. I have concen trated on seismic exploration because most of the oil and gas that has been found has been located by this method, and it is the only method that has the poten tial for the increased precision needed in what Hal bouty (1982) calls "the deliberate search for the subtle trap. " In contrast to elementary and introductory books that present the seismic method superficially and qualitatively, this book develops the method quanti tatively, using only elementary mathematics (algebra and trigonometry), so that readers should be able to do things afterwards that they couldn't do before, and thereby get a deeper appreciation of the business of hunting for hydrocarbons. The book also probes into some sophisticated topics that wouldn't be mentioned IX x use in short courses at a variety of levels.

This book is an introduction to oil and gas designed to be both accessible to absolute beginners who know nothing about the subject, and at the same time interesting to people who work in one area (such as drilling or seismic exploration) and would like to know about other areas (such as production offshore, or how oil and gas were formed, or what can go wrong). It begins by discussing oil and gas in the broader context of human society, and goes on to examine what they consist of, how and where they were formed, how we find them, how we drill for them and how we measure them. It describes production onshore and offshore, and examines in detail some instructive mishaps, including some that are well known, such as Deepwater Horizon and Piper Alpha, and other lesser known incidents. It looks at recent developments, such as shale oil, and concludes with some speculation about the future. It includes many references for readers who would like to read further. Mathematical content is minimal.

Unconventional Petroleum Geology, Second Edition presents the latest research results of global conventional and unconventional petroleum exploration and production. The first part covers the basics of unconventional petroleum geology, its introduction, concept of unconventional petroleum geology, unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, and the origin and distribution of unconventional oil and gas. The second part is focused on unconventional petroleum development technologies, including a series of technologies on resource assessment, lab analysis, geophysical interpretation, and drilling and completion. The third and final section features case studies of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, including tight oil and gas, shale oil and gas, coal bed methane, heavy oil, gas hydrates, and oil and gas in volcanic and metamorphic rocks. Provides an up-to-date, systematic, and comprehensive overview of all unconventional hydrocarbons Reorganizes and updates more than half of the first edition content, including four new chapters Includes a glossary on unconventional petroleum types, including tight-sandstone oil and gas, coal-bed gas, shale gas, oil and gas in fissure-cave-type carbonate rocks, in volcanic reservoirs, and in metamorphic rocks, heavy crude oil and natural bitumen, and gas hydrates Presents new theories, new methods, new technologies, and new management methods, helping to meet the demands of technology development and production requirements in unconventional plays