Application of Sturctural Geology to Petroleum Engineering

Offshore drilling has become an essential part of today’s oil production and demand for energy. With the growth of population comes the increasing demand for oil. The oil industry today, is one of the most used providers of energy. Today in the 20th century the majority of the population in

The company employs numerous petroleum engineers who examine geological samples to determine if there are oil & gas properties to be developed and produced around the world. They concentrate their efforts in areas that are known hot spots and actively search for new areas around the world as they try to gain a first mover advantage in a new oil region. They strive to operate successfully through strong leadership, talented employees, and cutting edge technology, as well as working collaboratively with their stakeholders (Nexen).

To optimise the processes of drilling, refining and transporting its products, Saudi Aramco has employed over 500 scientists and engineers that specialise in different aspects of the hydrocarbon industry (Saudi Aramco 75th Anniversary, 2008).

APACHE CORPORATION – PART I OIL & GAS EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS University of Houston - Victoria Ngan Tran – 1211564 MGMT 6359 10/12/2014 1.1 General Environmental Analysis 1.1.1 Demographic Segment The age demographic segment of oil and gas industry is normally people in their late 40s and early 50s. There is also a group of neophytes but there are very few people with ages between the two groups. Also, most of the people in this industry are highly specialty engineers with experience and skills to make important decision about drilling. There are also other specialty people in the business sides to vision and plan the competitive strategies to compete with other companies.

After scientists have tested the oil and the rocks, oil companies will begin drilling in the wells and rock samples will be brought to the surface. After the scientists have studied the rock samples from above ground and are convinced that they have found the right type of rock, companies begin drilling production wells. “When the wells first hit the reservoir, some of the oil begins coming to the surface immediately” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). However, with today’s technology, oil companies are able to install special equipment to help the oil from spurting hundreds and hundreds of feet from the ground.

September 5, 1927 marked a turning point in the history of oil exploration. Before then, to assess the composition of subsurface rocks to find oil pay-zones, scientists had to rely on core samples brought up from boreholes. These were highly unreliable and drilling companies frequently missed oil zones. Conrad Schlumberger had the idea of running an electrical probe into the drilled borehole to measure resistivity through the formation. This first log taken in the Alsace region of France was a simple hand-plotted graph, but it effectively aided engineers to “view” what was inside the

Benefits of Oil Drilling I am very intrigued by the oil drilling industry. I really hadn’t put much thought into the industry until around three years ago. Since then I have seen many arguments on the pros and cons of drilling for oil either offshore or inland. Some

Eagle Ford Shale Play Introduction Since the beginning of the oilfield in the United States, Texas has been one of the leading states in this industry. In 1866, Lyne T. Barret drilled the first producing oil well at Melrose in Nacogdoches County [7]. From here, more wells were brought in, but the big Texas oil revolution began at a well-called Lucas No. 1. It was here, In Spindle top, Beaumont, where Capt. Anthony F. Lucas drilled the well that would produce 94 percent of the state’s production at the time and produce more than 17 million barrels of oil [7]. Now, 114 years later, Texas has given up another oil field play that will revolutionize the industry. This play is named Eagle Ford Shale. Figure 1 shows where the shale outcrops

Offshore oil drilling is a controversial topic because when oil spills, it does extensive amounts of damage to the environment. Countries capable of mining oil in the ocean reap the economic benefits in addition to reducing their dependency on external oil. While it is uncontroversial that offshore drilling is a

The purpose of this paper is to explain the depositional environment, petrology, mineralogy, structure, exploration, technology, methods of extraction and processing, as well as the applications and economics of oil in the Greater Green River Basin. This paper will mainly focus on the oil shale within the basin but will also touch on some of the more conventional oil and gas plays as well. According to Crawford and Killen (2010), Oil Shale is defined as being “a sedimentary rock embedded with organic material called kerogen… and has not been under the necessary heat, pressure, and/or depth for the right length of time to form crude oil”. Oil shale is typically found in silica and carbonate based rocks that are usually no greater than 900

Oil is a very important fossil fuel that is used for various sources of energy. Oil supplies power to industries, fuel for transportation, heat for buildings, and provides raw material for plastics, paints, textiles, and other materials (hybrid cars). To access this fossil fuel, oil drilling is used. Land-based oil drilling became less productive and as the global stipulation for energy increased, technology, law, and geology impacts stepped in and pushed the exploration of oil away from shores (CITE). With its historical background, offshore oil drilling is one of the most important aspects of today’s economy although we are faced with its risks and consequences, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion of the Gulf of Mexico.

A petroleum system is a system that includes a pod of some active source rock with their very nature genetically related to build up and accumulation of oil and gas. Petroleum system includes geological elements, as well as the processes, which are crucial and essential for the existence of oil and gas accumulation. Petroleum is a compound that is made up of high concentrations of biological and thermal hydrocarbon gaseous components that are contained in conventional reservoirs, tight reservoirs, fractured shale, gas hydrates, as well as coal. It also includes high concentrations of condensates, crude oils, and natural bitumen in the reservoirs, and generally in carbonate and siliciclastic rocks. In this view, we may describe a system as an interdependence of elements as well as processes, which form the very functional unit that gives rise to the hydrocarbon accumulations (Mancini, Parcell, Puckett, & Benson, 2003).

Through the use of advanced technologies, geologists have the capability to predict potential locations for oil. This is done by the examination of the structure of rock layers, which is then followed by a test-drill in the Earth’s surface. Not every location that gets examined contain commercially viable oil reserves

Oil is one of the most important commodities in today’s industrialized world. It is for this reason that the topic of offshore oil drilling has come to take center stage in many debates and discussions, especially the political and economic ones. Offshore oil drilling refers to discoveries and developments of oil or gas resources, which lie under water. For many, offshore oil drilling is a necessity and is needed to balance the power between the oil rich countries and countries that heavily rely on them. For others, the negative of offshore drilling far outweighs the positive.

Stop Offshore Oil Drilling Stop Offshore Oil Drilling Reading Writing EAPV December 14, 2014 Mohammad Habbash The issue of whether offshore oil drilling is a safe operation or not has been arguing for a long time in the United States. ( SPE International, N.D.) Drilling on water started in early 1930s in Louisiana by shallow-draft barges. Nevertheless, the first oil well on water was drilled in 9th of September, 1947 by Kerr-McGee’s unit Tender Assist Drilling (TAD) in the Gulf of Mexico (SPE International, N.D.). A year after year, oil companies used more and more sophisticated equipment to drill on water, but the number of spilled accidents has been rising since 1964 (Ivanovich, and Hays, 2008). After all, while