Presents basic concepts of petroleum geology and proven petroleum exploration techniques for locating oil and gas accumulations with viable prospects, for professionals with two or more years' experience who have a basic knowledge of most aspects of exploration methods. For the most part, chapters f

Elements of Petroleum Geology, Fourth Edition is a useful primer for geophysicists, geologists and petroleum engineers in the oil industry who wish to expand their knowledge beyond their specialized area. It is also an excellent introductory text for a university course in petroleum geoscience. This updated edition includes new case studies on non-conventional exploration, including tight oil and shale gas exploration, as well as coverage of the impacts on petroleum geology on the environment. Sections on shale reservoirs, flow units and containers, IOR and EOR, giant petroleum provinces, halo reservoirs, and resource estimation methods are also expanded. - Written by a preeminent petroleum geologist and sedimentologist with decades of petroleum exploration in remote corners of the world - Covers information pertinent to everyone working in the oil and gas industry, especially geophysicists, geologists and petroleum reservoir engineers - Fully revised with updated references and expanded coverage of topics and new case studies

This unique text offers a friendly, fascinating introduction to the world of petroleum exploration for readers with little or no technical background on the subject. Refreshingly clear and jargon-free, the book covers a wide range of topics, including the underlying rationale for exploration, essential basic geological and geophysical exploration techniques, drilling and logging wells, reserves, and an outline of reservoir geology. A helpful case history of exploration in the North Sea is presented to illustrate how the numerous processes work together, and a lengthy glossary of technical terms serves as an invaluable aid for those approaching the subject for the first time. Perfect for all those interested in petroleum exploration, the book will be especially welcomed by students and by non-geologists working in industry, such as draughtspeople, engineers, accountants, and lawyers.

This book explains in detail how to use oil and gas show information to find hydrocarbons. It covers the basics of exploration methodologies, drilling and mud systems, cuttings and mud gas show evaluation, fundamental log analysis, the pitfalls of log-calculated water saturations, and a complete overview of the use of pressures to understand traps and migration, hydrodynamics, and seal and reservoir quantification using capillary pressure. Also included are techniques for quickly generating pseudo-capillary pressure curves from simple porosity/permeability data, with examples of how to build spreadsheets in Excel, and a complete treatment of fluid inclusion analysis and fluid inclusion stratigraphy to map migration pathways. In addition, petroleum systems modeling and fundamental source rock geochemistry are discussed in depth, particularly in the context of unconventional source rock evaluation and screening tools for entering new plays. The book is heavily illustrated with numerous examples and case histories from the author’s 37 years of exploration experience. The topics covered in this book will give any young geoscientist a quick start on a successful career and serve as a refresher for the more experienced explorer.

This book presents detailed explanations of how to formulate field development plans for oil and gas discovery. The data and case studies provided here, obtained from the authors’ field experience in the oil and gas industry around the globe, offer a real-world context for the theories and procedures discussed. The book covers all aspects of field development plan processes, from reserve estimations to economic analyses. It shows readers in both the oil and gas industry and in academia how to prepare field development plans in a straightforward way, and with substantially less uncertainty.

Investigations about porosity in petroleum reservoir rocks are discussed by Schmoker and Gautier. Pollastro discusses the uses of clay minerals as exploration tools that help to elucidate basin, source-rock, and reservoir history. The status of fission-track analysis, which is useful for determining the thermal and depositional history of deeply buried sedimentary rocks, is outlined by Naeser. The various ways workers have attempted to determine accurate ancient and present-day subsurface temperatures are summarized with numerous references by Barker. Clayton covers three topics: (1) the role of kinetic modeling in petroleum exploration, (2) biological markers as an indicator of depositional environment of source rocks and composition of crude oils, and (3) geochemistry of sulfur in source rocks and petroleum. Anders and Hite evaluate the current status of evaporite deposits as a source for crude oil.

This fully revised and updated edition introduces the reader to sedimentology and stratigraphic principles, and provides tools for the interpretation of sediments and sedimentary rocks. The processes of formation, transport and deposition of sediment are considered and then applied to develop conceptual models for the full range of sedimentary environments, from deserts to deep seas and reefs to rivers. Different approaches to using stratigraphic principles to date and correlate strata are also considered, in order to provide a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of sedimentology and stratigraphy. The text and figures are designed to be accessible to anyone completely new to the subject, and all of the illustrative material is provided in an accompanying CD-ROM. High-resolution versions of these images can also be downloaded from the companion website for this book at: www.wiley.com/go/nicholssedimentology.

A concise guide to the origins and prediction of subsurface fluid pressures, emphasizing the interactions with geological processes.