Jan. 2001 Vol. 222 No. 1  Exploration

Perry A. Fischer,  Engineering Editor

A DHI that might actually work

For nearly 30 years, Richard Talbert has been perfecting his direct hydrocarbon indicator (DHI) technology. He is now president of Electro Seise, Inc. (ESI) of Fort Worth, Texas, a company that offers his unique exploration method. Talbot says that his reservoir-mapping technique is most effective when used in conjunction with conventional methods, including 2-D and 3-D seismic.

"ESI is a passive airborne system that identifies and quantifies in situ hydrocarbons using micro-gravity sensors operated at specific frequencies to identify rock density." More specifically, it measures the horizontal component of gravity and combines it with earth’s fair-weather electric field. The company says it is particularly good at finding pinnacle reefs.

To collect the micro-gravity/EM data, a light aircraft is flown at a constant 2,000-ft altitude on a regular grid pattern. Positioning is done with differential GPS. If the aircraft deviates more than 50 ft, the data-gathering computers automatically shut down to preserve data quality. Operations usually occur at night to reduce interference from the sun (the nature of that interference was not given).

Since the aircraft flies at 2,000 ft, terrain is not an obstacle and lease permits are not required, according to the company. Geology that would normally attenuate seismic does not affect the micro-gravity/EM method.

Talbot says that ESI can find hydrocarbons and determine their quantity. It can also distinguish hydrocarbon types such as oil, gas or coal. Further, the system can delineate structure, faulting, reefing and stragraphic pinch-outs. Finally, it can determine reservoir porosity. The company says it has used its ESI technology for several clients and has achieved success rates of 87% for finding commercial quantities of hydrocarbon.

With that kind of success, finding someone who will believe you could be a problem. While it would not normally be the practice of World Oil to introduce unproven DHI technology, this one might have legs. There was apparently enough interest that an industry consortium sponsored a field test of the ESI method, as discussed in the November RMOTC newsletter. That test is now complete and the results will soon be available on the RMOTC (Rocky Mountain Oilfield Test Center) website.

MMS news. For the first time, the U.S. Minerals Management Service has adopted international offshore safety standards issued by an international organization, the ISO. A new rule that incorporates an ISO standard specifies minimum acceptable requirements for subsurface safety valve equipment. "We see adoption of this standard as the first step in a process to harmonize technical requirements on a global basis, with the aim of lowering costs and enhancing performance, not only in the U.S., but worldwide," said MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch.

In other news, MMS granted deepwater royalty relief to Chevron to develop Typhoon field in the Gulf of Mexico, Green Canyon Block 236. This is the fifth field to be granted royalty relief since the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act was passed in 1995.

Meanwhile, MMS announced the release of a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Eastern GOM Oil and Gas Lease Sale 181. This is the only Eastern GOM sale scheduled in the current 5-Year Leasing Plan, which ends in 2002, and the first proposed sale in the Eastern GOM since 1988. Lease Sale 181 is scheduled to be held in December 2001. The 181-lease area includes 120 blocks in a narrow strip beginning 15 mi offshore Alabama and Florida and another 913 blocks in deeper water, which are nearer to Louisiana than to Florida.

The current offshore-Florida drilling moratorium is based on conflicts with the state’s coastal management plan. The proposed sale area does not include any blocks within 100 mi offshore Florida. At that offshore distance, it will be interesting to see if the state has any objections.

MMS estimates that resources developed from the entire lease area could contain up to 370 million bbl of oil and 3.2 Tcfg. The draft EIS is now available for a public review and comment period that will close on Jan. 23, 2001.

In addition, the agency announced several initiatives to meet U.S. energy needs. These initiatives are proposed for Lease Sale 178 in the Central Gulf of Mexico, scheduled for March 28, 2001. Two of these initiatives are designed to increase gas production during the years 2004 – 2006. Several studies, including a National Petroleum Council report, indicate that U.S. gas demand will grow to 29 Tcf in 2010 from the current 22 Tcf. It is hoped that these initiatives add gas production in the range of 1/2 to 1 Tcf per year in the 2004 to 2006 period. The initiatives are:

• An incentive to drill for deep gas deposits located in the shallow-water Gulf is provided by royalty suspension for the first 20 Bcfg production from a well drilled below 15,000 ft sea level
• As an incentive to drill for subsalt gas plays, MMS proposes that lessees obtain a two-year extension of the five-year primary lease term when an operator has drilled its first subsalt well and needs additional time to image the subsurface data to determine the next drilling target. This will avoid premature lease expiration and the consequent delay in exploration.
• As an incentive to keep exploring and developing hydrocarbon deposits in the ultra-deepwater areas to replace expiring provisions of the 1995 Deepwater Royalty Relief Act, a royalty suspension volume of 9 million boe is proposed for water depths between 800 m and 1,599 m, and a royalty suspension volume of the first 12 million boe in water depths greater than 1,599 m.

A further initiative provides an opportunity to apply for additional "discretionary" royalty relief, following new proposed rulemaking, if certain conditions are satisfied. 

Comments? Write: fischerp@gulfpub.com