First oil

“Change is linear, but on a log scale.” 

 — David J. Monk, President, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).

 Dr. Monk made the comment at the opening session of the SEG 2013 conference in Houston, in reference to the order of magnitude change experienced by the geophysical industry. One revolutionary change has been 3D seismic, which provides the ability to obtain high-resolution, three-dimensional images of subsurface structure and stratigraphy. Major discoveries during the last three decades could not have been possible without the insights available through 3D seismic.

The 3D seismic revolution, however, could not have taken place in isolation. The technique became feasible through a series of evolutionary changes from the development of high-sensitivity geophones, computer technology to process large volumes of data, and interpretation skills honed through the analysis of 2D seismic data over several decades.

Even now, the seismic evolution continues. For example, wide-azimuth surveys provides the ability to image below salt formations, leading to the discovery of giant subsalt fields in the Gulf of Mexico and the prolific pre-salt fields in deepwater Brazil. Where will the technology go next? There are already several decades of evolutionary R&D efforts and field applications invested in time-lapse 4D surveys to provide the basis for enhanced oil recovery.

Similar evolutionary processes were required before the shale revolution was made possible through the twin technologies of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing. Horizontal drilling evolved through more than a half century of advances in using whipstocks to drill laterally, development of drilling motors and then rotary steerable systems, and gyroscopes and LWD/MWD for geosteering. It took some time, as well, for the industry to progress from single- to-multi-stage isolation and fracturing, using a fleet of high-pressure pumping units.

A number of ancillary technologies have evolved around the shale drilling and production—geophysical and geological surveys to identify sweet spots of high total organic content and microseismic services to monitor the full extent of fractures. Among the advancements is the evolution of proppants. In the holy grail of higher conductivity, proppant technology has progressed from white sand to resin-coated proppants, and then ceramic proppants.

An article in the Deepwater Advances section in this issue describes CARBO’s introduction of a high-Alumina proppant that has twice the conductivity of a conventional bauxite proppant at 20,000-psi closure stress. This is the requirement desired by operators in their quest to frac tight sandstones in Lower Tertiary formations of deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The development of these types of proppants is just one technological evolution necessary to exploit the deepwater reserves. Hundreds of R&D scientists and engineers have been engaged to develop stronger materials and reliable drilling, completion and production techniques for the extreme challenges of the Lower Tertiary.

To the natural evolution of technology, there is now a regulatory hurdle in the aftermath of the Macondo blowout. At the recent World Oil HPHT conference, there were several discussions about the development of equipment rated 500°F and 20,000 psi and beyond. It won’t be possible, however, for the operators to install such equipment of their own accord. Keynote speaker Russell Hoshman of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement insisted that the full array of HPHT wellheads and BOPs would have to be in place to ensure safety and spill containment.

What will the future bring? Robots to handle E&P activity under extreme conditions? Microbes to handle downhole and surface spill containment issues? The application of exploration and drilling technologies to explore Martian geology? The seeds of such technological evolutions have already been sown.