Exploration
Oil and gas exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas. Oil and gas exploration is grouped under the science of petroleum geology.
Visible surface features such as oil seeps, natural gas seeps, pockmarks (underwater craters caused by escaping gas) provide basic evidence of hydrocarbon generation (be it shallow or deep in the Earth). However, most exploration depends on highly sophisticated technology to detect and determine the extent of these deposits using exploration geophysics. Areas thought to contain hydrocarbons are initially subjected to a gravity survey, magnetic survey, passive seismic or regional seismic reflection surveys, to detect large scale features of the sub-surface geology Features of interest (known as leads) are subjected to more detailed seismic surveys which work on the principle of the time it takes for reflected sound waves to travel through matter (rock) of varying densities and uses the process of depth conversion to create a profile of the substructure. Finally, when a prospect has been identified and evaluated and passes the oil company's selection criteria, an exploration well is drilled in an attempt to conclusively determine the presence or absence of oil or gas.
Discovering and assessing oil or gas deposits requires integration of information culled from geology, geochemistry, drilling, GIS, seismology, EM, potential fields, and other disciplines.
While seismic exploration remains the primary method of exploring for petroleum, use of gravity and magnetic methods has continued to expand, based on their contribution to reliable evaluations (and recent discoveries) in deeper, more challenging environments such as sub-salt structures and deep sea.
By gathering geophysical data to narrow the search area within large fields, exploration crews can refine their targets and apply seismic techniques more efficiently. Combining seismic and gravity methods enables oil explorers to better define and focus projects early on, and minimize the risk of conducting expensive investigation before potential is determined.
Another method of exploration is the seismic method. There are two principle seismic methods: refraction and reflection
Two types of magnetic instruments are used to measure the slight difference in magnetism in rocks, the field balance and the airborne magnetometer
The other method of exploration is the study of stratigraphy. Stratigraphic exploration consists of establishing correlations between wells, matching fossils, strata, rock hardness or softness, and electrical and radioactivity data to determine the origin, composition, distribution, and succession of rock strata
Oil exploration is an expensive, high-risk operation. Offshore and remote area exploration is generally only undertaken by very large corporations or national governments. Typical shallow shelf oil wells cost US$5 – $30 million, while deep water wells can cost up to US$100 million plus. Hundreds of smaller companies search for onshore hydrocarbon deposits worldwide, with some wells costing as little as US$100,000.
NoDoC estimates the cost of exploration by categorizing the exploration methods, main cost centers and required resources. As exploration cost swidely depends on the geology conditions of the location then NoDoC takes the location as the first important parameter in the EXPLORATION COST MODEL. By using improved mapping and geology technologies NoDoC has developed cost models for the followings:
• Geology
• Geophysics
• Geochemistry
• Petrophysics
• Simulation
• Valuation
• Evaluation
Visible surface features such as oil seeps, natural gas seeps, pockmarks (underwater craters caused by escaping gas) provide basic evidence of hydrocarbon generation (be it shallow or deep in the Earth). However, most exploration depends on highly sophisticated technology to detect and determine the extent of these deposits using exploration geophysics. Areas thought to contain hydrocarbons are initially subjected to a gravity survey, magnetic survey, passive seismic or regional seismic reflection surveys, to detect large scale features of the sub-surface geology Features of interest (known as leads) are subjected to more detailed seismic surveys which work on the principle of the time it takes for reflected sound waves to travel through matter (rock) of varying densities and uses the process of depth conversion to create a profile of the substructure. Finally, when a prospect has been identified and evaluated and passes the oil company's selection criteria, an exploration well is drilled in an attempt to conclusively determine the presence or absence of oil or gas.
Discovering and assessing oil or gas deposits requires integration of information culled from geology, geochemistry, drilling, GIS, seismology, EM, potential fields, and other disciplines.
While seismic exploration remains the primary method of exploring for petroleum, use of gravity and magnetic methods has continued to expand, based on their contribution to reliable evaluations (and recent discoveries) in deeper, more challenging environments such as sub-salt structures and deep sea.
By gathering geophysical data to narrow the search area within large fields, exploration crews can refine their targets and apply seismic techniques more efficiently. Combining seismic and gravity methods enables oil explorers to better define and focus projects early on, and minimize the risk of conducting expensive investigation before potential is determined.
Another method of exploration is the seismic method. There are two principle seismic methods: refraction and reflection
Two types of magnetic instruments are used to measure the slight difference in magnetism in rocks, the field balance and the airborne magnetometer
The other method of exploration is the study of stratigraphy. Stratigraphic exploration consists of establishing correlations between wells, matching fossils, strata, rock hardness or softness, and electrical and radioactivity data to determine the origin, composition, distribution, and succession of rock strata
Oil exploration is an expensive, high-risk operation. Offshore and remote area exploration is generally only undertaken by very large corporations or national governments. Typical shallow shelf oil wells cost US$5 – $30 million, while deep water wells can cost up to US$100 million plus. Hundreds of smaller companies search for onshore hydrocarbon deposits worldwide, with some wells costing as little as US$100,000.
NoDoC estimates the cost of exploration by categorizing the exploration methods, main cost centers and required resources. As exploration cost swidely depends on the geology conditions of the location then NoDoC takes the location as the first important parameter in the EXPLORATION COST MODEL. By using improved mapping and geology technologies NoDoC has developed cost models for the followings:
• Geology
• Geophysics
• Geochemistry
• Petrophysics
• Simulation
• Valuation
• Evaluation
