During the years 2007–2015, a new direction for industry was appearing. Revitalized waves of production emerged from the world’s richest petroleum bearing basins (Ahlbrandt, 2015; Fryklund, 2018). An all-out effort to optimize extensive infrastructure, using new technology and basin scale thinking, required an action plan for geoscientists.In 2018–2020, AAPG responded with a new series of programs

An important step in the evaluation of a play or prospect is to consider the potential supply of petroleum charge, which is ultimately constrained by masses and volumes supplied by the source bed. The two factors limiting the mass of petroleum expelled from the organic matter in the source bed are (1) its initial expulsion potential and (2) the cumulative fraction of potential that has been expelled

The West Texas (Permian) Super Basin is the prototype super basin. The basin has produced 28.9 billion bbl of oil and 203 TCF of gas (63 billion BOE, 1920–2019). The US Geological Survey and Bureau of Economic Geology estimate this super basin has remaining reserves of 120–137 billion BOE, twice the volume produced during the first 100 yr of hydrocarbon production. During the past decade, the West

The Paleozoic sedimentary section of the Arabian plate recorded the effects of numerous fluctuations in sea level and gentle epeirogenic movements. Eustatic changes in sea level over the Arabian plate resulted in transgressions and regressions and created many local and regional unconformity surfaces, identified by missing section and nondeposition. The distant deformation of the Caledonian tectonic

More than 50 basins worldwide are identified as “super basins,” defined as a basin with cumulative production of at least 5 billion BOE (∼0.8 billion m3) and with future production potential of more than 5 billion BOE. By this definition, the Anadarko Basin is a super basin; cumulative production is close to 50 billion BOE (∼7.9 billion m3) and unconventional reservoirs have the potential to produce

North Alaska Super Basin oil fields have produced more than 18 billion bbl of oil with at least 5 billion bbl remaining in existing fields, and estimated yet-to-find resources exceed 10 billion bbl in three prolific petroleum systems. Since discovery of the two largest United States conventional oil fields at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River in the 1960s, technological advancements including three-dimensional

Global analogues are widely used across the exploration and production (E&P) life cycle. Analogues, used in conjunction with primary data, expand the knowledge of both the individual and team and develop insights that are not possible from using either local data or individual experience in isolation. Difficulties in the application of analogues arise when the analogues are not selected consistently

Unconventional reservoir performance is assessed and quantified via integration of compositional, rock fabric, and static mechanical property analyses that are routinely performed on drill core or cuttings. This approach has several limitations; for example, it can only be used where drill core and cuttings are available, and comprehensive analysis may be cost prohibitive at the full scale of a resource

The main source rocks, hydrocarbon generative subbasins, hydrocarbon generation periods, resource potential, and the relationship between the trap evolution history and hydrocarbon generation history are important problems associated with oil and gas exploration. In this study, we develop a three-dimensional geological model with respect to the Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata of the northern margin of

The Bongor Basin in southern Chad is one of the Cretaceous–Paleogene rift basins developed on the Precambrian crystalline basement and has been confirmed as a petroliferous basin in the last decade. Less than 400 m of Cenozoic unconsolidated sediments are separated by an unconformity from an underlying section of Lower Cretaceous units, in turn separated by another unconformity from underlying Precambrian

China has been said to have the largest putative shale gas resources in the world. The highest potential occurs in the Sichuan Basin, with the overmature Qiongzhusi (Cambrian) and Longmaxi (Silurian) Formations as prime exploration targets. Here, the likelihood of late gas formation is examined using less mature equivalents from the Georgina Basin (Australia) and the Baltic Basin (Lithuania). We consider

Magnetic susceptibility (MS) is a logging method commonly used for investigating lithostratigraphic features in marine sediments or petrophysical parameters. In this paper, an application of MS core logging as a tool identifying paleoenvironment and potential high organic matter content will be presented. The aim of the study was to define the relationship between magnetic methods, Rock-Eval pyrolysis

The relationship between water saturation and resistivity index in tight sandstone reservoirs cannot be simply expressed using the Archie equation. This makes the saturation exponent difficult to determine and the water saturation estimation significantly challenging. Based on fractal theory and the Archie equation, a theoretical power function relationship is used to predict the resistivity index

Despite the obvious link between hydrocarbon seepage at the surface and the activity of petroleum systems at depth, the majority of studies on seep carbonates concentrate on shallow aspects, whereas they are rarely oriented toward a source-to-sink perspective. Here, seep carbonates are conceptualized as a key element for analyzing petroleum systems at basin scale. Mapping of a 150-m-thick, 200-m-wide

Advances and availability of deep learning (DL) software have recently allowed the development, testing, and deployment of automated image classification schemes for sedimentary features from core images. The development of these methods is especially relevant for extracting useful geological features from otherwise unused core photographs. This paper demonstrates and tests the use of a DL workflow

This geologic note provides a lookback on lookbacks, hopefully to spur further interest by companies in generating learning from exploration experience, rather than being victimized by repeated mistakes to which exploration assessment may unknowingly be exposed. The lookback contribution to portfolio management is properly called performance tracking. Likely inspired by the after-action review process

Bedding-parallel veins of fibrous calcite (also called “beef”) occur in many sedimentary basins, especially those containing low-permeability strata with organic source material for petroleum. The formation of such veins is commonly linked with fluid overpressure in these source rocks. In this review, we demonstrate that beef veins are most commonly present in foreland basins worldwide or in basins

Middle and Upper Devonian gas shales of the Appalachian Basin host a sequence of mode I cracks from early veins to late unmineralized joints. These fractures develop during a cycle of burial and exhumation starting with horizontal veins, then vertical veins, then vertical joints, and ending with pancake joints. Veins are most common in the cross-fold orientation in gas shale of the deep hinterland

Many of those assessing geochemical data have taken a “cookbook” approach to interpretation. Such an approach generally does not take into consideration the limitations of the different data sets. Among these data sets are those associated with thermal maturity, which guides the interpretation of the extent of generation and hydrocarbon phase.The temperature of peak pyrolysis generation (Tmax) is commonly

Organic geochemical and petrographic analyses were carried out on Paleozoic core samples to evaluate the source rocks in Kuwait. This is a pioneer study because most of the petroleum exploration targets the Mesozoic petroleum system. The samples were collected from four wells that penetrated the Permian Khuff Formation and the Carboniferous–lower Permian Unayzah Formation. Standard organic geochemical

Carbon isotope analyses of fluid inclusion gases trapped in quartz grains in nine sandstone core samples from eight wells in the Baiyun depression and the Panyu lower uplift were performed to determine the source and thermal maturity of the paleo-natural gases. Two-dimensional thermal and hydrocarbon generation history modeling of the source rocks coupled with the carbon isotopic results of the fluid

A new method is presented to identify chemostratigraphic zones by applying principal component (PC) analysis and to interpret geological boundaries based on PC curves. The PC data were calculated using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, with data acquired for 50 chemical elements in the range Na–U. In the present study, a total

X-ray fluorescence chemostratigraphy of the Cenomanian–Turonian Woodbine and Eagle Ford Groups in the southern parts of the East Texas Basin highlights significant mudstone chemical heterogeneities that commonly are difficult to observe or quantify at the macroscale. Several key elements, namely, Ca, Si, Mo, Mn, and Ni, were correlated to depositional conditions and used in a hierarchical cluster analysis

Shallow production of sweet high-gravity oil from the Upper Devonian Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky has caused the region to become the leading oil producer in the state. Potential nearby source rocks, namely, the overlying Mississippian Sunbury Shale and underlying Ohio Shale, are immature for commercial oil generation according to vitrinite reflectance and programmed pyrolysis analyses

With development dating from the 1800s, the Devonian Berea Sandstone has a long history of oil and gas development in the Appalachian Basin. A new phase of development began in northeastern Kentucky in 2011 with production of high-gravity oil from horizontal wells at depths less than 2200 ft (<671 m). Oil production in areas previously unproductive or primarily gas productive was unexpected because

Since 2011, the Devonian Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky has produced oil where thermal maturity studies indicate that likely source rocks, namely, the Devonian Ohio Shale and Mississippian Sunbury Shale, are thermally immature. Downdip, where source rocks are mature for oil, the Berea Sandstone and Ohio Shale primarily produce gas. To investigate this thermal maturity discordancy, the molecular

Recent production of light sweet oil has prompted reevaluation of Devonian petroleum systems in the central Appalachian Basin. Upper Devonian Ohio Shale (lower Huron Member) and Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale organic-rich source rocks from eastern Ohio and nearby areas were examined using organic petrography and geochemical analysis of solvent extracts to test ideas related to organic matter sources

As part of a study to determine the origin of oil and gas in the Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio, 158 samples of organic-rich shale from the Upper Devonian Olentangy and Ohio Shales and the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale, collectively referred to as the “black shale,” were collected and analyzed from 12 cores. The samples were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC)

Berea reservoirs in eastern Kentucky are developed in tight siltstone and sandstone. Precision horizontal drilling provides access to thin (<10 ft) stratigraphic traps, and a new shallow oil play has resulted. Bedding, porosity and permeability data, x-ray diffraction mineralogy data, and petrography are examined and compared in five cores to better understand stratigraphic traps and pore types.Upper

After reaching a plateau, the production of oil reservoirs starts to decline, which substantially determines their life expectancy. Declining production data from three 58- to 71-yr-old oil pools in Alberta, Canada, have been documented and analyzed to show and predict their life span. Two declining phases of oil production can be distinguished: a short 4–11-yr substantially declining phase and a long

The risk of anthropogenic earthquakes created by fluid injection and completion of horizontal wells is managed using maps of recent seismicity and by creating buffer zones around previously mapped faults. In Madison and Fayette Counties, Ohio, faults were identified in 1969 using analogue paper-recorded seismic reflection technology. These faults were located primarily by mapping a prominent “Conasauga

Oil and gas accumulations in the sandy conglomerate diagenetic traps that developed in the fan delta of the Triassic Baikouquan Formation of the Mahu sag, Junggar Basin, differ from stratigraphic accumulations controlled by sedimentary facies. This study uses conventional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry measurements, mineralogical and petrological data, fluid inclusion analyses, and geophysical

Gas storage capacity estimates of shales are routinely assessed using laboratory data from unconfined methane sorption and porosity measurements. In this study, the stress dependence of the methane excess sorption capacity and specific pore volume are investigated simultaneously. Experiments were performed on dry core plugs (Cambrian–Ordovician Alum, Jurassic Bossier, Late Cretaceous Eagle Ford, and

Within New Zealand, the East Coast Basin represents the primary shale oil and gas play in which the Whangai Formation is widespread. This formation is oil and gas prone and prevalent throughout a large area of the East Coast Basin and is typically composed of the Upper Calcareous, Porangahau, and Rakauroa Members.The primary goal of this study was to develop an integrated methodology to define the

The northeastern Sichuan Basin thrust belt located in southwestern China, is a large-scale intracontinental thrust system with multiple detachments represented by a series of subparallel chevron anticlines. We conduct a comprehensive study of the geometry and kinematics of the thrust belt and its implications for the petroleum system based on seismic-reflection profile interpretation, field investigation

Unconventional opal-A and opal-CT diatomaceous reservoirs in the Monterey Formation of the San Joaquin Valley in California have produced for more than 30 yr. These opal-A reservoirs are characterized by high porosity (>50%) and low permeability (<10 md) making them a challenge to produce. Five diatomaceous reservoirs in the Monterey Formation are described, with locations at Lost Hills, Cymric, and

Understanding and predicting the main controls on the sealing capacity of carbonate cap rocks is of great significance for ultradeep carbonate reservoir exploration and production. This study focuses on revealing the pore networks and sealing capacity of the Ordovician carbonate cap rocks in the Tarim Basin by analyzing samples from outcrop analogues using optical and scanning electron microscopy and

With the emergence of the “continuous petroleum accumulations” concept and unconventional petroleum exploration, the traditional source-to-trap petroleum system model becomes vague spatially because the source, reservoir, and seal may intermingle within the same stratigraphic unit. In such a system, the spatial distribution of key petroleum system elements therefore depends on sedimentary facies heterogeneities

The Permian Basin of the southwestern United States has produced approximately 35 billion bbl of conventional oil over the past century, and until recently, it was broadly viewed as an overdeveloped basin in the twilight of its effective life. Over the past decade, however, this perspective has changed because of the extraordinary success in oil recovery from unconventional upper Paleozoic shale reservoirs

Existing definitions for passive and active salt diapirism are somewhat overlapping and ambiguous. These terms are also equated to downbuilding and upbuilding, respectively, which are problematic concepts as originally conceived and even as subsequently modified. This results in conflicting usage and lack of consensus in the literature, creating confusion and decreasing the utility of the terms. For

The oils of Shuntuoguole low uplift of Tarim Basin in western China have high contents of saturated hydrocarbons and a high loss of light hydrocarbon components because of volatilization. These oils are characterized by low abundance of hopanes and high abundance of C28–30 tricyclic terpanes and dibenzothiophenes and relative high abundance of C20–23 terpanes, C21–22 5α-steranes, and diasteranes in

The Re-Os geochronometer constrains the timing of petroleum formation and provides an oil-source isotopic correlation tool for improved geologic knowledge and exploration success. However, the effects of secondary processes that may sometimes complicate interpretations are not well understood.This paper discusses Re-Os systematics in a petroleum system that experienced extensive asphaltene precipitation

Carbonate rocks commonly exhibit multiscale pore networks because of the interplay of depositional, diagenetic, and structural controls. This interplay commonly leads to carbonate reservoirs with complex pore networks that affect our ability to accurately characterize reservoir quality and be predictive about in-place volumes and hydrocarbon recovery. In particular, the preservation of paleocavern

Investigating the timing, structural style, and development of multiphase extensional fault systems is essential for understanding rift basin evolution and for assessment of structural trap integrity. Borehole-controlled interpretation and analysis of two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic data sets from the eastern Dampier subbasin indicate that a northeast-trending basement weakness zone was

Gas and water samples were collected from coalbed methane (CBM) wells, rivers, and springs in the southern Junggar Basin (SJB). These samples were analyzed for gas composition, stable isotopes, 16s ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequence, chemical compositions, and radioisotopes. The objective of this study was to understand CBM genesis in the Junggar Basin, the reason for abnormal CO2 accumulation, the

Fifty crude oils from reservoirs ranging in age from Cambrian to late Permian and distributed widely over the Permian Basin were geochemically characterized to assess their stratigraphic interrelationships and provenance. Detailed characterization using stable carbon isotopic composition and biomarker characteristics recognized five genetic groups. Genetic group I oils originate from a type II kerogen

During the years 2007–2015, a new direction for industry was appearing. Revitalized waves of production emerged from the world’s richest petroleum bearing basins (Ahlbrandt, 2015; Fryklund, 2018). An all-out effort to optimize extensive infrastructure, using new technology and basin scale thinking, required an action plan for geoscientists.In 2018–2020, AAPG responded with a new series of programs

The AAPG Super Basin Initiative creates an action plan to help geoscientists revisit the world’s most productive petroleum basins by providing resources through conferences, online presentations, and publications like this special issue of the AAPG Bulletin. Understanding super basins better enables us to apply technologies that can reveal each unique super basin’s full resource development potential

Super basins are sedimentary basins with more than 5 billion BOE cumulative production and at least 5 billion BOE remaining recoverable resources. Super basins are characterized by two or more source rocks, stacked reservoirs, mature infrastructure, established service sectors, large amounts of data, and access to markets. Super basins commonly have multiple operators that form a community whose competitive

With more than 6000 m of sedimentary thickness and several superimposed petroleum systems, the Neuquén Basin of Argentina has all the elements to be considered a super basin. The basin developed during the Triassic–Early Jurassic in a rift environment that generated a localized petroleum system. Continued subsidence during the Early Jurassic resulted in the first marine ingression (Los Molles Formation

The Williston Basin Bakken petroleum system is a giant continuous accumulation. The petroleum system is characterized by low-porosity and -permeability reservoirs, organic-rich source rocks, and regional hydrocarbon charge. Total Bakken Formation and Three Forks Formation production to June 2019 is 3.3 billion bbl (0.52 billion m3) and 4.8 tcf of gas (0.135 trillion m3) from 19,075 wells. Daily production

The northern Gulf of Mexico federal offshore area easily qualifies as a super basin based upon estimated petroleum endowment of more than 100 BOE and cumulative production of 60 BOE. Like other super basins, it has multiple petroleum systems and stacked reservoirs. Examination of four key elements of these petroleum systems (reservoirs, source rocks, seals, and traps) yields important insights to the

The Sureste Basin of southern Mexico has all the components to be classed as one of the world’s super basins for hydrocarbon exploration and production. This is because of its endowment with one of the world’s great source rock systems, namely, the Late Jurassic Edzna Formation, in combination with stacking of multiple potential reservoirs in a highly structural salt basin.This paper discusses the

Subsurface hydrocarbon observations at any scale serve as critical clues to understand and reconstruct migration pathways and charge histories through geological time to assess the risk of petroleum exploration targets. Hydrocarbon migration commonly occurred millions of years ago, and the pathways can rarely be observed in wells or in outcrops. Therefore, hydrocarbon migration modeling tools are important

The underexplored Barents shelf petroleum province is a globally unique example where naturally occurring underpressure is observed offshore and onshore. In the offshore parts of the northern Barents shelf, minor underpressure (up to 23 bar below hydrostatic pressure) is observed in the fault-bounded Mesozoic reservoirs of the Fingerdjupet subbasin. More severe (50 bar below hydrostatic pressure although

The Sulige gas field in the Ordos Basin is the largest gas field in China. The studied area, the northern Tianhuan depression, is located west of the gas field and is considered as a potential gas-producing area. The complex diagenetic alteration history and its effects on the pore-throat network and reservoir quality of the tight gas sandstones are explained. The upper Paleozoic first member of the

Detrital zircon provenance studies of Terra Nova oil field strata, offshore Newfoundland, were conducted to constrain the depositional age and correlation of synrift sandstone units in the Jeanne d’Arc basin and test continuity with coeval rocks in adjacent regions. Braided fluvial sandstone intervals of the Jeanne d’Arc Formation from delineation wells K-18, C-09, and E-79 yield Mesozoic to Archean

Pore-throat structure characterization is crucial in tight-oil sandstone reservoir studies. To better understand pore-throat size distribution and the effects on reservoir oil saturation, petrographic, scanning electron microscopy, quantitative grain fluorescence (QGF), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and pressure-controlled mercury injection investigations were performed on a suite of tight sandstones

Based on limited geophysical and outcrop data, shortening of the strata in the Appalachian Plateau above the Silurian salt detachment was interpreted to have occurred by layer-parallel shortening (LPS) plus gentle folding. Recently acquired high-quality, three-dimensional seismic reflection and well data reveal that strata from the Silurian Salina Group and the Devonian Marcellus Shale shortened through

It is difficult to determine flow pathways of paleofluids in sedimentary basins. Petrography, fluid inclusion, and isotopic compositions from different phases of calcite veins in the Ordovician in the Tazhong area were studied. Our results reveal a complex diagenesis process with two importantly crossformational fluid movements, coupled with three phases of calcite veins (C1, C2, and C3) precipitation