Abstract With increasing industry emphasis on developing “unconventional” tight gas reservoirs and on enhancing recovery from existing fields, geologists are facing diverse challenges in the applications of structural geology. Identifying fracture characteristics within petroleum systems is essential. Understanding the timing of tectonics and the formation of structures is important, as these factors strongly influence hydrocarbon generation, migration, entrapment, and preservation. The purpose in publishing this collection of key papers is to aid future workers in addressing complex interrelationships between structural geology and hydrocarbon exploration and development. The first four chapters of this book focus on structural concepts and techniques. The second part of this book is a collection of Rocky Mountain fault and fracture studies. These well documented studies are valuable reference materials for all petroleum geologists.

Abstract Oil sands, including the Athabasca Oil Sands in northern Alberta, are the second largest hydrocarbon resource on earth. In the last decade, engineering technology has evolved that can now economically produce the bitumen resource in the oil sands. This volume showcases the geology of oil sands from around the world. It highlights the Athabasca Oil sands of northern Alberta and the geochemistry of the associated bitumen resource, but points directionally toward the development of other oil-sand deposits in the world. A novel feature is the ‘case study’ approach. Although much of the perspective is sedimentological and/or stratigraphic, the substance of the book should fine wide appeal to Earth scientists working in all geoscience domains.

Abstract The purpose of this Seals Atlas is to present the microstructural, petrophysical, and geomechanical properties of selected examples of cap rocks and fault seals for use as analogs in the prediction of seal capacity or containment potential. Similar atlases exist; however, this is the first such atlas to focus specifically on the characteristics of cap rocks. The atlas is primarily based on extensive mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) analyses, but also includes thin section, XRD, grainsize distribution, SEM/EDS, and 'V shale' data. The samples included in this atlas are a result of APCRC and CO2CRC (Cooperative Research Centres) research programs focusing on top and intraformational seals and some fault seals (cataclasites) throughout Australia and New Zealand. The hydrocarbon/carbon dioxide seal examples are grouped by basin localities and further distinguished by formation, well, then depth. Where multiple examples are available, a range of lithologies and MICP data are included in the sample selection. This atlas also can be used in an evaluation of integrated seal potential for prospect risking and reservoir management.

Abstract An outgrowth of the 2008 AAPG Hedberg Conference on Sediment Transfer from Shelf to Deep Water, Studies in Geology 61 was designed specifically to explore the growing interest in hyperpycnal and associated flows and hyperpycnites as significant contributors to the deep-water sedimentary record. The topic of hyperpycnal flows and their deposits, hyperpycnites, has recently emerged as the latest in a long list of hotly debated topics on deep-water sedimentary processes, environments, and deposits. This collection of chapters offers important new insights into the sediment delivery system to deep-marine waters.

Abstract This publication is the fifth in a searies of reports by the U.S. Geological Survey on the assessment of the quantity and quality of the nation's coal deposits that potentially can be mined during the next few decades. For eight years (1995-2003), geologic, geochemical, and resource information was collected and compiled for the five major coal-producing regions of the United States. This volume contains the assessment results for the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain region. The contents of this volume were compiled mainly during the 8-year period mentioned above. However, every effort has been made to update the references and text to incorporate new work that has been completed since the original compilation period.

Abstract Over the past 20 years, the concept of storing or permanently storing carbon dioxide in geological media has gained increasing attention as part of the important technology option of carbon capture and storage within a portfolio of options aimed at reducing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the earth’s atmosphere. Research programs focusing on the establishment of field demonstration projects are being implemented worldwide to investigate the safety, feasibility, and permanence of carbon dioxide geological sequestration. AAPG Studies 59 presents a compilation of state of the science contributions from the international research community on the topic of carbon dioxide sequestration in geological media, also called geosequestration. This book is structured into eight parts, and, among other topics, provides an overview of the current status and challenges of the science, regional assessment studies of carbon dioxide geological sequestration potential, and a discussion of the economics and regulatory aspects of carbon dioxide sequestration.

Abstract The geology of Cuba has been a challenge to geologists because of features such as the presence of well-preserved Jurassic ammonites, the rich Tertiary foraminiferal faunas (including remarkable Paleogene orbitoids), the gigantic Upper Cretaceous rudistids, the spectacular limestone Mogotes of Pinar del Rio, the extensive outcrops of ultrabasic igneous rocks, the chromite and manganese deposits, and the extraordinary structural complexity. In addition to these features, the numerous petroleum seeps, many of them coming out of basic igneous rock, have attracted much attention. It is interesting to read early papers by reputable geologists such as E. DeGoyler (1918), J. W. Lewis (1932), or R. H. Palmer (1945), and to realize how little was known or understood about the geology of the southern portion of the North American continent in the early part of the 20th century. Much early understanding of the geology of Cuba resulted from a series of studies conducted between 1936 and 1946 by the University of Utrecht, Holland, under the direction of L. M. R. Rutten. Some resultant publications are Rutten (1936), MacGillavry (1937), Thiadens (1937a, b), Vermut (1937), van Wessen (1943), Keijzer (1945), Hermes (1945), and De Vletter (1946). These authors outlined the components of a classic geosyncline. Between the late 1930s and late 1950s, Cuban geologists and paleontologists, such as P. R. Ortega y Ros, J. Broderman, P. Bermudez, and J. F. Albear, published several articles about the island’s geology. The search for oil has contributed significantly to the present understanding of the island’s geology.

Abstract Tor H. Nilsen, a red-haired Scandinavian who stood more than six feet tall, died October 9, 2005, at his San Carlos, California, home. This was after a valiant five-year fight with melanoma cancer. He was 63. His ashes were scattered at his family plot in Norway in 2006. He was born in New York City on November 29, 1941, to Mollie Abrahamson and Nils Marius Nilsen of Mandal, Norway, and was the first of their children to be born in the United States. After graduating from Brooklyn Tech, he earned his B.S. in geology from City College of New York in 1962. While there, his prowess on the basketball court impressed a scout from the New York Knicks, but Tor went on to graduate school and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1964 and 1967, respectively. His M.S. thesis was a study of Precambrian metasedimentary deposits in the Lake Superior area, and his Ph.D. thesis was a study of Devonian alluvial-fan deposits of the Old Red Sandstone in western Norway. Dr. Nilsen’s principal expertise was in depositional systems analysis, stratigraphic analysis, and the relationships among tectonics, eustasy, and sedimentation. He began his industry career in 1967 as a research geologist with the Shell Development Company in Houston, Texas, and Ventura, California, where he worked on the tectonics and sedimentation of Tertiary shelf systems of coastal California. He subsequently spent two years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the Military

Abstract Throughout time, the greater Caspian area has maintained its position as one of the major petroleum provinces in the world. Its early history as a prolific producer of oil is well known. Caspian region exploration dates to the seventh century B.C., during the time of the Median Kingdom in today's southern Azerbaijan. Oil played an important role in the everyday lives of these ancient tribes of the region, and it is still a very important commodity today. The past two decades have seen many important advances in our knowledge of the geological evolution of hydrocarbon-bearing sedimentary basins. The success of modern exploration is, to a large extent, based on new advances in both deep and 3-D seismic imaging, as well as improved pressure-prediction and pre-drill oil and gas quality predictive methodologies, to mention just a few. Nevertheless, large areas of the greater Caspian region have remained unexplored due to a variety of factors such as deep-water conditions and zones with high pore-pressures in the South Caspian Sea and The Black Sea, and vast shallow-water regions with harsh winter ice conditions in the North Caspian Sea. This publication contains 12 extended abstracts and 6 full-length papers that discuss technology development, challenges in estimating proven and potential reserves, outcrop-based studies of potential reservoirs, regional tectonics and geodynamic evolution, and source rock and stratigraphic analyses of the greater Caspian area.

Abstract This publication is intended to provide the working geologist, geophysicist, and petroleum engineer with a broad overview of the petroleum systems of deepwater settings. Deepwater depositional systems are the one type of reservoir system that cannot be easily reached, observed, and studied in the modern environment, in contrast to other siliciclastic and carbonate reservoir systems. The study of deepwater systems requires many different remote observation techniques, each of which can only provide information on one part of the entire depositional system. As a consequence, the study and understanding of deepwater depositional systems as reservoirs has lagged behind that of the other reservoir systems, whose modern processes are more easily observed and documented. For this reason, geoscientists use an integrated approach, working in interdisciplinary teams with multiple data types. The types of data used in the study of deepwater deposits include: outcrop studies, 2D and 3D seismic-reflection data (both for shallow and deep resolution), cores, conventional and specialized log suites, biostratigraphy, and well test and production information. These data sets are routinely incorporated into computer reservoir modeling programs for production performance simulation and forecasting. Technologies for deepwater exploration and development are improving rapidly. The intent of this publication is to provide information that will be usable even as the technologies advance beyond what we present here.

Abstract Exhaustive study of the historical use of energy is paramount in forecasting future use accurately. The much-needed detailed historical statistical data on human population, energy consumption, and current information about present and possible future sources of energy are assembled in this book. The pubication places particular emphasis on the kind of data that allows trends to be established that can be projected far into the future. It provides the foundation for readers to broaden their knowledge about past energy consumption and its sources of supply. It also furnishes a glimpse into the future of how, and how much, energy will be consumed in the 21st century and what sources will most likely supply it.

Abstract This AAPG Seismic Atlas serves as an instructional guide and resource for the interpretation of complex structures imaged in seismic reflection profiles using quantitative fault-related folding theories. The emphasis is on contractional fault-related folds, including fault-bend folds, fault-propagation folds, detachment folds, shear fault-bend folds, imbricate thrust systems, and structural wedges. These types of structures form the majority of the large hydrocarbon traps in both orogenic and passive-margin fold and thrust belts worldwide. The Atlas is divided into two complimentary parts. The first section illustrates the application of fault-related folding theories to many well-imaged seismic examples by way of step-by-step interpretations and ubiquitous models. A compilation of 25 case studies from petroleum basins around the world comprises the second section of the Atlas. The volume is intended to assist E&P professionals involved in seismic interpretation for the purposes of trap delineation and reservoir characterization, to aid those who evaluate structural interpretations in order to assign and reduce drilling risks, and to serve as a manual for anyone interested in applying the theories of fault-related folding to seismic interpretation.

Abstract The Ferron Sandstone is unparalleled as an analog for petroleum exploration and this exhaustive study will be the basis for many workshops and lectures in the years to come. The Ferron Sandstone is regional with extensive surface outcrops and significant subsurface control. The sequences within are used to understand and interpret seismic data in modeling reservoir architecture or building an analog. It also is an important coalbed methane play in Utah. The 22 papers that make up the volume discuss all aspects of Ferron deposition, distribution, sequence stratigraphy, evolution of coal sequences, development of facies and permeability, growth faulting, paleogeography and interpretation, flow simulation within the reservoir, and coalbed methane development in several Western USA fields including Helper field and Buzzard Bench field.

Abstract Shallow-water carbonate sediments deposited in tropical and subtropical settings form thick and spatially extensive accumulations referred to as “carbonate platforms.” Carbonate platforms typically have life spans of millions of tens of milliions of years, and their birth, growth, and demise are governed by a combination of factors such as tectonics, eustasy, environmental conditions, and climate. Carbonate platforms contain an archive of variations of these factors through time in its sedimentary record. These changes can then be extracted from this record, providing insight into our understanding of sedimentary processes and enhancing our knowledge of earth’s history. This study examines the stratigraphy and evolution of the Maldives isolated carbonate platform, in the equatorial Indian Ocean. The Maldives platform is unique because of its enormous size (800 x 130 km). It is the second-largest modern isolated carbonate platform (after the Bahamas). Established in the early Eocene and now more than 3 km thick, the platform contains a sedimentary record which spans more than 50 million years. This study is based on interpretation of the regional 2-D seismic data set and data from one deep exploration well that resulted from Royal Dutch/Shell during its exploration campaign in 1989-1991. The excellent quality and the vast volume (6000km of seismic data) allowed the authors to conduct a detailed study of the Maldives platform.

Abstract The origin of coal-bearing strata has been debated vigorously for more than a century, and with the emergence of coalbed methane as a major energy resource and the possibility of sequestering greenhouse gas in coal, this debate has never been more relevant. This volume contains 10 chapters on coal-bearing strata of Carboniferous through Tertiary age and is based on a special session that was held at an AAPG Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The contributors to this volume have employed a multitude of approaches ranging from basin analysis to plant taphonomy to support a variety of views on the sequence stratigraphy, paleoclimate, and tectonics of coal-bearing strata.

Abstract The discovery of a giant natural gas field within a mature petroleum province is a significant event. Understanding the factors that control such an accumulation is important if the oil and gas industry is to continue to develop natural gas resources. Jonah field, in the Greater Green River basin of southwest Wyoming, is the largest natural gas discovery in the onshore United States in the last 10-15 years with recoverable reserves ranging from 8 to 15 tcf natural gas. Since beginning widespread field development in August 1992, Jonah has produced approximately 1 tcf gas, 10.3 million barrels of oil, and 3.7 million barrels of water. Field production is still increasing with daily production presently at 666 MMCFGPD, 5800 BOPD, and 4000 BWPD from approximately 600 wells. Active drilling continues within the field as operators consider widespread downspacing. By virtue of being a tight-gas field, Jonah is, in many respects, nontraditional. Recent assessments of natural gas potential, for both the U.S. and the world, strongly suggest that most future gas resources will come from low-permeability sandstones in the deeper portions of sedimentary basins, and from fields that will undoubtedly share characteristics with Jonah. The subtle structure, the low-permeability nature of the reservoir, the challenging petrophysics, and the environmental sensitivity surrounding Jonah may foreshadow what explorationists have to look forward to as the demand for natural gas increases, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. This volume brings together previously unpublished material on Jonah field and attempts to integrate all aspects including geology, geophysics, reservoir engineering, drilling and completion, and regulatory affairs. As such, this is a definitive collection that provides a truly integrated perspective of this giant field.

Abstract Surface Exploration Case Histories: Applications of Geochemistry, Magnetics, and Remote Sensing provides an overview of successful applications of surface exploration methods. Through a series of independent case histories, this volume presents clearly documented evidence that demonstrates how surface exploration methods can significantly reduce exploration risk and finding costs: geochemical, magnetic, and remote sensing. The 19 chapters in this volume reflect the broad scope of applications for these methods: frontier basin reconnaissance, prospect development, prospect evaluation, and field development and production. The case histories span the globe: 1. North America 2. Africa 3. South America 4. Europe 5. Middle East 6. Australia. This book will interest explorationists and managers who seek to get the most out of each exploration dollar.

Abstract Access A Broad Range of Paleoclimatic Studies. Current debates regarding potential man-induced modification of climate make this volume especially timely. Introductory sections address the major and minor physical controls, or drivers, that affect Earth's climate. Several chapters describe the naturally occurring range of variation of climatic conditions and illustrate past changes in global temperatures. Case studies show how ancient temperature conditions are determined, as well as new techniques that have significant potential as proxies for assessing paleoclimates. Several chapters demonstrate the magnitude and length of duration of numerous temperature variations, which occurred during geologic time periods.

Abstract The geology of lake basins was a popular subject in the 19th century, fired by interest in the discoveries during the exploration of the American west. This book builds on the experience of an international group of limnogeology enthusiasts. The science of limnogeology is of importance to petroleum geology. Although not every limnic deposit is an exploration target, a comprehensive understanding of diverse lacustrine environments of deposition can help exploration strategies. The volume presents 60 new basin summaries, a few of which are Mongolia, southeastern Kazakhstan, southern Scotland, northwest China, the U.S. southwest, southern France, northeastern Spain, central Italy, and northwestern Mexico.

Abstract This book represents a summary of key results of hydrocarbon exploration activities during the 1980s and 1990s in a number of rift segments in East Africa. Surface and subsurface analysis of the rift basins involved multifold seismic reflection data, gravity and megnetic data, deep and shallow well control, and geological analysis of outcrops. The areas covered were vast, thus, the geological information gathered represents an unprecedented effort in the region that is unlikely to be repeated soon. With 14 chapters and 5 appendices, the data presented in this volume allow faults to be mapped and correlated with more confidence than before, basin evolution examined over a long time period, and some relationships between tectonics and sedimentation to be studied.