What's new in exploration

	Vol. 227 No. 8
PERRY A. FISCHER, EDITOR

Better batteries. It may seem a bit of a stretch to present batteries as an exploration aid, but our industry uses them much more than you might think. Besides the now-common use in downhole drilling assemblies, especially LWD/ MWD, we are using them increasingly in autonomous nodes on land and at sea. On land, they power sensors and allow storage of seismic data, which is then retrieved via radio-frequencies, as used in the recent introduction of I/O’s FireFly or Vibetch’s it Systems. On the sea floor, battery powered autonomous nodes must gather and store data for days or sometimes more than a week.

There are about two dozen types of lithium batteries; they are the gold standard of batteries for oilfield use due to their long life, energy density and cost. Unfortunately, they also have some serious HSE considerations, and often must be stored in explosion-proof carriers and cannot be transported by air.

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and their collaborators, Russian firm High Power Battery Systems Co. and General Atomics, have created a solid-state, fluoride-based battery that is safer than batteries now commonly used in high-temperature applications, such as oil, gas and geothermal drilling. These solid-state fluoride ion batteries have nearly the same energy density of lithium sulfuryl batteries, except that they are inherently safe. Called the HTSS10V, they will likely become the first choice for oilfield use, especially for high-temperature oil and gas applications. Another prime advantage is the ability to transport these batteries by commercial aircraft.

Limited production of the batteries began in 2005 at Russia’s VNIIEF Institute. Under a joint program with Sandia and General Atomics, the batteries will be produced in Sarov, Russia, and in San Diego, California. Researchers are currently working on a rechargeable version for laptop computers.

Hope for reserves definitions. Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) implemented a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a Global Harmonized Classification System for reporting fossil energy reserves and resources. Such a standard is long overdue and will ensure greater consistency and transparency in financial reporting and enhance energy resource management, energy studies and business processes.

SPE has been working with the World Petroleum Council and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists since 2004, when a UN resolution was passed to achieve these universal definitions for reserves and resources. These organizations encourage their universal adoption by the oil, gas and related industries, international financial organizations, governments, regulatory agencies and reporting bodies.

To support worldwide application, UNECE has created an Ad Hoc Group of Experts on the Harmonization of Fossil Energy and Mineral Resources Terminology, in which the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Committee plays a key role. The Group of Experts provides a forum for stakeholders to assist in defining the needs to be met by the classification, its definitions, specifications and guidelines, and a vehicle for recommending their application. Under the MOU, SPE will facilitate the development of the texts of a globally harmonized common standard.

Further information about SPE and the UNECE can be found on their websites: http://www.spe.org/ and http://www.unece.org/ie/se/reserves.html.

Noteworthy find. ConocoPhillips and partner Anadarko (22%) discovered the Qannik field, a shallower, satellite accumulation over Alpine field, which is west of Prudhoe Bay. The 4,000-ft subsea CD2-404 well was tested for 19 days in June. It flowed an average 1,200 bpd of 30°API-gravity oil from a 25-ft thick sandstone. This is the third satellite field discovered near Alpine. If delineation goes well, Qannik will be produced in 2008. The other satellites will go on production later this year.

Scientific drilling for oil. Japan’s new, state-of-the-art drillship, Chikyu, belongs to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. In an unprecedented move, the Japanese government says it will use it as part of an international oil exploration project in the Indian Ocean. The oil exploration is being carried out jointly by the agency, the Kenyan government, and international firms, including Australia-based Global Petroleum Ltd., which helped broker the deal. Chikyu was built as a scientific investigation vessel, as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.

It can drill down to 23,000 ft sub-seabed, in 8,200 ft of water. Japan apparently likes the idea of using the vessel to make money and find oil, rather than for its original scientific use, at least on this one project. It is scheduled to get back to scientific drilling after the oil exploration project, which could take place this fall.

New tool for Texas exploration research. The Texas General Land Office created a new tool to help oil and gas companies with exploration research. The tool is an online GIS mapping application to assist oil and gas companies worldwide. The new system brings together millions of land grants, coastal leases and oil and gas leases via a state-of-the-art online mapping application.

The system has an interactive tool that lets title analyts look up family land grants online, which number in the millions. Users can search for information on specific leases and get a detailed map of the surrounding area, down to a particular intersection. The new mapping tool is at: http://gisweb1.glo.state.tx.us/website/gisweb.cfm.

A sign of the times? The first multiclient, wide-azimuth, towed-streamer seismic survey in the Gulf of Mexico has begun. Underwritten by Shell, it will be acquired by WesternGeco. The wider azimuths will help to illuminate complex subsalt structure and will be processed with wave equation migration. The survey will cover at least 200 OCS blocks in the central Gulf, about 125 mi offshore Louisiana in 4,400-ft depths.

Only time will tell if this (wide azimuth) is the direction that the industry will take over complex geologies offshore, or remain a niche. There’s been quite a bit of recent interest in wide azimuth from some of the majors and, subsequently, the contractors. The final product will be available for interpretation in advance of the March 2008 lease sale.