Speaking at the inaugural International Petroleum Technology Conference in Doha, Qatar last month, Shell’s head of E&P, Malcolm Brinded, said that, ‘Meeting the challenge of the increasing global demand for energy, whilst tackling the impact on our climate, will depend on our ability to develop new technologies and deploy them together effectively—integration is the key.’
Recovery
Raising the conventional global oil recovery rate from its present average of 35% to 45% could add 20 years to current production. To achieve this, subsurface integration is essential and this ‘doesn’t just happen by telling people to talk to each other.’ New plays will involve harsher conditions and more complex geology and will require a range of technologies beyond conventional seismics, including satellite imaging, airborne sniffing, electromagnetic methods such as seabed logging and enhanced seismic imaging.
Data integration
Brinded stressed that new tools are required to integrate such diverse data quickly. The industry also needs people with ‘wide geological and geophysical understanding who are able to apply global knowledge locally.’
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