Spring is rapidly approaching our part of the World. Winter in the United States has been skewed toward the North Eastern 1/3 of our Country this year due to the predominant position of the steering jet stream. The South Western United States has literally been on the warm side of that steering jet stream and in South Texas we have had a very mild winter which is not atypical for our part of the World. As a result the use of Natural Gas has not been as rampant as normal and natural gas prices have not escalated during this winter. As the return of summer approaches the “air conditioning season” will demand huge amounts of electricity in South Texas that are derived from natural resources like Oil, Gas, Coal, and Uranium plus augmentation by Wind Energy, Geothermal, Tidal, Solar, etc. Again I state that hopefully you are looking for Oil and Gas and other minerals that can provide Energy to keep this planet running. We are charged with this as our main endeavor as Geologists. The Critical search for these raw materials is the bottom line for the continued “technological existence” of humans. What I am trying to impart this month in a simple bottom-line statement to all the people and governments of the Earth is “Support your Worldwide Oil and Gas and Natural Resource Businesses”. Do not hinder the hunt for energy; only support it. This “hunt” is critical to our existence and to support of our standards of living around the World! Your support should start right here at home on the Texas Riviera in South Texas.
48 Shale Basins in 38 Countries
To change is inevitable and to survive is essential. The Horizontal Drilling Paradigm “Tsunami” is rapidly propagating and covering the 48 Shale Basins in 38 Countries of the world in our hunt for Oil and Gas reserves to sustain our technology driven societies. Our Geology students and Geologists will literally be “surfing this wave” of change over the immediate future. The United States Geoscience Teams and Specialty Drilling Teams have pioneered how to do this type and technique of hydrocarbon hunting and producing, and the rest of the world follows our lead. We will continue to drill vertical wells, but more and more wells will start to look like the diagrammatic example below of a wellbore that has been directionally drilled for several thousand feet in a fractured high TOC (total organic carbon) shale unit sandwiched between two fractured carbonate units. This is an example of an Eagle Ford Shale well that has been perfectly drilled “on target” and stayed “in Zone” stratigraphically between the Austin Chalk and the Buda Limestone in a “toe down” configuration. This Geology had to be embraced literally “laying on its side”. Just as Weathermen observe jet stream steering currents, Geologists and Drilling Engineers GeoSteer wells so that they can have a Geosteering Report of the finaled wellbore showing where it is in time and space. This is a diagrammatic example of a well that went as planned and has the best chance of being fracture stimulated and completed as a flowing gas or oil well.
Below is a diagrammatic example of a well that demonstrates a deviated well path where the GeoSteering was very tricky and the well path became tortuous. The well completion scenario would be much more complex for a deviation of this nature that did not stay in zone on target. To embrace this kind of Geology in unconventional lateral shale well requires a team that can understand the data and change the Geosteering plan when needed. Change is inevitable and ability to adapt to the changes means survival.
ASK Yourself: Which Shale basin would I like to work as a Geologist, and in which Country? That opportunity exists for all of you young Geologists! Onward and do not be afraid to “EMBRACE CHANGE”.
Relative to the recent “Near Miss” of 17.200 Miles for a 150’ Long Asteroid in parting here is an interesting Geological Trivia Fact:
Largest Crater
The largest crater on Earth is over 500km (or 311 miles) wide, partly located beneath Mexico. It was created following an asteroid impact 65 million years ago that may have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Our Guest speaker for March at our noon luncheon meeting at the Town Club will be Jeffery Dravis, and his topic for his presentation is “Paleotrade Winds & Structural Controls on Mesozoic Carbonate Plays Around the Gulf Rim”. Please be there to welcome our speaker. See you there!
EMBRACE GEOLOGY!Dennis A. Taylor
CCGS President, 2012-13