Fueling the 21st Century.

• Author: PARMELEE, CATHERINE
• Position: Innovations in oil and gas exploration - Industry Overview

New technologies abound in the oil and gas industry.

The success rate for exploratory wells in the U.S. has declined 10 percent since 1994, according to statistics published by the U.S. Department of Energy. And the cost of finding oil has increased over 50 percent since 1995, which means new oil and gas targets are harder to image and produce. However, dramatic technological breakthroughs are leading the way toward faster, deeper, cleaner--and cheaper--drilling systems.

"The value of lower costs is that it allows for a higher rate of return," said Mark Bendesky, group projects administrator for the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation," and it allows investments to compete globally, which means we can develop and produce more oil."

Virtual Reality

Advances in diagnostics and imaging systems have developed techniques to virtually see oil, gas and associated rocks beneath the earth's surface and nearby wellbores. This means expensive wells and enhanced production projects can be placed more effectively, resulting in reduced risk, cut costs and increased recovery.

For example, 3-D Seismic Imaging is the basic exploration tool today, according to Mike Faust, geoscience manager of exploration and land, Phillips Alaska Inc.

Like a brain CAT scan, the data can be entered into a computer, then the images can be sliced and rotated. Images show viewpoints form above and below the surface. By playing around with the images, professionals can figure out where to drill. "It's like having the earth on your desktop," Faust said.

Some advanced imaging technology moves into visualization, wherein you can immerse, or step into, the data. Phillips Petroleum's version is a visionarium, a room wherein 3-D data can be seen all around while wearing 3-D glasses. Several people can immerse in the data together and visualize the subsurface at the same time. Faust said that the collaborative work environment is also an excellent communication tool.

Chris Phillips, a technology manager for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., agrees. "It's the ultimate tool," he said. "It's much more powerful than a desktop. It really cruises."

BP's version is a Highly Interactive Visualization Environment or HIVE. Geophysicists and engineers in multiples of different disciplines wear sophisticated 3-D glasses, share images and play out multiple scenes in real time in a theater-like environment. "HIVE is literally a workplace where busy bees work in concert," Phillips said.

HIVE is used...