Technology

Technological developments in reservoir imaging are largely responsible for the increasing success rates of exploration and development in the oil and gas industry . Using geophones, scientists bounce sound waves into the earth and then construct models of underground rock formations. The models were initially two-dimensional. Unfortunately, 2-D models are difficult to read. Companies who rely on them often drill a high number of unproductive wells. The introduction of 3-D technology was a turning point for the oil and gas industry. 3-D techniques have significantly reduced the number of dry holes drilled, thus increasing the number of productive wells.

Currently, massive amounts of old seismic data is being compiled and then fine-tuned to create 3-D images of possible hydrocarbon zones. The 3-D seismic data is then reviewed by expert geologists, who determine the likelihood oil or gas in a given area. If the geologists determine that the area is likely to contain hydrocarbons, they use the information gathered from the seismic data to predict/estimate how much oil or gas might be in the reservoir