Unconventional Resources and the Role of Technology

In keeping with the theme of the Annual Meeting this month in Vienna, we have focused not just on the exploitation of unconventional resources, but have also included some contributions which illustrate the innovative and forward thinking which distinguishes the professions serving the oil and gas industry. Our first article, takes a clinical look at what is seen by many as an energy saviour, the development of unconventional gas resources. Based on the evidence of the US experience, Weijermars and Watson warn that the road ahead is by no means as clear as might appear with the economics of exploration and production a possible stumbling block. However the authors believe technology may well come to the rescue. Precisely what that technology might look like is covered by Jennings in a presentation of how Schlumberger has been developing its toolkit to exploit these resources. Martin et al. provide one of the three articles showcasing some of the advanced technology now available to the E&P oil and gas industry. Their presentation covers some of the issues now being resolved in the modelling and interpretation of subsalt domains. Filippova et al. provide an admirable study of seismic inversion techniques. Finally Wild offers an excellent review of seismic anisotropy which deserves to become a reference for this significant methodology on the road to improving our understanding of the sub-surface.