January Tech Trends  |  Back to Media File

It’s the number one editorial package of the year, and it’s all about the latest exploration, drilling and production technology, as well as the outlook for oil and gas activity in the year ahead.

The rise of unconventional resource plays continues to change the game with respect to North America’s oil and gas potential. But the advanced geophysics, horizontal drilling techniques and earth-shattering completion technologies honed in tight oil and shale gas plays also are boosting production and reserve numbers in conventional fields. At the same time, the drumbeat for increased access to domestic offshore areas from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic, along with the lure of huge finds in international areas such as the Eastern Mediterranean, has investors pouring funds into the coffers of U.S.-based independents.

The value-creation process in shales and tight sands begins with geophysics to locate sweet spots in the rock matrix. It then flows to geosteering horizontal laterals through thousands of feet of low-permeability pay, applying multistage hydraulic fracturing treatments, and on to balancing initial peak flush rates with longer-term reservoir management strategies. The results are staggering. Domestic dry gas production is on pace to exceed 22 trillion cubic feet for the first time in history. U.S. oil production numbers keep soaring, and the best is yet to come. Analysts predict tight oil production alone will reach as much as 3 million incremental barrels a day by 2020!

From charting the evolution of seismic acquisition as the industry increases azimuthal data, channel counts and bandwidth, to revealing high-build-rate steerable drilling systems, and showing how operators are solving technical challenges in longer laterals and high-stage-count completions, the January “Tech Trends” reports are a focal point like no other. But the Tech Trends features are only the start of the information flow. Other reports present expert advice on markets and financial trends, and preview the most pressing regulatory and legislative issues on the horizon.

The opening act is the launch of the three-part series on Unconventional Resources, which focuses on emerging oil and liquids-rich gas shales. Outlook 2012 reveals the drilling plans of U.S.-based independents, assesses the overall business environment from the industry’s best and brightest, and appraises the status of capital markets. The Production Technology reports showcase new equipment and field success stories, while the Presidential Papers present the “better business” agendas of the 28 independent producer/operator associations that AOGR serves as Official Publication.

Readers will find the whole spectrum of new technology and business intelligence in January,
a publication above and beyond all others!