Research paper examples (2024 and 2023)

"Any actions actively supporting the expansion of fossil fuel development are indeed inconsistent” with the UN SDGs.



Sherri Aldis

Acting deputy director for the
UN Department of Global Communications
(The Guardian, February 2022)

"There can be no new oil and gas fields or coal projects for the world  to reach even the goal of global net zero by mid-century,  which is not ambitious enough. Yet Elsevier/RELX continues to support the goals of the fossil fuel industry, which are antithetical to a livable planet."


Dr. Peter Kalmus

NASA climate scientist
In 2022, an Elsevier sustainability leader informed employees that Elsevier is "ensuring the content, products and data insights we generate help the energy transition." In 2023, RELX claimed only "four journals relating to hydrocarbon research remain with updated scope and aims focused on topics such as renewable energy." In May 2024, an Elsevier climate leader affirmed the company no longer "facilitate[s] new fossil fuel assets" and it has "reviewed our journals to ensure their missions reflect and advance the UN SDGs and promote a pathway to a net zero future." 

Below are some examples of recent Elsevier materials from across its portfolio that clearly contribute to informing the continued expansion of new fossil fuel projects, including in 9 of the
top 20 oil, petroleum, and natural gas journals. The company may have removed marketing materials promoting its journals as informing fossil fuel expansion, but they continue to serve this purpose. Elsevier journals welcome "contributions that support and advance the UN’s sustainable development goals" and promote an "equitable, community-led transition" to a net zero future, but they do not prohibit content informing activity that removes all realistic IPCC and IEA pathways to that future.

Despite the existence of sustainability and human rights
pledges and statements and acknowledging its most significant environmental impact is "through its journals and what [is] published," the company informed the Guardian in 2022 that it isn't willing to draw a line at supporting the expansion of oil and gas extraction and it "wouldn’t want to tell journal editors what they can and can’t publish." As of 2024, Elsevier journal editors include employees of ExxonMobil, BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor, PetroChina, Chevron, Sinopec, CNOOC, Eni, and Gazprom. Oil majors such as these are donating millions to skew university research to "enshrine a future for fossil fuels," while generating deceptive claims about the alleged climate safety of natural gas and false promises on new technologies to maintain support for hydrocarbon expansion.
2024 paper examples
Applied Computing and Geosciences
Improved reservoir characterization of thin beds by advanced deep learning approach (9/24): "Targeting reservoirs below seismic resolution presents a major challenge in reservoir characterization…This deep-learning methodology is ideally suited to regions where the acquired seismic has limited resolution and lacks advanced reservoir characterization…This study will be helpful for future exploration of hydrocarbons in thin sand beds."

Applied Energy
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

A shale gas production prediction model based on masked convolutional neural network (1/24): "Shale gas production prediction is of great significance for shale gas exploration and development… This paper presents a novel masked convolutional neural network (M-CNN) based on masked autoencoder for shale gas production prediction.” 

A novel method for predicting shallow hydrocarbon accumulation based on source-fault-sand (S-F-Sd) evaluation and ensemble neural network (ENN) (4/24): "This contribution provides a reliable method for SHA prediction and corresponding predrilling volume evaluation, which can help avoid costly drilling mistakes and advance intelligent exploration techniques."

Spatial correlation-based machine learning framework for evaluating shale gas production potential: A case study in southern Sichuan Basin, China (3/24): "A machine-learning prediction model based on spatial correlation (SC-MLPM) is proposed for evaluating shale gas potential production based on well data..."

Techno-economic integration evaluation in shale gas development based on ensemble learning (3/24): "This work can quickly and effectively predict the economic benefits of under complex geological and engineering factors, which facilitates expeditiously developing decision making."

Real-time imaging of oil shale pyrolysis dynamics at nanoscale via environmental scanning electron microscopy (6/24): "Pyrolysis is a promising technology to increase pore and fracture connectivity in oil shale and thereby accomplish commercial recovery of unconventional hydrocarbons. Herein, real-time oil shale pyrolysis dynamics are imaged at nanoscale via environmental scanning electron microscopy."

A novel domain adaptation method with physical constraints for shale gas production forecasting (10/24): "Effective forecasting of shale gas production is essential for optimizing exploration strategies and guiding subsequent fracturing...Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method for forecasting shale gas production under data insufficiency."

Numerical investigation of production characteristics and interlayer interference during co-production of natural gas hydrate and shallow gas reservoir (1/24): "It is hoped that this study can provide important guidance for future co-production of NGH-SG reservoirs and bring new perspectives to the commercial exploitation of offshore NGH resources in the future."

Applied Geochemistry
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Differential fault-fluid alterations and reservoir properties in ultra-deep carbonates in the Tarim Basin, NW China (6/24): "The results should be significant for evaluation and predict of ultradeep carbonate reservoirs in basins with influences of both strike-slip faults and fluids." Many thanks to the Northwestern Oil & Gas Branch Company, SINOPEC, for providing fundamental drilling data

Applied Surface Science
The effect of mixed wettability on flow characteristics in porous media of ultra-deep gas reservoirs: Molecular dynamics simulations and numerical simulations (5/24): "Oil and gas exploration is advancing to deep strata, becoming a key target and popular area for oil and gas exploration...The research methodology and results proposed in this work complement the limitations of experimental methods and have crucial significance for clarifying the flow and production mechanisms of water and gas in ultra-deep gas reservoirs."

Applied Thermal Engineering
Numerical simulation of insulated drilling technique with refrigerant fluid in the Arctic region (9/24): "In recent years, there has been a gradual rise in the exploitation of the abundant oil and gas resources in the Arctic...The model and calculations provided in this paper offer some insights for the implementation of this innovative insulated drilling technique in the Arctic region...The thawing of Arctic ice due to the effects of global warming has made it possible to explore and extract petroleum and natural gas resources in the Arctic region. The Arctic region possesses significant potential in oil and gas resources. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Arctic Circle geological survey spanning from 2000 to 2008, approximately 30% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves are situated in the Arctic"

Arabian Journal of Chemistry
Advancement in heavy oil upgrading and sustainable exploration emerging technologies (3/24): "The emerging technologies that can enhance the cost-efficiency and marketability of heavy oil are discussed comprehensively." Financial supporters for this paper include the "Government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Geochemical characteristics of the shale gas reservoirs in Guizhou Province, South China (3/24): "The spots with siliceous rock floor on the western edge of the Xuefeng uplift is a favorable area for future exploration of shale gas in the Niutitang organic-rich shale."

Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences
Reservoir evaluation using petrophysics informed machine learning: A case study (12/24): "These findings indicate that it is crucial to integrate data-driven machine learning with petrophysical mechanism for the application of artificial intelligence in oil and gas exploration."

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
Sedimentary characteristics, lithofacies, and paleogeography of the Middle–Lower Cambrian in the Tarim Basin, NW China (1/24): "The Cambrian pre-salt dolomite sequence in the Tarim Basin is a target zone of great strategic significance for hydrocarbon exploration in the basin...Based on these results and previous studies, the lithofacies and paleogeography maps of the Middle–Lower Cambrian in the Tarim Basin are modified, and the implications for hydrocarbon exploration in this area are discussed.

Chemical Engineering Journal
Laser-induced electro-response of oil shale: Principles and applications (7/24):
"These results show that LIER has great significance for the precise evaluation and effective development of oil shale reservoirs, which will drive the advances in the exploration for oil shale."

Chemical Engineering Science
Log-exponential transformation function for interpreting NMR relaxation measurements of hydrocarbon in organic porous media for enhancing absolute adsorption estimation (3/24): "Assessing unconventional petroleum resources, particularly shale gas reserve estimation, is challenging due to the adsorption phenomenon. This study presents a new method combining experimental and mathematical procedures to determine the absolute adsorption amount in shale samples…This innovative approach enables the accurate characterization of shale reservoirs.”

China Geology
Deep-large faults controlling on the distribution of the venting gas hydrate system in the middle of the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea (1/24): “The impact of deep structures on gas-bearing fluids migration and gas hydrates distribution in tectonically inactive regions is still unclear...This study suggest that it is important to consider the influence of hydrocarbon migration process for the gas hydrate formation in future gas hydrate exploration…Based on high-precision 3D seismic and LWD data, the authors have investigated the relationship between the venting gas hydrate distribution and regional deep-large faults at the margin of the Songnan Low Uplift in the middle QDNB.” 

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Indicative significance of the interfacial interactions between pore surface and soluble organic matter on the shale oil mobility (9/24): "Mobility of the oil occluded in shales are vital to the exploration and exploitation of shale oil resources...The achievements of this study provide direct evidences about the controlling factors of the shale oil mobility and will also benefit the evaluation and development of shale oil resources."

Computers & Geosciences
Enhanced wave modeling & optimal plane-wave destruction (OPWD) method for diffraction separation and imaging (5/24): "By integrating diffraction-based imaging into hydrocarbon exploration workflows, the industry can enhance the accuracy of reservoir characterization, optimize drilling strategies, and ultimately increase the success rate of exploration efforts. The primary aim of this research is to enhance the comprehensive wave modeling technique in order to mitigate dispersion in the data."

MAMCL: Multi-attributes Masking Contrastive Learning for explainable seismic facies analysis (9/24): “Seismic facies analysis is crucial in hydrocarbon exploration and development. Traditional machine learning approaches typically require manual selection of attributes and lack interpretability analysis. We propose an interpretable framework, multi-attribute masking contrastive learning (MAMCL), designed to adaptively select, explore and aggregate seismic attributes for seismic facies analysis.” We would like to thank Sinopec for providing the seismic data and well logging data for the Chengdao work area.

FlexLogNet: A flexible deep learning-based well-log completion method of adaptively using what you have to predict what you are missing (9/24): "Well logs are essential tools for understanding the characteristics of subsurface formations and exploring petroleum resources. However, well logs are often missing randomly due to cost constraints, instrument failures, or other factors...we propose a hybrid deep learning method with two heads of heterogeneous graph neural network (HGNN) and fully connected network (FCN) to achieve mutual prediction among multiple types of well logs...Our method demonstrates excellent predictive accuracy on a dataset from an offshore North Sea field near Norway."

Seimic impedance inversion based on semi-supervised learning (1/24): "In coalfield seismic exploration, seismic impedance inversion can infer subsurface physical properties through seismic data, allowing the identification of subsurface strata. Deep learning has shown great potential in the field of seismic impedance inversion...The results showed that the proposed semi-supervised inversion method performed better and demonstrated improved inversion results relative to the conventional single-supervised method."

Geology-constrained dynamic graph convolutional networks for seismic facies classification (2/24): "Knowing a land’s facies type before drilling is an essential step in oil exploration. In seismic surveying, subsurface images are analyzed to segment and classify the facies in that volume. With the recent developments in deep learning, multiple works have utilized deep neural networks to classify facies from subsurface images...In this work, we propose a novel approach for facies classification...to improve the facies classification process in seismic data."

Composite loss function for 3-D poststack seismic data compression (7/24): "In the context of gas and oil exploration, seismic data play an important role in identifying potential prospecting locations, by providing valuable information on subsurface structures. The size of these data, however, has increased as methods and sensors evolved...we propose a new loss function for seismic data."

An encoder–decoder deep neural network for binary segmentation of seismic facies (1/24): "To explore hydrocarbons, it is necessary to interpret seismic data to identify facies and geological features…In this work, we presented an encoder–decoder deep neural network for seismic interpretation."

A new efficient approach of DFN modelling constrained with fracture occurrence and spatial location (9/24):“Particularly in the realm of oil and gas exploration, the development of fractures or faults in subsurface plays an important role, offering effective storage space for recources and serving as the primary seepage channels, migration pathways and production pathways. Therefore, understanding the laws of fracture distribution and establishing proper three-dimensional models are essential in mimicking the performance of fractured oil and gas reservoirs. The Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) (Shi et al., 2021) method, as one of the major fracture modelling methods, is a valuable tool for analyzing fracture distribution patterns in 3D space…To improve both efficiency and accuracy, this paper introduces two new ways for DFN modeling, the matrix-based random sampling method (referred to as the random sampling method for simplification hereon) and the utilization of the quaternion method.” 

Improving Lithofacies Prediction in Lacustrine Shale by Combining Deep Learning and Well Log Curve Morphology in Sanzhao Sag, Songliao Basin, China (9/24): “The accurate identification of shale lithofacies is crucial for characterizing the hydrocarbon potential of lacustrine shale oil reservoirs…In this study, the lower Qingshankou member in the Sanzhao Sag was selected as the research target…The Sanzhao Sag is located in the northeastern part of the central depression of the Songliao Basin (Fig. 1), serving as another important hydrocarbon-producing sag and favorable area for shale oil exploration…A novel method for predicting lacustrine shale lithofacies has been proposed, utilizing the integration of well logging data value features and morphological features (WLCM) based on the DRSN.”  

Computers & Operations Research
An approximated dynamic programming model for the supply vessel fleet sizing problem (3/24): “Consequently, our proposed method exhibits promising potential for practical implementation, allowing companies like Petrobras to accurately assess and determine the ideal fleet composition [for oil and gas exploration and production activities.]”

Earth Energy Science
"Our mission is to contribute to environmentally friendly goals and promote a net-zero carbon future."


A novel method for calculating the dynamic reserves of tight gas wells considering stress sensitivity is under consideration (8/24): The precision of dynamic reserve calculations in gas reservoirs is crucial for the rational and efficient development of oil and gas fields and the formulation of gas well production plans…we carry out stress-sensitive experiments on reservoir rocks and combine them with the effective stress model of reservoir rocks...to guide the dynamic evaluation of such hydrotight gas reservoirs and the rational production allocation program for subsequent exploitation.” Chen changhao reports financial support was provided by PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gasfield Company. This work was partially supported by CNPC Southwest Oil and Gas Field Branch's 2023 Scientific Research Program Project 

Earth-Science Reviews
"This journal welcomes review-type papers within its scope that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Cratonic strike-slip fault systems in the central Sichuan Basin, China (7/24): "Our methods and results can help guide petroleum exploration along strike-slip fault system in other ancient cratonic basins in similar tectonic settings worldwide."

Shale oil migration across multiple scales: A review of characterization methods and different patterns (7/24): "This review also improves the geological understanding of different types of shale oil migration, which has important guiding significance for sustainable shale oil exploration."

Quantification and classification of a giant fluvial-distributive system - the Triassic Mungaroo Formation, NWS, Australia (2/24): "The interpretation of the Mungaroo Formation as a large, low-gradient distributive river system, has significant reservoir modelling and hydrocarbon production implications." The authors would like to thank Chevron Technical Center and Chevron Australia Pty. Ltd.

Cryogenian–Cambrian tectono-sedimentary evolution, paleoclimate and environment effects, and formation of petroleum resources in the Tarim Block (1/24): "This review provides an improved understanding of the Cryogenian–Cambrian tectono-sedimentary evolution in the Tarim Block and its effects on the formation of ancient petroleum source rocks. It sheds insights into hydrocarbon accumulation theories and exploration strategies in ultra-deep ancient strata.

Well log prediction of total organic carbon: A comprehensive review (9/24): "Source rocks are fundamental elements for petroleum systems, and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is one of the most important geochemical parameters in source rock property evaluation…Absence of source rock analysis is one of the main risks in hydrocarbon exploration…The ultimate goal of this study is to predict TOC content with high accuracy using conventional and advanced well logs, and hope beginners and interested readers can use for future work.” This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum, Beijing, strategic cooperation project of PetroChina and China University of Petroleum. 

The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences
Integrated multispectral remote sensing approach for high-resolution spectral characterization and automated mapping of carbonate lithofacies (6/24): “We proposed a novel approach by integrating multispectral remote sensing, advanced image processing techniques, and supervised classification to perform high-resolution carbonate lithofacies mapping…The proposed approach should be applicable to other carbonate outcrops globally and could help in improving carbonate lithofacies mapping where the outcrops are not accessible…The Middle to Late Callovian Tuwaiq Mountain Limestone (TMF) contains the massive Hadriya hydrocarbon reservoir. Therefore, TMF is discussed here due to its importance in the petroleum industry.”

Energy
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

In-situ pressure-preserved coring for deep oil and gas exploration: Design scheme for a coring tool and research on the in-situ pressure-preserving mechanism (1/24): “In this paper, the design scheme of a new IPP-Coring tool was introduced for deep onshore oil and gas exploration…The presented coring tool has a higher designed pressure-preserving capacity (70 MPa) and better mechanical reliability than previous tools and thus has broad application prospects in onshore deep oil and gas exploration.” 

The flooding mechanism and oil recovery of nanoemulsion on the fractured/non-fractured tight sandstone based on online LF-NMR experiments (3/24): "The conclusion of this study is helpful to provide theoretical support for the benefit development of ultra-low permeability sandstone reservoirs."

Research on the recovery efficiency of crude oil in tight reservoirs with different pore sizes (10/24): "Compared with other conventional and unconventional reservoirs, tight oil reservoir is rich and has good exploration and development prospects… studying the imbibition and dynamic stimulation mechanisms of tight sandstone cores is beneficial for the development of tight sandstone reservoirs…In this paper, firstly, the effects of pressure and imbibition medium on the recovery rate and total recovery rate of different pore sizes under static imbibition conditions of rock cores are studied.” 

Uncertainty quantification of reservoir performance using machine learning algorithms and structured expert judgment (2/24): "The uncertainty quantification plays a vital role in reliable reservoir simulations and provides practical decision support for the subsequent development plans. This study analyzed the Teal South reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico to assess uncertainty."

Pore structure and gas adsorption characteristics in stress-loaded shale on molecular simulation (1/24): "Since stress from overlying strata is one of the primary factors influencing pore structure and gas content in shale reservoirs, understanding its role is crucial for developing shale...This study provides an important reference for understanding the pore structure of the organic matrix and the adsorption characteristics of CH4 in reservoirs...Shale gas is currently at the forefront of oil and gas exploration."

Pore structure evolution of organic-rich shale induced by structural deformation based on shale deformation experiments (10/24): "The findings can facilitate the potential evaluation and utilization of shale gas resources in deep and structurally complex areas."

A novel method for quantifying hydrocarbon micromigration in heterogeneous shale and the controlling mechanism (2/24): This method has a worldwide application for shale oil evaluation, and the findings will help to uncover shale oil differential enrichment mechanisms....There is a consensus that shale contains abundant oil resources [1]. To compensate for the weak growth of green energy, the efficient use of shale oil resources will guarantee the alleviation of global energy shortages."

Comprehensive evaluation of the organic-rich saline lacustrine shale in the Lucaogou Formation, Jimusar sag, Junggar Basin, NW China (5/24): "The siltstone and type III3 carbonate felsic shale ...[are] attractive for shale oil exploration."

Stimulation effect of network fracturing combined with sealing boundaries on the depressurization development of hydrate reservoir in China's offshore test site (9/24): "The hydrate reservoirs in the South China Sea are the main exploration and development target blocks, with a natural gas reserve of 74.4 billion tons of oil equivalent…In this study, firstly, we compared the distribution of reservoir pressure fields, hydrate decomposition, CH4 production, and water production before and after reservoir fracturing with different boundary sealing conditions…the commercial exploitation potentials of different cases were evaluated."

Simulation of wellbore pipe flow in oil production engineering: Offshore concentric double-tube CO2-assisted superheated steam wellbore during SAGD process of heavy oil reservoirs (5/24): "Heavy oil reservoirs are widely distributed around the world and play an important role in offshore oil and gas development...industrial productivity can only be obtained by effectively reducing the viscosity. In addition, by improving the steam injection pipe string, the production degree of the heavy oil reservoir can be effectively improved. In this paper, with the development of offshore heavy oil reservoirs as the background, the heat transfer characteristics of concentric double pipes are studied."

Identifying nonuniform distributions of rock properties and hydraulic fracture trajectories through deep learning in unconventional reservoirs (3/24): "The design of hydraulic fracturing encounters significant obstacles arising from the non-uniform distribution of rock properties within the formation…These uncertainties can impede the overall efficiency and economic viability of unconventional oil and gas exploration…The findings of this study offer significant advancements in computational efficiency for fracture morphology prediction. Moreover, they provide a novel avenue for exploring and addressing complex reservoir distribution prediction challenges."

Study on the influence of steam state on seepage, production, migration and deposition of offshore heavy oilfields (3/24): "In recent years, the proportion of offshore oil exploitation in the field of petroleum exploration has increased significantly…Currently, there are a large number of proven offshore heavy oil fields …thermal recovery technique may become the primary option to unlock highly viscous offshore heavy oil reservoirs…This paper experimentally studied the effects of steam status on seepage characteristics, production characteristics, heavy component migration and deposition in offshore oil fields."

Energy and AI
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy)"

Machine Learning and Data Fusion Approach for Elastic Rock Properties Estimation and Fracturability Evaluation (5/24): "The integration of multi-stage hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has unlocked the potential of unconventional reservoirs by creating intricate networks of highly conductive fractures in the rock matrix. Accurate knowledge of the rock's mechanical properties is essential for designing efficient fracturing operations...This study aims to apply data mining principles to establish a deeper understanding of the relationship between rock characteristics, elastic properties, microstructure, and rock fracability."

Energy Conversion and Management
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy).


A review on high-value development and utilization of unconventional methane-containing gaseous fuel resources (11/24): "The development and utilization of unconventional methane-containing gaseous fuel resources are extremely important. This article mainly summarizes the current reserves, high-value development and utilization technologies of unconventional methane-containing gaseous fuel resources, such as shale gas, coalbed methane, and coke oven gas, etc…helpful for providing references for the current and future development of the unconventional methane-containing gaseous fuel resources industries."

Energy Engineering
Shale Fracturability Graphic Template Based on Mixed Analytic Hierar-chy Process and Mutation Theory (6/24): “Hydraulic fracturing…depends on identifying optimal fracturing layers, also known as ‘sweet spots’. However, there is currently no uniform standard for locating these sweet spots. This paper presents a new model for evaluating fracturability that aims to address the current gap in the field…shale oil and gas have emerged as key areas in global energy exploration.”

Predicting Turbidite Channel in Deep-Water Canyon Based on Grey Relational Analysis-Support Vector Machine Model: A Case Study of the Lingshui Depression in Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea (8/24): "This endeavor not only marks a significant advancement in the realm of seismic attribute application but also contributes substantially to the strategic exploration and development of oil and gas resources in challenging deep-water environments."

Characteristics of Rock Mechanics Response and Energy Evolution Regime of Deep Reservoirs in the Bozhong Sag, Bohai Bay Basin (8/24): "With the increase of energy demand and improvement of development technology, the exploitation depth of resources is increasing. However, deep reservoirs face significant challenges due to increased reservoir depth, including high ground stress, high osmotic pressure and in-situ temperatures...A comprehensive discussion on the intensity of rock damage in deep reservoir of Bozhong Sag is provided, which aims to provide theoretical guidance for oil/gas production in this area.” This research is funded by the Scientific and Technological Service Project of CNOOC Tianjin Branch

Factors Influencing Fracture Propagation in Collaborative Fracturing of Multiple Horizontal Wells (1/24): "Horizontal well-stimulation is the key to unconventional resource exploration and development. The development mode of the well plant helps increase the stimulated reservoir volume. Nevertheless, fracture interference between wells reduces the fracturing effect… The study provides guidance for optimizing the fracturing technology of multiple horizontal wells."

A Data-Oriented Method to Optimize Hydraulic Fracturing Parameters of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs(5/24): "This technical approach can provide a valuable guide for subsequent hydraulic fracturing design in tight gas reservoirs." The authors acknowledge the CNOOC Research Institute Co. for their support in this project. 

Energy Geoscience
"A a quarterly, international, open access journal with a multidisciplinary focus, particularly on energy transition and achieving net-zero emission targets." Editor-in-Chief: Zhiqiang Feng, SINOPEC Petroleum Exploration & Production Research Institute, China

Geochemical characteristics and exploration significance of ultra-deep Sinian oil and gas from Well Tashen 5, Tarim Basin, NW China (1/24): “The deep pre-salt Cambrian strata in the northern Tarim Basin still have prospects for volatile oil and condensate exploration. Furthermore, the oil & gas discovery in the Well TS5 provided important insights for the exploration for oil & gas in the ultra-deep, high-temperature and high-pressure Neoproterozoic reservoirs.” 

Microscopic characteristics of tight sandstone reservoirs and their effects on the imbibition efficiency of fracturing fluids: A case study of the Linxing area, Ordos Basin (7/24): "In light of these findings, for the exploration and exploitation of tight sandstone reservoirs in the Linxing area of the Ordos Basin, it is advisable to prioritize areas with favorable physical properties and avoid those with high clay mineral content." The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hu Wang and Haipeng Sun are currently employed by PetroChina, and Hanpeng Zhang is currently employed by CNOOC.

Shale oil production predication based on an empirical model-constrained CNN-LSTM (4/24): "Compared to traditional approaches, the D-C-L model demonstrates superior precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in predicting shale oil production." The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Qiang Zhou, Zhengdong Lei, Zhewei Chen, Yishan Liu and Yuqi Liu are currently employed by PetroChina. The research project is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51974356).

Architecture and exploration target areas of the Senegal Basin, West Africa (10/24): "The Upper Jurassic - Aptian platforms exhibit thick carbonate rocks and organic reefs on their edges, suggesting substantial potential for hydrocarbon exploration in the Senegal Basin." Authors are currently employed by SINOPEC. The research is funded by the projects of the SINOPEC Science & Technology Department and the Basic Prospective Research Projects of SINOPEC, China.

Influence of shale reservoir properties on shale oil mobility and its mechanism (5/24): "This study explores the Biyang Depression as an example to determine the influence of shale reservoir properties on shale oil mobility, based on geological and geochemical data, to provide a clearer understanding and theoretical guidance for shale oil exploration and development." Xinwen Zhang is currently employed by Exploration & Development Research Institute of Henan Oilfield Company and Suping Zhao is currently employed by PetroChina.

Outcrops as windows to petroleum systems: Insights from the southern Bida Basin, Nigeria (7/24): "The areas where the Patti Formation overlies the Lokoja Formation in the Agbaja Plateau area, extending to Agbaja, Ahoko, and Abaji, are considered the most promising for oil and gas exploration and exploitation. The presence of faults, fractures, slump structures, and abandoned channels suggests the existence of potential hydrocarbon traps in the deeper subsurface of the basin."

The Upper Jurassic sediments, Marib-Shabwa Basin, Yemen: Lithofacies aspects and sequence stratigraphic analysis (1/24): "It is advised that all future drilling as well as upcoming exploration and development plans in the basin be focused on the highstand deposits."

Callovian-Oxfordian sedimentary microfacies in the middle of Block B on the right bank of the Amu Darya Basin, Turkmenistan (4/24): "The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical basis for the efficient exploration and development of the reservoirs of platform - ramp shoal facies in the middle of Block B."

Horizontal well spacing optimization and gas injection simulation for the ultra-low-permeability Yongjin reservoir (1/24): "The method for calculating optimal horizontal well spacing is proposed for low-permeability reservoirs...The low-permeability Yonjin reservoir makes gas injection the preferred EOR method. Simulation of different gas injection shows that using carbon dioxide is the most economical and efficient. But if the reservoir produces enough methane, methane would be a better choice than carbon dioxide."

A multi-mineral model for predicting petrophysical properties of complex metamorphic reservoirs: Case study of the Bozhong Depression, Bohai Sea (7/24): "The multi-mineral model presented in this study provides reasonable methods for interpreting log data in complex metamorphic hydrocarbon reservoirs and could assist in efficient development in the future." Guoqiang Zhang, Zhongjian Tan and Jun Cao are currently employed by Tianjin Branch of CNOOC Ltd.; Guibin Zhang, Dong Li and Zhang Zhang are currently employed by Well Tech of China Oilfield Services Co. Ltd., CNOOC; Xin Lei is currently employed by Research Center of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).The research project is funded by Science and Technology Major Project of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC-KJ 135 ZDXM36 TJ 08TJ).

An intelligent lithology recognition system for continental shale by using digital coring images and convolutional neural networks (8/24): "This study delves into the intelligent identification of macroscopic drilling core images of continental shale, and the findings can offer technical support for the interpretation and evaluation of continental shale reservoirs." This work was supported in part by the PetroChina Science and Technology Innovation Foundation (2021 DQ02-0501)

Quantitative identification and prediction of mixed lithology, Bohai Sea, China (7/24): "Under the guidance of reservoir research, the oil-in-place discovered in the oilfield were estimated to be more than 5 million tonnes. This technology provides reference for the exploration and development of oilfields of mixed sedimentary system."

The Middle and Lower Cambrian salt tectonics in the central Tarim Basin, China: A case study based on strike-slip fault characterization (4/24): "It is crucial to prioritize the salt layers of the Lower Cambrian formations during the exploration and development of oil and gas resources in the Shunbei region. This article presents a precise technique for identifying these salt layers, which can serve as a technical reference for professionals engaged in oil and gas exploration." Authors are currently employed by SINOPEC.

Shale primary porosimetry based on 2D nuclear magnetic resonance of T1-T2 (7/24): "There has been a mismatch between the exploration potential and the technical production of shale oil in China given the current understanding and exploration accuracy. One of the important reasons for the problem lies in the determination of parameters in reserve estimation, among which porosity is a key one...This method can be applied to calculate the effective porosity of cored samples taken under pressure without core cleaning, which will be of referential value to shale oil/gas reserve estimation."

Analyzing the impact of geological features on reservoir heterogeneity using heterogeneity logs: A case study of Permian reservoirs in the Persian Gulf (6/24): "The aim of the present study is to investigate the application of heterogeneity log to determine the geological features affecting heterogeneity in Upper Dalan Member (Late Permian) in the central Persian Gulf...a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneity in carbonate reservoirs and its recognition in petrophysical measurements and geological studies, can significantly contribute to the exploration and development of these important reservoirs."

Log interpretation of carbonate rocks based on petrophysical facies constraints (7/24): "The research results demonstrate that deep learning algorithms can uncover the correlation in carbonate reservoir well logging data. Integrating geological and production data and selecting appropriate machine learning algorithms can significantly improve the accuracy of well log interpretation for carbonate reservoirs." The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hongwei Xiao is currently employed by Exploration and Development Research Institute of Daqing Oilfield Co., Ltd., and Guofeng Cheng is currently employed by PetroChina.

Influences of lithofacies on fluid mobility in mixed sedimentary rocks: Insights from NMR analysis of the middle Permian Lucaogou Formation, Junggar Basin (10/24): "Fine-grained sedimentary rocks have garnered significant attention as promising sites for hydrocarbon exploration efforts...This study will significantly advance the comprehension of the distribution and formation conditions of high-quality reservoirs within a complex sedimentary environment."

Highlighting relationships between sand thicknesses, reservoir-seal pairs and paleobathymetry from a sequence stratigraphic perspective: An example from Tortonian Serravallian deposits, onshore Niger Delta Basin (1/24): "This methodology employed in the study was carried out in selected fields with similar gross depositional environments, while learning from observed relationships was applied in predicting sand-prone areas, characterizing reservoir-seal parameters, and estimating net sand thickness. These are key inputs for prospect evaluation and quick-look volume estimation for frontier assets.” This work, which formed part of the senior author's doctorate thesis, was sponsored by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

Flow behavior of a coupled model between horizontal well and fractal reservoir (8/24): "The application of fractals in the petroleum industry has been extensively studied, spanning from geological and geophysical exploration to reservoir development…In this paper, we developed a finite flow model for horizontal wells in fractal reservoirs and investigated the influence of fractal parameters on the flow rate and flow profile of horizontal wells. This method can be applied to rapidly assess horizontal wells in highly heterogeneous reservoirs, predict single-well production, and guide well deployment.” Authors are currently employed by SINOPEC

Fundamental error in tree-based machine learning model selection for reservoir characterisation (4/24): "This study aims to highlight the common mistake of relying solely on statistical metrics to select a suitable model and demonstrate the importance of incorporating visualisation into the model selection process...it is an area of active research and development within the industry and is likely to play an increasingly important role in the future of oil and and production.

Regression analysis and its application to oil and gas exploration: A case study of hydrocarbon loss recovery and porosity prediction, China (7/24): "In oil and gas exploration, elucidating the complex interdependencies among geological variables is paramount...The insights garnered from these advanced modeling strategies are set to transform geological and engineering practices in hydrocarbon prediction, evaluation, and recovery."

3D reservoir characterization of the Mangahewa Formation, Mangahewa Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand (4/24): "The 3D reservoir modeling of the Mangahewa Formation encourages future hydrocarbon development in the region. This study can be replicated for other tight-sand gas reservoir elsewhere."

Progress and prospects of EOR technology in deep, massive sandstone reservoirs with a strong bottom-water drive (1/24): "Gas flooding tests in the Tahe oilfield are of great significance to identifying which EOR technology is the most effective and has the potential of large-scale application for improving development of deep reservoirs with a strong bottom-water drive."

Paleoenvironment of marine-continental transitional shales in the lower Permian Shanxi formation, southeastern Ordos Basin, China (7/24): "...aiming to provide foundational information for enhanced research on shale gas exploration in the Ordos Basin."

Organic geochemical, petrographic and palynological characterization of claystones of the Palaeogene Toraja Formation, and oil seeps in the Enrekang Sub-basin, south Sulawesi, Indonesia: Implications for hydrocarbon source rock potential (7/24): "The results of this study are expected to be beneficial for the hydrocarbon exploration in the south arm of Sulawesi"

Production forecasting methods for different types of gas reservoirs (7/24): "This study evaluates the suitability of various lifecycle models and explores production forecasting methodologies for five gas reservoir types developed by SINOPEC" Authors are currently employed by SINOPEC.

Fluid property identification of the Lower Cretaceous reservoirs with complex oil-water contacts in Deseo Basin, Chad (1/24): “The application in the Doseo Basin achieved great success, improving interpretation ability of fluid property in the reservoir with complex oil-water contact, and also provided technical reference for the efficient exploration and development of similar reservoirs.”

Fracture identification of carbonate reservoirs by deep forest model: An example from the D oilfield in Zagros Basin (7/24): "Accurate identification of fractures is crucial for the exploration and development of tight reservoirs...the DF algorithms can achieve effective learning without the backpropagation algorithm used in neural networks, and obtain good predictive performance"

Improved reservoir characterization by means of supervised machine learning and model-based seismic impedance inversion in the Penobscot field, Scotian Basin (4/24): "The present research advocates the integrated analysis of multi-attributes estimated using different methods to minimize the risk involved in hydrocarbon exploration."

Reservoir quality of the Late Cretaceous Volador Formation of the Latrobe group, Gippsland Basin, Australia: Implications from integrated analytical techniques (1/24): “The results obtained from this study have shown that the Volador Formation in the Gippsland Basin is worth for hydrocarbon exploration."

The Lower Cambrian Xiaoerbulake Formation in the Tarim Basin as a potential carbonate source rock (4/24): “The source rocks of the Xiaoerbulake Formation may play a greater role in hydrocarbon generation, thus their significance of oil and gas exploration deserves attention.”

3D static modeling and sequence stratigraphy using well logs and seismic data: An example of Abu Roash G member in Bahga oilfield (7/24): "The hydrocarbon initially in-place (HCIIP), which is the number of hydrocarbons in the reservoir during the exploration phase, is the last step in static reservoir modeling. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quantity of oil and its spatial distribution within the Abu Roash G reservoir in preparation for future field development."

Gas source of the Middle Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in the Zhongjiang large gas field of Western Sichuan Depression: Constraints from geochemical characteristics of light hydrocarbons (4/24): “This study will assist in revealing the accumulation process and enrichment mechanism of natural gas from terrigenous strata in the Western Sichuan Depression, thus providing a scientific basis for expanding exploration targets in the terrigenous strata in the depression.”

Facies-controlled prediction of dolomite reservoirs in the Middle Permian Qixia Formation in Shuangyushi, northwestern Sichuan Basin (4/24): “The plane and spatial distributions of high-graded reservoirs in the Qixia Formation were accurately delineated, hopefully providing theoretical support to extensive and beneficial exploration and development of the Qixia Formation gas reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin.”

Ordovician reservoirs in Fuxian area: Gas accumulation patterns and their implications for the exploration of lower Paleozoic carbonates in the southern Ordos Basin (1/24): “This study will serve as a geological basis for future [gas] exploration deployment in the Fuxian area.”

Application of fluid modulus inversion to complex lithology reservoirs in deep-water areas (1/24): “Our findings confirm the value of the fluid modulus in fluid identification and demonstrate that the tri-parameter direct inversion method can significantly enhance hydrocarbon exploration in deep-water areas.”

Dynamic evaluation on sealing capacity of caprocks of the Meso-Neoproterozoic reservoirs in Ordos Basin, China (1/24): “The Meso-Neoproterozoic reservoirs in the Ordos Basin are well preserved and probabally of better potential for exploration in terms of the caprock-source rock combination.”

Origin of condensate oil and natural gas in Bozhong 19-6 gas field, Bohai Bay Basin (1/24): “The discovery of the Bozhong 19-6 gas field has opened a new frontier for deep gas exploration in the Bohai Bay Basin, with a great potential for further gas exploration. However, poor understanding of oil and gas origin has been limiting the exploration progress in this area…The findings of this study are scientifically, theoretically and practically significant for the in-depth understanding of the formation and distribution patterns of oil and gas in the Bozhong Sag.”

The formation and evolutionary characteristics of organic matter and pyrites in the continental shales of the 3rd submember of Chang 7 Member, Yanchang formation, Ordos Basin, China (4/24): “This study systematically analyzes the organic matter and pyrites in the continental shales in the Triassic Chang 73 submember, Ordos Basin to ascertain their types, as well as formation and evolutionary characteristics, so as to provide a basis for further understanding of continental shale oil in the basin…an important strategic successor for future exploration and development in the Ordos Basin.” 

Fluid identification and tight oil layer classification for the southwestern Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin using NMR logging-based spectrum decomposition (4/24): “This well exhibits a stable production of about 40 t/d, indicating that this area has great potential for tight oil exploration.”

Reservoir characteristics and controlling factor of tight sandstone in Shuixigou Group in Taibei depression, Turpan-Hami basin (4/24): “The research findings will provide valuable guidance for the exploration and development of lithological oil and gas reservoirs within the Taibei Sag.” 

Sedimentary systems of the Oligocene Huagang Formation in the central anticline zone of the Xihu Depression, East China Sea Shelf Basin (1/24): "The study will provide a basis for well placement and serve as guidance for the selection of favorable hydrocarbon exploration areas in the Xihu Depression."

A log-based method for fine-scale evaluation of lithofacies and its applications to the Gulong shale in the Songliao Basin, Northeast China (7/24): "The methodology and insights in this study will provide a valuable guide for sweet spot identification and horizontal well-based exploitation of the Gulong shale."

Hydrocarbon generation potential of Campano-Maastrichtian to Paleogene shales in the Benin Flank of the Anambra Basin, SW Nigeria (7/24): "An assessment of the hydrocarbon generation potential of this frontier area from subsurface samples."

Energy Reviews
"Facilitating the beneficial collaborations among researchers that are key to building a sustainable future for all. This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals."

A critical mini-review of key issues on sweet spot identification for shale gas reservoirs (7/24): "With the escalating energy demand, attention has shifted toward exploring and exploiting deep-buried, low-quality middle-shallow, and middle-deep shale gas reservoirs in China. This shift necessitates advancements in geological evaluation and engineering design. Here, the key issues related to sweet spot identification in shale gas reservoirs are introduced, and three correlated parameters (gas-in-place, microstructure, and permeability) are concisely overviewed."

Sustainable development of unconventional resources: Analysis of the transient linear flow oriented straight-line analysis technique (3/24): "Unconventional reservoirs have emerged in a dominant role to furnish substantial oil and gas supplies worldwide...in an ever more carbon-conscious world, it is of paramount importance to prioritize producing global unconventional resources in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable fashion…[this paper] helps promote the production of global unconventional resources in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable fashion.”

Energy Strategy Reviews
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Scenario analysis to evaluate the economic benefits of tight oil resource development in China (1/24): "Foreign oil dependency may restrict rapid social and economic development in China. To solve its energy security problem, China needs to accelerate the exploration and development of domestic alternative oil and gas resources, such as tight oil."

Engineering
Unveiling the Oldest Industrial Shale Gas Reservoir: Insights for the Enrichment Pattern and Exploration Direction of Lower Cambrian Shale Gas in the Sichuan Basin (4/24): "...two additional reservoirs were identified with significant potential...This model provides a predictive tool for identifying prospective shale gas reservoirs in similar geological settings globally...minimizes risks and costs associated with exploration and production activities in the Sichuan Basin."

Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence
Estimating hydrocarbon recovery factor at reservoir scale via machine learning: Database-dependent accuracy and reliability (2/24): “This study aims to estimate recovery factor (RF), a key property for exploration…to determine whether [a reservoir] has high potential to produce substantial amount of hydrocarbon and subsequently yield enough profit.” 

Novel method for total organic carbon content prediction based on non-equigap multivariable grey model (7/24): "Predicting total organic carbon content plays a crucial role in shale gas reservoir evaluation. To address multi-variable, imperfect logging data and non-equigap characteristics, this study developed a multi-variable grey derivative model for predicting the total organic carbon content trend."

Engineering Failure Analysis
Hydrogen-induced cracking of longitudinally submerged arc welded HSLA API 5L X65 carbon steel pipeline (9/24): "Rising global energy and petroleum demand necessitate increased oil and gas exploration [and] necessitates a thorough understanding of the hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) susceptibility...This paper presents findings from investigations of HIC failures in longitudinally submerged arc welded (LSAW) pipes." Acknowledgemets include Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco.

Engineering Fracture Mechanics
Multiple hydraulic fracture propagation simulation in deep shale gas reservoir considering thermal effects (6/24): "Increasing the exploration and development of deep unconventional oil and gas resources has become a key focus of the petroleum industry...in this study, a shale multiple hydraulic fracture propagation model considering thermal effects was established...providing theoretical basis for the efficient development of deep shale gas."

Expert Systems With Applications
Classification with noisy labels through tree-based models and semi-supervised learning: A case study of lithology identification (4/24): "In this paper, hybrid noise label filtering and correction framework for lithology identification (HNFCL) is proposed... Lithology identification is the fundamental task in hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir research"

Missing well logs reconstruction based on cascaded bidirectional long short-term memory network (9/24): "Oil and natural gas, as crucial fossil fuels, are extensively utilized in various sectors worldwide. The efficient exploration and development of these resources play a significant role in improving the efficiency and benefits of energy (, ). Well logs are essential for effective interpretation and evaluation in reservoir, which is of great significance for exploration and development of oil and gas reservoirs…Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed cascaded system." 

Fluid Dynamics and Materials Processing
Evaluation of Well Spacing for Primary Development of Fractured Horizontal Wells in Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs (6/24): "The SEC reserve is critical in exploration, development, production, and operation processes; the evaluation results are required to have reasonable certainty to ensure minimum risks for investors…This method will provide significant guidance and reference for key parameters of the SEC reserve estimation of similar gas reservoirs." 

A Transient-Pressure-Based Numerical Approach for Interlayer Identification in Sand Reservoirs (1/24): "Almost all sandstone reservoirs contain interlayers. The identification and characterization of these interlayers is critical for minimizing the uncertainty associated with oilfield development and improving oil and gas recovery…This study is of considerable importance for improving the quantitative identification of interlayers and reducing uncertainty in the oilfield development process."

A Novel Fracturing Fluid with High-Temperature Resistance for Ultra-Deep Reservoirs (6/24): "Ultra-deep reservoir resources are crucial for our oil and gas exploration and development. An oilfield block aims to achieve a production capacity of 30 million tons. The target layer depth is becoming increasingly deep, with the physical properties of the reservoir deteriorating…The findings of this study provide valuable technical references for future fracturing construction in onshore ultra-deep well oilfields.”

Fuel
"The scope is broad and includes many topics of increasing interest such as environmental aspects and pollution."

Oil content and mobility in a shale reservoir in Songliao Basin, Northeast China: Insights from combined solvent extraction and NMR methods (2/24): “Our results improve understanding of hydrocarbon content, saturation, and mobility in organic-rich shale; as shale oil has become a globally important source of fossil-fuel energy, such understanding is important in shale oil exploration and development.”

Molecular and stable carbon isotopic compositions of crude oils from Shengbei Sag, Tuha Basin: Implications for hydrocarbon Sources, migration and mixing (9/24): "This study provides an improved understanding of hydrocarbon sources, migration and mixing in the Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs of Shengbei Sag, Tuha Basin and should be helpful in making reasonable strategy for petroleum exploration in this region."

Experimental simulation of fracture propagation and extension in hydraulic fracturing: A state-of-the-art review (5/24): "With the continuous advancement of oil and gas field development technologies, there has been an increasing focus on the exploration of unconventional oil and gas resources...The findings of this research offer valuable guidance for experimental design and serve as a reference for future fracturing operations."

Micro formation mechanism of oil–water inversion in reservoirs based on water film theory—An example from the Dawangzhuang Oilfield in Bohai Bay Basin (3/24): "This method has a strong generalisation potential and can guide rolling exploration and the efficient development of similar oilfields."

The relationship between oiliness and mobility and their controlling factors for lacustrine shale oil: A case study of Qing1 Member in Changling Sag, Songliao Basin (11/24): “The results of the present study are very important for deepening the understanding of the mobile mechanism and guiding the selection of sweet spots for shale oil.”

Numerical simulation of gas production from Class III hydrate reservoirs using low-frequency electric heating-assisted depressurization with horizontal wells (2/24): "The proposed method and the findings of this work provide a useful reference for the efficient development of gas hydrate reservoirs."

GCMC-MD prediction of adsorption and diffusion behavior of shale gas in nanopores (12/24): "In recent years, the problem of global warming has become increasingly severe...Meanwhile, the global shortage of oil and gas resources is getting worse...The main object is to provide the theoretical basis and guidance for increasing the production of shale gas reservoirs."

Unraveling the mechanism of selective dissolution in anthracite coal for enhanced permeability through sodium hypochlorite oxidation treatment (10/24): "Sodium Hypochlorite (NaClO) oxidation treatment has emerged as a promising method for stimulating coalbed methane reservoirs. However, the variability in reactivity among different coal macerals and mineral compositions, particularly vitrinite and inertinite, and its impact on coal permeability remain incompletely understood. This study aims to reveal the mechanism of selective dissolution in anthracite coal by comparing the change in coal composition and the associated dissolution structures."

Multiscale characterization of carbonate-rich shale: From micro structure to macro mechanical properties, a case study in Hongxing Block, China (4/24): "These comprehensive insights are of great significance for both the exploration and development of carbonate-rich shale reservoirs."

Characterization and behavior of Raniganj shale under heated environment (6/24): "Understanding the physico-mechanical characteristics of shale under different environmental conditions is vital for the practical exploration and production of shale gas. One of the essential components that can substantially affect the physico-mechanical properties of shales is temperature…In this study, the characterization of Raniganj shale was carried out under a heating environment based on physical, mechanical, and chemical parameters.”  

Enrichment and movability of lacustrine tight shale oil for the first member of the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation in the Sanzhao Sag, Songliao Basin, NE China: Insights from saturated hydrocarbon molecules (7/24): "The above discoveries indicate the great exploration potential of tight shale oil in the Songliao Basin. Tight shale oil was regarded by the Petrochina Daqing Oilfield as the most important exploration field in the next few years, and was expected to be an important substitute resource for the present producing conventional crude oil in the future"

Construction of multidimensional structure model of the Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling shale kerogen, northern North China (7/24): "In the southeastern Xuanlong sag of Northern China, the organic-rich black shale of the Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation holds significant potential as a source rock…a 3D model for the Xiamaling kerogen was developed with a relatively high degree of accuracy." 

Oil saturation quantitative evaluation in lacustrine shale: Novel insights from NMR T1-T2 and displacement experiments (9/24): "This method allows the shale oil saturation to be accurately calculated and provides basis for the determination of favorable sections and evaluation of resource of shale oil reservoir."

A rapid optimization methodology of produced gas reinjection EOR in carbonate reservoirs (1/24): "The optimal levels of controlling factors were determined to maximize oil recovery. This optimization procedure is very practical for reservoir engineers to guide a rapid evaluation of gas injection processes [in EOR]."

Characterization of shale oil and water micro-occurrence based on a novel method for fluid identification by NMR T2 spectrum (10/24): "Accurately identifying the fluid type and occurrence characteristics is essential for exploring and developing shale oil…This study aims to capitalize on the strengths of 1D and 2D NMR techniques and their relationship, providing a more accurate solution for fluid identification in 1D T2 spectra." 

Gas Science and Engineering
"The journal aims to advance the environmentally sustainable exploration, processing, and utilization of gas resources to support energy transition and net-zero carbon goals." Editor-in-Chief: Zhejun Pan, PhD, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing, China

Evolution of organic pores in Permian low maturity shales from the Dalong Formation in the Sichuan Basin: Insights from a thermal simulation experiment (1/24): “This knowledge contributes to our understanding of shale resevoir characteristics and can inform exploration and production strategies for shale gas and oil resources.”

Hydraulic Fracturing Potential of Tight Gas Reservoirs: A Case Study from a Gas Field in the Bredasdorp Basin, South Africa. (6/24): "This study has shown that the F-O gas field is a promising candidate for hydraulic fracturing."

Identificating favourable reservoir areas of coalbed methane based on multifractal and gated circulation unit (1/24): "The method is feasible and provides a new way for identificating favourable reservoir areas of CBM under complex geological conditions."

Estimation of shale adsorption gas content based on machine learning algorithms (7/24):  "The exploration and development of shale gas plays a vital role in addressing energy crisis, reducing carbon emissions, and achieving carbon neutrality...This study evaluates the geological parameters that affect methane adsorption capacity and their influence on prediction accuracy. It also clarifies the accuracy and applicable conditions of ML models with different combinations of geological parameters. The paper concludes by providing an example of a rapid and accurate prediction using the Wufeng-Longmaxi gas shale in the southern Sichuan Basin."

An improved convolutional neural network for predicting porous media permeability from rock thin sections (7/24): "Accurately predicting the permeability of rock thin sections can lead to more precise assessments of reservoirs and reduced uncertainty in the oil and gas exploration and development. In this study, we proposed a neural network named Phy-ConvNeXt to rapidly predict the permeability of porous media based on artificially synthesized porous media image datasets in the absence of a large amount of rock thin section data."

Effects of SEM image resolution on organic pore structure estimation of shale reservoirs (1/24): "This should significantly help petroleum geologists and engineers to better utilize SEM images on shale reservoir evalution."

Development of a dual-functional inhibitor for natural gas hydrates and construction of drilling fluid system (2/24): "The research outcomes presented in this paper hold significant practical value in addressing the wellbore stability issues encountered during the drilling process of gas hydrate reservoirs in deep-sea areas."

Control of fracture toughness of kerogen on artificially-matured shale samples: An energy-based nanoindentation analysis (4/24): "Understanding controls on mechanical properties of organic-rich shale is essential in exploration and successful production from hydrocarbon reservoirs...The fracture toughness of organic matter obtained in this study is crucial for parameter estimation of fracture propagation and homogenization models."

Geoenergy Science and Engineering
(Formerly known as Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering) "The journal aims to publish articles with a particular focus on energy transition and achieving net-zero emission targets."

Application of machine learning in wellbore stability prediction: A review (1/24): “Ensuring wellbore stability is vital for safe drilling and production in the process of oil exploration and development… therefore, this paper systematically investigates and summarizes the research progress in intelligent prediction of wellbore stability.” 

Nanopores-to-microfractures flow mechanism and remaining distribution of shale oil during dynamic water spontaneous imbibition studied by NMR (8/24): "Providing a theoretical support for the exploration and development of lacustrine shale oil.”

Influencing factors on weathered clay layer formation in unconformity structures: A case study of the Junggar Basin (9/24): “This study provides a significant guide for predicting the distribution of stratigraphic oil and gas reservoirs in petroleum exploration.”

Brittleness index prediction using modified random forest based on particle swarm optimization of Upper Ordovician Wufeng to Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale gas reservoir in the Weiyuan Shale Gas Field, Sichuan Basin, China (2/24): "The developed model can be adopted as an alternative technique to determine the sweet spot for hydraulic fracturing in shale gas reservoirs to enhance gas production."

SR-RDFAN-LOG: Arbitrary-scale logging image super-resolution reconstruction based on residual dense feature aggregation (9/24): "The experimental results...provides support for subsequent fracture-cave evaluation and oil and gas exploration."

Effects of matrix on oil sands texture and bitumen distribution in the Cretaceous McMurray Formation, Alberta, Canada (6/24): "With the depletion of world energy resources, unconventional energy sources such as heavy oil and oil sand are attracting widespread attention... considering matrix can further consummate the formation mechanism of water, oil, and poor oil interval in oil sand reservoir, provide more comprehensive information for predicting the distribution and quality of bitumen, and optimize well-site deployment and bitumen recovery."
This research was supported by CNPC's Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development Project. We sincerely appreciate the collaboration and support of the National Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Engineering, College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (Beijing)

Rapid well-test analysis based on Gaussian pressure-transients (10/24): "The study recommends hydraulic fracturing for future field development, and includes simulation results valuable for reservoir management and decision-making."

Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of Prolific Permo-Triassic Petroleum Reservoirs Offshore Iran: Insights from Seismic Stratigraphy (8/24): "The significance of this finding is that by applying the developed seismic stratigraphy techniques integrated with existing well data on a regional basis offers the opportunity to identify undrilled exploration targets with an improved chance of containing high-quality Dalan / Kangan reservoir sections."

Difference of hydrocarbon generation between argillaceous dolomite and mudstone and its influence on oil source: A case study of the Es4 in the Leijia area, Liaohe depression (6/24): "This study aims to provide a theoretical foundation and research methodology for the exploration of tight oil in the study area and other work regions with similar geological conditions."

Chemofacies characterization of lacustrine shale based on machine learning classification: A case study from the Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China (7/24): "The rapid lithofacies transitions and compositional heterogeneities inherent in lacustrine shale posed significant challenges to accurately characterizing it, thus impeding the optimization of shale oil exploration and extraction. This study employed a multifaceted methodology to address these obstacles, integrating principal component analysis (PCA), K-means clustering, and geochemical trend analysis to precisely identify and characterize nine distinct chemofacies."

Experimental and numerical simulation study on enhanced oil recovery by N2-Assisted water huff-n-puff in a tight oil reservoir (10/24): "N2-assisted water huff-n-puff (NAWHP) was proposed to improve oil recovery under reservoir conditions...As the amount of conventional oil continues to decrease, tight oil will become an important successor resource for oil exploration and development in the future due to its large reserves."

Multifactor quantitative evaluation of tight sandstone reservoirs based on Geodetector model and spatial statistics: First member of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation, southern Raoyang Sag, Bohai Bay Basin (9/24): "With the development and continuous improvement of conventional oil and gas exploration, the strategic and industrial value of tight sandstone reservoirs is increasingly evident, attracting increasing attention…A multifactor reservoir quantitative evaluation method has been developed based on the spatial heterogeneity of reservoir influencing factors. 

Multifractal characteristics on pore structure of Longmaxi shale using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (7/24): "The comprehensive fractal characterization of reservoir rocks demonstrates the applicability of multifractal dimensions in characterizing the heterogeneity of shale reservoir pore structures, which holds potential promise for coal methane exploration."

Improved pore structure prediction based on a stacking machine learning model for low-permeability reservoir in Tazhong area, Tarim Basin (10/24): "The proficiency of the stacking model in predicting pore structure types serves as a transformative force, offering significant advancements in hydrocarbon distribution predictions and paving the way for more streamlined and effective future EOR activities."

Applying transfer learning to address data scarcity: A case study on LWD gamma ray depth-lag remediation from Volve to another gasfield (11/24): "This study investigates the applicability of deep learning with transfer learning, to tackle this prominent challenges…In petroleum exploration and development, deep learning models often face challenges due to dataset limitations, affecting their generalizability…transfer learning offers a powerful approach to addressing the dual challenges of geological complexity and data scarcity in petroleum engineering. This research investigates the application of transfer learning to enhance real-time data augmentation for LWD operations." 

A New Approach for Fracture Parameters Optimization of Multi-Fractured Horizontal Wells: Virtual Boundary Method (7/24): "Horizontal well fracturing technology stands as the cornerstone for achieving large-scale commercial production in shale reservoirs. Yet, the complexity of fracture variables within horizontal wells, comprising both discrete and continuous factors, presents a formidable challenge for optimization…This research lays a solid theoretical foundation for the design of horizontal fracturing well construction plans in shale reservoirs." 

Analysis of bit-balling failure and hydraulic structure optimization design of annular-grooved PDC bits (10/24): "The results herein will assist in accelerating the exploration and development of deep difficult-to-drill formations and reduce drilling costs."

Geological and dynamic similarity for reservoir state prediction by well connectivity (3/24): "Reservoir modeling and simulation are the main pipeline of computational analysis...there is growing demand in exploration and production industry to develop efficient alternatives for this pipeline...We propose that such a method is a reliable and efficient approach for fast estimation of well connectivity properties."

Seismic simulation and attribute analysis of Jurassic fluvial reservoirs in the P6 region, Xinjiang (2/24): "Fluvial reservoirs are crucial for oil and gas exploration...We conclude that further exploration should focus on the fluvial channel delta in the southeast of the study area."

A Novel Method for Predicting Geomechanical Parameters of Gassy Sediments: Insights from Theoretical Models and Laboratory Testing (9/24): “These advancements provide a simplified and effective approach for the rapid and precise determination of geomechanical parameters in gassy sediments, offering crucial theoretical and technical guidance for offshore petroleum exploration and field operations.”

Dynamic Prediction of Fracture Propagation in Horizontal Well Hydraulic Fracturing: A Data-Driven Approach for Geo-Energy Exploitation (7/24): "Accurate and efficient prediction of hydraulic fracturing fracture propagation is of utmost importance for unconventional reservoir development...The research findings demonstrate that this method significantly enhances prediction efficiency and provides new insights for predicting fracture morphology and optimizing fracturing design."

Effect of pump start-stop operation in drilling of offshore Extreme-HPHT directional wells upon bottomhole transient fluctuating pressure (4/24): "Since high temperature and high pressure oil and gas reservoirs have steadily become an important area for offshore oil-gas exploration and development, the work of oil-gas exploration and development is constantly veering toward high-risk and very challenging extreme-HPHT environments, and the extreme-HPHT fields will become a global focus of future oil-gas resource exploration...To accurately predict the wellbore pressure and variation pattern of offshore extreme-HPHT wells throughout the drilling pump start-steady circulation-pump stop process, a transient-flow mathematical model of drilling fluid temperature-pressure physical properties-unsteady friction during pump start-stop process of directional wells has been established."

Accurate identification of low-resistivity gas layer in tight sandstone gas reservoirs based on optimizable neural networks (7/24): "This model can accurately identify low resistivity gas reservoirs in the research area, and has important guiding significance for identifying the reservoir properties of tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin. It can provide reference value for the exploration and development of similar gas reservoirs in other regions."

Bridging the gap: Integrating static and dynamic data for improved permeability modeling and super K zone detection in vuggy reservoirs (7/24): "The challenging task of predicting permeability in hydrocarbon reservoirs has long confounded geoscientists engaged in subsurface exploration and reservoir management...In this study, we have delved into a pressing issue observed in certain carbonate reservoirs, namely the inadequacy of core plug permeability values in representing substantial production rates."

Automatic fracture identification from logging images using the TSCODE-SIMAM-YOLOv5 algorithm (9/24): “Fracture logging evaluation is a critical aspect of production and holds substantial importance in oil and gas exploration. Detecting fractures is essential for understanding reservoir characteristics and predicting hydrocarbon production capacities, which aids in devising effective exploration and development strategies…This study introduces a novel method for identifying logging image fractures.” 

Study on the multifractal characterization and seepage of the shale matrix: A case study of the Longmaxi Formation in southwestern Sichuan Basin, China (7/24): "With the increasing global efforts in oil and gas exploration, the focus is gradually shifting from conventional to unconventional reservoirs...This [study] aims to provide theoretical guidance for the exploration and development of shale gas in southern Sichuan." The Shale Gas Research Institute of PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company is thanked for providing shale samples and geological background references.

Stacking ensemble learning based inversion for three-dimensional distribution region of hydraulic fractures in shale (5/24): "Machine learning methods have been applied to the oil and gas exploration and development industry...an inversion method based on stacking ensemble learning was proposed, which can obtain the three dimensional distribution region of hydraulic fractures in every single stage with actual geological and engineering data, thus providing key parameters for the fracturing evaluation and productivity analysis."

Tridimensional porosity modeling through fuzzy logic and geostatistics (9/24): "The three-dimensional porosity simulation plays a pivotal role in the exploration and prospecting of oil fields. In this study, we introduce a hybrid methodology for subsismic resolution porosity estimation, combining algorithms based on fuzzy logic and geostatistics...The obtained results showed satisfactory levels of accuracy in the evaluated wells."

Prediction of total gas content in low-resistance shale reservoirs via models fusion — Taking the Changning shale gas field in the Sichuan Basin as an example (4/24): “Total gas content (GAST) is an important parameter for the evaluation of gas content and sweet spots in shale reservoirs. Accurate prediction of GAST is crucial for shale gas exploration and development, which directly determines an optimal production plan…In this paper, we propose a fusion model to predict the GAST of low-resistivity shale reservoirs in the Changning area.” 

Parameter optimization based on deepwater drilling system simulation: A pre-salt exploration well in Brazil (10/24): "The exploration and development of extensive oil fields in deepwater and ultra-deepwater offshore areas have brought about escalating risks during the drilling process…However, these risks are accompanied by opportunities; beneath the thick salt layers in deep water lie abundant oil reservoirs…Pre-drilling modeling and virtual drilling simulation analysis are important means to address the challenges of deepwater salt drilling engineering…We investigate energy-vibration relationships to optimize key parameters providing practical recommendations for actual drilling operations."

Optimization design of plugging agent dosage and application of deep shale gas inner-diversion fracturing (8/24): "The Sichuan Basin of China is rich in shale gas resources and has great potential for development. Especially its deep shale gas will become the focus of future exploration and development…accurately calculating the critical plugging pressure during the inner-diversion process and optimizing the temporary plugging agent dosage is significant…This study establishes critical diversion pressure and optimal on-site temporary plugging agent dosage calculation models for deep shale gas fracturing."

An improved stochastic inversion method for 3D elastic impedance under the prior constraints of random medium parameters (2/24): "Three-dimensional (3D) elastic impedance inversion is widely used in oil and gas exploration with its excellent identification of reservoirs and noise immunity. However, modifying the prior information directly in inversion will undoubtedly destroy the spatial autocorrelation structure of the elastic impedance. Maintaining the elastic impedance spatial autocorrelation structure in seismic inversion is of great significance for guiding the reservoir identification and prediction...this method can effectively perform high-resolution geophysical prediction of underground thin-layer reservoirs."

Low-carbon development strategy to achieve heat conversion in heavy oil reservoirs: In-situ combustion (9/24): "These results demonstrate that the oil soluble catalyst can enhance the ISC performance of heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs and offer theoretical guidance for subsequent field development."

Well logs reconstruction of petroleum energy exploration based on bidirectional Long Short-term memory networks with a PSO optimization algorithm (8/24): "In the exploration of oil and gas reserves, geophysical logging is crucial for evaluating a state of underground energy...This paper establishes a prediction model based on BiLSTM neural network to handle the well log reconstruction problem."

In-situ conversion of low-to medium-mature organic-rich shales by nuclear irradiation (7/24): "Irradiation can provide a new idea for shale oil and gas exploitation in the future."

Theoretical analysis and field application of cooling bottom hole by mud density reduction during drilling in deep shale gas well (9/24): "All findings show that lower mud density can not only effectively reduce the bottom hole temperature, but also improve the drilling efficiency, which has positive significance for the development of deep shale gas."

Prediction of shale oil “sweet spot” parameters centered on seismic prestack waveform inversion (8/24): "Shale oil in the upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation has becoming an important complement and substitute for increasing reserves and productions in the Songliao basin…the multilevel parallelization of elastic-waveform inversion methodology based on genetic-algorithm (GA) under a 1D assumption which is called the PWI is a practical choice for us to carry out seismic quantitative prediction of shale reservoir in Songliao Basin."

Shear wave anisotropy response characteristics of laminated shale and its correction methods (7/24): "Effective evaluation of shale reservoirs is essential for shale oil and gas exploration and development...[our] method has been successfully applied in shale gas wells in the southern Sichuan Basin, demonstrating promising results."

Quantifying uncertainty in ultra-deepwater carbonate facies modeling (9/24): "Through this approach, we provide a methodological advancement that allows for a nuanced interpretation of subsurface data, facilitating more informed decision-making in exploration and production activities."

Improving density logging resolution by VMD-CEEMDAN-ICWT method and its application in thin layer identification (8/24): "It makes density logging curves more capable of identifying reservoirs, which provides high-quality data for further exploration and exploitation of oil and gas."

Charging dynamic, resistance and accumulation process of tight sandstone oil of the paleogene Es3 member in linnan sag, jiyang depression (7/24): "We hoped that the dynamic process of oil accumulation and the oil enrichment ability of tight reservoirs revealed in this paper could provide theoretical guidance for the exploration and development of tight oil in other similar area." We thank Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute of SINOPEC for providing samples and geological data.

Innovative lithology identification enhancement via the recurrent transformer model with well logging data (9/24): "The Recurrent Transformer model showcases the potential of integrating advanced machine learning in geosciences, opening new horizons in oil and gas resource exploration and utilization."

Experimental study on the mechanical behavior of different lithologic shales in Qingshankou group under in-situ geological conditions (2/24): "This study provides valuable insights into the in-situ mechanical characteristics of different lithologies of Gulong shale in the Qingshankou group and serves as a scientific basis for the efficient development of shale oil."

Geoscience-engineering integration-based formation damage control drill-in fluid (GEI-FDC-DIF): An essential technology for successful extraction of deep mid-high permeability sandstone reservoirs (6/24): "This study introduces an innovative geoscience-engineering integration-based formation damage control drill-in fluid (GEI-FDC-DIF) technology...Such damage, if uncontrolled, can hinder hydrocarbon reservoir discovery"

Selective dissolution of tight sandstone in an acidic environment to enhance gas flow capacity (6/24): "Tight sandstone hydrocarbon resources are widely distributed and have good exploration potential. However, the pore structure in sandstone is the key factor affecting the hydrocarbon production due to the complex multiscale gas transport process…The study conducts experiments to evaluate the selective acid dissolution of minerals in tight sandstone and their impact on enhancing seepage capacity." 

Enhancement on PDC Bit Based on Archimedean Spiral Control Method (7/24): "The research results contributed to a quantitative understanding of the coupling effects between spiral span angle θspan and cutting sections on the rock-breaking efficiency and stability of PDC bits. Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits are widely used in shale gas exploration."

Advanced developments in nanotechnology and nanomaterials for the oil and gas industry: A review (7/24): "The study examines the effective use of nanotechnology in several operations, including oil and gas exploration and development, drilling, and well completion."

A fresh look at the Lucia classification using mud- and grain-dominated reservoirs of the Persian Gulf (1/24): "Carbonate reservoir heterogeneity, a multifaceted phenomenon in the domain of subsurface exploration, plays a pivotal role in the assessment of hydrocarbon resources. The upper Dalan and Dariyan formations are significant gas and oil reservoirs in the Persian Gulf…In this research, Lucia's standard petrophysical method was used to manage and compare the heterogeneity of the upper Dalan and Dariyan formations." 

Fracture propagation and evaluation of dual wells, multi-fracturing, and split-time in Fuyu oil shale (8/24): "This study attempts to identify a practical technology for commercial well group exploitation and provide a technical support reference for hydraulic fracturing scale and effect evaluation."

Improving the accuracy of short-term multiphase production forecasts in unconventional tight oil reservoirs using contextual Bi-directional long short-term memory (4/24): "To improve the accuracy of short-term multiphase production forecasts with one-step-ahead predictions, a Contextual Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (C–Bi-LSTM) was developed...accurate production forecasts in unconventional reservoirs play a pivotal role in assisting operators during the exploration and development phase to reduce associated costs."

Research on quantitative analysis method of shale oil reservoir sensitivity based on mineral analysis (8/24): "The research content of this paper has important scientific and engineering significance for the design of shale reservoir fracturing schemes."

Inter-well reservoir parameter prediction based on LSTM-Attention network and sedimentary microfacies (4/24): "The experimental results show that the research method is effective and can achieve the purpose of describing the spatial distribution of reservoir parameters and guiding geological exploration and development work."

A novel deep learning method based on 2-D CNNs and GRUs for permeability prediction of tight sandstone (7/24): "This model can provide insight into the petrophysical characteristics of reaction reservoirs based on conventional well logs data and can accurately estimate reservoir permeability under limited core data, which has great application potential in improving the exploration accuracy of unconventional oil and gas resources."

Unsupervised machine learning-based multi-attributes fusion dim spot subtle sandstone reservoirs identification utilizing isolation forest (3/24): "Exploration practices reveal that dim spot subtle sandstone reservoirs are widely exist in major petroliferous basins and have great exploration potential...This paper proposes a dim spot subtle sandstone reservoir identification scheme based on unsupervised ML multi-attribute fusion anomaly detection from prestack data."

A novel evaluation method of dolomite reservoir using electrical image logs: The Cambrian dolomites in Tarim Basin, China (2/24): "The Cambrian dolomites in Tarim basin are important hydrocarbon exploration targets...This novel technology adopts the idea of classification and identification before quantitative evaluation and establishes a new bridge from qualitative analysis to quantitative evaluation...a reference for the comprehensive evaluation of ultra-deep dolomite reservoirs in the Tarim basin and worldwide."

Microbial coalbed gas and its geological formation process in the Jimsar region of the southern Junggar Basin, NW China (2/24): “This study enriches the geological theory of CBG accumulation in the Jimsar region and provides guidance for the subsequent exploration and development of the CBG [Coalbed gas].”

Optimizing estimated ultimate recovery in horizontal wells through data-driven analytics (8/24): "The study provides a practical framework for EUR estimation, readily applicable by operators in unconventional exploration, representing a transformative milestone in the industry."

Experimental investigation of kerogen structure and heterogeneity during pyrolysis (11/24): "The results presented here can be mutually corroborated with other whole-rock thermal simulation experiments, aiding in a deeper understanding of OM pore evolution processes, effective evaluation of average shale gas resource potential and quality, and analysis of other basin hydrocarbon generation studies."

Effect of lithofacies assemblages on multi-scale fractures in the transitional shale and its implications for shale gas exploration (2/24): “Here we show the non-structural factors controlling the development of natural fractures and their implications for shale gas exploration in the Longtan Formation transitional shale, southeastern Sichuan Basin.”

Integrated controls of tectonics, diagenesis and sedimentation on sandstone densification in the Cretaceous paleo-uplift settings, north Tarim Basin (2/24): “This study can serve as a valuable reference for exploration and development of clastic reservoirs in the Tabei Uplift and analogous reservoirs with a paleo-uplift context.”

Understanding pore space and oil content of liquid-rich shale in the southern Bohai Sea, China (2/24): “This study provides data and suggestions for the exploration of shale oil resources in the southern Bohai Sea.” 

Overpressure origin and evolution during burial in the shale gas plays of the Wufeng-Longmaxi formations of southern Sichuan basin (5/24): "Valuable insights to guide the further exploration and development of marine shale gas within the intricate tectonic setting of the Sichuan Basin."

Constraining faults and stratigraphic zones in shale and tight oil basins via 3D geocellular models (9/24) "The horizontal well trend analysis techniques and workflows in this study will aid researchers attempting to build large, regional geocellular models for unconventional plays in improving the accuracy and precision of their 3D geocellular models through the improved constraint of faults and stratigraphic zones."

Experimental study on acid etching mechanism of acid fracturing in carbonate reservoirs (10/24): "Acid fracturing is one of the most effective techniques for reservoir development…The findings provide a theoretical basis for the precise design of acid fracturing in carbonate reservoirs."

The bottomhole stress field analysis and the rate of penetration enhancement mechanism of a new type of central-grooved single-cone/multi-blade hybrid bit for deep well drilling (2/24): "Efficiently developing deep oil & gas has become a significant demand for oil & gas replacement strategy…the conventional rock-breaking theories and methods for deep hard formations are no longer applicable…In this paper, a high efficiency rock-breaking idea of forming an isolated rock column in the center of the deep bottomhole, that is, a convex-stepped bottomhole and a new type of central-grooved single-cone/multi-blade hybrid bit (CSMHB) are proposed." 

Prediction of deep low permeability sandstone seismic reservoir based on CBAM-CNN (11/24): "The prediction of sand body is a key focus in evaluating reservoir distribution, playing a crucial role in oil and gas exploration and development. To clarify the development characteristics of the sand body in the Huangyan structural belt of the Xihu Sag and effectively identify the hidden channel, a new approach is proposed." 

Sedimentary texture differences between lithofacies types and their control on the physical property in fan-delta conglomerate reservoirs: A case study from the Triassic Baikouquan Formation in Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin, Northwestern China (2/24): "These results indicate that Gc and Sm1 deposited in subaqueous distributary channels and lobes should be the first target in hydrocarbon exploration of fan-delta conglomerate reservoir."

Hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in member 3 of the Palaeogene Shahejie formation in the Nangong sag, Southern Bohai Bay basin, Eastern China: Insights from the fluid potential change rate and finite difference method (4/24): "The new methods and results in this study will provide important insights for establishing HMA models and for accurately identifying hydrocarbon enrichment regions and hydrocarbon sources in oil-rich basins."

Fractured reservoirs: An extensive geomechanical integrity approach (2/24): "An important number of newly discovered oil and gas fields has been classified as a heavily fractured and their development constitutes a real challenge for the petroleum industry…Current study represents a reliable framework for the development of new strategy of exploitation for the Hasdrubal field."

Application of Multifunctional Wellbore Cleaning Fluid in the Removal of Residual Drilling Fluids in Ultra-Deep Wells: Research Progress and Prospects (9/24): “Developing ultra-deep wells presents a significant challenge in current petroleum exploration and production. Ensuring the cleanliness of the wellbore is a crucial aspect of safeguarding the development process. Removing contaminants from residual drilling fluids is vital to ensure unobstructed production pathways in ultra-deep wells, thereby achieving secure operational environments…This study provides a detailed overview of the hazards caused by residual drilling fluid and methods for their removal, offering comprehensive insights and theoretical guidance for the future development of subterranean flushing technologies.  

Innovative integrated workflow for data-driven production forecasting and well completion optimization: A Montney Formation case study (7/24): "This research makes a significant contribution to the field of unconventional gas exploration by introducing an automated workflow that simplifies data processing, model development, and decision-making processes."

Collaborative-driven reservoir formation pressure prediction using GAN-ML models and well logging data (11/24): "This research aims to delve into the collaborative approach of GAN-ML models driven by well logging data for subsurface pressure prediction. The goal is to provide more reliable underground geological information for oil and gas exploration and drilling engineering"

CT imaging to study meso-structure evolution of fractured oil shale during in-situ pyrolysis by high-temperature water vapor injection (10/24): "Oil shale boasts abundant reserves globally, with the equivalent of over 400 billion metric tons of potentially convertible oil shale oil. This surpasses three times the known reserves of conventional petroleum.Therefore, oil shale represents a highly significant unconventional hydrocarbon resource in the contemporary era marked by extreme resource scarcity. Its immense strategic value lies in its potential as a substantial supplement to future oil and gas energy needs…The study quantitatively outlined the meso-structure evolution patterns during the high-temperature water vapor pyrolysis process of fractured oil shale, and provided guidance for engineering practice."

Investigation on rock-breaking characteristics of hard sandstone by non-planar PDC cutters under high confining pressure (12/24) “With the rapid development of the oil and gas exploration and exploitation, the drilling depth has gradually shifted into deep and ultra-deep formations, leading to low rate of penetration (ROP), worn PDC bit, and short drilling footage per bit…this paper proposes to carry out laboratory experiments on the hard sandstone broken by non-planar cutters (e.g., triple-ridged cutter, axe-shaped cutter, and triple-ridged concave cutter) under confining pressure and atmospheric pressure conditions.”  

Lithological and physical characteristics and their controlling factors of the Archaean metamorphic rocks: A case study of the Damintun Sag, in Liaohe depression of Bohai Bay Basin, China (10/24): “An Archean metamorphic rock with deep burial adjacent to the Rongshengpu depression in the south of the sag still has great potential for the oil and gas exploration. Based on cores, logs, seismic data, and laboratory measurements, the lithology types, spatial distribution, physical characteristics, lithology controlling factors, and physical properties of the Archean metamorphic buried hill reservoirs are systematically analyzed…Clastic migmatitic granite and migmatitic gneiss, leptite, and some dynamic metamorphic rocks could be regarded as high-quality reservoirs

The Rock-breaking Performance of the Special-shaped PDC cutter under Combined penetration and Cutting (9/24): “PDC drill bits are widely utilized in oil and gas exploration and extraction due to their fast drilling speed, durability, and stability. However, as shallow oil and gas resources are continuously developed, exploration and extraction are increasingly focused on deeper wells. Deep well drilling environments, characterized by high temperature and high pressure, ultra-hard/abrasive formations, and uneven in-situ stress, significantly accelerate the wear of PDC drill bits, thereby shortening their lifespan (Liu et al., 2024)…It is very important to clarify the rock-breaking mechanism of SPDC cutters to enhance their lifespan and reduce drilling costs…The results are expected to provide new perspectives for the selection of PDC drill bits and the optimization of PDC cutter arrangements.”

Lithology identification based on ramified structure model using generative adversarial network for imbalanced data (9/124): "Lithology identification plays a crucial role in the process of geological exploration and oil and gas development...Compared with other machine learning methods, the ramified lithology identification model demonstrates superior performance."

Geomorphology
Subsurface structures and nature of seafloor mounds in the northern South China Sea margin: Implications for Mesozoic hydrocarbon exploration (1/24): “To reveal the nature of these mounds and the Mesozoic hydrocarbon potential in the Chaoshan Depression, multi-channel seismic (MCS) and ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) data along line CS-L1 across three seafloor mounds are processed and analyzed…it is crucial to identify the nature and sources of seafloor edifices in sedimentary basins for effective hydrocarbon exploration.” 

Geoscience Frontiers
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals."

A novel method for quantitatively identifying driving forces and evaluating their contributions to oil and gas accumulation (7/24): "Quantitatively identifying the driving forces and evaluating their relative contributions, which are our research objectives and critical issues in the research and exploration of oil and gas accumulations."

Evaluation of gas content in organic-rich shale: A review of the history, current status, and future directions (8/24): "Shale gas is being hailed as the green energy of the future due to high heating value, low carbon emissions, and large reserves…In this paper, we provide a review of the long-established and recently developed gas content evaluation methods…The unreliable evaluation of gas content can significantly impact the effectiveness of shale gas exploration and development. Therefore, the gas content is one of the most important reservoir parameter of organic-rich shale and has received significant attention…Evaluating the gas content of organic-rich shale is an important work for shale gas exploration and development.” 

Gondwana Research
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals."

A world-class source rock in southern China formed during the periods from Katian to Rhuddanian: Biostratigraphic distribution, depositional model and shale gas potential (2/24): “This study characterises the organic-rich shale distribution in the Sichuan Basin and helps in assessing organic-rich shale and identifying sweet spots of shale gas potential.” 

Characterizing coal gas reservoirs: A multiparametric evaluation based on geological and geophysical methods (9/24): “The prediction of gas content in coal reservoirs has been a focal theme of research in the field of CBM exploration and development…Based on seismic and well logging data integrated with geological and structural parameters, our study establishes the methods of tectonic identification of coal reservoirs, lithology inversion, structural curvature calculation, and ash content evaluation based on a quantitative basis.” PetroChina Coalbed Methane Company Limited is greatly appreciated for providing samples testing results and original exploration data of CBM wells.

Heliyon
Appraisal of reservoir quality for hydrocarbon-bearing deep-water Miocene sandstones incised valley, south-east Asian offshore Indus: An application of seismic attributes and instantaneous spectral porosity quantitative reservoir simulations (5/24): "This process has the potential to facilitate the exploration and exploitation of untapped oil and gas reservoirs in this setting, as well as in other geological basins worldwide."

Organic geochemistry of the middle Paleozoic Ora Formation in Iraq: Implications for source rock assessment and hydrocarbon potentiality (4/24): "The study aims to explore the petroleum source rocks and assess the source rock potential of the Ora Formation, particularly in one of the economically significant regions of the Middle East."

Unveiling the revolutionary role of nanoparticles in the oil and gas field: Unleashing new avenues for enhanced efficiency and productivity (7/24): "The article explores various applications of nanoparticles in the industry, including enhanced oil recovery, drilling fluids, wellbore strengthening, and reservoir characterization."

Coalbed Methane Reservoir Properties Assessment and 3D Static Modeling for Sweet-Spot Prediction in Dahebian Block, Liupanshui Coal field, Guizhou Province, Southwestern China (7/24): "This integrated research aims to provide a foundation and support for the future systematic development planning of coalbed methane in Guizhou Province.

Unlocking the hydrocarbon potential: Formation evaluation and petrophysical properties of the upper Triassic Kurra Chine Formation in Sarta Oil Field, Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq (2/24): "This study furnishes comprehensive descriptions and analyses of the formation evaluation and petrophysical properties of the Kurra Chine Formation in Northern Iraq, shedding light on the characteristics and potential of this oil-bearing formation."

Bayesian-based probabilistic decline curve analysis study in unconventional reservoirs (4/24): "The capacity of oil and gas producers to produce from low-permeability shale formations has been greatly expanded due to the rapid development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology. Thus, estimating the reserves and predicting the production trends of these unconventional reservoirs is of paramount importance...In this study, individual-well DCA will be conducted on 50 oil wells and 54 gas wells from publicly available data."

Optimization of tight gas reservoir fracturing parameters via gradient boosting regression modeling (3/24): "In China, the exploitation of most unconventional oil and gas reservoirs is dependent on hydraulic fracturing, which is a key method employed when developing tight gas formations…this represents a novel fracture design method that is applicable to onsite engineers in tight gas production fields in the Ordos region."

A new approach to predict carbonate lithology from well logs: A case study of the Kometan formation in northern Iraq (2/24): "This information is crucial for understanding the subsurface characteristics of the geological formation, as it provides insights into the permeability and fluid storage capacity of the rock, which are vital considerations in various applications such as hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir engineering"

Seismic attributes and spectral decomposition-based inverted porosity-constrained simulations for appraisal of shallow-marine lower-Cretaceous sequences of Miano gas field, Southern Pakistan
 (2/24): “Seismic attributes can play an important role in the exploration of hydrocarbon-bearing stratigraphic systems…This study deals with the application of the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) of a spectral decomposition (SD) tool on a 3D post-stack seismic volume of the Miano gas Field…These implications suggest that the identified regional stratigraphic traps have development potential for this gas field.” 

Seismic sedimentology response characteristics of nearshore terminal fan in the suning area of Raoyang Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, NE China (3/24): “A nearshore terminal fan is a special water system formed in arid environments. The characterisation of its thin-channel sand bodies has long been a challenge restricting oil and gas exploration…This study enriches our understanding of nearshore fans and provides ideas for predicting favourable sand bodies in this type of sedimentary facies.”

Hybrid Advances
Digital transformation and trends for tapping connectivity in the Oil and Gas sector (7/24): "By embracing emerging technologies and fostering a culture of innovation, industry stakeholders can unlock new levels of efficiency, optimize production processes, and maximize O&G recovery rates for years to come." 
 
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
Monitoring surface deformation dynamics in the mining subsidence area using LT-1 InSAR interferometry: A case study of Datong, China (7/24): "These findings offer valuable scientific data that can aid local government in more effectively overseeing coal exploration activities."

International Journal of Coal Geology
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Shale oil potential and mobility in low- to medium-maturity lacustrine shales: A case study of the Yanchang Formation shale in southeast Ordos Basin, China (2/24): “The Chang 73 shale has a high TOC content and GP, showing considerable hydrocarbon potential.”

Hyperspectral imaging of coal core: A focus on the visible-near-shortwave infrared (VN-SWIR) region (3/24): "Several factors were established for consideration when using HSI in coal exploration."

Geochemical and biological evidence for the presence of secondary microbial gas in anthracite: A case study in the songta block, northern Qinshui Basin, China (7/24): "These discoveries presented in this case study have significant theoretical implications for guiding the exploration of high-rank CBG and advancing the geological theory of CBG accumulation."

Tracing the geochemical imprints of Maastrichtian black shales in southern Tethys, Egypt: Assessing hydrocarbon source potential and environmental signatures (2/24): "The primary objective is to assess the hydrocarbon generation potential, maturity, source input, biodegradation levels, and depositional environment characteristics within the Lower Maastrichtian interval near the Safaga area."

Organic petrology and geochemistry of the Devonian-Mississippian bakken formation, Williston Basin, North Dakota (2/24): "The Devonian–Mississippian (D–M) black shales of the Bakken Formation are of interest as a hydrocarbon source due to their high total organic carbon (TOC; 2.2–17.4%) content…As the Bakken shales are important hydrocarbon sources, understanding their maturation level is critical." 

Weathering-induced organic matter enrichment in marine-continental transitional shale: A case study on the early permian taiyuan formation in the ordos basin, china (7/24): "The exploration of shale oil and gas in petroliferous basins, such as those in North America and China, represent one of the most important energy revolutions nowadays...This study investigated elemental geochemistry, organic geochemistry, and petrology of the Taiyuan Formation transitional shale intervals in the northeastern Ordos Basin...The results potentially have implications for gas exploration in similar settings worldwide."

Factors controlling the heterogeneity of shale pore structure and shale gas production of the Wufeng–Longmaxi shales in the Dingshan plunging anticline of the Sichuan Basin, China (2/24): "Shale reservoirs located at relatively long tectonic distances from regional thrust faults (approximately 15 km) within the Dingshan plunging anticline exhibit high pore volume, porosity, and shale gas content, rendering them favorable for shale gas exploration."

Hydrocarbon potential and depositional environment of the Middle Miocene Balikpapan Formation, lower Kutai Basin, Indonesia: Sedimentology, calcareous nannofossil, organic geochemistry, and organic petrography integrated approach (10/24): "This study integrates sedimentology, organic geochemistry, organic petrography and calcareous nannofossil analysis to characterize the depositional environment, to determine the source of the organic matter, and to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the Balikpapan Formation." 

Understanding the burial history and the hydrocarbon potential of the late Paleozoic Claromecó foreland Basin (Southwestern Gondwana, Argentina) by combining organic geochemistry, organic petrology, and thermal modeling (7/24): "A detailed characterization of the coal deposits of the Tunas Formation was attained, which can help to decrease uncertainties in the exploration of potential energy resources in Argentina."

Evaluating the impact of artificial maturation on the petrophysical and geochemical properties of unconventional shale formations by integrating dielectric and NMR measurements (4/24): “This paper addresses challenges in characterizing unconventional shale reservoirs…Despite the huge hydrocarbon reserve in shale formation, several challenges are associated with developing and producing from these reservoirs…The integration of NMR and dielectric methods is employed for effectively characterizing shale formations across different maturation stages.” 

Effects of geochemical compositional heterogeneities on hydrocarbon expulsion and thermal maturation: An analog study of Maastrichtian source rocks from Jordan (9/24): "The outcomes of this investigation hold implications for both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon exploration."

Pore systems and their correlation with oil enrichment in various lithofacies of saline lacustrine shale strata (2/24): "Great energy demand intensifies unconventional oil and gas extraction...The research findings guide the selection of sweet spots in saline lacustrine shale strata and aid in formulating development strategies, which significantly advances the geological understanding of lacustrine shale oil deposits."

Origin and nature of pores in the Toolebuc Formation, a potential unconventional target in Australia (5/24): "The Toolebuc Formation of Australia, a potential unconventional hydrocarbon resource, has limited studies on its pore structure and sorption characteristics. In this study, shale samples [were collected]…The results contribute to future exploration of the Toolebuc Formation and to expanding the understanding of the pores and gas potential of low mature shales.”

The occurrence of coalbed methane in the depocentre of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in the light of the research from the Orzesze-1 deep exploratory well (9/24): "Due to significant gas content in the deep zone (depth > 1500 m), the drilling area can be considered as a prospect for further exploration and development of coalbed methane (CBM)…In addition, reservoir parameters and coal quality were determined and compared with the results of the gas content tests.”

Genesis and accumulation mechanism of external gas in deep coal seams of the Baijiahai Uplift, Junggar Basin, China (5/24): It is necessary to exploit new natural gas resources to maintain the oil–gas production…This study provides an inaugural comprehensive explanation of the identification methods and formation conditions of external gases in the coal seams, thereby innovating in the field of CBM. The exploration of external gases in the coal seams is valuable for expanding the field of CBM extraction, particularly in regions characterized by intricate structural conditions.”

Paleoenvironmental factors controlling organic-rich formations deposition in the Babouri-Figuil Basin (Northern Cameroon) (9/24): "The Babouri-Figuil Basin is an intracratonic basin (half-graben) in northern Cameroon that is genetically connected to the Benue Trough from Nigeria, and is an area of interest in terms of petroleum prospectivity…The current study reveals that black shale and massive claystone lithologies constitute the main organic-rich formations in the basin” 

Coal structure identification based on geophysical logging data: Insights from Wavelet Transform (WT) and Particle Swarm Optimization Support Vector Machine (PSO-SVM) algorithms (2/24): "Coal structure is closely related to microscopic and macroscopic properties of coal, and its accurate identification is of great significance to coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir evaluation, hydraulic fracturing performance and production efficiency prediction...This work provides new insights for coal structure identification."

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"


A machine learning-based method for analyzing factors influencing production capacity and production forecasting in fractured tight oil reservoirs (6/24): "The XGBoost method yielded the best performance across all three evaluation metrics, indicating that its prediction results are more reliable. In conclusion, machine learning methods can provide significant technical support for the exploration and development of tight oil reservoirs."

Study on the mechanism of CO2 composite system assisted steam stimulation of oil recovery efficiency in heavy oil reservoirs (7/24): "The world is rich in thick oil resources, and the prospect of exploration and development is broad...Note that the advantage of this method is that it can significantly improve the recovery rate; The disadvantage is that the economic cost is high and there is a high requirement for corrosion prevention of equipment."

Pore structure of deep coal of different ranks and its effect on coalbed methane adsorption (3/24): "Deep CBM will become an important field in the next step of CBM exploration and development in China. China contains abundant deep CBM resources...In this paper, coal samples of different coal ranks from deep layers were collected as research objects, and through combined low-pressure CO2 adsorption (L-PA), low-temperature N2 adsorption (L-TA) and high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) experiments, the full-aperture distribution of pores in the coal samples of different coal ranks was quantitatively characterized, and the influence of metamorphism on the coal pore structure was examined…It is vital to discover the distribution and change trends of pores in coal of various ranks to provide information on deep CBM exploration and development.”

International Journal of Mining Science and Technology
Excess pore pressure behavior and evolution in deep coalbed methane reservoirs (7/24): "Identifying and predicting pore pressure, the fluid pressure in pore spaces of porous formation, is of significant importance in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon…the research results provide valuable insights into the dynamic pore pressure behavior in unconventional resources, including deep coal seams, shale gas and oil reservoirs”

International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping
Three-dimensional mechanical characteristics analysis of double-shoulder tool joint under complex loads (6/24): "Deep and ultra-deep oil and gas resources has gradually become a new direction for the development and utilization of oil and gas resources...as the drilling depth increases, the downhole geological environment becomes more and more complicated, the service conditions of the drill string become more severe...The research results provide a reference for the optimized design and safe application of drilling tool joints."

International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
Influence of tectonic stress field on oil and gas migration in the Tahe Oilfield carbonate reservoir: Identification of areas favorable for reservoir formation (8/24): "Collectively, these findings facilitate the identification of areas favorable for oil and gas migration and provide a crucial mechanical analysis that can inform the exploration and development of the Tahe Oilfield."

iScience
Automated graptolite identification at high taxonomic resolution using residual networks (1/24): “This AI-based method, capable of recognizing minute morphological details better than taxonomists, can be integrated into web and mobile apps, extending graptolite identification beyond research institutes and enhancing shale gas exploration efficiency.” 

Journal of African Earth Sciences
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Implementations core properties and Sedimentary facies on the reservoir quality of the Lower Cenomanian Upper Bahariya Member in East Abu El-Gharadig basin, Western Desert, Egypt (1/24): “This research enhances reservoir characterization, which is vital for successful hydrocarbon exploration, development, and production efforts in the area.”

Preliminary assessment of the Cambro-Ordovician reservoir potential from the Shushan basin, north Western Desert, Egypt (5/24): "The preliminary assessment presented in this work shed critical insights into the reservoir potential of the Shifah Formation."

The Early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic event (OAE-1a) of the uppermost M'Cherga formation of northern Tunisia: Geochemical characterization and inferred petroleum potential (5/24): "This study confirms the potential for the Aptian organic-rich sequence within the northern Tunisian basin to have potential for hydrocarbon generation."

Geophysical Evaluation and Petrophysical Assessment of the Abu Roash "F" Member: A Probable Unconventional Oil Reservoir in Heba Field, Eastern Abu Gharadig Basin, Egypt (7/24): "Using advanced geophysical and petrophysical methods, this study aims to assess the AR/F Member's viability as an unconventional oil-bearing reservoir."

Sequence stratigraphy of the foraminiferal zones F9700 and F9800 in the Niger Delta: A comprehensive litho-sequence approach (3/24): "Using fault interpretation and correlation approaches has enhanced our understanding of reservoir geometry and continuity in the field, making it easier to discover potential reservoirs."

Quantitative analysis of the Permian sediments of Karoo Basin of South Africa using combined petrophysical and X-ray analytical techniques (8/24): "The primary purpose of this study, among others, is to use petrophysical and geochemical methods to investigate a potential dolerite reservoir and two other identified tight sandstone reservoirs"

Evaluation of the Lower Cretaceous Alam El Bueib sandstone reservoirs in Shushan Basin, Egypt – Implications for tight hydrocarbon reservoir potential (8/24): "The formation evaluation presented in this work shed critical insights into the tight hydrocarbon reservoir potential of the early Cretaceous AEB."

Linking petrophysical heterogeneity and reservoir rock-typing of the post-rift shallow marine siliciclastics to their depositional setting: The Upper Cretaceous Bahariya reservoirs, north Western Desert, Egypt (11/24): “Deciphering the contribution of these variables and assessment of their impact on the reservoir facies architecture and hence distribution of different reservoir rock types (RRTs) are crucial for establishing predictive models to support hydrocarbon exploration and development campaigns…this study integrates seismic stratigraphic, sedimentological and petrophysical approaches to establish a predictive framework for reservoir heterogeneity and link it with the spatio-temporal evolution of different Bahariya RRTs in Yasser Field region.” The authors express their gratitude to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for releasing the raw data necessary for carrying out this research.

Prediction of reservoir properties and fluids using rock physics techniques in the Rio Del Rey Basin, Cameroon. (7/24): "The application of rock physics modeling has been a breakthrough in oil and gas industry and has greatly managed exploration and interpretation risk. In the Rio del Rey Basin, the rock physics method was used to ascertain the reservoir's characteristics and relate them to the elastic characteristics...the exploration, development, and production divisions of oil and gas firms will comprehend the geologic trend of these reservoirs."

Sedimentology and stratigraphy of lower Cretaceous fluvial to shallow marine deposits on the central Atlantic passive margin: The Aaiun-Tarfaya Basin, Morocco (10/24): "The improved facies and depositional models together with improved understanding of the evolution of the delta have significant implication for exploring the deep-water equivalents offshore."

Geochemical and mineralogical characterizations of Silurian “Hot” shales: Implications for shale gas/oil reservoir potential in Jeffara basin-southeastern Tunisia, North Africa (4/24): "The hot shales in the study area have a considerable MBI, which could be easily enhanced by hydraulic fracturing to liberate oil/gas from the potentially saturated unconventional shale reservoir."

Structural Assessment and Petrophysical Evaluation of the pre-Cenomanian Nubian Sandstone in the October Oil Field, Central Gulf of Suez, Egypt (7/24): "The study aims at locating and delineating zones having excellent reservoir potential."

Assessment of the Upper Cretaceous Abu Roash carbonate source rocks from the Beni Suef field, Western Desert, Egypt (7/24): "Following the wireline logs and core data, the self-sourcing unconventional reservoir potential of the AR-F carbonates has been emphasized. Beni Suef Basin (BSB) in Egypt is a key region in the Western Desert for hydrocarbon production. Due to its promising prospects, the BSB has been prioritized in Egypt's exploration plans"

Integration of geochemical data, well logs and seismic sections for source rock characterization of the Albian Kazhdumi Formation in the central Persian Gulf basin, South Iran (2/24): “Source rock characterization is the fundamental part of petroleum system studies to decrease the risk of hydrocarbon exploration…The results showed that the applied methods based on rock physics templates (AI versus Sw) and multi-attribute analysis are helpful in exploration and characterization of source rocks.”

Sequence stratigraphic and petrophysical controls on the oil-reservoirs architecture: A case study from the Cretaceous meqasequence, Gulf of Suez region, Egypt (11/24): "The study offers valuable insights into how petrophysical properties and sequence stratigraphy influence Cretaceous reservoir architecture. Examining the depositional environments and petrophysical evaluation enhances our understanding of reservoir quality and distribution. Furthermore, it guides future exploration activities in the mixed siliciclastic and carbonate multi-level intervals of the Gulf of Suez and nearby basins, aiding in identifying potential hydrocarbon zones and optimizing drilling strategies.” We wish to express our most sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation as well as the Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Company & the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company for providing the geophysical data existing in this research. 

Seismic sequence stratigraphy of Late Albian-Early Turonian successions in SW Iran: Implication for reservoir characterizations and potential for improved reservoir quality prediction (6/24): "This study delves into the Seismic Sequence Stratigraphy (SSS) of these successions to unravel reservoir characterization and characterized potential hydrocarbon plays."

Integrated multi-proxy source-to-sink analysis of Late Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) clastic systems in the Essaouira-Agadir Basin (5/24): "The results constrain the source and size of the system, and composition of deposited clastics, and investigate the mechanism for delivery of coarse clastics into the offshore domain, a key target for hydrocarbon exploration."

Geophysical appraisal and hydrocarbon potential of the Pre-Cenomanian and Miocene reservoirs in the onshore and offshore Gulf of Suez Basin (6/24): "The purpose of this study is to geophysically assess the petroleum potential of the Pre-Cenomanian (Nubia sandstones) as well as the Miocene oil reservoirs in the Rabeh field and Edfu-Saqqara field, located in the Gulf of Suez Basin."

Morphostructure, paleostress and kinematics of the southern kilombero rift basin, southern Tanzania (3/24): "The southern Kilombero basin is potential for hydrocarbon accumulation."

Shale gas play of the Silurian hot shale, Ghadames Basin, North Africa: Insights from integrated geochemistry and basin modeling (2/24): "The lower Silurian hot shale in the Ghadames Basin was investigated to provide a regional assessment of the future prospects of shale gas play as an important unconventional resource system."

Integrated 3D geological analysis of hydrocarbon maturation and migration in rift basins: Insights from the Niger Chad Basin (2/24): “This research advances informed decision-making in hydrocarbon exploration and production."

Integrated seismic, petrophysical, and geochemical studies for evaluating the petroleum system of the Upper Bahariya-Abu Roash G sequence in the Karama Field, Abu Gharadig Basin, North Western Desert, Egypt (11/24): "The main aim of this study is to delineate the hydrocarbon potential and evaluate the petroleum system elements of the Cenomanian Abu Roash G (AR/G) and the Upper Bahariya Members in the Karama Field…The petrophysical/reservoir properties of the AR/G Member indicate its potential as a promising reservoir in Karama Field.” The authors thank the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Qarun Petroleum Company 

Petroleum System Assessment of the Beni Suef Basin, Western Desert, Egypt (7/24): "The study aims to identify potential drilling locations by integrating geochemical methods, 1D and 2D basin modelling, well log analysis, seismic interpretation, and hydrocarbon migration pathways."

Nature and occurrence, geochemical characteristics, and families of the crude oils in Sirt Basin, Libya: Implication for super rift basin petroleum system (8/24): “These areas hold the potential for successful exploration and exploitation in near future if a major focus is placed on the deep plays of the Cretaceous section in the basin…In this study, we compiled a comprehensive dataset based on the quality and physical properties of oilfields within the Sirt Basin.” We extend our sincere gratitude to the staff members of two research institutes, the Libyan Petroleum Research Institute (LPRI) under the Libyan National Oil Corporation (LNOC) and the Research Institute for Petroleum Exploration and Development (RIPED) of PetroChina company.

Integrating 3D subsurface imaging, seismic attributes, and wireline logging analyses: Implications for a high resolution detection of deep-rooted gas escape features, eastern offshore Nile Delta, Egypt (5/24): “While the Nile Delta is considered the nation's largest gas province, it is also counted as the most significant petroleum province in Africa. The natural gas industry in Egypt is now going through a period of tremendous expansion…This study presents an improved workflow for imaging 3D subsurface structural patterns, geobodies extractions such as chimneys and major faults, and petrophysical evaluation to explore controls on gas accumulation and seepage in the subsurface of eastern offshore Nile Delta.” The authors acknowledge the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for granting the official agreement for data release and publication. Thanks to PETROBEL Petroleum Company, Egypt for providing the raw data necessary for conducting the current research. 

Sedimentary age and paleoenvironment restoration of Paleogene and Cretaceous oil and gas reservoirs in the Termit Basin, Niger (5/24): "These findings provide valuable data support for future hydrocarbon discoveries in the region."

Depositional environments and thermal maturity of the hydrocarbon source rocks in the Devonian–Early carboniferous Ora Formation from palynological organic petrographic investigations in northern and western Iraq (11/24): "The study investigates the palynofacies, organic matter character, and hydrocarbon generation potential of this rock unit, based on surface and subsurface samples from the Ora Formation type-section in extreme northern Iraq and the Akkas-3 well in western Iraq, respectively." 

Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis
The implication of kinetics characteristics of modern organisms for the hydrocarbon generation evolution of organic matter components in the lacustrine source rocks: A case study of the Dongying Formation from the Bozhong Sag, Bohai Bay Basin (1/24): "Bozhong Sag near the source kitchen of the Dongying Formation offers promising prospects for oil and gas exploration."

Formation mechanism of Gulong shale oil: Insights from semiclosed hydrous pyrolysis (8/24): "As a typical lacustrine shale oil, Gulong shale oil has enormous resource potential. The current lack of understanding regarding the formation process of this oil has affected its development...the shale oil formation process is clarified, which provides an experimental foundation for the exploration and development of the Gulong shale oil in the later stage."

Molecular structure and evolution mechanism of shale kerogen: Insights from thermal simulation and spectroscopic analysis (7/24): "This study thus provides new insights into the thermal evolution of shale kerogen, which in turn improve understanding of shale reservoirs for hydrocarbon exploitation…This will facilitate more accurate predictions of shale gas content at different stages of the evolutionary process.”

Experimental investigation of hydrocarbon generation, retention, and expulsion of saline lacustrine shale: Insights from improved semi-open pyrolysis experiments of Lucaogou Shale, eastern Junggar Basin, China (8/24): "Predicting the quality and quantity of generated, retained, and expelled hydrocarbons under various maturity stages for a given shale before drilling persists as a vital issue in exploration...the results could be a valuable analog for other saline lacustrine petroleum systems worldwide."

Journal of Applied Geophysics
A hybrid model based on unsupervised learning for seismic response feature extraction and gas-bearing reservoir prediction using longitudinal and transverse waves seismic data in low-degree exploration areas: A case study (6/24): "In low exploration areas (areas with few or no wells), this method is important as a guide to hydrocarbon exploration."

MultiURNet for 3D seismic fault attributes fusion detection combined with PCA (2/24): "The results confirm the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method, which has significant potential for future exploration in shallow and medium-shallow oil and gas fields…it can identify the low-order faults more accurately and completely, providing a new direction for the future discovering oil and gas."

An efficient method of predicting S-wave velocity using sparse Gaussian process regression for a tight sandstone reservoir (8/24): "S-wave velocity is a crucial parameter for hydrocarbon exploration…we provide a detailed explanation of utilizing the SGPR method for S-wave velocity prediction…[this method] yields satisfactory predictions for tight sandstones with low porosity and permeability."  

Response characteristics and novel understandings of dual induction logging of horizontal wells in fractured reservoirs (6/24): "This study can provide response characteristics and novel understandings for the evaluations of horizontal wells in fractured reservoirs...horizontal well technique is important for oil&gas exploration and exploitation."

Predicting the thermal maturity of source rock from well logs and seismic data in basins with low-degree exploration (2/24): "Organic matter maturity is an important index that determines the hydrocarbon generation potential of source rock along with other products types…we provide guidance for reconstructing burial history, understanding the course of hydrocarbon accumulation and exploration, and further clarify the manner in which basin evolution type controls the distribution and thermal evolution of source rock to reduce the risk associated with early exploration in other superimposed basins.” This study was supported considerably by Research Institute of Exploration and Development, Huabei Oilfield Branch of PetroChina.  

Rock-physics modeling of deep clastic reservoirs considering the relationship between microscopic pore structure and permeability (1/24): "Clastic reservoirs are still regarded as having significantly observable exploration potential and yield in the current energy landscape. Simultaneously, as oil and gas reservoirs gradually advance into deeper layers, the exploration and development of deep-seated clastic reservoirs are notably influenced by the micro-scale rock physics characteristics of these reservoirs. Consequently, it is necessary to construct a seismic petrophysical model applicable to deep clastic reservoirs…This paper presents the construction of a seismic rock physics model for deep clastic reservoirs."  

Two-dimensional synchrosqueezing transform and its application to tight channel sandstone reservoir characterization (2/24): "To facilitate oil and gas exploration and the development of such reservoirs, it is necessary to characterize the lateral characteristics of tight-channel sandstone reservoirs with high precision...Within the scope of this study, we propose a novel TFA approach called TDSST and apply it to the characterization of tight channel sandstone reservoirs."

Machine learning approach for core permeability prediction from well logs in Sandstone Reservoir, Mediterranean Sea, Egypt (1/24): "Precise reservoir description is crucial for the proper evaluation of reservoirs…In this study, we describe a machine learning-based permeability prediction method.” The authors wish to acknowledge the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Shell-Egypt for providing data for this research.

Physics-driven deep-learning for marine CSEM data inversion (7/24): "Marine controlled-source electromagnetic (MCSEM) inversion plays a crucial role in hydrocarbon exploration and pre-drill reservoir evaluation…our physics-driven network has enhanced the data adaptability and overcome the limitation of conventional DNN in handling new data."

Facies associations dispersion via rule-based simulation with genetic algorithm and kriging: A methodology conditioned by seismic facies (9/24): “Rule-based simulation of facies is a valuable tool in oil and gas field exploration. The manuscript presents a hybrid methodology for simulating facies associations, using paleobathymetry as the main data and seismic facies as the secondary…This approach addresses the inherent uncertainties and biases in traditional facies modeling, providing a more reliable and automated method for calibrating facies intervals.” 

A Gamma-ray spectroscopy approach to evaluate clay mineral composition and depositional environment: A case study from the lower Goru Formation, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan (7/24): "A problematic aspect of evaluating hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone is to accurately model the impact of clay and shale components on reservoir properties…The study contributes unique perspectives to reservoir evaluation methods, ultimately enhancing strategies for petroleum resource extraction and optimization." 

Variations in the present-day stress field and its implications for hydrocarbon development in the Hassi Terfa field, Hassi Messaoud, Algeria (3/24): "This study aims to provide a new interpretation of the sources and variability of the present-day stress regime and their effect on the development of hydrocarbon resources...This new generation stress map will be beneficial for determining the optimal borehole direction, initiation, and propagation of the hydraulic fracture, and for identifying potentially active faults and fractures in areas with considerable hydrocarbon production. The workflow presented in this study can be applied to other areas of major hydrocarbon development around the world."

Spectral recomposition feature for optimizing seismic velocity model prediction with a neural network (7/24): "This research contributes significantly to optimizing hydrocarbon exploration by predicting seismic features more accurately."

A model integration approach for stratigraphic boundary delineation based on local data augmentation (9/24): “Identification of stratigraphic boundaries is a fundamental task in the seismic interpretation of oil and gas reservoir locations…it was demonstrated that the proposed method can effectively improve the delineation accuracy of stratigraphic boundaries compared to the benchmark U-Net model.”

A novel hybrid CNN–SVM method for lithology identification in shale reservoirs based on logging measurements (4/24): "Precise lithology identification has become a critical issue in the exploration and development of shale reservoirs...we propose a hybrid CNN-SVM model for lithology identification."

Integration of well logs and seismic attributes for prediction of thermal maturity and TOC content in the Kazhdumi Formation (central Persian Gulf basin) (3/24): "This study proposes an indirect method for estimating source rock properties, specifically thermal maturity and Total Organic Carbon (TOC), using well logs and seismic data within the central Persian Gulf hydrocarbon fields."

Poro-Acoustic Impedance (PAI) as a new and robust seismic inversion attribute for porosity prediction and reservoir characterization (4/24): "Given that porosity is incorporated into the PAI formula, the PAI porosity section and inversion results can be used as an indicator for evaluating the hydrocarbon capacity of the reservoir. The findings of this research suggest that PAI is an effective attribute for porosity estimation, bridging the gap between seismic data and porosity estimation, thereby enhancing our understanding and exploration of the reservoir."

A data driven approach to assess the petrophysical parametric sensitivity for lithology identification based on ensemble learning (3/24): "Precise identification of lithology is significant for oil and gas exploration...The main objective of our study was to determine the best subset of logging features based on available well-log data using SFFS technique for formation lithology identification."

S-wave log construction through semi-supervised regression clustering using machine learning: A case study of North Sea fields (10/24): "This study underscores the potential of machine learning techniques for accurate prediction of S-wave velocity and other rock properties, thereby enhancing our comprehension of subsurface geology and hydrocarbon reservoirs."

Permeability prediction using logging data from tight reservoirs based on deep neural networks (8/24): "The tight reservoirs in the Chang 7 Member of the Ordos Basin host significant oil and gas resources and have recently emerged as the main focus of unconventional oil and gas exploration and development. In this work, we performed DNN-based permeability prediction for the tight reservoirs in the Ordos Basin area." 

Application of Deep Learning for Reservoir Porosity Prediction and self Organizing Map for Lithofacies Prediction (8/24): "The suggested model's efficacy will be verified by utilizing real data from the exploration region, showcasing its capacity to improve estimating models and aid decision-making in the petroleum business."

A comprehensive review of deep learning techniques for salt dome segmentation in seismic images (11/24): “Salt dome detection in seismic images is a critical aspect of hydrocarbon exploration and production. Salt domes are subsurface structures formed from the accumulation of salt deposits and can trap oil and gas reservoirs…This comprehensive analysis provides a valuable roadmap for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding how deep learning can be utilized for salt body classification in seismic exploration.”

An anisotropic rock physics modeling for the coalbed methane reservoirs and its applications in anisotropy parameter prediction (6/24): “Coalbed methane (CBM), commonly known as unconventional gas, is a hot spot for gas exploration at present…The results are helpful in establishing the relationship between reservoir physics parameters and seismic response and can be used to retrieve the anisotropic parameters from seismic data which can provide a basis for CBM reservoir prediction and hydraulic fracturing.” This study is supported by the National Natural Science Fund Projects, and the State Key Labortaory for Fine Exploration and Intelligent Development of Coal Resources


Journal of Asian Earth Sciences
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Basin-range coupling relationship and prediction of favorable targets for ultra-deep subsalt exploration in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China (2/24): “The findings of this study carry significant implications for unveiling the basin-range coupling relationship, understanding the geodynamic setting of the basin's evolution, and advancing oil and gas exploration activities in the ultra-deep regions of the Tarim Basin.”

Geological modelling of petroleum reservoir through multi-scale analysis of faults in complex media (7/24): "Modelling faults plays a crucial step in the chain of studies through the first phase of the hydrocarbon exploration and its following studies in reservoir engineering, simulation and field development. This study introduces an innovative and automatic integrated approach that combines seismic multi-attributes and well data for faults modelling."

Early Cretaceous climatic influences on organic matter enrichment in lacustrine shales: Insights from the Liupanshan Basin of northwestern China (4/24): "This study has significance for the correlation of Cretaceous marine and terrestrial strata and provides scientific guidance for unconventional shale resource exploitation in the Liupanshan Basin."

Depositional and diagenetic controls on the reservoir quality of Early Miocene syn-rift deep-marine sandstones, NW Saudi Arabia (1/24): "Important implications for prediction of reservoir quality in deep-marine systems." Authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, for providing the generous funding of this study.

Controls of strike-slip faults on condensate gas accumulation and enrichment in the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs of the central Tarim Basin, NW China (3/24): "These proposed hydrocarbon accumulation models contribute to a better understanding of these fault systems and further petroleum exploration."

A novel approach for evaluating the transport capacity of sandstone carriers and determining effective hydrocarbon migration channels: Application to the Pinghu Slope Belt of the Xihu Depression, East China Sea Basin (1/24): “The quantitative method in this study can be used to predict preferential hydrocarbon migration pathways and reduce exploration risks.”

Depositional and diagenetic controls on hydrocarbon generation of mudstones through clay–organic matter interactions: A comparative study of the Dongpu Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China (3/24): "These findings provide a theoretical reference for shale oil accumulation in saline lacustrine systems and can potentially serve as a guide for future oil–gas exploration and development."

Main controlling factors evolution on high-quality source rocks development in the Shanan Sag, Bohaibay Basin, NE China: Implication from structure, depositional environment, and organic matter (3/24): "Lacustrine source rocks have a significant oil potential...This study can provide a reference for a better understanding of the evaluation and exploration of lacustrine high-quality source rocks deposited in other continental basins with similar conditions."

Mineral diagenesis in lacustrine organic-rich shales: Evolution pathways and implications for reservoir characteristics (3/24): "Unconventional gas and oil resources have emerged as crucial drivers for future growth in the oil and gas industry...This work serves as a sedimentological basis for the future prediction of favorable sections for unconventional hydrocarbon production from the Qingshankou Formation, as well as similar shale oil targets globally."

Influence of coupled dissolution-precipitation processes on the pore structure, characteristics, and evolution of tight sandstone: A case study in the upper Paleozoic reservoir of Bohai Bay Basin, eastern China (3/24): "This study provides a reliable reference for genesis analysis and evaluation of tight sandstones...the study of the characteristics and formation of the micro-nano pore structure plays an important role in reducing the exploration risk of tight sandstone reservoirs" The authors also sincerely thank the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development of Sinopec Zhongyuan Oilfield for providing the cores samples for this study

Occurrence and mobility of shale oil in the Jiyang Depression, eastern China (1/24): "Our work provides an index regime to evaluate the mobility and high production probability of shale oil, which will benefit the exploration and development of shale oil resources."

Geomorphologic and infilling characteristics of the shelf-incising submarine canyon in the eastern Makran accretionary prism, offshore Pakistan (4/24): "These can not only deeply understand the evolution of the canyon system in Makran accretionary prism, but also provide basic data for future gas hydrate exploration"

Using digital cores and nuclear magnetic resonance to study pore-fracture structure and fluid mobility in tight volcanic rock reservoirs (1/24): "Pore-fracture structure characterization and fluid mobility analysis are key to the effective development of tight reservoirs. However, it is difficult to accurately characterize the pore-fracture structure of tight volcanic rocks using a single method, and the mechanisms of fluid mobility are not fully understood…This combination of methods provides an effective way of investigating the overall pore-fracture structure characteristics." 

Seismic attributes and instantaneous spectral analysis-based temperature-porosity simulations: An example of imaging shale gas-bearing basin floor fans of early-cCretaceous delta sequences, Southeast Asian Basin (5/24): "The used workflow has strong stratigraphic implications for field development strategies."

Quantitative prediction and spatial analysis of structural fractures in deep shale gas reservoirs within complex structural zones: A case study of the Longmaxi Formation in the Luzhou area, southern Sichuan Basin, China (3/24): "This research aims to provide a crucial foundation for shale gas exploration, including identifying optimal drilling locations, well deployment, hydraulic fracturing enhancement, and production capacity estimation."

Controls on organic matter enrichment of the early-middle Miocene lacustrine oil shale, central Tibet (SW China): New insights from clay minerals and geochemistry (3/24): "This study can not only deepen the understanding of OM enrichment mechanism in lacustrine rift basin but also provide important information for predicting the distribution of the oil shale in the Lunpola Basin."

Generation and expulsion of Lower Jurassic hydrocarbon in different source rocks in the Taibei Sag, Turpan-Hami Basin, northwest China (1/24): “These findings are valuable for objectively assessing the tight oil potential of J1s source rocks and establishing a theoretical foundation for exploration…for evaluating the hydrocarbon resource quantity and predicting promising exploration area.”

Paleodepositional environment and hydrocarbon generation potential of the Paleogene lignite in the Barmer Basin, Rajasthan, India (1/24): "The Barmer ortholignite has a good hydrocarbon generation potential from type-III (Giral) and types II-III kerogens (Kapurdi) pointing to gaseous hydrocarbon prospects; however, the source rock is immature."

Sources of natural gas in the Middle-Permian carbonate succession in the central-northern Sichuan Basin, Southwest China (6/24): “Natural gas-source correlation is a challenging aspect of natural gas exploration in deep strata. The Middle-Permian carbonate succession in the Sichuan Basin, southwest China, particularly in the Maokou Formation, is a hotspot for natural gas exploration…This study is the first to combine multiple geochemical methods and consider different geological settings to identify the gas source of a deep carbonate gas reservoir. Our study provides a reliable method for determining the natural gas-source correlation of gas reservoirs that contain highly mature and complex gas sources.” We thank the Exploration and Development Research Institute of the PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company for providing important data and the permission to publish the results. 

In-situ calcite U-Pb ages and absolute timing of oil charge events: A case study of ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs in the Shunbei oilfield, Tarim basin, Northwest China (1/24) "...potential implications for deeper exploration and similar deep petroleum systems worldwide."

Classification of shale lithofacies with minimal data: Application to the early Permian shales in the Ordos Basin, China (1/24): "The main advantage of our approach is that it only uses conventional logging data and a small number of XRD measurements of core samples, combined with XGBoost algorithm, to predict shale lithofacies, which can reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of reservoir evaluation."

Control of complex lithofacies on the shale oil potential in saline lacustrine basins of the Jimsar Sag, NW China: Coupling mechanisms and conceptual models (5/24): "The study’s outcomes can offer enhanced guidance for accurately assessing shale oil resources, particularly in the identification of crucial “sweet spots.”

Pore structure characterization and reservoir quality prediction in deep and ultra-deep tight sandstones by integrating image and NMR logs (6/24): "The comprehensive analysis integrating core data with geophysical well logs provide important insights for reservoir quality prediction of deep and ultra-deep tight sandstones."

Prediction of fractures by using the stress field in medium to deep shale gas reservoirs: A case study of Late Ordovician–early Silurian shale gas reservoirs in the Nanchuan region, South China (4/24): "...predict the fractures in shale gas reservoirs by using the stress field, in order to provide a scientific basis for the practical exploration and development of shale gas in the Nanchuan region."

Fluid inclusion evidence for overpressure-induced self-sealing and accumulation of deep shale gas (5/24): "Shale oil and gas exploration and development are extending to greater depths, and it is important to understand the accumulation mechanisms of shale oil and gas. Here we conducted a case study in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Ningxi area, Sichuan Basin, southwest China, by using petrological and fluid inclusion investigation to determine the processes involved during the overpressure-induced self-sealing accumulation of deep shale gas…The results provide new insights into shale gas enrichment and preservation, and are of theoretical and practical significance for exploration."

Chaotic behavior of geophysical logs for stratigraphic hiatuses: A case study from Upper Assam Shelf, India (7/24): "This research contributes to advancing stratigraphic correlation methodologies, particularly in complex geological formations, and offers a novel perspective on subsurface characterization, offering opportunities for optimizing well placement, reservoir management, and hydrocarbon exploration efforts."

Origin and geological significance of the first discovered seafloor oil seepage in the Beikang Basin, southern South China Sea (3/24): "Our study offers valuable insights into the exploration of hydrocarbons in the SSCS, as well as the interactions between the deep and shallow fluids in the background of focused fluid seepage."

Geochemical characteristics and classification of Oligocene source rocks with different facies in Bozhong Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, East China (12/24): "Extensive exploration experience has shown that lacustrine sequences have the potential to develop commercial petroleum reservoirs…this study provides an integrated assessment of the hydrocarbon generation potential, environmental and ecological variations, and OM origins of Oligocene source rocks in southwestern Bozhong Sag.” This work was funded by “Key Scientific Issues and Innovative Technology Research on Oil and Gas Resource Exploration in China Sea Risk Exploration Area” from CNOOC Research Institute in Beijing, China." 

Contrasting diagenetic evolution and hydrocarbon charge of tight gas sandstones in the lower Permian Shanxi Formation, southeastern Ordos Basin, China (9/24): “Reservoir quality of, and gas production rates from, tight sandstones in the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation vary greatly across the Yan’an Gas Field, southeastern Ordos Basin, China. Effective reservoirs are significant for the economic success of tight gas exploration and production…This study indicates that petrofacies is useful for reservoir characterization and modeling in the Yan’an Gas Field and other tight gas fields worldwide.” 

Mesozoic tectonic evolution and dynamic mechanisms of the northern Bozhong depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, eastern China (9/24): "The northern Bozhong depression of the Bohai Bay Basin in eastern China is an important area for oil and gas exploration in buried hills, which has complex structural styles and evolutionary processes. Based on 3D seismic and drilling data, the features of the Mesozoic structural deformation of the northern Bozhong depression are analyzed, and the tectonic evolution and dynamic mechanisms are also discussed."

Quantitative seismicity of shale gas reservoirs of the Lower and Middle Indus Basin (Pakistan) revealed from instantaneous spectral decomposition-based inverted Vp/Vs ratio simulation (6/24): “The energy demands within unconventional resources are exciting issues in stratigraphic-hydrocarbon exploration around the globe. The sub-surface heterogeneous backgrounds and bandlimited seismic information are momentous, and therefore, predicting the true Vp/Vs ratio (Vp/Vs) for incised-valley shale gas play at tuning frequency is a challenge for stratigraphic exploration…The exploration of unconventional is becoming a hot topic in future oil and gas exploration. There is a vital suite of unconventional reservoirs, which can be explored using various geophysical techniques.” 

“This workflow has strong implications for horizontal well drillings within the extensional regimes of unconventional stratigraphic plays and serves as an analogue for global clastic depositional systems.”

The hydrocarbon source potential of Permo-Triassic rocks of the Indochina Block adjacent to the Paleo-Tethys suture in Thailand (1/24): “This study investigated the source potential of outcropping Permo-Triassic shales from the western margin of the Khorat Plateau and the Khao Khwang Fold and Thrust Belt (KKFTB)…Simply in terms of TOC content >1, the Hua Hin Lat and Khao Khad formations have the most promising source potential.” 

Tectono-thermal evolution of the northern Tarim Basin, Central Asia: New insights from apatite low-temperature thermochronometers (1/24): “Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the tectono-thermal histories of the eastern KFTB. It enhances our understanding of the tectonic evolution of Central Asia and holds great significance for further hydrocarbon exploration and development in the northern Tarim Basin.”

Rifting of the upper Yangtze carbonate platform: Insight from middle Permian carbonate olistostromes in the NE Sichuan basin, SW China (2/24): “The initiation time and geodynamics driving the rifting are poorly understood, which restricts petroleum evaluation and exploration in the KL and DW regions…we herein carefully examine the petrographic feature of basalt in this paper and present a new data set composed of geochemical, isotopic, and zircon U-Pb analyses to provide new insight into the geodynamics and initiation time of rifting of the upper Yangtze carbonate platform.” Financial support for this project was provided by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Exploration Company of SINOPEC. 

Oil-source correlations and petroleum accumulation in oil sands in the Carboniferous Yanghugou Formation in the Shajingzi area, Ordos Basin, China (2/24): “This is the first documented discovery of Ordovician marine oil in the Ordos Basin…This study helps to elucidate the depositional conditions and petroleum potential of the Paleozoic sediments in the Shajingzi area.”

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X
Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia (6/24): "This study provides an improved understanding of the depositional setting, organic geochemical, and thermal evolution of the Ra'an Member as a potential unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir."

An enhancement in the petrophysical evaluation in a vuggy carbonate gas reservoir by integrating the core data and empirical methods, Zagros basin, south of Iran (6/24): "Applying the proposed approach will improve the accuracy of petrophysical properties and lead to the proper calculation of the hydrocarbon volume in the carbonate reservoir rocks containing isolated vugs, particularly in gas-bearing reservoirs where conventional logs are affected by gas contents."

Assessment of the source rock potential in the Sirka and Giddi collieries of South Karanapura coalfield, Jharkhand, India: Insights from megaflora, palynology, and geochemistry (12/24): "Permian deposits in the Indian Peninsula have long been a significant source of coal and have great potential for hydrocarbon exploration. Here we present results of megafloral, palynological, and geochemical analysis of the Late Artinskian-Kungurian sediments in the South Karanpura coalfield to assess hydrocarbon generation potential...The increasing demand for hydrocarbon fossil fuels and the expansion of the petroleum industry, driven by their substantial resource potentials, have led researchers to focus on unconventional petroleum sources, such as shale gas, as well as deep petroleum systems."

Journal of Engineering Research
1D basin modeling and hydrocarbon generation potential of the Late Cretaceous organic-rich intervals within the North-Western Taranaki Basin, offshore New Zealand (6/24): "This study focuses on exploring the hydrocarbon generation potential of Late Cretaceous of the Wainui Member of the North Cape and Rakopi Formation within the North-Western Taranaki Basin"

Petrophysical evaluation based on three-stream convolutional neural networks in the Berkine Basin, Algeria (6/24): "Petrophysical evaluation is a key stage before formation test in exploration field, it allows the identification of the best plays in term of effective porosity, shale volume and hydrocarbon saturation…Petrophysical evaluation proved to be a challenging task in the exploration efforts in the Berkine basin, hence, we propose a deep learning-based method for petrophysical evaluation.”

“This paper introduces an innovative approach to petrophysical evaluation […] in the Berkine Basin, Algeria…our technique gives stat-of-the-art prediction and even surpasses conventional method by giving better results in thin beds situation and low resistivity pays.” [Exxon Mobil is looking for its “next Permian,” which an executive said could be in Algeria]

Design of intelligent drill bit embedded structure based on multi-objective topology optimization method (6/24): "As deep resource exploration and development technologies advance, efficiently overcoming challenges in drilling difficult formations has become paramount...This study focuses on the optimal design of embedded structures in intelligent drill bits."

Journal of Geochemical Exploration
Fractal modeling of oil and gas geochemical data in the Taiwan Strait Basin (2/24): “This study provides a theoretical foundation for future oil and gas exploration and evaluation in the Taiwan Strait.”

Journal of King Saud University - Science
Integrated analysis of wireline logs analysis, seismic interpretation, and machine learning for reservoir characterisation: Insights from the late Eocene McKee Formation, onshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand (7/24): "An integrated study...was conducted, crucial for accurately evaluating and characterizing hydrocarbon reservoirs, enhancing the likelihood of successful exploration and development projects."

Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Development of a viscosity prediction model and investigation into drag reduction in weakly magnetized waxy crude oil (6/24): "Shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater regions abound with abundant offshore oil and gas resources. However, the increased viscosity and wax deposition consistently pose significant challenges…magnetization technology is particularly suitable for crude oil production and transportation pipelines in deep-water ocean environments…The present study investigates the impact of weak magnetic treatment.”

Journal of Molecular Liquids
Molecular dynamics simulation and key performance study of VES self-diverting acid system for deep carbonate reservoirs (5/24): "A self-diverting VES acid system suitable for deep carbonate rock reservoirs at 140 °C was developed, providing technical support for the efficient development of deep carbonate reservoirs."

Self-growing biomimetic functional hydrogel particles for conformance control in tight reservoir fracture network (10/24): "The results from this study provide a theoretical basis and technical support for enhancing oil recovery in low/ultra-low permeability reservoirs."

Microscopic mechanism of enhancing shale oil recovery through CO2 flooding- insights from molecular dynamics simulations (7/24): "Shale oil reserves are abundant worldwide and are a primary focus for future oil and gas development...This study provides a reference for the development and application of molecular simulation technology in unconventional oil and gas development."

Journal of Natural Gas Geoscience
"An academic bimonthly journal focused on natural gas exploration and exploitation." Editor-in-Chief: Jinxing Dai, PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing, China

The dominant three-element model of oil and gas accumulation in basement buried hills: A discussion on new exploration frontiers in the deepwater area of the northern South China Sea (4/24): "This study identifies...crucial exploration targets in the deepwater areas of the northern South China Sea." This research was funded in part by the CNOOC Major Project. Author Gongcheng Zhang is an Editorial Board Member for Journal of Natural Gas Geoscience.

Natural gas accumulation conditions and exploration directions of Carboniferous clastic rocks in the northeastern margin of Junggar Basin, China (9/24): "This study reveals that the Carboniferous clastic rock source and reservoir configuration in the northeastern Junggar Basin is highly favorable, and the natural gas reservoirs in source and near-source clastic rocks represent important exploration directions…Reliable gas-source stove areas such as Dishuiquan Sag, Wucaiwan Sag, and Shiqiantan Sag are identified as key exploration targets.” This research was funded by the PetroChina “14th Five-Year Plan” Forward-looking Basic Major Science and Technology Project; the PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development’s Research Projects…[All the authors] are currently employed by PetroChina.

Structural inheritance through 3D reservoir modeling and ant-tracking attribute implications for structural configuration of Upper Cretaceous Pab Sandstone, Kirthar Fold Belt, Pakistan (4/24): "In this study, 3D structural model and attribute assisted seismic interpretation have made a novel and clearer representation of structural complexities to improve the success rate and future development plans for hydrocarbon exploration."

Integrated petrophysical, sedimentological and well-log study of the Mangahewa Formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand (6/24): "In conclusion, from this comprehensive study, it can be deduced that the Mangahewa Formation possesses fair to good reservoir quality and hydrocarbon potentiality."

Hydrocarbon-generating potential of the Middle Permian Lucaogou source rock in the eastern Junggar Basin, China (7/24): "The results further consolidated the oil and gas resources in the eastern Junggar Basin and provided valuable references for exploring future oil and gas fields."

Depositional pattern and source-to-sink process of submarine fans in Lingshui and Sanya formations, Baodao Sag, Qiongdongnan Basin, China (4/24): "The findings hold significant implications for predicting the distribution of favorable oil and gas zones in the deepwater area of the Qiongdongnan Basin, thereby improving the success rate of deepwater oil and gas exploration in the northern South China Sea."

Solid bitumen Rhenium-Osmium (Re–Os) isotope geochronology and existing problems: Sampled of Sinian-Cambrian gas reservoir in Sichuan Basin, China (8/24): "Understanding the key timings related to petroleum evolution is crucial for optimizing exploration targets and assessing oil/gas resources, attract petroleum geologists’ attention worldwide…this work aims to reconstruct the evolution process of the deep Sinian–Cambrian hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Gaoshiti–Moxi area." 

Pore structure and fractal characteristics of coal-bearing Cretaceous Nenjiang shales from Songliao Basin, Northeast China (4/24): "This work will provide a scientific theoretical basis for the comprehensive evaluation of coal-bearing shale reservoirs and research on shale gas reservoir formation theory." Study funded in part by the Open Fund Project of Sinopec Key Laboratory of Shale Oil/Gas Exploration and Production Technology.

Seismic geological characteristics and gas reservoir distribution of Changxing Formation biological bio-reef reservoir in the Longhuichang-Tieshan area, northeastern Sichuan Basin, China (4/24): The enrichment mode and failure mode of favorable gas reservoirs in the study area have been analyzed and established, providing crucial technical support to facilitate further exploration of Changxing Formation bio-reef gas reservoirs in the northeastern Sichuan Basin."

Diagenetic features recorded in sedimentary rocks within a gas chimney: A case study from the Makassar Strait, offshore Indonesia (8/24): "This study has implications for methane exploration."

Geochemical evaluation of Sarvak oil reservoir using biomarkers, carbon isotope and trace element: A case study from Southwest Iran (6/24) "...an excellent novel tool for better understanding the basic concepts in petroleum basins and for solving a wide range of problems during petroleum exploration."

Characteristics of geothermal field and tectono-thermal evolution in Baiyun Sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin, China (4/24): "...significant implications for regional tectonic evolution and future deepwater oil and gas explorations."

Differences in gas sources of the Changxing–Feixianguan formations around the Kaijiang-Liangping Trough and favorable exploration directions for coal-formed gas generated by the Upper Permian Longtan Formation, Sichuan Basin, China (9/24): "The Suining–Luzhou and Langzhong–Guang'an–Fuling areas are identified as favorable zones for the exploration of coal rock gas and marine–continental transitional shale gas, respectively. Additionally, the reef and shoal development areas of the Changxing Formation in the Suining–Hechuan and Guang'an–Nanchong regions are also favorable exploration areas for coal-formed gas...The Permian Changxing Formation and the Triassic Feixianguan Formation in the Sichuan Basin are among the most critical areas for natural gas exploration in the region.” 

Journal of Paleogeography
Characteristics and origin of low-organic-matter carbonate source rocks in the Middle–Upper Ordovician, Tarim Basin, northwestern China (4/24): "This research method is theoretically significant for oil and gas exploration in the same type of highly-mature carbonate paleobasins."

The reservoir characteristics and their controlling factors of the sublacustrine fan in the Paleogene Dongying Formation, Bohai Sea, China (1/24): "The results of this study are significant for the exploration and development of the sublacustrine fan sandstone reservoirs in the Bohai Sea and analogous sandstone reservoirs elsewhere."

Evolution of Cenozoic sedimentary architecture in Central and Southern South China Sea basins (1/24): "The differences in sedimentary filling structures and main controlling factors between basins were explored from the perspective of basin tectonic evolution, intending to deepen sedimentological research in the area and provide a geological basis for petroleum exploration."

Sedimentary dynamics and depositional model for mud accumulation in deep lake basins: A case study in the Upper Triassic Chang-7 Member, Ordos Basin, northern China (8/24): "Shales in deep lake basins have become the main focus of continental shale oil and gas exploration...The aim of this paper is to improve the theoretical understanding of the sedimentation mechanism of mudrocks in deep-water depressional lake basins, and also to provide theoretical guidance for unconventional oil and gas exploration and development in deep-water depressional lake basins."

Sedimentary facies analysis of a thin-bed-dominated turbidite succession in the Miocene Temburong Formation, Kampung Bebuloh, Labuan Island, Malaysia (7/24): “As mature oil fields and the easier reservoir targets are fully exploited, hydrocarbon exploration and production tends to shift toward more challenging reservoirs...The identification of geological criteria to differentiate lobe- and channel-associated thin beds will be very useful in deepwater hydrocarbon exploration and field development…A detailed facies and ichnological analysis was conducted on a 97 m-thick sedimentary succession of the Early Miocene Temburong Formation at Kampung Bebuloh, Labuan Island.” Financial support was provided by a scholarship from ConocoPhillips Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd. 

Sedimentary environment shift and organic matter enrichment mechanism in response to volcanic ash influence: A case study of the Permian Lucaogou Formation, Santanghu Basin, NW China (7/24): "This study comprehensively analyzed the organic geochemistry, mineral composition, organic matter (OM) types, volcanic cycle, and palaeoenvironment of shale in the study area…The study area is predominantly situated in the Tiaohu and Malang Sags of the central depression belt, covering an area of approximately 3200 km2, and this region is a key focus for oil and gas exploration and development within the basin” The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by Tuha Oilfield Company of PetroChina. Gratitude is extended to the guidance and assistance from relevant experts at the Exploration and Development Research Institute of Tuha Oilfield Company of PetroChina, whose contributions significantly improved the quality of this study. 

Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Visualization and characterization of experimental hydraulic fractures interacting with karst fracture-cavity distributions (5/24): "Karst fracture-cavity carbonate reservoirs, in which natural cavities are connected by natural fractures to form cavity clusters in many circumstances, have become significant fields of oil and gas exploration and exploitation...These findings provide new insights into the fracturing design of carbonate reservoirs."

An improved permeability estimation model using integrated approach of hybrid machine learning technique and shapley additive explanation (9/24): “Accurate reservoir permeability determination is crucial in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Conventional methods relying on empirical correlations and assumptions often result in high costs, time consumption, inaccuracies, and uncertainties. This study introduces a novel hybrid machine learning approach to predict the permeability of the Wangkwar formation in the Gunya oilfield, Northwestern Uganda…the GMDH-DE model offers a novel, efficient, and accurate approach for fast permeability prediction, enhancing hydrocarbon exploration and production.” 

Experimental study and prediction method of solid destabilization and production in deep carbonate reservoir during mining (7/24): "As the demand for oil and gas increases, exploration and production efforts of these resources have been extended to ever-greater depths. There has been a growing focus on developing deep and ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs...a new method combining a geomechanical model and a microscopic sand production model is proposed to predict wellbore instability and analyze its influencing factors."

Journal of South American Earth Sciences
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Characterization of onshore hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Amazonas Basin using well logging data (3/24): "In this work, the analysis of geophysical logging data from exploratory wells drilled in the Amazonas Basin is conducted to characterize the hydrocarbon reservoirs in the basin."

Study of geomechanical properties of the Pimienta formation with undrained multi-stage triaxial tests, Central-Western Tampico Misantla Basin, Mexico (8/24): "The objective of studying the geomechanical properties of the Pimienta Formation in the AOI is to provide critical insight from the perspective of rock mechanics for the modeling, planning, and execution of potential unconventional hydrocarbon production."

Dynamic re-sedimentation of lacustrine carbonates in the Búzios Field, pre-salt section of Santos Basin, Brazil (6/24): "The focus of this study is to understand the processes that generated these reworked deposits within the rift and mainly within the sag section, in order to contribute to the reduction of exploration risks and to optimize hydrocarbon production from the Pre-Salt reservoirs."

The impact of the Abimael Ridge on the salt tectonics in the southern Santos Basin, Brazil: The Esmeralda exploration block case. (8/24): "The southern Santos Basin displays areas with exploration potential for plays with both the post-salt and pre-salt reservoir rocks (Avila, 2022)...This study revealed crucial information about the two main leads in the Esmeralda block, named Esmeralda and Tupã (Figure 1), as proposed by ANP (Ávila, 2022)."

Petrophysical and petrographic data correlation and the discrimination of magmatic environments and processes in Santos Basin, offshore SE Brazil (8/24): "It is expected that the application of the proposed methodology will reduce risks and costs during petroleum exploration in rift-to-drift sedimentary basins elsewhere."

Organic geochemistry and palynofacies of the Devonian: A correlation between Paraná and Parnaíba basins, Brazil (6/24): "A study on the characterization of the depositional paleoenvironment and the potentiality for hydrocarbon generation was carried out in Praguian-Emsian shale samples from Ponta Grossa Formation using data from organic geochemistry and palynofacies."

Journal of Structural Geology
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals


Using seismic methods to detect connectivity of fracture networks controlled by strike-slip faults in ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs: A case study in northern tarim basin, China (3/24): "Ordovician tight carbonate rocks in the Tarim Basin are typically ultra-deep, with targets deeper than 7000 m. The fracture networks associated with strike-slip faults are the primary reservoir space…The Tarim Basin is the largest and least explored inland basin in Northwest China, with a total area of about 560,000 km2…This study analyzed the distribution of fractures related to strike-slip faults according to the 3D seismic coherence attributes.” The author highly appreciates the information and support the SINOPEC Petroleum Exploration and Development Research Institute of Northwest Oilfield Branch Company provided. 
 
Developing evolutionary models for deformation band formation in high-porosity suprasalt sandstones: An example from Paradox Basin, Utah (8/24): "Predicting the magnitude and spatial extent of this often extensive reservoir “damage” remains as a major challenge for hydrocarbon exploration. This challenge is exacerbated by our inability to resolve these deformation zones using traditional geophysical techniques…this study provides a framework for understanding the genesis of deformation bands in most basins"

Marine and Petroleum Geology
"The journal aims to advance the environmentally sustainable exploration and utilization of natural resources of petroleum and gas hydrate...This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Comprehensive analysis of stress magnitude and orientations and natural fractures in complex structural regimes oil reservoir: Implications for tectonic and oil field development in the Zagros suture zone (2/24): “This study will provide valuable insights into the exploration, development, and management of hydrocarbon resources in complex structure regions.”

Diagenesis and pressure evolution in Ediacaran carbonate rocks in the North Slope (Penglai area) of the central Sichuan Basin (SW China) (6/24): The Penglai area is an emerging giant gas field inthe Sichuan Basin supporting the carbon neutrality goal. To accelerate the exploration, this study combines petrographic observations using optical and cold cathodoluminescence microscopy, 
fluid inclusion microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, 1D basin modeling and fluid inclusion PVTX modeling techniques to reveal the paleo-fluid P-T evolution in the second member of the Dengying Formation(Ediacaran age)…Results from this study, will provide a basis for further natural gas exploration and risk prediction in the DBRs of the Sichuan Basin,as well as valuable insights for exploring deep carbonate reservoirs withsimilar conditions around the globe.  

Evaluation of shale oil and gas plays - Part I: Shale reservoir property modelling of the North Sea Kimmeridge Clay Formation (6/24): "These areas show good potential based on all investigated properties, with respect to industry standards…the best areas for the potential exploitation of shale oil and gas are located within the central part of the ∼4.6 km deep Witch Ground Graben, as well as subsidiary regions of the ∼3.8 km deep Piper Shelf and Claymore-Tartan Ridge." 

Prediction method for the porosity of tight sandstone constrained by lithofacies and logging resolution (9/24): “The prediction method based on lithofacies control and weight analysis can be applied to other tight sandstones, providing reliable technical support for oil and gas exploration and development.”

Implications of multi-stage deformation on the differential preservation of Lower Paleozoic shale gas in tectonically complex regions: New structural and kinematic constraints from the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China (2/24): "The aim of the study is to facilitate the improved exploration and exploitation of the shale gas in the region."

Shale oil content evaluation and sweet spot prediction based on convolutional neural network (9/24): "Shale oil content prediction is currently the focus of exploration. Traditional prediction methods are less accurate, and a large number of analytical tests can increase the cost of exploration...This study provides a new idea for evaluating hydrocarbon micromigration of shale oil and predicting favorable zones and the grading evaluation of oil content in petroliferous basins around the world."

Integrating μCT imaging of core plugs and transfer learning for automated reservoir rock characterization and tomofacies identification (7/24): "The developed technique represents a significant advance in reservoir characterization, offering rapid and accurate identification of rock properties that can improve exploration and development strategies."

Organic geochemical heterogeneity of cretaceous mudrocks and reassessment of oil sources in the Tano Basin, Ghana (4/24): "The Tano Basin in Ghana, situated within the South Atlantic margin, is a significant area for petroleum exploration...These new geochemical findings shed light on the paleoenvironmental conditions and source rock characteristics of the region, significantly contributing to our understanding of the petroleum evolution and potential of the Tano Basin."

Impacts of sedimentary characteristics and diagenesis on reservoir quality of the 4th member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in the western Sichuan Basin, southwest China (6/24): "This study can not only lay a foundation for the further exploration and development of tight sandstone gas in the study area, but also provide a scientific basis for the study of tight sandstone in other areas."

Depositional facies and evolution of sponge-microbial-constructed carbonate platforms in the lower Cambrian (Stage 3), Tarim basin, China: Understanding from anatomy (9/24): "These datasets would provide a useful analogue for perceiving the facies-constrained porosity and heterogeneity in the deeply buried counterparts in the basin, helpful for making exploration strategy for the deeply-buried hydrocarbon resources."

Geologic characterization of the Lower Paleozoic black shale of the Niutitang Formation: Implications for a shale gas potential in western Hunan, China (5/24): "Various shale plays have been compared globally and identified as potential targets for shale gas exploration."

Water distribution in pore systems and its influences on gas-bearing property of deep shale: A case study of the Longmaxi Formation in the Luzhou area, southern Sichuan Basin (5/24): "These findings are expected to enhance the understanding of the influence of pore water on gas-bearing properties, which will provide some new guidance for deep shale gas exploration and development."

Investigating the hydrocarbon potential of the Paleogene coal seams in Kapuni Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand: Implications for coal-oil correlation (7/24): "Hydrocarbon generation in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, has been proven in several source rocks within the syn- and post-rift basin-fill sedimentary successions...These results demonstrate the generation and expulsion of coal-oil, thereby shedding light on the prospectively of the Paleogene plays in the Taranaki Basin."

Oil cracking under closed-system pyrolysis: Implications for deep oil occurrence and related source determination (8/24): "These findings present useful information for deep petroleum exploration in the BBB."

The Palaeozoic of a future high potential hydrocarbon fold-thrust belt through the Zagros Basin, Iran (7/24): "The objective of this research is to present and to comment on the petroliferous formations in this particular region...it could help to emphasize the importance of exploring the region for potential hydrocarbon resources."

The Dominant Influence of Muddy Bottom Currents on Organic-rich Fine-grained Sedimentary Rocks: the Lower Congo Basin, West Africa (7/24): "The findings have implications for the exploration of deep water hydrocarbons."

Investigating the Potential of Unconventional Resources in the Midland Basin: A Comprehensive Chemostratigraphic Analysis of a Cline Shale (Wolfcamp-D) Core (7/24): "An optimal landing zone and a sweet spot are delineated for hydrocarbon production within the lowastand deposits of the upper Cline Shale interval."

Depositional environments and source rock potential of some Upper Palaeozoic (Devonian) coals on Bjørnøya, Western Barents shelf (5/24): "Upper Palaeozoic strata are potential sources for hydrocarbon plays on the Norwegian Barents Shelf...Here, we investigate the organic geochemical composition and source rock potential of coals and organic-rich mudstones of Late Devonian to middle Permian ages.

The geomechanical response of the Gulf of Mexico Green Canyon 955 reservoir to gas hydrate dissociation: A model based on sediment properties with and without gas hydrate (9/24): "Gas hydrate is commonly found concentrated in sand- and silt-rich reservoirs and these are thought to have great potential as an energy resource. To evaluate this potential, it is critical to understand their in-situ stress state and their behavior during production. We explore the geomechanical behavior of sandy silt sediments from a hydrate reservoir at Green Canyon GC 955, deep-water Gulf of Mexico without hydrate and compare these results to previous work on the same sandy silty sediments with hydrate present."

Coupling control of organic and inorganic rock components on porosity and pore structure of lacustrine shale with medium maturity: A case study of the Qingshankou Formation in the southern Songliao Basin (6/24): "The dominant lithofacies and their formation conditions were identified, providing a theoretical basis for the selection of sweet spots of this type of shale oil."

Controls on mechanical properties of a carbonate mudstone: Insights from non-destructive techniques and geochemical data (3/24): "This study quantifies geomechanical properties of carbonate mudrocks in the Arabian intra-shelf basin...Geomechanical characteristics such as rock strength are fundamental factors that determine the success of an unconventional play economically."

Assessment of the hydrocarbon potential in the black shales of the Jurassic Khatatba Formation and generated hydrocarbons, North Western Desert, Egypt: Depositional mechanism of organic rich rocks related to syn-rift differential subsidence (6/24): "Data integration from this study can be used to show the variation in organic richness (TOC) and thermal maturity (Tmax) in the area between the four wells, which will help define the exploration risk and provide for a new vision for more exploration activity."

The thermal history of Permian carbonate strata reconstructed with clumped isotopes and U–Pb dating: Eastern Sichuan Basin, SW China (5/24): "This study is important for understanding the regional tectono-thermal evolution history and hydrocarbon generation in the Sichuan Basin. It provides fundamental information for further hydrocarbon exploration in the Sichuan Basin."

Depositional environment and source rock distribution of the Late Cretaceous Rakopi formation in the deepwater Taranaki Basin, New Zealand (2/24): "Understanding depositional systems is important in petroleum exploration...This study aims to describe the depositional environments and potential source rock areas of the Rakopi Formation in the Deepwater Taranaki Basin."

Estimating total organic carbon of potential source rocks in the Espírito Santo Basin, SE Brazil, using XGBoost (4/24): "The results indicate the potential of machine learning for TOC prediction in large, heterogeneous data sets, outperforming the traditional ΔlogR method and offering a promising tool for the usage of available public data sets in similar applications, such as the oil and gas (O&G) industry's exploration phase or field reassessment."

Mesoscale migration of oil in tight sandstone reservoirs by multi-field coupled two-phase flow (6/24): "This study reveals the mesoscopic-scale mechanism of oil migration in tight sandstone reservoirs and may prove useful in the exploration and development in such reservoirs."

Lithofacies assemblage and effects on diagenesis in lacustrine tight sandstone reservoirs: Samples from Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin, China (7/24): "This study contributes to understanding the mechanism behind diagenetic variations in tight sandstones and the reservoir evaluation. Consequently, it offers geological reference for the development of unconventional oil and gas resources in comparable lacustrine basins."

Source rock potential and spatial distribution of the stratigraphic formations in the central Mediterranean Ridge: Evidence from mud volcanic deposits and 2D seismic data (2/24): "The study of this material, combined with the available seismic data, can improve the geological understanding of this frontier exploration area. In this paper, biostratigraphic and geochemical studies are performed on mud breccia deposits from five Mud Volcanoes (MVs) in the central MR, aiming to define the sediments’ stratigraphic origin and assess the source rock potential of the individual formations. In addition, regional seismic data is used to reveal the spatial distribution of the major lithostratigraphic formations in the subsurface...the discovered solid hydrocarbons and oil droplets point to an active petroleum system in the region."

Lithofacies, architecture and evolution of carbonate tidal delta system: Implications for reservoir heterogeneity (mid-cretaceous Mishrif Formation, Southeast Iraq) (8/24): "The aims of this paper are (1) to characterize the sedimentary architecture, rock fabric, and petrophysical properties (porosity and permeability) of the tidal delta system of Mishrif Formation in Southeast Iraq; and (2) to enhance understanding of carbonate tidal delta heterogeneity to facilitate the development of oil and gas fields in the region and beyond in the Middle East."

Facies prediction in a mature oil field of Cretaceous age in the Calumbi Formation (Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil) by using an outcrop analogue approach (4/24): "This approach is both unprecedented and pivotal, revealing previously unknown exploratory potential in the surrounding areas of the overexploited Cidade de Aracaju Oilfield."

Mapping palaeoshorelines of river-dominated deltas in lacustrine ramp settings: Application of sedimentological analyses to the Triassic Yanchang Formation (Ordos Basin, China) (6/24): "The results can inform exploration in the Ordos Basin, providing guidance on the potential for extending exploration basinward."

High resolution sequence cyclostratigraphic modeling of Albian – Cenomanian succession based on statistical, time series and palynofacies analyses in Meleiha Basin in the Western Desert, Egypt (6/24): "The integrated sequence stratigraphic modeling accomplished in the present study increases our understanding of the source/reservoir distribution in the Albian Cenomanian succession and will be of great benefit for current and future exploration plans in the Meleiha basin."

Lithofacies characteristics and genetic mechanism of hybrid sedimentary rocks in Da'anzhai member, Sichuan Basin (4/24): "The findings of this study not only deepen the understanding of sedimentary process of the lacustrine hybrid sediments, but also have important theoretical significance for lacustrine oil and gas exploration and development." The authors would like to thank PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company for providing core samples and other necessary geological data from LA1 and RA1 wells for this research work.

Evaluation of pore structure characteristics of deep clastic rocks in the Huangliu formation of LD-X area, Yinggehai Basin (6/24): "Clastic oil and gas reservoirs continue to have significant exploration potential and production in the current energy pattern...These findings lay the foundation for studying the evolution path of high-quality reservoir pore structure and identifying favorable reservoirs."

Diagenetic Evolution and cementation mechanism in Deep Carbonate Reservoirs: A Case Study of Dengying Fm. 2 in Penglai, Sichuan Basin, China (9/24): "Our research indicates that the development of high-quality reservoirs in deep-to-ultra-deep microbial dolomites is a result of complex multi-factor interactions and multi-stage discontinuous modifications, leading to strong heterogeneity within the reservoirs…Remarkably, even under exceptional ultra-deep conditions, high-quality microbial dolomite carbonate reservoirs can still develop and be preserved, presenting significant potential for oil and gas exploration."

Volcanic-controlled basin architecture variation and dynamic sediment filling in the South Lufeng Sag, South China Sea (9/24): "The findings pave the way for the extensive application of this methodology in petroleum development across various geographic regions."

Diagenetic archives of the deeply-buried Cambrian Xiaoerbulake Formation microbialite reservoirs, Bachu-Tazhong area, Tarim Basin, China (9/24): "The deep-burial Cambrian Xiaoerbulake Formation microbialites reservoir hosts significant hydrocarbon in the Tarim Basin. However, limited understandings of fluid-rock interactions from deposition to deep-burial regimes hamper petroleum exploration. Here, petrological observations, in-situ elemental contents and porosity-permeability analyses were performed to understand the complex interactions and the microbialites performance."

Formation mechanism of carbonate cement in tight sandstone reservoirs in the depression zone of foreland basin and its impact on reservoir heterogeneity: The upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in Western Sichuan foreland basin, China (9/24): "In recent years, tight sandstone reservoirs, harboring substantial oil and gas resource potential, have emerged as a promising resource...[a] knowledge gap has resulted in prediction errors concerning reservoir quality, severely hampering tight sandstone exploration...this study seeks to clarify the formation mechanism of carbonate cement in tight sandstone reservoirs."

Source of quartz cement and its impact on reservoir quality in Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in central Sichuan Basin, China (1/24): "Insufficient study significantly impedes our comprehension of diagenetic mechanisms and the development of reservoir pore systems in this particular area, both of which are crucial for guiding petroleum exploration endeavors.The main goals of this study include...to investigate the diagenetic processes connected with quartz cementation"

Vertical heterogeneity of Gulong shale oil governed by the OM precursors and oil accumulation: Implications for shale oil exploration in the Songliao Basin, Northeastern China (5/24): "The selection of favorable layers for shale oil development remains uncertain due to significant variations in oil production of different intervals in the Formation (Q1–Q9). In this study, the geochemical features of shale, the content and chemical features of extracted oils in different shale intervals are analyzed in detail, and the favorable intervals and mechanism for shale oil accumulation are also addressed."

Complementary laboratory experiments and molecular dynamics simulation method to investigate the mobility of shale oil: The Permian Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin (7/24): "This study focused on the mobility of shale oil in the Fengcheng Formation of Mahu Sag through multistep rock-eval pyrolysis experiments and molecular dynamics simulations....the accurate evaluation of the mobility of shale oil is one of the key issues to be solved in the process of shale oil exploration and development."

Influence of coal rock on tight sandstone reservoirs in coal seam roofs: A case study of the lower jurassic in the Taibei sag, Turpan-Hami Basin, China (7/24): “Tight sandstone gas is a hotspot and difficult area in the field of unconventional oil and gas exploration, and it has attracted a great deal of attention from explorers and scholars in recent years…This [paper] provides a theoretical basis for the evaluation of coal measure tight sandstone reservoirs and sweet spot prediction of coal measure natural gas resources.”

Implications of the depositional and diagenetic attributes on the reservoir properties of the siliciclastic mangahewa formation, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand: Integrated petrographical and petrophysical studies (6/24): "Our study provides valuable insights into the intricate petrophysical properties of the Mangahewa reservoir, enhancing the predictability of the reservoir behavior and optimizing hydrocarbon production in this challenging geological setting."

Reservoir characteristics and controlling factors of the middle–high maturity multiple lithofacies reservoirs of the Lianggaoshan Formation shale strata in the northeastern Sichuan basin, China (3/24): “The Lianggaoshan Formation, which is located in the northeastern part of the Sichuan Basin, is an important shale oil producer. However, due to the effects of complex petrography, a wide range of maturity, and lower organic matter (OM) content in comparison to other areas, the pore characteristics of different lithofacies are unclear, which severely limits exploration and development. Therefore, by using geochemical, petrological and pore structure characterization experiments, this study thoroughly examines the pore properties of several lithofacies in the Lianggaoshan Formation in Northeast Sichuan.” 

Formation mechanism of high-quality Palaeogene “compositional mixing” reservoirs in lacustrine rift basins: A case from the offshore Bohai Bay Basin, China (9/24): "This study offers novel insights and a model for understanding the formation mechanism of CMRs, providing implications for future global petroleum exploration in mixed sediment reservoirs."

Sedimentology, depositional processes, and sequence stratigraphy of deep lacustrine fine-grained sedimentary rocks in the lower Oligocene Xiaganchaigou Formation, Qaidam Basin, Northwestern China (8/24): "This study provides a new understanding of the sedimentology of deep lacustrine fine-grained deposits and sheds light on exploring unconventional hydrocarbon resources in terrigenous deep-water settings."

Petrophysical characterization of the Late-Cretaceous Logbaba Formation in the Kribi/Campo sub-basin, Cameroon: Implication on deep-water hydrocarbon exploration (8/24): "Deep-water hydrocarbon exploration in the Kribi/Campo sub-basin offshore Cameroon is targeting the promising Campanian-Maastrichtian turbidite reservoirs...The findings from this study extend the understanding of the reservoir characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous Logbaba Formation, which will further enhance hydrocarbon prospectivity offshore Cameroon."

Silurian to early Devonian overmature hot shales in Eastern Taurus: Source rock characteristics and links to North African petroleum systems (6/24): "We aspire to contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge, paving the way for future investigations and the development of more effective exploration strategies in the region."

Assessment of thermal maturity in Lower Cambrian organic-rich shale in south China using integrated optical reflectance and Raman spectroscopy of pyrobitumen (2/24): "In this study, we...determine the thermal maturity of Lower Cambrian organic-rich shales...Thermal maturity is critical to hydrocarbon generation evaluation, and it is also a key indicator in shale oil and gas exploration"

Classification and reservoir characteristics of lacustrine carbonate conglomerate in the Shulu Sag of the Bohai Bay Basin (6/24): "Six wells, including ST1H, in the tight carbonate reservoirs of the lowermost sub-member of the third member of the mid-Eocene Shahejie Formation yield industrial oil flow, which shows good prospects for tight oil exploration."

Seismic lithology and geological implications of pre-salt jurassic carbonate rocks in the Amu Darya Right Bank (7/24): "lithology and lithofacies analyses based on good control cannot meet the subsequent exploration and developmental activity requirements, seriously restricting the further expansion of oil and gas exploration in the ADRB Block. The purpose of this study is to accurately characterize the lithofacies of the pre-salt Jurassic carbonate sequence and identify the distribution patterns of reefs and shoals in the eastern ADRB." This work was supported by the CNPC's technology projects such as “Research on the Technology for the Mechanism and Exploration Evaluation of Overseas Deep Reservoirs”

Depositional facies and diagenetic control on reservoir quality of the Aptian Dariyan Formation, NW Persian Gulf (7/24): "Integrating our findings into exploration workflows could enhance decision-making processes, minimize risks, and maximize the success rate of hydrocarbon discoveries within the Dariyan Formation."

Genesis mechanism of laumontite cement and its impact on the reservoir of siliciclastic rock: A case study of Jurassic Shaximiao Formation in central Sichuan Basin, China (7/24): "This exploration in the evolution of authigenic laumontite within clastic sedimentary rocks aims to provide new insights and considerations. Furthermore, it seeks to offer a theoretical basis for oil and gas exploration in the Shaximiao Formation of the Sichuan Basin and analogous basins featuring laumontite sandstones." We are grateful that the Shaximiao Formation core samples and geological data were provided by PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company and the Research Institute of Exploration and Development.

Depositional and diagenetic controls on reservoir properties of the lower Cambrian Khewra Sandstone, eastern salt range, Sub-Himalaya, Pakistan (3/24): "The bounding unconformities and variation of compositional and textural patterns determine the reservoir quality. The dynamic interaction among deposition, tectonics and diagenesis yields a comprehensive understanding of reservoir potential on a global scale."

The joint controls of tectonism, sedimentation and diagenesis on reservoir quality in the East China Sea Basin (7/24): "By using log, seismic and core test data, we developed a method that uses tectonism, sedimentation and diagenesis to evaluate sweet spot distribution of the third (Mbr 3), fourth (Mbr 4) and fifth (Mbr 5) members of the Oligocene Huagang Formation in the Xihu Depression, East China Sea Basin."

Influence of faults on late-stage migration of methane-rich gas in a major unconventional hydrocarbon accumulation: Montney Formation, western Canada (6/24): “Recognizing fault control on the intraformational migration of hydrocarbons at the regional scale can shed new light on the present-day distribution of hydrocarbon fluids within the Montney Formation, and assist in the future economic evaluation and development of this world-class unconventional petroleum resource. This study of the Montney Formation, benefitting from a wealth of publicly available subsurface data, provides a well-documented analogue for evaluating intraformational hydrocarbon migration in other unconventional petroleum accumulations.”

Lacustrine shale lithofacies and depositional environment in the paleocene second member of the funing formation, subei basin, China: Insights into shale oil development prospects (6/24): "These new characterizations have significant implications for considering favorable lithofacies…provide valuable insights and guidance for future shale oil exploration in the Qintong Sag of the Subei Basin."

Effects of post-oil bitumen on the nanopore development of shales: New insights from a stepwise thermal simulation experiment on small shale plug samples (10/24): "As exploration progresses, shale gas exploration becomes increasingly difficult. Therefore, there is an urgent need to innovate and develop enrichment theories of shale gas to guide its exploration and development in new fields…typical marine and marine-continental transitional shale samples with Type IIa and Type IIb kerogen were selected for the experiment, which has practical significance in guiding present shale gas exploration…The purpose of this study is to reveal the pore development models and mechanisms of post-oil bitumen and provide new evidence for the evaluation of shale pore development."

Diagenetic alterations induced by lamina-scale mass transfer and the impacts on shale oil reservoir formation in carbonate-rich shale of the Permian Lucaogou Formation, Jimusar Sag (4/24): "It is hoped that the research results can deepen the understanding of the diagenesis of carbonate-rich shale, so as to predict the characteristics of authigenic carbonate development and provides important guidance to shale oil exploration and development in study area."

Origin and microbial degradation of thermogenic hydrocarbons within the sandy gas hydrate reservoirs in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northern South China Sea (7/24): "Our findings are highly significant for the evaluation and exploration of thermogenic gas hydrate accumulations worldwide."

U–Pb detrital zircon ages from Cretaceous - Paleogene white sandstone member in Western Tabei Uplift (China) as provenance indicators (2/24): "The Western Tabei Uplift is one of the largest first-level structural units in the Tarim Basin with great potential for oil and gas resources…Our finding could shed new light on the provenance and sedimentary model of Cretaceous-Paleogene white sandstone member in the Western Tabei Uplift and provide a theoretical basis for further exploration of lithological oil reservoirs in this section." 

Evidence for regional fluid migration in the Eagle Ford Formation, Austin Chalk, and Buda Limestone of south-central and west Texas, USA (8/24): "These results have significant implications for assessment for hydrocarbon exploration and production of conventional, hybrid, and self-sourced reservoirs in south Texas and other basins."

Rock-physics Modeling and Pre-stack Seismic Inversion for the Cambrian Superdeep Dolomite Reservoirs in Tarim Basin, Northwest China (6/24): "We apply the established density indicator to achieve precise density prediction for superdeep dolomite."

Provenance and tectonic settings of the lower Permian siliciclastic rocks in central Inner Mongolia: Implications for the evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (3/24): "The study on the depositional environment, material source, and tectonic background of the Shoushangou Formation is also important for the oil and gas evaluation in this area. Thus, the lithological, paleontological and stratigraphic characteristics of the Shoushangou Formation in the West Ujimqin area are studied"

Sequence stratigraphy driven by tectonic subsidence and astronomical forcing: A case study from the Miocene Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea (11/24): "Sequence stratigraphy has been widely used in the exploration of oil and gas in continental margins and basins since its inception due to its practicalit…In this study, we selected wells A1 and B2 in the Huizhou Depression of the PRMB for cyclostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic analyses." 

Tectonic–paleogeographic evolution of the Late Triassic in the Sichuan basin, SW China: Constraints from sedimentary facies and provenance analysis of the Xujiahe Formation (2/24): "The findings of this study contribute to a broader understanding of the Xujiahe Formation regional variations and their implications for hydrocarbon exploration in Sichuan Basin."

Impact and implications of hydrothermal fluids migration in the Frolov hydrocarbon province in West Siberia (6/24): "The goal of this study is to identify hydrothermal processes and their impact on pore space and organic maturity to better predict the spatial distribution of unconventional reservoirs...Our workflow should significantly enhance the efficiency of the exploration process"

Structural and stratigraphic controls on reservoir architecture: A case study from the lower Oligocene Vicksburg Formation, Brooks County, Texas (2/24): "This zone is characterized by listric-normal faults that have formed highly faulted rollover anticlines, which are valuable structural traps for for hydrocarbon exploration...a valuable reference for similar geological systems and reservoirs worldwide"

Study on the relationship between shale organic matter development and paleowater depth—A new understanding of the condensed section (11/24): "The results of this study are of great significance for shale oil and gas exploration in China, and provide a new direction for the discovery of shale oil and gas sweet spots."

Impact and implications of hydrothermal fluids migration in the Frolov hydrocarbon province in West Siberia (6/24): "The goal of this study is to identify hydrothermal processes and their impact on pore space and organic maturity to better predict the spatial distribution of unconventional reservoirs...Our workflow should significantly enhance the efficiency of the exploration process"

Depositional facies controls on reservoir rock typing and heterogeneity: Devonian siliciclastic succession, south central Ghadames basin, Libya (5/24): "Promoting the predictability of the best reservoir targets."

Genesis of honeycomb buildups in the Permian Zechstein Group, Southern North Sea (9/24): “The sedimentological understanding provided by this study not only de-risks frontier exploration but also provides insight into carbonate growth in restricted platform recovery scenarios.”

Critical re-assessment of Middle and Late Miocene submarine fans in offshore southern and western Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, to update the paleogeography (3/24): "The new Taranaki Basin deep-water fans documented here, may have significance for hydrocarbon exploration in deep water parts of Taranaki Basin, which is largely unexplored."

Stratigraphic evolution and sediment dispersal in a marine rift-basin: The case of the Lewis trough, Eastern Dampier sub-basin (Australia) (3/24): "Understanding the stratigraphic evolution of marine rift basins allows to predict reservoir location and extent."

Structural and stratigraphic controls on reservoir architecture: A case study from the lower Oligocene Vicksburg Formation, Brooks County, Texas (2/24): "This zone is characterized by listric-normal faults that have formed highly faulted rollover anticlines, which are valuable structural traps for for hydrocarbon exploration...a valuable reference for similar geological systems and reservoirs worldwide"

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Berriasian organic-rich interval of the Vaca Muerta Formation (Neuquén Basin, Argentina): Insights for the characterization of unconventional hydrocarbon shale reservoirs (5/24): "The results of our study position the BORI as an attractive interval for unconventional hydrocarbon production"

Characteristics and an accumulation model of a bauxite gas reservoir in the southwestern Ordos Basin (8/24): "These findings have significant implications for natural gas exploration in Al-bearing rocks in North China and other regions."

Determination of multistage oil charge processes in the Ediacaran Dengying gas reservoirs of the southwestern Sichuan basin, SW China (6/24): "This research reveals the timing of multistage oil charging events in the southwest Sichuan basin...determining the timing of hydrocarbon charge is critical to understand the regular pattern of hydrocarbon accumulation, providing important guidance for deep and ultra-deep exploration."

Structural style & kinematic analysis of deformation in the northern Dezful Embayment, Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, SW Iran (9/24): “A comprehensive understanding of structure and kinematic characteristics of fold and thrust belts provides significant information for hydrocarbon exploration and production. The kinematic evolution and structural style of three subsurface oilfields, Zeloi, Lali and Karun, in the northern part of the Dezful Embayment, a significant petroleum province of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt in SW Iran, were investigated using 2D seismic data.”

Prototypical basin reconstruction and evolutionary models for the Precambrian of the Qinshui Basin, North China Craton (9/24): “The thick Precambrian strata in the Qinshui Basin (QB) have high potential for hydrocarbon exploration. Tectonic evolution restoration and prototype basin reconstruction are key to hydrocarbon exploration and evaluation for Precambrian strata. We studied the 2D/3D seismic data and Precambrian field outcrops of the QB to elucidate its geological attributes, major regional unconformities, tectonostratigraphic framework, tectonic evolution and prototype basin.” 

Deciphering the origin and secondary alteration of deep natural gas in the Tarim basin through paired methane clumped isotopes (2/24): “This novel approach may aid hydrocarbon exploration in deeply buried petroleum systems worldwide.”

Bedding-parallel fracture density prediction using graph convolutional network in continental shale oil reservoirs: A case study in Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin, China (7/24) "We have explained how the model is generated step by step and ultimately predicted the response of the logging curve, which can be used as a theoretical geological basis for the exploration and development of shale oil."

Characteristics and correlations of rock components, structure, and physical properties of deep clastic reservoirs in the LD-X area of Yinggehai Basin, western South China Sea (7/24): "The results provide a profound analysis of the lithology of the LD area in the Yinggehai Basin and lay the foundation for understanding the development pattern of high-quality reservoirs and predicting their distribution."

Geochemical properties, mechanism of formation, and source of solid bitumen in the Ediacaran Dengying Formation from the central to northern Sichuan Basin, China (1/24): “This research successfully obtained insights into the source and genetic mechanism of paleo-oil reservoirs by analyzing the properties of high-maturity solid bitumens, which can guide further exploration and development of deep petroleum resources.”

A new method of the hydrocarbon secondary migration research: Numerical simulation (2/24): “The proposed method introduces a powerful approach to analyzing and predicting hydrocarbon migration and accumulation, fostering improved decision-making in exploration endeavors.”

Determination of in situ hydrocarbon contents in shale oil plays: Part 3: Quantification of light hydrocarbon evaporative loss in old cores based on preserved shales (2/24): “This research has great implication for estimating in situ hydrocarbon potential using conventional coring samples.”

Influence of basement high and detachment on the kinematics of a fold-and-thrust belt in the central South Yellow Sea Basin, China: Insights from analog modeling (2/24): “This study is of significant importance to guide future petroleum exploration in the central South Yellow Sea Basin.”

Stratigraphic architecture of the synrift interval in the northern Pletmos Basin, offshore South Africa (2/24): “This research enhances our understanding of the potential for hydrocarbon reserves in the northern Pletmos Basin.”

Seismic data, cross-section balancing, and hydrocarbon prospectivity of the western Sulaiman fold belt, northwest Pakistan (2/24): “We have applied the line-length balancing technique to construct the cross-section to resolve the overall geometry of the frontal duplex for assessment of the play and hydrocarbon exploration.”

Tectonism and fracture-related dissolution induced the formation of the large-scale metamorphic granite reservoir: Implications from Bozhong 26–6 Precambrian bedrock trap, offshore Bohai Bay basin, Northern China (2/24): “These research results can deepen scientific understanding surrounding the formation mechanism of buried-hill reservoirs and provide a geological model for reservoir prediction.”

Evaluation of sweet spots for a tight sandstone reservoir: A quantitative study of diagenesis in the fourth member of the Oligocene Huagang Formation, Xihu Depression, East China Sea Shelf Basin (5/24): "Reservoir sweet spot evaluation is very important for tight sandstone gas exploration and development. Due to the characteristics of large burial depth, strong diagenesis heterogeneity, and prominent importance of diagenetic facies, sweet spot evaluation is the focus and difficulty of unconventional oil and gas exploration and development."

Insights into the formation and growth of authigenic chlorite in sandstone: Analysis of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics from Shaximiao Formation, Sichuan Basin, SW China (9/24): “This study aims to advance the theoretical understanding of authigenic chlorite growth and provide crucial data support for oil and gas exploration in the region.”

Hydrothermal alteration mechanisms of an Archaean metamorphic buried hill and the models for reservoir zonation, Bozhong depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China (6/24): "This study may serve as a reference for the hydrocarbon exploration in metamorphic buried-hill reservoirs."

Gas-in-place content and occurrence state of deep shale gas in the Luzhou area, Sichuan Basin, China (2/24): "The results are of great significance in evaluating the resource quantity of deep shale gas, predicting "sweet spots" and formulating development plans."

Analysis of the filling patterns and reservoir development models of the Ordovician paleokarst reservoirs in the tahe oilfield (3/24): "It is highly important to guide the exploration and development of carbonate oil and gas fields to comprehensively study the formation process and mechanism of carbonate reservoir spaces and summarize the filling laws and reservoir development models of ancient karst areas…The development models corresponding to different patterns are summarized to support the development and potential exploration of ancient cave-containing carbonate reservoirs.

Volcanic lithofacies control the space in unconventional, rhyolitic hydrocarbon reservoirs: The Hailar Basin, NE China (7/24): "...promising targets for oil and gas exploration. The facies model we obtain from the Hailar Basin may be extended to similar rhyolitic rocks in other basins hosting unconventional reservoirs.

Petroleum system analysis of the komombo basin, southern Egypt: Insights from basin modeling and hydrocarbon geochemistry (9/24): "This study integrates seismic, borehole, and geochemical data, coupled with 1D and 2D basin models, to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential and analyze the petroleum system within the Komombo Basin."

Seismic Sedimentology Analysis of Meter-Scale Thin Sand Bodies in the Jurassic Qigu Formation, Yongjin Area, Junggar Basin (8/24): "Extensive exploration has led to the discovery of substantial oil and gas resources in the Jurassic Qigu Formation in the Junggar Basin, which is the primary oil-bearing layer and has a promising exploration potential…This study was conducted within the framework of seismic sedimentology theory to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution patterns, evolution of sedimentary systems, and sedimentary models of the thin sand bodies in the Yongjin area of the Jurassic Qigu Formation in the Junggar Basin. Based on the collected data.”

Identification of complex crude oil categories in ultra-deep petroleum systems based on a new fluorescence analysis method: An example from the southwestern Tabei Uplift, Tarim Basin, China (7/24): “Ultra-deep (burial depth >6000 m) petroliferous basins have large petroleum potential. In the last two decades, great breakthroughs have been achieved in ultra-deep petroleum exploration, and ultra-deep oil and gas resources have made increasing contributions to global petroleum production…The complicated crude oil categories significantly impeded the determination of the sources and formation mechanisms of crude oils, and how to effectively classify the categories of crude oils is a critical issue in ultra-deep petroleum exploration…The purpose of this study was to reveal the relationships of fluorescence parameters with geochemical and physical parameters for ultra-deep crude oils and establish correlation diagrams based on fluorescence parameters for identifying crude oil categories, which may provide new approaches for revealing the sources and formation mechanisms of crude oils in ultra-deep petroleum systems.”

Geochemistry and accumulation of the ultra-deep Ordovician oils in the Shunbei oilfield, Tarim Basin: Coupling of reservoir secondary processes and filling events (9/24): “The objective is to utilize organic geochemical methods to develop a nuanced depiction of the hydrocarbon accumulation complexities of the Tarim Basin, offering valuable insights for the exploration of ultra-deep petroleum.”

Evaluation of Fluid Mobility and Factors Influencing the Deep Tight Sandstone of the Third Member of the Shahejie Formation in the Jiyang Depression, Bohai Bay Basin (9/24): "With decreasing production from conventional oil reservoirs, tight oil reservoirs with immense resource potential have become an important topic in the field of oil exploration and development…a model for evaluating the fluid mobility for the deep tight sandstone reservoirs in theLinnan Depression is established, with the aim of providing theoretical support for the next step of oil development and evaluation…The Paleogene Es3 section of the Linnan Depression contains significant tight oil resources within its lacustrine delta-turbidite facies sandstone deposits.” 

Diagenesis and reservoir quality evolution of estuarine sandstones: Insights from the Cenomanian-Turonian Yolde Formation, northern Benue Trough, NE Nigeria (11/24): "These findings would provide useful insights that would reduce the risks of exploration of the sandstones and also supplies potential input data for forward diagenetic modelling of their subsurface equivalents in similar depositional settings elsewhere."

Preliminary analysis of the indicators and accumulation models of gas hydrates in the central Zhongjiannan Basin, western South China Sea (6/24): "The geophysical indicators of gas hydrates are found for the first time in the central Zhongjiannan Basin of the SCS, yielding an important reference for further exploration and development."

Distribution of Permian and Triassic strata in the Laoshan Uplift, Southern Yellow Sea, using seismic attributes (6/24): "Our findings will aid in the exploration and evaluation of early hydrocarbon resources in the LSU."

Evolution of Mesozoic paleo-uplifts and differential control on sedimentation on the southern margin of Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin (3/24): “This study will help elucidate the development and evolution of the paleo-uplifts on the southern margin of Kuqa Depression, northern Tarim Basin, clarify the relationship between provenance and sedimentary system, and guide the oil and gas exploration in Tarim Basin and other basins with the similar background globally.”

Petroleum accumulations in the tarim basin during various tectonic stages as revealed by U–Pb dating of multi-phase calcite veins in deeply buried carbonate reservoirs (6/24): “Constraining the evolutionary history of fluid activity and the process of oil charging in the deeply buried carbonate reservoirs is crucial for further hydrocarbon exploration and development. In this study, we conducted an integrated study combining petrography, geochemistry, fluid inclusion analysis, and in-situ U–Pb dating of multi-phase calcite veins collected from the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs, Akeyasu area, Tarim Basin.” 

Fault characterization and its significance on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation of western Tazhong Uplift, Tarim basin: Insight from seismic, geochemistry, fluid inclusion and in situ U-Pb dating (9/24): “This research will illustrate oil and gas charging history and provide further evidence for deep oil exploration in the Tarim Basin.” We are grateful to the Tarim Oilfield Company of CNPC for their collaboration and the reviewers for their valuable comments on this study.

Cenozoic faulting leading to petroleum escape in SW Ordos Basin, China: evidence from fault-related calcite in situ U-Pb dating, rare earth elements and fluid inclusions (8/24): "Finding an effective way to link the fault movement to petroleum escape is key to understand the potential of petroleum exploration in the basin…This study will provide a novel insight into the petroleum leakage along the fault zone in the SW Ordos Basin." 

Controls of tectonics and paleoclimate on depositional–diagenetic evolution and pore types of Upper Cretaceous successions (Sarvak Formation) in the Abadan Plain, Iran (9/24): “This research aids in reducing exploration risk and enhancing the efficiency of hydrocarbon recovery in the Zagros Basin.” We extend our appreciation to the National Iranian Oil Company for their valuable support and provision of data, which significantly contributed to the completion of this study.

Reconstruction of large-scale anisotropic 3D digital rocks from 2D shale images using generative adversarial network (8/24): "Digital rock technology has played a significant role in unconventional oil and gas exploration and development. Current techniques face challenges such as high cost or low efficiency when reconstructing 3D pore structures at the nanoscale, which limit the study of rock physical properties in reservoirs. To address these issues, this work proposes an efficient generative adversarial network workflow for generating large-scale anisotropic 3D digital rocks from 2D images." 

Geochemical characteristics of Ordovician crude oils in the FI17 strike-slip fault zone of the Fuman oilfield, Tarim basin: Implications for ultra-deep hydrocarbon accumulation in the Tarim basin (5/24): “This study could provide significant exploration guidance for further ultra-deep oil and gas exploration in the Fuman oilfield.”

Coupling of source rock gas expulsion intensity and reservoir quality in time and space-a key to determine gas accumulation in Upper Paleozoic tight sandstones of the Mugua gas field, Ordos Basin, China (6/24): "The dissolution and quartz-cemented facies within the Benxi, Taiyuan, and Shanxi Formations, intimately interbedded with hydrocarbon source rocks, exhibit good reservoir quality. They offer ideal conditions for gas accumulation, making them prime candidates for exploration and development."

Materials Today Communications
Simulation and experimental study on amphiphilic modified graphene oxide for EOR (7/24): "As a non-renewable resource, petroleum plays an indispensable role in our life. However, it is difficult to explore new oil fields, and it is difficult for conventional oil fields to produce oil in harsh reservoirs with low recovery and low permeability because of high water content. Therefore, the amount of oil produced cannot meet people's demand for oil…it is particularly important to choose a new method to enhance oil recovery. In recent years, nanoparticles have appeared in the public's field of vision…[this paper] provides a direction for the application of amino acid modified nanoparticles in oil displacement.” 

Measurement: Sensors
Optimization of coal seam pressure fracturing fluid system in the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin based on IoT sensors (4/24): "By using ionic surfactants as fracturing fluids, the surface tension of the fracturing fluid can be effectively reduced, the porosity of coal samples can be increased, and the flow and extraction of coalbed methane can be promoted."

Characteristics of middle-high-rank coal reservoirs and prospects for CBM exploration and development in western Guizhou, China (6/24): "This paper comparatively analyzes the characteristics of middle- and high-rank coal reservoirs in the western Guizhou region...and analyzes the exploration and development potential and direction of middle-high-rank CBM in the region."

Micron
A comparative approach employing microCT for the analysis of Cenozoic foraminifera from the Brazilian carbonate equatorial platform (5/24): "Worldwide, some of the largest hydrocarbon reservoirs are located in tropical neritic carbonate deposits. Biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental analyzes of these sedimentary records are often based on the study of foraminiferal assemblage. Foraminifera-based biozones are widely employed in the oil industry to support drilling processes that, alongside petrophysical prospecting, define interval favorable for exploiting hydrocarbon resources…the present study aims to compare different methods of analyzing foraminifera assemblages.” 

Natural Gas Industry B
A mathematical model for predicting the productivity of fractured horizontal wells of tight sandstone gas: A case study in the Sulige gas field (4/24): "This model provides valuable guidance on predicting productivity in tight sandstone gas reservoirs."

Mechanical properties and optimization of deflecting drills with ultra-short radius flexible drill pipes (4/24): "To increase oil and gas production, old well tapping and the deep development of thin and poor oil reservoirs have gradually become a focus of marine oil and gas development…The flexible drill pipe is the key component in the drilling process of an ultra-short radius horizontal well…In this study, geometric and mechanical models of a flexible drill pipe are established” 

Numerical modeling of deep coalbed methane accumulation in the central-eastern Ordos Basin, China (8/24): "Deep coalbed methane (CBM) has become one of the most significant potential sources of natural gas in China. However, the exploration and development of deep CBM in China is still in an initial stage, and its accumulation-forming characteristics require further study. Therefore, taking the No. 8 deep coal seam in the central-eastern region of Ordos Basin as an example, this study investigated the geologic characteristics of CBM accumulations to establish a numerical model." 

Exploring the prospects of deep natural gas resources from the geochemical parameters of the Shahejie Formation source rocks in the Banqiao depression (8/24): "This article conducts multiple experimental studies on the geochemistry of Shahejie Formation source rock in the Banqiao Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, including pyrolysis, TOC, chloroform bitumen A determination, vitrinite reflectance, kerogen microscopic component identification, saturated hydrocarbon chromatography, and saturated hydrocarbon chromatography–mass spectrometry, to evaluate the Shahejie Formation and provide support for natural gas exploration in the Banqiao Depression."

Hydrocarbon accumulation process and reservoir-forming models of structure A in the central inversion tectonic belt of the Xihu Depression, East China Sea Basin (8/24): "These reservoir formation models are critical for guiding the exploration of a series of large traps, including structure A and its surrounding structures, and they have important reference significance for natural gas exploration in other basins."

Ocean Engineering
Multi-objective optimization framework for deepwater riser jetting installation parameters using deep reinforcement learning (10/24): "Optimizing conductor casing jetting installation in offshore oil and gas exploration is essential for underwater wellhead reliability...These findings present a groundbreaking approach for conductor casing jetting, offering greater precision and efficiency in offshore drilling operations and the potential to redefine industry standards."

Mechanical analysis of mud return on deepwater drilling riser system (6/24): "The exploration and development of offshore oil and gas are shifting towards deep waters due to the growing energy demand. This transition poses significant challenges for offshore oil and gas equipment, particularly the riser system, which is considered a critical component...The paper examines the mechanisms and effects of mud forces generated by mud return on the deepwater drilling riser system."

The stress field simulation of a novel M-type convex stepped bottomhole and the rate of penetration enhancement mechanism of a new type of central-grooved PDC bit for offshore deep & ultradeep well drilling (2/24): "The focus of global oil & gas development is moving towards the offshore deep and ultradeep formations. However, the offshore deep & ultradeep is a changing task due to the low rock-breaking efficiency, low rate of penetration (ROP) and huge drilling costs...This work provides a promising method and a tool to improve ROP for offshore deep & ultradeep well drilling."

Research on simulation model of deepwater drilling and optimization method of drilling parameters based on energy (11/24): “Rich oil reservoirs are present in deepwater and ultra-deepwater, but the challenging ocean environment limits the benefits of drilling engineering during exploration and development. Surface parameter optimization based on simulation models is a crucial method for enhancing drilling ROP(Rate of penetration). However, challenges such as large module scale and high coupling difficulty need to be addressed. This study establishes a full-scale deepwater drilling system simulation model through multi-software joint modeling, taking into account factors such as the disturbance of the periodic dynamic riser model to the drilling string system, interaction of bit and rock, impact between the drilling string system and the riser/wellbore, etc.” 

Strength and tightness analysis of wellhead flange connections considering ultrahigh-pressure conditions (9/24): "Flanges play a crucial role as connection equipment and are extensively utilized in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas...Despite harboring substantial oil and gas resources, the drilling and extraction processes in these high-temperature, high-pressure wells entail formidable challenges and costs...Overall, this paper significantly contributes to the understanding and optimization of UHP wellhead flanges in the oil and gas industry."

An MINLP model for optimal sandwich pipe design based on structural and thermal criteria (2/24): “The offshore production of oil and gas has moved into deepwater and ultra-deepwater regions. The ability to withstand external pressure becomes a primary concern for subsea pipes…The main objective of this study is to develop a suitable optimal design model for SPs so that their efficiency can be fully exploited.”

Refined VFIFE modeling on dynamic behaviours of deepwater S-lay pipeline in overbend section (6/24): “To meet the ever-growing demand for oil and gas, the offshore oil-gas industry has extended into deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas. Currently, offshore pipelines are the most economical and effective method for maritime oil and gas transportation…[this paper] provides important theoretical references for the installation design of deepwater pipelines.”

Integrated finite element analysis and machine learning approach for propagation pressure prediction in hybrid Steel-CFRP subsea pipelines (11/24): "In recent years, the exploration of oil and gas in deep and ultra-deep-water regions has been increasing through the utilization of deep-water engineering equipment…In contrast to traditional methods for predicting the collapse and propagation pressure of deep-sea pipelines, which often rely on empirical formulas and conventional finite element analysis (FEA), this study introduces a novel approach aimed at overcoming their inherent limitations." 

Ore & Energy Resource Geology
Evaluation of top seal capacity by pseudo-capillary pressure model in Suriname offshore Basin (10/24): "Seal rock, in hydrocarbon exploration, generally defines the relatively low permeable rock, which acts as a barrier for the hydrocarbon to migrate…this work integrates drilled well data such as Special Core Analysis (SCAL) with Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) from the laboratory, wireline logs, conventional core, and side wall core data from 11 drilled wells with high-quality 3D QAPSDM seismic dataset to evaluate the seal efficiency and its variability over an area of approximately 4750 sq km." 

Organic Geochemistry
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

Source and significance of Cretaceous oil seepage in the northern Ordos Basin, China (1/24): “The zone between the Dongsheng gas field and the Wulangar Uplift is therefore likely to have very good accumulation and preservation conditions and may offer a promising exploration prospect for natural gas.” 

Geochemical fingerprints of Dongpu Depression crude oils in Bohai Bay Basin, northern China: Insights from biomarkers and isotopic compositions of selected alkylnaphthalenes and alkylphenanthrenes (9/24): "The research shows the importance of the aromatic isotopic compositions in petroleum system characterization and could be used as a reference for a practical exploration campaign of petroleum…With increasing oil demand this study enhances our knowledge of petroleum geochemistry, especially crude oil samples discovered in the Dongpu Depression and the Bohai Bay Basin. Thus, this research has the potential to improve comprehension of the Cenozoic oil quality in the Dongpu Depression and have broader implications."

Gas-phase reaction of CH4 and H2S – Evidence from pyrolysis experiments and case study from the Sichuan Basin (8/24): "Among the most important aspects of natural gas exploration is the identification of gas sources and understanding the different processes experienced by the gas since formation and until production…In recent years, volatile organic sulfur compounds (VOSC), such as thiols, sulfides and thiophenes, were proposed as a potential geochemical proxy for the evaluation of natural gas reservoirs…The current study aims at developing a novel, complementary VOSC proxy for the analysis of dry gas.”

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Organic matter enrichment in shale deposited proximal to paleo-uplifts and its impact on shale gas exploration (1/24): “Results of the present study contribute supplementary information regarding the mechanism of organic matter enrichment in shale and can provide guidance for shale gas exploration and development in geologically similar regions.” 

Enrichment mechanism of organic matter and silicon in lower Cambrian shale of the Yangtze Platform (8/24): "We are especially interested in elucidating organic carbon and silicon enrichment mechanisms of the Niutitang Formation that will benefit shale gas exploration and development of these deposits…Results of the present study offer theoretical guidance for future shale gas exploration and development efforts in geologically similar regions." 

Palaeoworld
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 13 (Climate Action)


Middle to Upper Ordovician stable carbon isotope stratigraphy and sedimentary facies in the Shunbei and Tahe areas, northern-central Tarim, China (8/24): "The Shunbei area, located in northern-central Tarim (Northwest China), represents a new, important area for petroleum and gas exploration. This study presents high-resolution, conodont 
biostratigraphically controlled stable carbon isotope data from 540 samples of four deeply buried (∼7000–8000 m) wells in the Shunbei area and its nearby Tahe area spanning the Middle to Upper Ordovician for detailed chemostratigraphic correlations.” This work was supported by the SINOPEC Northwest Company

Petroleum
Sedimentary characteristics and lithofacies paleogeography of the Cambrian in Sichuan basin, Southwest China (6/24): "Research on the Cambrian in Sichuan basin has important theoretical significance and practical application value in guiding hydrocarbon exploration.This study focuses on sedimentary characteristics and lithofacies paleogeography in the Cambrian in Sichuan basin."

A hybrid machine learning approach based study of production forecasting and factors influencing the multiphase flow through surface chokes (6/24): "The presented intelligent modeling approach is more advantageous than empirical relationships and provides better generalization for the prediction of oil prediction."

Performance of evolutionary optimized machine learning for modeling total organic carbon in core samples of shale gas fields (3/24): "The results show that, independent of the metaheuristic used to guide the model selection, optimized extreme learning machines attained the best performance scores according to six metrics. Such hybrid models can be used in exploratory geological research, particularly for unconventional oil and gas resources."

Experimental and Modelling studies on static sag of solid weighting powders in Polysulfonate workover fluids at high temperature and high pressure (9/24): “With the continuous increase in oil and gas exploration, the number of deep wells, ultra-deep wells, and high-temperature exploration wells has been increasing, and the requirements for the temperature resistance and thermal stability of water-based workover fluids are also increasing…The experimental method and the correlation proposed in this work provide a fresh approach to predict and control the static sag of workover fluids at HTHP.” 

Characteristics and genesis of shoal facies reservoir of the Lower Ordovician Tongzi Formation in southeastern Sichuan Basin, China (9/24): "The study can be used as a reference for the further exploration of Ordovician petroleum in the Sichuan Basin and other regions owning similar geological settings."

Paleo-uplift forced regional sedimentary evolution: A case study of the Late Triassic in the southeastern Sichuan Basin, South China (9/24): "This study is of great significance for understanding of both stratigraphic division and sedimentary evolution providing theoretical support for the exploration and development of oil and gas."

Petroleum Exploration and Development
Editor-in-Chief: Dai Jinxing, RIPED, PetroChina, China

Enrichment model and major controlling factors of below-source tight oil in Lower Cretaceous Fuyu reservoirs in northern Songliao Basin, NE China (4/24): "Comprehensive analysis suggests that the Fuyu reservoir in the Qijia–Gulong Sag has good conditions for tight oil enrichment and has been less explored, and it is an important new zone for tight oil exploration in the future."

Research advances on the mechanisms of reservoir formation and hydrocarbon accumulation and the oil and gas development methods of deep and ultra-deep marine carbonates (8/24): "The findings are expected to provide technical supports for the exploration and development of deep and ultra-deep carbonate oil and gas reservoirs."

Whole petroleum system in Jurassic coal measures of Taibei Sag in Tuha Basin, NW China (6/24): "The new understanding of the whole petroleum system in the coal measures could further enrich and improve the geological theory of the whole petroleum system, and provide new ideas for the overall exploration of oil and gas resources in the Tuha Basin."

Hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics in basement reservoirs and exploration targets of deep basement reservoirs in onshore China (2/24): "...have favorable conditions for hydrocarbon accumulation, and thus they are considered as the main targets for future exploration of deep basement reservoirs."

A technique for enhancing tight oil recovery by multi-field reconstruction and combined displacement and imbibition (2/24): "Field application in Block Yuan 284 of the Huaqing Oilfield in the Ordos Basin has demonstrated that this technology increases the recovery factor by 12 percentage points, enabling large scale and efficient development of tight oil."

Petroleum geological characteristics and exploration targets of the oil-rich sags in the Central and West African Rift System (2/24): "The combination of reservoir and cap rocks inside source rocks of basins with multiple superimposed rifting stages, as well as the lithologic reservoirs and the shale oil inside source rocks of strong inversion basins are important fields for future exploration in basins of the CWARS."

Natural gas exploration potential and favorable targets of Permian Fengcheng Formation in the western Central Depression of Junggar Basin, NW China (6/24): "...the gas-generating potential of the Fengcheng source rock is evaluated, the distribution of large-scale effective source kitchen is described, the genetic types of natural gas are clarified, and four types of favorable exploration targets are selected."

Hydrocarbon accumulation in deep ancient carbonate–evaporite assemblages (2/24): "As a result, the Cambrian strata in the Tazhong Uplift North Slope, Maigaiti Slope and Mazatag Front Uplift Zone of the Tarim Basin, the Cambrian strata in the eastern-southern area of the Sichuan Basin, and the inter-evaporite Ma-4 Member of Ordovician in the Ordos Basin, China, are defined as favorable targets for future exploration."

Igneous intrusion contact metamorphic system and its reservoir characteristics: A case study of Paleogene Shahejie Formation in Nanpu sag of Bohai Bay Basin, China (4/24): "The proposal and application of the geological model of the intrusion contact metamorphic system are expected to promote the discovery of exploration targets"

Research progress and development of deep and ultra-deep drilling fluid technology (8/24): "The research progress of deep and ultra-deep drilling fluid technology systematically reviewed, the key problems existing are analyzed, and the future development direction is proposed."

Formation of large- and medium-sized Cretaceous volcanic reservoirs in the offshore Bohai Bay Basin, East China (6/24): “The out-source volcanic buried hills in the Bodong low uplift are favorable exploration targets. These buried hills are in the structural fault zones, and are located in or closely adjacent to hydrocarbon-rich sags with good hydrocarbon charging conditions. Meanwhile, these buried hills are covered by hydrocarbon source rocks or thick mudstones of the Paleogene Dongying Formation, which provide good preservation conditions. For example, BZ8-3S and LK7-1 are favorable exploration breakthrough targets."

Coal-rock gas: Concept, connotation and classification criteria (8/24): "The paper summarizes the technical and management challenges and points out the research directions, laying a foundation for the management, exploration, and development of coal-rock gas in China."

Main controlling factors and exploration enlightenment of aluminous rock series gas reservoirs in Ordos Basin, NW China (6/24): "The gas reservoirs of aluminous rock series, which are clustered at multiple points in lenticular shape, are important new natural gas exploration fields with great potential in the Upper Paleozoic of North China Craton."

Episodic hydrothermal alteration on Middle Permian carbonate reservoirs and its geological significance in southwestern Sichuan Basin, SW China (2/24): "Hydrothermal dolomite reservoirs with local connected pore/vugs and fractures have exploration potential."

Petroleum exploration and production in Brazil: From onshore to ultra-deepwaters (8/24): "Summarizing and reviewing Brazil's exploration and development journey from onshore, shallow water, deepwater, ultra-deepwater to the pre-salt, as well as its successful practices and theoretical and technological advancements, holds significant reference value for global deepwater petroleum exploration and development."

Discovery and petroleum geological significance of delta in the third member of Oligocene Lingshui Formation in southern Baodao Sag, Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea (4/24): "The delta of the Ling 3 Member is coupled with fault blocks to form diverse traps, which are critical exploration targets in southern Baodao Sag."

Iteration and evaluation of shale oil development technology for continental rift lake basins (8/24): "This article summarizes and analyzes the achievements in drilling, fracturing and development technology iterations for shale oil in continental rift lake basins, especially the shale oil in theJiyang Depression, and proposes the development direction for technological iteration in shale oil development with the intent to accelerate the establishment of a seriesof efficient development technologies for shale oil in continental rift lake basins and provide a reference for achieving benefit development of shale oil."

Reservoir characteristics and formation model of Upper Carboniferous bauxite series in eastern Ordos Basin, NW China (2/24): "This recognition provides geological basis for the exploration and development of natural gas in the Upper Carboniferous in the study area and similar bauxite systems."

Distribution patterns of tight sandstone gas and shale gas (8/24): "The authors systematically review the research history of the distribution of tight sandstone gas and shale gas reservoirs, analyze the distribution characteristics and genetic types of shale gas and tight sandstone gas reservoirs, in order to provide technical support for the exploration and development of shale gas and tight sandstone gas reservoirs."

Sedimentary build-ups of pre-salt isolated carbonate platforms and formation of deep-water giant oil fields in Santos Basin, Brazil (8/24): "The result not only provides an important basis for the advanced selection of potential play fairways, bidding of new blocks, and deployment of awarded exploration blocks in the Santos Basin, but also provides a reference for the global selection of deep-water exploration blocks in passive continental margin basins."

Hydrocarbon accumulation and orderly distribution of whole petroleum system in marine carbonate rocks of Sichuan Basin, SW China (8/24): "The hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics of each whole petroleum system are analyzed...Large-scale marginal-platform reef-bank facies zones, deep shale gas, and large-scale lithological complexes related to source-connected faults are future marine hydrocarbon exploration targets in the Sichuan Basin."

Geological characteristics and exploration breakthroughs of coal rock gas in Carboniferous Benxi Formation, Ordos Basin, NW China (4/24): “To explore the geological characteristics and exploration potential of the Carboniferous Benxi Formation coal rock gas in the Ordos Basin, this paper presents a systematic research on the coal rock distribution, coal rock reservoirs, coal rock quality, and coal rock gas features, resources and enrichment…Substantial breakthroughs have been achieved, with the possible reserves over a trillion cubic meters and the proved reserves over a hundred billion cubic meters” 

Influences of different alkaline and acidic diagenetic environments on diagenetic evolution and reservoir quality of alkaline lake shales (2/24): "Dolomitic shale in the transitional zone and siltstone in the marginal zone have relatively high content of free shale oil and strong fracability, and are favorable “sweet spots” for shale oil exploitation and development."

Three-dimensional structural models, evolutions and petroleum geological significances of transtensional faults in the Ziyang area, central Sichuan Basin, SW China (6/24): "The major reservoirs in this area are expected to achieve breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration."

Petroleum Research
Editor-in-Chief: Chengzao Jia, China National Petroleum Corporation, China

Characteristics and genesis of tuffaceous shale oil lithofacies:A case study of Lucaogou Formation in Santanghu Basin (3/24): "...of great significance for selection of shale oil exploration zones."

Identification and Tracing of Near-Source Petroleum Transport System Based on Reservoir Bitumen Index (RBI) Method: A Case Study of the Lower Cambrian in the Tazhong-Bachu Area, Tarim Basin, China (6/20): "The Lower Cambrian carbonate reservoir is considered a near-source discrete petroleum transport system, providing great potential for further oil and gas exploration in the Lower Paleozoic in the Tazhong-Bachu area."

Applicability of deep neural networks for lithofacies classification from conventional well logs: An integrated approach (2/24): "Oil and gas exploration holds significant promise for deep learning and could experience a breakthrough. This research also lays the groundwork for us to further the thorough fusion of conventional oil and gas exploration and artificial intelligence."

Shale gas accumulation mechanism of deep-buried marine shale of Wufeng Formation of Upper Ordovician to Longmaxi Formation of Lower Silurian in southeastern part of Sichuan Basin (8/24): "This study provides a reference for exploration and development of deep shale gas in Sichuan Basin and other areas."

Reservoir identification of marine facies carbonate shoals in the Middle Permian in the Sichuan Basin (3/24): “New theories and methods are needed to support the oil and gas exploration in shoal subfacies reservoirs...This forecasting approach can effectively reduce the risk of shoal subfacies reservoirs prediction caused by the heterogeneity of marine carbonates. Therefore, it can provide a scientific basis for the prediction of high-frequency cycles of the shoal subfacies developed in platform facies and platform margin facies in other marine carbonate sedimentary basins.” 

Development characteristics and controlling mechanism of different microfracture combinations in shale reservoir: A case study of silurian longmaxi formation in Weiyuan area (7/24): "The development characteristics and laws of fractures are of great significance in the exploration and development of shale oil and gas. This study examines organic-rich shales of the Wufeng–Longmaxi Formation in the Weiyuan area of the Sichuan Basin."

Identification of carbonate sedimentary facies from well logs with machine learning (6/24): “This study is helpful for identifying compelx sedimentary facies of carbonate reservoirs from well logs…Determining the petrophysical properties of sedimentary facies is important to provide practical guidance for oil and gas exploration.”

Electrofacies-driven 3D-static reservoir modeling of the Late-Cenomanian AbuRoash’G lithounit (Abu-Gharadig Basin, Egypt): Sequence stratigraphic and geomodel constraints for a gas-bearing estuarine system (7/24): "Estuarine-systems, developed upon transgressive-phases, feature high-quality reservoir-facies, e.g. tidal-bars, that are important stratigraphic-plays critical for hydrocarbon exploration-development...in this study, we performed 3D-static geocellular reservoir-modeling process...The tidal-bar facies’ efficient reservoir quality calls for attention and testing in future development plans and investigation in similar settings."

Sedimentary microfacies of Member 5 of Xujiahe Formation in the Dongfengchang area, Sichuan Basin (3/24): "These research findings are helpful to guide the subsequent exploration of T3X5 gas reservoir and also theoretically significant for investigating the depositional evolution of the Xujiahe Formation in central Sichuan Basin."

Petroleum Science
Quantitative prediction model for the depth limit of oil accumulation in the deep carbonate rocks: A case study of Lower Ordovician in Tazhong area of Tarim Basin (2/24): "The maximum burial depth of the Lower Ordovician carbonate reservoir in the Tazhong area does not exceed this depth, which indicates the feasibility and prospect of deep carbonate oil exploration in this field."

Geometry and formation mechanism of tension gashes and their implication on the hydrocarbon accumulation in the deep-seated strata of sedimentary basin: A case from Shunnan area of Tarim Basin (2/24): "This study not only provides seismic evidence for the formation and evolution of super large STGs, but also provides certain guidance for oil and gas exploration in this area."

Rock physics properties and influencing factors of subsalt carbonate reservoir of Ordovician Majiagou Formation in central Ordos Basin (5/24): "These findings enable the accurate recognition of the seismic elastic characteristics of high-quality dolomite reservoirs in mound-shoal environments, thus providing a rock physics experimental basis for improving the precision of seismic reservoir prediction in the study area."

Gas prediction in tight sandstones based on the rock-physics-derived seismic amplitude variation versus offset method (6/24): "...suggesting that the obtained results are suitable for reliable predictions of tight sandstones with high gas enrichments."

Insights into microscopic oil occurrence characteristics in shales from the Paleogene Funing Formation in Subei Basin (7/24): "These findings may enhance the understanding of the microscopic occurrence characteristics of shale oil and will contribute to guide resource estimation and shale oil sweet spot exploitation in the Gaoyou Sag, Subei Basin."

Influence of tectonic preservation conditions on the nanopore structure of shale reservoir: A case study of Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation shale in western Hubei area, south China (2/24): "This study is significant to clarify the scale of shale gas formation and enrichment in complex tectonic regions, and helps in the selection of shale sweet spots."

Stochastic seismic inversion and Bayesian facies classification applied to porosity modeling and igneous rock identification (4/24): "Porosity is a petrophysical property that plays a key role in petroleum exploration and production…We presented a three-step approach that employs quantitative seismic interpretation routines for the porosity modeling of the Brazilian presalt carbonate reservoirs”

A systematic review of machine learning modeling processes and applications in ROP prediction in the past decade (5/24): "Fossil fuels are undoubtedly important, and drilling technology plays an important role in realizing fossil fuel exploration; therefore, the prediction and evaluation of drilling efficiency is a key research goal in the industry...The results demonstrate that machine learning models can significantly improve the accuracy of ROP prediction and are a powerful tool to promote efficient and intelligent fossil fuel exploration operations."

Geophysical prediction of organic matter abundance in source rocks based on geochemical analysis: A case study of southwestern Bozhong Sag, Bohai Sea, China (2/24): "The results indicate that the E2s1+2 and E2s3 have better hydrocarbon generative potentials with the highest OM abundance, the E3d3 are of the second good quality, and the E3d2L have poor to fair hydrocarbon generative potential."

Impacts of proppant distribution on development of tight oil reservoirs with threshold pressure gradient (2/24): "Aiming at the development of unconventional oil reservoirs in Triassic Chang-7 Unit, Ordos Basin of China, we presented an integrated workflow to investigate how (1) proppant placement in induced fracture and (2) non-linear flow in reservoir matrix would affect well productivity and fluid flow in the reservoir."

The effects of various factors on spontaneous imbibition in tight oil reservoirs (2/24): "Slickwater fracturing fluids have gained widespread application in the development of tight oil reservoirs...the poor reservoir properties and higher water injection pressure of tight reservoirs complicate their development by conventional means…The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical support and a scientific basis for fracture modification using slickwater fracturing fluid in tight reservoirs."

Complementary testing and machine learning techniques for the characterization and prediction of middle Permian tight gas sandstone reservoir quality in the northeastern Ordos Basin, China (8/24): "Tight gas sandstones (TGSs) are valuable resources worldwide…The objectives of this study are to provide a systematic scheme to evaluate and predict the reservoir quality of TGSs in the study area and similar regions."

An adaptive physics-informed deep learning method for pore pressure prediction using seismic data (4/24): "Formation pore pressure is one of the most important reservoir parameters during hydrocarbon exploration and development…In this study, we propose a novel adaptive physics-informed deep learning model with the name CGP-NN, which can predict the pore pressure values directly from seismic attributes data.”

Depositional model of the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex of the Dengying Formation in the southwestern Sichuan Basin, SW China: Implications for the Ediacaran microbial mound construction and hydrocarbon exploration (4/24): “The goal is to determine the significance of the Ediacaran microbial mound construction process and future worldwide hydrocarbon explorations.” 

Machine learning-based grayscale analyses for lithofacies identification of the Shahejie Formation, Bohai Bay Basin, China (7/24): "It is of great significance to accurately and rapidly identify shale lithofacies in relation to the evaluation and prediction of sweet spots for shale oil and gas reservoirs...This method can not only effectively characterize the material composition of shale, but also numerically characterize the development degree of shale laminae, and solve the problem that difficult to identify millimeter-scale laminae based on logging curves, which can provide technical support for shale lithofacies identification, sweet spot evaluation and prediction of complex continental lacustrine basins."

Statistical assessment of the financial performance of shale-gas wells coupling stochastic and numerical simulation (7/24): "Shale gas operations involve very large financial investments, which require thorough financial studies to make adequate investment decisions...In this study, we propose a methodology for the development of dynamic financial analysis tools for shale gas investments that include an estimate of the probability of the occurrence or financial risks or their quantification."

3D rock physics template-based probabilistic estimation of tight sandstone reservoir properties (4/24): "The application of well-log and seismic data demonstrates that our 3D rock physics template-based probabilistic inversion approach performs well in predicting the spatial distribution of high-quality tight sandstone reservoirs in southwestern China."

Systematic prediction of the gas content, fractures, and brittleness in fractured shale reservoirs with TTI medium (5/24): "The main objective is to optimize the development of shale gas-rich areas by predicting seismic sweet spot parameters in shale reservoirs."

Three-dimensional internal multiple elimination in complex structures using Marchenko autofocusing theory (7/24): “Multiples and primaries often overlap because of the rugged seabed structure, leading to poor imaging effects that directly affect the exploration and development deployment of offshore oil/gas fields…we conclude that the 3D Marchenko autofocusing method serves as an effective tool for predicting and removing of internal multiples from 3D seismic data.” 

Control and prediction of bedding-parallel fractures in fine-grained sedimentary rocks: A case from the Permian Lucaogou Formation in Jimusar Sag, Junggar Basin, Western China (9/24): "The workflow based on multi-scale matching and stepwise progression can be applied in similar fine-grained sedimentary rocks, providing reliable technological support for the exploration and development of hydrocarbons."

Detailed oil-source correlation within the sequence and sedimentary framework in the Fushan Depression, Beibuwan Basin, South China Sea (8/24): "The Els2 reservoir in the Yong’an area belonging to Group B oil, are adjacent to the source kitchen and could be considered as the favorable exploration area in the future…Advancement of a comprehensive understanding of the oil source relationship and its distribution within the study area is of great importance, as it would improve an understanding of hydrocarbon accumulation and the accuracy of petroleum resource evaluation in the sag.” This study was funded by the South Oil Exploration and Development Company of PetroChina

Experimental deformation of shales at elevated temperature and pressure: Pore-crack system evolution and its effects on shale gas reservoirs (7/24): "An ideal model of micro pore-crack system evolution in deformed shales is further proposed, which can provide guidance for the exploration of shale gas resources in the deep or structurally complex zones."

The evolution of clay mineral and its indication of hydrocarbons under overpressure: An example from the shale of the Qingshankou Formation in the Gulong Sag (7/24): "This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between clay mineral evolution and shale reservoir overpressure, offering valuable insights for the accurate assessment of shale oil."

Synthesis of temperature and salt resistance silicon dots for effective enhanced oil recovery in tight reservoir (5/24): "The rapid increase in global demand for petroleum resources has presented significant challenges to the petroleum industry...Core flooding experiments showed promising EOR potential of Si-QDs in ultra-low permeability (0–1 mD) reservoirs, indicating that Si-QDs serve as a promising EOR agent for effectively developing tight reservoirs."

Evolution and generation mechanism of retained oil in lacustrine shales: A combined ReaxFF-MD and pyrolysis simulation perspective (7/24): "This study combines ReaxFF-MD simulation with pyrolysis simulation experiments to propose the thermal evolution stages and formation mechanism of retained oil enrichment in lacustrine shale oil, and provides information on lacustrine shale retained oil and favorable intervals and target areas for shale oil exploration. The successful exploration of the Ek2 in the Cangdong Sag shows that lacustrine shale has huge potential for retained oil resources."

Rock physical characteristics of deep dolomite under complex geological conditions: A case study of 4th Member of Sinian Dengying Formation in the Sichuan Basin, China (4/24): "This research, taking a specific deep carbonate reservoir as an example, is an attempt to develop and demonstrate a novel seismic rock physical research method for chemical sedimentary rock and provide a scientific basis for effective seismic evaluation of deep marine carbonate reservoirs."

Architectural characterization of carbonate tidal channels in the Mishrif Formation, H Oilfield, Iraq (7/24): "This analysis demonstrates that the best reservoir quality within the tidal channels is located in the bend of the tidal channel near the inner lagoon and open sea, it provides the geological models for later exploration and development in the Mishrif Formation."

Main controlling factor and mechanism of gas-in-place content of the Lower Cambrian shale from different sedimentary facies in the western Hubei area, South ChinaAuthor links open overlay panel
(6/24): "The deep-water shelf facies is the most favorable target for the Lower Cambrian shale gas exploration and development in the western Hubei area, South China."

Characteristics, main controlling factors and densification mechanisms of unconventional tight reservoirs in Triassic Yanchang Formation in southern Ordos Basin, China (9/24): “These results provide an important basis for predicting the distribution of exploitable zones in the Chang 8 sandstone and other adjacent tight sandstones…Our results improve the current understanding of the development and characteristics of extremely low permeability tight sandstone reservoirs, specifically the mechanism by which high-quality reservoirs form in the Zhenjing area. Our results should therefore provide an improved scientific basis for oil and gas exploration and the development of tight reservoirs.” We thank the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development of Sinopec North China Oil and Gas Company for provide geological data and their laboratory assistances. 

Concise extraction and characterization of the pore-throat network in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs: A new perspective (6/24): "This method of identification has some obvious applications in tight sandstone oil reservoir exploration and development."

A review of reservoir damage during hydraulic fracturing of deep and ultra-deep reservoirs (2/24): "Deep and ultra-deep reservoirs have gradually become the primary focus of hydrocarbon exploration...These insights hold significant guiding importance for advancing the efficient development of deep oil and gas reservoirs and effectively mitigating reservoir damage."

Quantitative characterizations of anisotropic dynamic properties in organic-rich shale with different kerogen content (4/24): "Understanding the quantitative responses of anisotropic dynamic properties in organic-rich shale with different kerogen content (KC) is of great significance in hydrocarbon exploration and development...In this study, our main focus is to establish the quantitative correlations between the kerogen content and directional dynamic properties, while considering anisotropy in organic-rich shale."

Oilfield analogy and productivity prediction based on machine learning: Field cases in PL oilfield, China (3/24): "This study proposes a method using data mining technology to search for similar oil fields and predict well productivity."

Understanding the hydrocarbon‒generation potential on jurassic coal-measure source rocks in the Junggar Basin: From the perspective of hydrogen-rich molecular structure (4/24): “We conducted Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) experiments to explore the composition of the macromolecular structure of the coal-measure source rocks and demonstrate the association between the molecular structure and the hydrocarbon potential.” We thank the Shengli Oil Company of Sinopec for approving the publication. 

A novel fracture-cavity reservoir outcrop geological knowledge base construction method considering parameter collection and processing, mutual transformation of data-knowledge, application and update (2/24): "These geological results offer crucial insights into the mechanisms underlying the characterization and classification of the KFCS. Additionally, they provide valuable guidance for the exploration and development of underground karst reservoirs."

Prediction and quantification of effective gas source rocks in a lacustrine basin: Western Depression in the Liaohe Subbasin (3/24): "This method offers theoretical support for further natural gas resource estimations and the identification of promising exploration areas" The authors would like to thank CNPC Liaohe Oilfield Exploration Company for data support, for making an academic license available for the use of Petrel, and for helpful discussions on the topics addressed in this work.

Differences and identification on multi-time hydrocarbon generation of carboniferous-permian coaly source rocks in the Huanghua Depression, Bohai Bay Basin (4/24): "We provided important support for the evaluation, prediction, and exploration of oil resources from global ancient coaly source rocks."

Research on thermal insulation materials properties under HTHP conditions for deep oil and gas reservoir rock ITP-Coring (3/24): "The results can provide references for the optimization and engineering application of materials and thus technical support for deep oil and gas resource development."

Identification of reservoir types in deep carbonates based on mixed-kernel machine learning using geophysical logging data (6/24): "In recent years, carbonate reservoirs in the deep layer of petroliferous basins have become increasingly important exploration targets worldwide…Different types of carbonate reservoirs exhibit distinct storage and percolation capacities over a range of scales, resulting in significant heterogeneity of reservoir quality and discrepancy of hydrocarbon enrichment within carbonate reservoirs, which poses potential risks for effective exploitation…To improve the identification accuracy, a new mixed kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (MKFD) method was proposed in this paper for identifying reservoir types in deep carbonates using geophysical logging data." 

Risk assessment of oil and gas investment environment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (4/24): "The research findings may provide scientific decision-making recommendations for the Chinese government and oil enterprises to strengthen oil and gas investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative."

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and organic matter accumulation of the paleogene shahejie oil shale in the Zhanhua Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, Eastern China (3/24): "The research results may have implications for the genetic mechanisms of organic matter accumulation. They will provide theoretical and technical insights into the exploration and development of shale oil."

New progresses of fine-grained sediment gravity-flow deposits and their importance for unconventional shale oil and gas plays (5/24): "These insights may broaden the exploration scope of shale oil and gas, which have important geological significances for unconventional shale oil and gas."

Microfacies and diagenetic alteration in a semi-deep to deep lacustrine shale: The Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin, China (1/24): "These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of shale properties, aiding in the prediction of shale oil exploration potential in the studied area."

Joint inversion of crack properties of tight carbonates from electrical conductivity and ultrasonic velocity (5/24): "Understanding the effects of cracks on the elastic and electrical properties of tight carbonates is crucial for the exploration and development of deep and ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs. In this work, the porosity, electrical conductivity and ultrasonic velocities of two brine-saturated carbonate samples (where the pore space is dominated by cracks) are measured jointly at different effective pressures (5–90 MPa), as well as the velocities with saturating nitrogen at the same pressure conditions." 

Quantitative effect of kerogen type on the hydrocarbon generation potential of Paleogene lacustrine source rocks, Liaohe Western Depression, China (2/24): "This study can quantitatively characterize the hydrocarbon generation potential of source rocks with different kerogen types, and facilitate a quick and accurate assessment of hydrocarbon resources, providing strategies for future oil and gas exploration."

Differences in Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Controlling Factors of Slope Belt in Graben Basin: A Case Study of Pinghu Slope Belt in the Xihu Sag of the East China Sea Shelf Basin (ECSSB) (6/24): "The findings of this research provide strong evidence for the breakthrough of hydrocarbon exploration potential in this region and offer theoretical guidance for offshore hydrocarbon exploration in China Seas."

Radiation efficiency and energy distribution from a borehole dipole source in the vertical transverse isotropic formation (9/24): "The significance of dominant excitation-frequency bands is validated by field data, emphasizing their pivotal role. These results offer valuable insights for designing DSRS measurement strategies, which have broad application expectations for unconventional oil and gas exploration."

Interpretation and characterization of rate of penetration intelligent prediction model (2/24): "As the exploration of underground resources gradually advances to deep and hard formations, low rate of penetration (ROP) and high energy consumption have become the main factors affecting the drilling efficiency of PDC bit…By utilizing the linear characterization equation, the paper provides an intuitive display of the contribution of input features to the ROP." 

Origin of facies-controlled dolomite and exploration significance of the Middle Permian Qixia Formation in central Sichuan Basin, Western China (8/24): "The intraplatform shoal dolomite of the Middle Permian Qixia Formation is currently considered the key target of hydrocarbon exploration in the central Sichuan Basin…The goals were to: (1) further clarify the dolomite distribution and dolomitization mechanism; and (2) provide support and reference for subsequent hydrocarbon exploration and evaluation of the Qixia Formation."

Stratigraphic framework and sedimentary evolution during the Cryogenian-Ediacaran transition in northeastern Sichuan Basin, South China (4/24): "Thus, the Ediacaran System in the northeastern Sichuan Basin should be given high priority, especially the Doushantuo and Dengying source-reservoir-cap rocks combination, to realize large-scale, efficient exploration"

Dynamic Evolution mechanism of the fracturing fracture system—Enlightenments from hydraulic fracturing physical experiments and finite element numerical simulation (9/24): "This study aims to elucidate the dynamic evolution mechanism of the fracturing fracture system during the exploration and development of complex oil and gas reservoirs...This research provides theoretical support and effective guidance for hydraulic fracturing design in tight oil and gas reservoirs."

The mechanical properties of Lucaogou shale layered samples and the influence of minerals on fracture propagation (9/24): “With regard to the Lucaogou Formation in Junggar Basin, it shows significant exploration potential and becomes the primary exploration target in the northwestern China. The lithology of shale oil reservoir there represents great variation in a vertical direction with bedding planes. Thus, it is fairly essential to understand the mechanical properties and fracture characteristics of different layers, which is the key to optimize the drilling and hydraulic fracturing strategy…This study reveals the difference of mechanical properties between the oil layer and interlayer, and the influence of mineral composition and distribution on micro-crack propagation.”

Linearized waveform inversion for vertical transversely isotropic elastic media: Methodology and multi-parameter crosstalk analysis (2/24): "The linearized waveform inversion for VTI-elastic media presented in this article provides quantitative information of the rock properties that has the potential to help identify hydrocarbon reservoirs." 

Impact of volcanism on the formation and hydrocarbon generation of organic-rich shale in the Jiyang Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China (6/24): "This study helps to further understand the organic-inorganic interactions caused by typical geological events and provides a guide for the next step of shale oil exploration and development in other lacustrine basins in China."

Intelligent seismic AVO inversion method for brittleness index of shale oil reservoirs (9/24): “The brittleness index (BI) is crucial for predicting engineering sweet spots and designing fracturing operations in shale oil reservoir exploration and development…To enhance the accuracy of inverted brittleness index and support engineering sweet spot identification and fracturing improvement, we propose an intelligent seismic AVO inversion method specifically tailored for brittleness index in shale oil reservoirs.” 

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C
"This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals"

A comprehensive study on optimizing reservoir potential: Advanced geophysical log analysis of zamzama gas field, southern indus basin, Pakistan (10/24): "This research provides a detailed and comprehensive understanding of reservoir characteristics, thereby increasing the potential for further hydrocarbon exploration and production in the study area."

Reconstruction of Subsurface Potential Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Through 3D Seismic Automatic Interpretation and Attribute Analysis (9/24): “This research reconstructs potential subsurface hydrocarbon reserves using advanced geological modeling tools. This tool allows us to accurately locate hydrocarbon deposits and explore trap structures. Two potential hydrocarbon zones were identified.”

Powder Technology
Study on the mechanical properties of sandstone-shale composite continental shale gas based on the discrete element method (1/24): "China has abundant continental shale oil resources, and multiple shale oil exploration and development demonstration zones have been established, making it a key field for oil and gas exploration and development...it is of great significance to study the rock mechanics characteristics of sandstone-shale composite....This further deepens the understanding of the mechanical properties of sandstone-shale samples."

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals

Evaluation of the Late Messinian Abu Madi sandstone reservoirs in the West Al Khilala gas field, Onshore Nile Delta, Egypt (2/24):
"In this study, we integrated cores and wireline logs to evaluate the petrographical and petrophysical properties of the Late Miocene Abu Madi sandstone reservoir from the onshore WAK gas field…Lateral distribution of the petrophysical parameters infers a superior reservoir quality towards the central part of the studied field which should be targeted for future infill development well drilling. The reservoir heterogeneity was mapped to substantially decrease the uncertainty of future drilling.” The authors are grateful to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), El Mansoura, and Petroceltic Petroleum companies for providing the data used in this work. 

Results in Earth Sciences
Petroleum systems of the Iranian Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt (12/24): "Petroleum systems of the Zagros basin are reviewed in a regional context...Asymmetric folds provide the most important type of hydrocarbon traps in the ZFTB and stratigraphic traps remain to be explored in the future."

Reservoir Characterization of GABO Field in the Niger Delta Basin using Facies and Petrophysical Analyses (9/24): “By resolving persistent challenges related to reservoir continuity, facies distribution, and property variability, this study offers valuable information for improved exploration and production campaigns in the region.”

Paleogene to Neogene sequence stratigraphy and deepwater depositional systems in Kribi-Campo/Rio-Muni margin (Offshore Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea Margin) (12/24): "The main goal of this study is to document the Tertiary deepwater depositional systems in the Kribi-Campo sub-basin to aid in the development of untapped petroleum resources."

Results in Engineering
Research on the relationship between hydrocarbon source-reservoir assemblage system and lacustrine level changes in Triassic period of Lunnan area (3/24): "The results provide a relatively reliable means for oil and gas exploration."

Rock Mechanics Bulletin
Identifying perforation locations for hydraulic fracturing treatment in deep and tight sandstone gas reservoirs (7/24): "By implementing these efforts and procedures, the success rate of fracturing deep and tight gas reservoirs can be significantly enhanced."

Simultaneously improving ROP and maintaining wellbore stability in shale gas well: A case study of Luzhou shale gas reservoirs (7/24): "It is significantly crucial for petroleum engineers to improve ROP, which can effectively promote the progress of petroleum exploration and development and improve resource exploitation efficiency and economic benefits...This study addresses the challenge of low ROP in the horizontal section of shale gas wells within the Luzhou block, Sichuan Basin."

RSC Advances
On the role of disjoining pressure in nanofluid-assisted enhanced oil recovery: a mini-review (7/24): "Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) stands as a pivotal and indispensable phase within the oil production process, designed to extract crude oil from reservoirs that would otherwise remain unrecoverable…This review focuses on the role of disjoining pressure in the presence of nanofluids and its consequential impact on the EOR processes." This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, PetroChina Basic Research and Strategic Reserve Technology Research Fund Project, the Scientific Research and Technology Development Project of RIPED, PetroChina, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Sedimentary Geology
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals

Sedimentary characteristics of mixed source fine-grained gravity-flow and its significance for shale oil exploration in a lacustrine depression basin: A case study of the Chang 73 Sub-member of the Triassic Yanchang Formation in Ordos Basin, NW China (4/24): "This study investigates the transport and evolution of fine-grained gravity-flow deposits in lacustrine basins, focusing on the relationship between fine-grained deposits and their respective source–reservoir combinations. Such knowledge is vital for the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources"

The role of compaction in the diagenetic evolution of Pre-Salt Aptian deposits of Santos Basin, Brazil (6/24): "The discovery of huge oil accumulations in the South Atlantic Pre-Salt carbonate lacustrine deposits has attracted much exploration and research interest on these challenging reservoirs, but no work has focused on the compaction processes…The Pre-Salt carbonate deposits of the Santos Basin represent one of the most significant petroleum accumulations in the World…Recognizing how carbonate rocks respond to overburden or tectonic stress is essential to assess these rocks…This work aimed to identify the main compaction features and their role in the diagenetic evolution of two major oilfields from the Barra Velha Formation of Santos Basin.” We are grateful to Petrobras for allowing us to publish this paper and for funding this study

Development characteristics and formation patterns of Ordovician breccia in the Huainan coalfield (7/24): "A valuable reference for comprehending the genesis of breccias, as well as the development and utilization of oil and gas resources globally."

Solid Earth Sciences
This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 13 (Climate Action)


Structural modeling of the southern Kohat Basin and Frontal Ranges; implications for tectonic evolution and hydrocarbon play (6/24): “Kohat's fold-thrust belt, including the Karak area has emerged as an important hydrocarbon fertile region of the western Himalayan orogenic system…a more comprehensive mapping and structural evaluation of the Karak trough and the surrounding regions is thus vital…Comprehensive geological mapping, structural analysis, and stratigraphic correlations observed in the field provide fundamental elements to better understand the structural style of the area…The current structural studies suggest the Karak fault zone may contain ensuring structural traps at the Lockhart's top, as anticipated by seismic data, possibly represent a structural entity that is suitable for hydrocarbon exploration”

Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy
Elemental quantitation and evaluation of hydrocarbon in shale using fiber-optic laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (6/24): "Reliable and rapid evaluation methods to determine the hydrocarbon properties and composition of shale are urgently needed...The abundance and hydrocarbon generation potential were evaluated based on predicted pyrolytic parameters."

Tectonophysics
The method and application of numerical simulation of high-precision stress field and quantitative prediction of multiperiod fracture in carbonate reservoir (8/24): "The application of this method for quantitative prediction of fractures can effectively improve the accuracy of exploration and development of carbonate fractured reservoirs."

Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics
Study on fracture propagation behavior of deep high-temperature shale gas based on the modified MERR criterion (6/24): "Deep shale gas resources (situated at depths exceeding 3500 m) emerges as a crucial focus in China’s unconventional resource exploration and development. However, the high-temperature characteristics of in-situ reservoirs pose challenges...The results of this study are of paramount importance in understanding the fracture behavior of deep high-temperature shale."

Effect of size and anisotropy on mode I fracture toughness of coal (2/24): "The research results have reference significance for crack initiation and propagation in hydraulic fracturing of coal seam."

Investigating failure modes and Micro-Crack classification in Mao phyllite under notched Semi-Circular bend testing (4/24): "This study provides a more comprehensive understanding to the fracture behaviors and failure process of layered rock, benefits to the construction of underground projects."

Unconventional Resources
"An open access journal with a particular focus on energy transition and achieving net-zero emission targets...This journal welcomes contributions that support and advance the UN's sustainable development goals" Editor-in-Chief: Barry Jay Katz, Chevron Corporation

The Early Cretaceous structural features and its influence on hydrocarbon accumulation in the southern Hurenbuqi depression, Erlian Basin (2024): “This study is of great significance for analyzing the enrichment regulations of hydrocarbon and guiding the next oil and gas exploration."

Characteristics and model of meandering-river-delta reservoir architecture of member Chang-6 in Fuxian area, Triassic Ordos Basin (2024): "These insights contribute to the theoretical framework for subsequent exploration and development activities in the Fuxian Oilfield."

Fractures in faulted sandstone reservoir (2024): "This study can provide some new ideas for the exploration and development of tight oil reservoirs in faulted sandstone area."

Geological characteristics and developmental achievements of the large presalt carbonate gas fields in the Amu Darya Basin (2024): "By systematically reviewing the exploration and development strategy of the Amu Darya Gas Field, this study theoretically guides the efficient exploration and development of large subsalt carbonate gas fields with similar geological configurations."

Productivity drivers in North American tight and shale plays: A comprehensive analysis of completion trends, stimulation parameters, and geological characteristics (2024): "This study not only provides technical guidance for the unconventional oil and gas developments in North America, but can also serve as a valuable guide for similar projects elsewhere."

Diagenetic characteristics and microscopic pore evolution of deep shale gas reservoirs in Longmaxi Formation, Southeastern Sichuan basin, China (2024): “The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is the favorable target area for deep shale gas exploration and development in southeastern Sichuan Basin. Based on whole-rock X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscope, reservoir evolution thermal simulation experiment and nitrogen adsorption experiment, the diagenetic characteristics of deep shale reservoir in Longmaxi Formation were analyzed, and the reservoir pore evolution law was clarified…We clarify diagenetic features and their impact on the pore development and evolution, with a view to providing a reference basis for the exploration and development of the deep-lying shale gas potential in this area, and provide reference opinions on the selection of areas for exploration and development of deep shale gas reservoirs under the same geological conditions in other regions.

High-resolution sequence stratigraphy esearch based on continuous wavelet transform and INPEFA -- A case study in the Kalashayi Formation, Tarim Basin, China (7/24): "Interpretation of sequence boundaries stands as a primary objective in oil and gas exploration, particularly in the context of sequence correlations within high-resolution (fourth-order and below) sequence frameworks, where the accurate identification of sequence boundaries holds paramount significance for subsequent development strategies…this study conducts high-resolution sequence stratigraphic research on the Carboniferous Kalashayi Formation in the Tahe region of the Tarim Basin."

The present-day in-situ stress field and its effect on shale gas development in Zigong area of southern Sichuan Basin (2024): “With the development of oil and gas theory and the advancement of exploration and development, the importance of unconventional oil and gas such as shale oil and gas and tight oil and gas, which have abundant reserves, is increasingly prominent and has become a key part of the global energy structure…The target layer for the study area is the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation, with the Layer S1l1-1 subdivided into S1l1-1−1, S1l1-1−2, S1l1-1−3 and S1l1-1−4 layers. The Layer S1l1-1−1 and Wufeng Formation are the key layers for exploration and development in the area.”

Pore development characteristics and controlling factors of Lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi shale gas reservoir in Sichuan Basin, China (7/24): "The research on the high-quality shale gas reservoir of Qiongzhusi Formation can provide certain theoretical guidance for the exploration and development of shale gas.” We would like to thank the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development and the Southwest Oil and Gas Field of PetroChina for providing the related core samples and geological data in the Qiongzhusi Formation, Sichuan Basin. 

A novel method for quantitative evaluation of oil content and mobility in shale oil reservoirs by NMR logging: a case study of the inter-salt shale oil in the Jianghan Basin (2024): "The experimental scheme…will provide an important basis for resource evaluation, optimal formation selection and efficient development of shale oil reservoirs. Shale oil, as an important succeeding field for oil and gas exploration, has huge resource potential.”

Geochemical characterization and paleo-burial history modelling of unconventional resources: A case study from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (KCF) in the UK North Sea (2024): "In this study, we have combined the analysis of total organic carbon/pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance geochemical data from KCF samples with 1D basin modelling to investigate the potential for shale oil and gas plays in the Outer Moray Firth region. The results of geochemical evaluation show that most of the samples have very good to excellent hydrocarbon generation potential and contain predominantly oil-prone Type-II kerogen."

Comparative experimental investigation on permeability and pressure bearing capacity of different types of temporary plugging bodies (2024): "The findings could inform the selection and optimization of temporary plugging agents, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and success of tight reservoir production." This work was supported financially by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation Project, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the PetroChina Science and Technology Innovation Foundation Project.

Organic petrography and geochemistry of the Fu 2 member of the Paleocene Funing formation, Gaoyou Depression, Subei Basin, Eastern China: Implications for shale oil potential (2024): “The lower Shale 4 and upper Shale 5 interval (3650–3700 m), with high TOC and high oil saturation index, is identified as the sweet-spot interval of the Fu 2 Member for shale oil exploration.”

Detailed analysis of seismic reflection characteristics of tight sandstone reservoirs in the upper paleozoic of the ordos basin: A case study of block X (2024): "Tight sandstone gas represents a crucial domain for augmenting reserves and boosting oil and gas production in the Ordos Basin....we achieved high-precision identification of tight sandstone reservoirs
Early 2023 paper examples
Alexandria Engineering Journal
Exploration of new hydrocarbon leads in the eastern flank of Abu Gharadig Basin, North Western Desert, Egypt
(3/23): “To understand better the structural elements controlling the hydrocarbon potentiality and productivity for the upper Cretaceous reservoirs…to determine nine promising structural traps for future exploration with high certainty.”

Applied Energy
An advanced prediction model of shale oil production profile based on source-reservoir assemblages and artificial neural networks (3/23): “…successful shale oil exploration and development depends significantly on the accurate evaluation of the sweet spots…predict shale oil production through machine learning…This research provides ideas for intelligent prediction of the distribution of sweet spots in unconventional resources, and is also important for the development of intelligent hydrocarbon exploration technology.”

China Geology
The accumulation characteristics and exploration potential of oil and gas in the back-arc basin of Japan under the background of high heat flow
(10/23): “​​The pre-Neogene bedrock oil and gas reservoirs also show a good exploration prospect. The resource prospecting indicates that Niigata Basin, Ulleung Basin and kitakami Basin are the main target areas for future exploration and development.”

Computers and Geosciences
Intelligent seismic stratigraphic modeling using temporal convolutional network (2/23):Deep learning (DL) has stimulated the intelligent processing and interpretation of seismic big data for oil and gas exploration in the past decade…Here, we proposed a novel scheme for intelligent seismic stratigraphic interpretation based on temporal convolution network (TCN).

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Bacterial anomalies associated with deep sea hydrocarbon seepage along the Scotian Slope (3/23): “Deep sea hydrocarbon seep detection relies predominantly on geochemical analyses of seabed marine sediment cores to identify the presence of gas or oil…Bioassays based on these indicators may therefore have utility in different offshore energy sectors that need to assess operational risks and hazards associated with hydrocarbon seepage.”

Energy
Deep learning integrated approach for hydrocarbon source rock evaluation and geochemical indicators prediction in the Jurassic - Paleogene of the Mandawa basin, SE Tanzania: "The world's energy demands are growing at an unprecedented rate, and the exploration of new hydrocarbon sources is more important than ever. Therefore, the objective of this study was first to quantitatively analyze hydrocarbon source rock potentiality of the Triassic-Jurassic of Mandawa Basin based on the generalized group method of data handling neural network (g-GMDH), Machine learning, and Geochemical using well logs data."

Energy Geoscience
Exploration progress of the Paleogene in Jiyang Depression, Bohai Bay Basin (1/23): “…petroleum exploration in this region has been challenged by unclear remaining petroleum resources distribution, complex reservoir and hydrocarbon enrichment patterns, and lacking of suitable exploration techniques. Aiming at resolving these problems, studies on source rocks, reservoirs, hydrocarbon accumulation and geophysical prospection were carried out by laboratory analysis, reservoir anatomy, and seismic analysis… The research result plays a leading and demonstrative role in the fine and efficient exploration of faulted basins in eastern China.”

Hydrocarbon accumulation conditions and exploration targets of the Sinian Dengying Formation in the Southeastern Sichuan Basin (7/23): “Lithologic traps at the platform margin and pre-salt structural traps within the platform are favorable targets for natural gas exploration… Therefore, there are two favorable targets for oil and gas exploration in the Dengying Formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin.”

Energy Reports
Mud loss behavior in fractured formation with high temperature and pressure (12/23):The increasing global demand for energy is driving oil companies to explore and drill for oil in deeper and more challenging reservoirs that have more complex formations, higher pressures, and temperatures. This necessitates more stringent requirements for safe and efficient drilling…mud loss has become a major obstacle to low-cost oil and gas resource development. Understanding mud loss behavior is critical for assessing loss risk and devising loss control plans in advance.

Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence
Oil Logging Reservoir Recognition Based on TCN and SA-BiLSTM Deep Learning Method (5/23): “The experimental results show that TCN-SA-BiLSTM exhibits excellent performance in comparison with seven competing models on all performance evaluation metrics. It overcomes the deficiencies in capability exhibited by traditional logging interpretation techniques to improve the efficiency and success rate of oil and gas exploration.”

Engineering Fracture Mechanics
Exploring hydraulic fracture behavior in glutenite formation with strong heterogeneity and variable lithology based on DEM simulation (2/23): “This study can provide key technical support and theoretical guidance for oil and gas development in tight glutenite reservoir.”

Expert Systems with Applications
Detection of potential gas accumulations in 2D seismic images using spatio-temporal, PSO, and convolutional LSTM approaches (4/23): “Seismic reflection is one of the most widely used geophysical methods in the oil and gas (O&G) industry for hydrocarbon prospecting...To help geoscientists with these tasks, computational tools based on machine learning have been proposed.”

Fuel
Prediction of vitrinite reflectance of shale oil reservoirs using nuclear magnetic resonance and conventional log data (5/23): “With the change of oil and gas exploration and development focus to shale reservoirs, the source rock has become a research hotspot in well logging. It is of great significance to obtain continuous organic geochemical parameters based on log data.”

Gas Science and Engineering
Amplitude variation with angle and azimuth inversion to estimate fracture properties in shale-gas reservoirs (3/23): “…[geological information] for the exploration and development of hydrocarbons”

Geoenergy Science and Engineering
Petroleum systems and hydrocarbon potential of the Ruvuma Basin, Tanzania (4/23): “The hydrocarbon generation potential of the Ruvuma Basin…little is known about the basin's source rock's hydrocarbon generation potential, including the distribution of significant petroleum systems…These results indicate that the Cenozoic play system incorporates hydrocarbons from diverse sources/reservoirs, making it a potential exploration target for future discoveries. These findings necessitate more research to determine migratory patterns, which will result in new ground-breaking discoveries in the basin.”

Seismic interpretation and geological evaluation of hydrocarbon source rocks in volcanic-rich continental lacustrine rift basins: A case study of the Lower Cretaceous Yingcheng Formation from the Changling Fault Depression in the Songliao Basin, NE China (2/23): “This study offers guidance and direction for deep hydrocarbon exploration in the Changling Fault Depression, and also provides a reference for methods and ideas to predict hydrocarbon source rock distribution in other lacustrine rift basins.”

Tight gas accumulation caused by overpressure: Insights from three-dimensional seismic data in the western Sichuan Basin, southwest China (4/23): “We suggest that the areas with relatively low pressure around faults and fractures are the most favourable targets for hydrocarbon exploration in tight sandstones.”

Lithofacies identification of shale reservoirs using a tree augmented Bayesian network: A case study of the lower Silurian Longmaxi formation in the changning block, South Sichuan basin, China (2/23): “…help promote the development of lithofacies identification of unconventional oil and gas geology and provides a new method for shale gas reservoir evaluation.”

Experimental investigation of the shear bond strength between HGM cement and shallow formation in deepwater environments (2/23) "Most importantly, considering that deepwater oil and gas resources have considerable exploitation potential and the particularity of deepwater shallow rock and soil, it is valuable to explore the SBS between cement and a shallow formation in deepwater."

Geoscience Frontiers
Construction and application of an ontology-based domain-specific knowledge graph for petroleum exploration and development (7/23)This paper proposes an engineering-based method that can improve upon traditional natural language processing to construct the domain knowledge graph based on a petroleum exploration and development ontology…The two applications based on the constructed knowledge graph are developed and validated for effectiveness and advantages in providing better knowledge services for the oil and gas industry.

Yanshanian–Himalayan geodynamic transformation of the northwestern Junggar Basin, southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and its significance for petroleum accumulation (7/23): “...highlights the potential for petroleum exploration at intermediate–shallow depths.”

Heliyon
Organic matter enrichment mechanism of Youganwo Formation oil shale in the Maoming Basin (2/23): “In the present study, the reservoir characteristics and key influencing factors of OM enrichment in the Youganwo Formation were investigated, which is beneficial for deeply understanding high-quality oil shale formation mechanism, and providing a basis for effective evaluation and exploitation of oil shale resources as well as potential biogenic shale gas in the Maoming Basin…The differences between different sub-members and their main influencing factors have been clarified, which can provide scientific guidance for further geological exploration and theory research of oil shale resources in the Maoming Basin. ”

International Journal of Coal Geology
Intelligent classification of coal structure using multinomial logistic regression, random forest and fully connected neural network with multisource geophysical logging data (3/23): “Machine learning methods” to aid “the exploration and development of coal bed methane (CBM)”

International Journal of Intelligent Networks
Unsupervised machine learning technique for classifying production zones in unconventional reservoirs (2023): “Using standard approaches, such as data from cores and commercial software, it is difficult and costly to locate productive zones. Furthermore, it is difficult to apply these techniques to wells that do not have cores. This study presents a less costly way for the systematic and objective detection of productive and non-productive zones via well-log data using clustering unsupervised and supervised machine learning algorithms.”

International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials
Effect of different acidic media on the corrosion behaviour of hardmetals with Ni-based binders (1/23): “Highly corrosive agents, such as saltwater, hydrogen sulphide, hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acids, are frequently found in oil and gas exploration… In this work, the corrosion behaviour of cemented carbides with different Ni-based binders in highly corrosive environments (HCl and HF) was studied…presented a corrosion resistance superior to WC-Co in all environments.”

International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
Characteristics of SH-wave propagation during oil reservoir excitation using BEM formulation in half-plane model representation (2/23): “...the industries are now looking for new technologies for recovering more-and-more oil…Seismic excitation can improve oil production either on the ground surface (vibroseismic) or below the surface (down-hole), and also integrate with the other EOR technologies.”

Investigation into shale softening induced by water/CO2-rock interaction (1/23): “With the worldwide increasing demand for fossil energy resources, shale oil has become a hot field of exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources... This paper aims to investigate the influence of water/CO2-rock interaction on softening behavior of shale.”

International Journal of Thermal Sciences
Rapid detection of the vacuum failure of logging tools based on the variation in equivalent thermal conductivity (6/23): “The logging tool is the key downhole facility used for oil and gas exploration…During transport, assembly, or working processes, vacuum flask failure can lead to the destruction of the logging tool. The existing test methods are unable to detect vacuum failure quickly and accurately. To solve this problem, a rapid test method based on the variation in equivalent thermal conductivity before and after vacuum failure was proposed.”

Journal of African Earth Sciences
A new insight on sedimentary facies of the Miocene to Pliocene Agbada Formation, offshore Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria (4/23): “Further research on the sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary facies is particularly significant in hydrocarbon exploration. In this study, the sequence stratigraphic structure and sedimentary facies of the Miocene and Pliocene Agbada Formation in the southeastern part of the Niger Delta were studied…To fully tap the hydrocarbon potential of this area, it is essential to further research the sedimentary facies characteristics.”

Structural and petroleum system analysis using seismic data interpretation techniques to Upper Cretaceous rock units: A case study, West Abu-Sennan oil field, Northern Western Desert, Egypt (2/23): “analyzing the petroleum system elements to uplift the hydrocarbon potentiality figure…The conducted workflow in this study can be utilized to better understand similar reservoirs in neighboring areas.”

Geophysical assessment for the oil potentiality of the Abu Roash “G” reservoir in West Beni Suef Basin, Western Desert, Egypt (3/23): “The current study evaluates the hydrocarbon potentiality of the sandstone intervals of the Abu Roash “G” Member in Beni Suef Basin, Egypt.”

Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis
Influence of the Emeishan basalt eruption on hydrocarbon generation and expulsion characteristics of Sinian (Ediacaran) algal dolomite in Sichuan Basin (1/23): “Deep marine carbonate oil and gas resources in the Sichuan Basin are currently key exploration areas...the better understanding of the effect of Emeishan basalt eruption on source rock is vital for the exploration of marine oil and gas resources.”

Journal of Applied Geophysics
3-D quantitative seismic imaging of tectonically-influenced Middle-Eocene carbonates stratigraphic traps of SE-Asian basins using spectral decomposition: Implications for hydrocarbon exploration (1/23): “This workflow can act as an analogue stratigraphic exploration ofremaining gas fields within Asian Basins and similar geological settings.”

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences
Deep shale gas in the Ordovician-Silurian Wufeng–Longmaxi formations of the Sichuan Basin, SW China: Insights from reservoir characteristics, preservation conditions and development strategies (4/23): “Shale gas at a burial depth greater than 3500 m is an important potential strategic target for exploration and development in China. …realizing the commercial development of deep shale gas.”

Stratigraphic correlation and sedimentology of the Ediacaran succession in the Tarim Basin, NW China: Implications for paleogeographic reconstruction and hydrocarbon exploration (5/23): “Our research findings, combining with previous geological results, suggest that the Ediacaran succession in Tarim Basin has great potential for hydrocarbon exploration.”

Journal of King Saud University - Science
Favorable reservoir prediction and connection model biulting of thick glutenite sediment in basin steep slope zone (2/23): “In parallel, we will keep improving the algorithm to improve the precision of predicting suitable reservoirs using machine learning.”

Journal of Natural Gas Geoscience
Geochemical characteristics of source rocks and gas exploration direction in Shawan Sag, Junggar Basin, China
(3/23): “This allowed for clarification of the product characteristics of source rocks in different strata and pointing out the direction for future natural gas exploration… This area also has favorable geological conditions for the formation of large lithologic reservoirs, making it a key field for gas exploration in the study area moving forward.

Formation conditions and the main controlling factors for the enrichment of shale gas of Shanxi Formation in the southeast of Ordos Basin, China (2/23): “This makes the shale gas of the Shanxi Formation in the southeast of the Ordos Basin have certain potential for exploration and development, and delineates the enrichment targets of shale gas in the Zichang-Yan'an-Fuxian and Yichuan areas.”
Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering
New insights into Upper Cretaceous hydrocarbon traps of platform-basin flanks in the Sahel Eastern Tunisian petroleum province: Inferred optimal hydrocarbon reserves accumulations (1/23): “These volumes could be trapped along the faults seal branches, unconformities, pinchouts as well as in the evidenced progradational and reefal system tracts sequences in the flank borders of the platforms. These traps could represent new exploration targets as potential structural and stratigraphic plays.”

Journal of South Amercian Earth Sciences
Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the La Baja Guajira basin, Colombia: Burial and thermal history with implications on petroleum systems (1/23): “This allows us to describe the Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the basin, and understand the possible implications for the hydrocarbon potential.”

Journal of Structural Geology
Factors influencing fault-propagation folding in the Kuqa Depression: Insights from geomechanical models (3/23): “The results are also expected to provide clues for the exploration and development of oil and gas in regions with similar geological conditions.”

Knowledge Based Systems
Flexible learning tree augmented naïve classifier and its application (1/23): “The FTAN is used to solve the problem of favourable distribution area prediction for the remaining oil and gas resources of the Jurassic Sangonghe Formation in the Junggar Basin. The application results show the effectiveness and superiority of the FTAN method, favourable areas of oil and gas resources are selected based on the FTAN prediction results. This provides a decision-making basis for optimising drilling strategies and oil and gas exploration targets.”

PM-ARNN: 2D-TO-3D reconstruction paradigm for microstructure of porous media via adversarial recurrent neural network (3/23): “Such numerical simulation analysis can provide basic data for oil and gas exploration and thus improve the extraction efficiency of reservoirs. Considering the deficiencies of 3D microscopy imaging, including its high cost, complicated operation, and the contradiction between resolution and field of view, a new method to obtain a large number of synthetic 3D structures from the knowledge of 2D images cheaply and efficiently is required.”

Marine and Petroleum Geology
Imaging Lowstand prograding stratigraphic pinch-out traps of a Lower Cretaceous clastic system using inverted seismic-based porosity simulation of SE-Asian Basin: Implications for petroleum exploration (4/23): "This research is intended to predict the porosity and thickness of incised valleys …The porous incised valley stratigraphic reservoirs are embedded inside the non-porous shales, which validates the presence of a pure stratigraphic petroleum play inside the Indus Basin, Pakistan."

Quantitative characterization and formation mechanism of the pore system heterogeneity: Examples from organic-rich laminated and organic-poor layered shales of the upper triassic chang 7 member in the southern Ordos Basin, China (1/23): “The heterogeneity of shale pore structure is a vital problem that cannot be ignored in the process of shale oil exploration and development.”

Structure and petroleum systems of the Eastern Carpathians, Romania (5/23): “While we believe significant exploration potential remains, evaluation of that potential and the associated exploration risks of individual prospects require a regional assessment of the entire trend.”

Basin-scale estimates of thermal stress and expelled petroleum from Mesozoic-Cenozoic potential source rocks, southern Gulf of Mexico (2/23): “We predict that deeply-buried, salt-related minibasins along the outer marginal trough are mature for petroleum expulsion with deeply-buried Mesozoic source rocks within the oil window from late Paleogene to early Neogene time. The ‘lag time’ required for vertical oil migration explains why oil maturation occurred during the late Paleogene to early Neogene but active oil seeps are observed today at the sea surface. We predict that oil is present in subsurface traps in the deepest part of the outer marginal trough and we calculate that the Oxfordian source interval has expelled a cumulative 20 million bbl of oil equivalent [BOE]/km2 and that the Tithonian-centered source interval has expelled 67 million bbl of oil equivalent [BOE]/km2.”

Characterization of ultra-deeply buried middle Triassic Leikoupo marine carbonate petroleum system (!) in the Western Sichuan depression, China (4/23): “The predicted estimated reserves reached ∼300 × 109 m3. The results provide excellent scientific implications for similar sedimentary basin studies, it is believed that abundant analogous deeply buried marine carbonate hydrocarbon resources yet to be discovered in China and elsewhere worldwide in the near future.”

Identification of fluid types and their implications for petroleum exploration in the shale oil reservoir: A case study of the Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin, Northwest China (1/23): “…the oil test results imply that the reservoirs with fluid combination Type 4 and Type 3 have relatively high oil production. Therefore, the subsequent orientation for petroleum exploration in shale oil reservoirs targets the sandstone and felsic shale interlayers in the Fengcheng Formation.”

Petroleum source rocks in the Bight Basin, Australia: An updated view (2/23): “The most prospective petroleum systems are currently believed to occur in the eastern part of the basin and associated with thick mid-to late-Cretaceous deltaic and marine sedimentary sections… These insights permit an updated assessment of the source rock potential across the basin.”

Distribution and occurrence of pore water and retained oil in nanopores of marine-terrestrial transitional shales during oil generation and expulsion: Implications from a thermal simulation experiment on shale plug samples (4/23): “The distribution and occurrence of pore water and retained oil in shale nanopores is a key scientific issue confronting the evaluation, exploration and development of shale hydrocarbon resources…These results have significances for understanding the accumulation mechanism of shale oil and gas resources under geological conditions and evaluating their resource potential.”

Marine Structures
Hysteretic damping of soils for well conductor fatigue analysis (5/23): “The fatigue assessment of a well conductor is a critical design task during offshore exploration and development of hydrocarbons.”

Natural Gas Industry B
Deep shale gas exploration and development in the southern Sichuan Basin: New progress and challenges (2/23): “This paper analyzes the difficulties and challenges in deep shale gas exploration and development and puts forward the next research directions…great progresses have been made in the exploration and development of deep shale gas, which confirms the confidence and determination in exploring and developing deep shale gas and is of great guiding significance to the rapid development of shale gas industry in China.”

Exploration and development in the Zhaotong national shale gas demonstration area: Progress and prospects (2/23): “…predicts their development prospect and direction…clean, green and efficient exploration and development of mountain shale gas. …it is recommended to carry out the double-layer stereoscopic horizontal well pattern deployment of “Leping Formation CBM (coal measure gas) + Longmaxi Formation shale gas” appropriately in a large scale, so as to establish a new integrated development model for the three-dimensional efficient development of mountain shale gas and CBM.”

Exploration, development, and construction in the Fuling national shale gas demonstration area in Chongqing: Progress and prospects (2/23): “… this demonstration area is the earliest one of four national shale gas demonstration areas, and its achievements will provide continuous guidance for the shale gas exploration and development in China and play a demonstrative and guiding role in promoting the development of shale gas geological theories and exploration and development technologies in China.”

Principal characteristics of marine shale gas, and the theory and technology of its exploration and development in China (2/23): “In order to continuously promote the exploration and development of shale gas in China

Profitable development technology of the Changning-Weiyuan National Shale Gas Demonstration Area in the Sichuan Basin and its enlightenment (2/23): “…an important area for shale gas exploration and development in China…In this paper, the “three-control” shale gas enrichment and high-production theory and the “six major” technologies for shale gas exploration and development are first reviewed.”

Ore Geology Reviews
Depositional environment and hydrocarbon potential of Early Permian coals deposit in the Huanghua Depression, Bohai Bay Basin (3/23): “The formation model of high-quality coaly source rocks was established. This model can be used to predict the distribution of coal mines and coaly source rocks in the Huanghua Depression and Bohai Bay Basin.”

Organic Geochemistry
Evaluation of the tight oil “sweet spot” in the Middle Permian Lucaogou Formation (Jimusaer Sag, Junggar Basin, NW China): Insights from organic petrology and geochemistry (3/23): “The Middle Permian Lucaogou Formation in the Jimusaer Sag is a hotspot for exploring and developing lacustrine tight oil in the Junggar Basin, NW China. In this study, we evaluated the tight oil potential…”

Petroleum Exploration and Development
Theory and practice of unconventional gas exploration in carrier beds: Insight from the breakthrough of new type of shale gas and tight gas in Sichuan Basin, SW China (2/23): “First, great breakthrough was made in exploration of the silty shale with low organic matter abundance in the Qiongzhusi Formation…Second, exploration breakthrough and high-efficient development were realized for difficult-to-produce tight sandstone gas reserves in the Xujiahe Formation, which helps address the challenges of low production and unstable production of fracture zones in the Xujiahe Formation, promote the transformation of tight sandstone gas from reserves without production to effective production, and enhance the exploration and development potential of tight sandstone gas.”

Petroleum Research
Pilot test of polymer microsphere alternate surfactant flood (PMAS) with mixtures of anionic-cationic surfactants under harsh conditions in a sandstone reservoir (1/23): “Only approximately one-third of crude oil is economically recovered from known reservoirs with established technology. An objective of the industry is to develop improved processes to increase overall recovery. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) is a very important and large-scale technology used to increase ultimate recovery…A pilot test of PMAS was performed in the upper Sha 22+3 block after 2014, and confirmed that PMAS is a highly efficient CEOR technology for reservoirs with harsh conditions.”

Petroleum Science
In-situ pressure-preserved coring for deep exploration: Insight into the rotation behavior of the valve cover of a pressure controller (2/23): “With the ongoing resources transitioning to the deep earth, the exploration and evaluation of deep resources have become the main approach for realizing the strategic replacement of oil and gas resources…Based on the results, control schemes for the rotation behavior of the valve cover during IPP-Coring in different layers and geological conditions were proposed.”

Physical A
Acoustic Full Waveform Inversion with Hamiltonian Monte Carlo method (2/23): Full-Waveform Inversion (FWI) is a high-resolution technique used in geophysics to evaluate the physical parameters and construct subsurface models in a noisy and limited data scenario…We investigate the feasibility of applying the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) method in the acoustic FWI by a reflection setup containing different noise level data… quantifying the uncertainty of results, i.e. how believable they are, is a fundamental task in FWI, mainly in oil and gas exploration.”

Precambrian Research
Dolomite porosity related to peritidal microbialites textures and facies succession in Mesoproterozoic Wumishan Formation, North China (6/23): “...the relationship between Mesoproterozoic peritidal microbialite textures, facies succession and porosity formation mechanism in North China has been discussed in order to enhance the understanding of the Mesoproterozoic paleoenvironment and promote hydrocarbon exploration activities.”

Procedia Computer Science
Local mean imputation for handling missing value to provide more accurate facies classification (2023): “The search for oil and gas reserves is an ongoing challenge.”

Reactive and Functional Polymers
Anionic amphiphilic copolymers as potential agents for enhanced oil recovery (3/23): “To develop “smart fluids” for enhanced oil recovery from reservoir rocks, comb-type amphiphilic copolymers were synthesized…”

Reliability Engineering and System Safety
Field data analysis and risk assessment of shallow gas hazards based on neural networks during industrial deep-water drilling (4/23): “This article employed multiple neural networks and machine learning techniques to identify shallow gas in the South China Sea based on field data and seismic attributes.”

Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment
Applying random forest to oil and gas exploration in Central Sumatra basin Indonesia based on surface and subsurface data (11/23): “This research is expected to identify new oil and gas exploration potential areas for further study so that new oil and gas reserves can be discovered in Central Sumatra. Moreover, if oil and gas exploration based on the machine learning method is proven to be capable of mapping oil and gas areas in the Central Sumatra Basin, it can be expanded to map oil and gas potential in other areas of Indonesia.”

Sedimentary Geology
Impact of depositional and diagenetic controls on reservoir quality of syn-rift sedimentary systems: An example from Oligocene-Miocene Al Wajh Formation, northwest Saudi Arabia (3/23): “The findings of the study can be utilized for modelling reservoir quality in the subsurface analogue of the Al Wajh Formation in the Red Sea or elsewhere, thereby improving reservoir quality prediction.

Scientific African
Potential petroleum prospects in the middle Benue trough, central Nigeria: Inferences from integrated applications of geological, geophysical and geochemical studies (3/23): “a first step approach to petroleum exploration in the central portion (MBT) of the Benue Trough, Nigeria…The paper has recommended selected prospect areas favorable for further detail hydrocarbon exploration.”

Technophysics
Evolution of pull-apart basins with overlapping NE-trending strike-slip fault systems in the northern South China Sea margin: Insight from numerical modeling (1/23): “...this research will provide theoretical research value and may have strong practical significance for exploring and exploiting oil and gas resources.”

Ultrasonics
Ultrasonic Lamb wave detection of a channel in a double-casing well (4/23): “In hydrocarbon exploration and production, steel casings are bonded by cement in the downhole to strengthen the borehole wall and isolate different production zones. The possible presence of fluid-filled channels in the casing–cement and cement–formation interfaces during oil field development can seriously affect hydrocarbon production. Therefore, detecting fluid-filled channels, also called cement-bonding evaluation, is essential in hydrocarbon development…this study presents a method to detect the channels at all interfaces in a double-casing well.”

Unconventional Resources
Source rock and reservoir qualities of middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan lacustrine shale at fuxing area, Sichuan Basin: Implication for shale-oil enrichment (2023): “The medium-carbon argillaceous shale facies at the Lianggaoshan Formation is high-quality source rocks and reservoirs and is thus a potential target for lacustrine shale oil exploration in the Fuxing area of the Sichuan Basin.”

Fluid mobility calculation based on improved window parameters optimized S-transform for reservoir delineation (2023): “Improved methods for “high-precision reservoir prediction.”

Vibrational Spectroscopy
Improved SVR based on CARS and BAS for hydrocarbon concentration detection (3/23): “As one of the main means of discovering and evaluating oil and gas reservoirs, gas logging technology plays an irreplaceable role in oil and gas reservoir exploration… How to ensure that infrared spectroscopy can accurately measure the content of hydrocarbon gases is an urgent problem to be solved. To solve this problem, this paper proposes the beetle antennae search algorithm (BAS) combined with the competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) to improve the SVR for modeling.”