Latest Geology Headlines

Iran Finds First Caspian Sea Oilfield in 104 Years

Iran has discovered its first oilfield in the Caspian Sea for more than a century, the state-run Fars news agency reported today. The deposit was found at a depth of 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) during drilling on a natural-gas field and may contain 10 billion barrels of crude, according to the National Iranian Oil Co., [...]

Updating world deepwater oil & gas discovery

his a guest post by Jean Laherrère, a long time guest contributor to TheOilDrum. Defining deepwater oil as the offshore resource found in water depths over 500 m, the data available as of October of 2010 was pointing to an ultimate around 150 Gb. This is the result of an extrapolation made last year: Figure [...]

200 Year Supply Of Oil In Green River Formation

The Green River Formation, the world’s largest oil shale deposit, is located in a largely vacant region of mostly federal land on the western edge of the Rocky Mountains that includes portions of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado (see map above). Here’s an excerpt from testimony about the Green River Formation that was provided on Thursday [...]

Iran discovers 26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Persian Gulf

The latest exploration operations at the Kish gas field, which is located in the Persian Gulf, show that it contains at least 66 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is a rise of 26 trillion cubic feet over previous estimates, according to an official of the National Iranian Oil Company. And explorations are underway [...]

Iran Finds ‘Vast’ Crude Oil Reserves in Caspian Sea

Iran discovered “vast” crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea, the state-run Mehr news agency reported, without citing anyone. The National Iranian Oil Co. found the reserves after completing part of its exploration studies of the Sardar Jangal natural-gas field in the Caspian, the agency said. The Oil Ministry will announce details of the new [...]

World Oil: Aleklett’s new analysis of peak oil is refreshingly comprehensive

“Peak oil” is a concept that, in barely a decade, has gone from total obscurity to being a hot-button issue, rivaling global warming and sustainability. It is almost universally misunderstood and often misinterpreted. On one hand, many peak oil advocates are ideological extremists—Armageddonist back-to-nature types who seem to feel that living without oil is preferable [...]

IMF working paper – “The Future of Oil: Geology versus Technology”

We discuss and reconcile two diametrically opposed views concerning the future of world oil production and prices. The geological view expects that physical constraints will dominate the future evolution of oil output and prices. It is supported by the fact that world oil production has plateaued since 2005 despite historically high prices, and that spare [...]

When Oil and Water Mix

In this column, the fifth and final installment on water, I want to draw your attention to some noteworthy parallels between petroleum and fresh water. By the time that the Industrial Age began in 1850 the earth had accumulated tremendous reserves of solar energy (oil) and water below ground (sub-surface aquifers). As a quick review, [...]

Iran Finds ‘One of the Biggest’ Gas Fields in Mideast

Iran discovered “one of the biggest natural gas fields in the Middle East,” with reserves comparable to those of the South Pars field, Mehr reported, citing an industry official. The gas was found in southwestern Khuzestan province at a deposit already known to contain crude oil, said National Iranian Oil Co. Director for Exploration Mahmoud [...]

How did dinosaurs get miles under the earth?

The Bakken formation in North Dakota, Montana and Canada now is estimated to hold up to 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil, only it’s available primarily when the price of oil is above a bargain rate – as the oil is located miles deep and drilling costs are substantial. So a new book about oil, [...]

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