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Brooks Associates, Glasgow G43 2EE, UK
In recent years there has been a proliferation of international meetings and publications with themes such as ‘Frontier Areas for Exploration’, ‘Future Petroleum Provinces’ and ‘Future Potential for Exploration in Frontier Basins’ in the hope that new exploitable hydrocarbon reserves will be discovered. Many of these geologically interesting areas, usually with limited hydrocarbon potential, have been promoted and often over emphasized in efforts to obtain investment monies into the regions. With the 1986 oil-price crash, there has been and will continue to be only limited funds available to explore in these frontier areas: deep water, jungles, mountain terrain, ice-covered lands and remote continental interiors.
The oil industry’s present and likely future existence will continue to be focussed in the classic petroleum provinces of the world. Which company would choose not to explore in the mature petroleum provinces (Middle East, North and off-shore West Africa, West and East Texas, Mexico, Venezuela, Siberia, Western Canada, Gulf Coast, Niger Delta, North Sea) if they had the opportunity?
The concept of a petroleum province, composed of one or several sedimentary basins having common geological features and a comparable history was first suggested by Perrodon (1980). It generally includes several petroleum zones.
The classic petroleum provinces are still the world’s major producers of hydrocarbons and will continue to be so well into, and through, the 21st century. The world’s hydrocarbon supplies, oil company profits and major exploration and production activities will continue to be principally from these mature provinces.
In recent years much new data, new understandings, new interpretations
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This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
