Oil and Gas Exploration

2U Online.com, Inc. ABF Energy Corporation Abraxas Petroleum Corporation Adobe Resources Corporation (old) Agip Spa Alkane Energy Plc Ambrit International Plc American Exploration Company Ampolex Limited Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Anderson Exploration Ltd. Apache Corporation Apache Petroleum Company ARABIAN OIL COMPANY LIMITED Aran Energy Plc ATLANTIC CASPIAN RESOURCES PLC - ADR Atlas Energy Ltd ATP Oil & Gas Corporation Avalon Corporation Aviva Petroleum Inc BARRETT RESOURCES CORPORATION Barrington Petroleum Ltd. Basin Exploration, Inc. Bass Strait Oil CO Ltd Baytex Energy Ltd. BERKLEY PETROLEUM CORPORATION Bhp Billiton Plc - Adr Biofuels Corporation Plc Bonavista Energy Trust Brabant Resources Plc Bulldog Energy Inc C. Deilmann Ag Callon Petroleum Company Capco Energy, Inc. CAVELL ENERGY CORP Celtic Exploration Ltd CHAUVCO RESOURCES LIMITED Clayton Williams Energy Inc CLX Energy, Inc. Cnpc (hong Kong) Limited Compton Petroleum Corporation Contour Energy Company Courage Energy Incorporated Crusader Limited Cypress Energy Czar Resources Limited Daleco Resources Corporation Daugherty Resources, Inc. Dawson Geophysical Company Desire Petroleum Plc Devon Energy Corporation Dorset Exploration Ltd Dragon Oil Plc Duvernay Oil Corporation Elan Energy Inc. Emerald Energy Plc Encore Acquisition Company ENGEN LIMITED- ADR Ensource Inc. Esprit Exploration Limited Evergreen Resources Inc. Excel Energy Inc. Forcenergy Inc Forte Resources, Inc. Fortum Oyj Fortune Natural Resources Corporation Forum Energy Corporation

FX Energy, Inc. Gaelic Resources Plc Garnet Resources Corporation GAUNTLET ENERGY CORPORATION Goodrich Petroleum Corporation Great Northern Gas Company Gulfport Energy Corporation Harken Energy Corporation Helmerich & Payne, Inc. High Point Resources Inc Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd Holland Sea Search Holding N.v. Husky Energy Inc. Indian Oil Corporation Limited Interline Resources International Colin Energy Corporation Ionic Energy Inc Isramco, Inc. Ivanhoe Energy Inc. Jed Oil, Inc. Jordan Petroleum Ltd. Kanto Natural Gas Development CO Ltd KCS Energy Inc. Kelley Oil & Gas Partners, Ltd. Kensington Energy Ltd King Pharmaceuticals Inc. King Resources, Inc. Kirkland As Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Lukoil Holding Lundin International Lundin Oil Ab Magnum Hunter Resources, Inc. Marathon Oil Corporation Maxus Energy Corporation McFarland Energy, Inc. Mesa Inc. Metalore Resources Limited Mid-Power Service Corporation Mms Petroleum Plc Mobil Corporation Monument Oil & Gas Plc Monument Resources, Inc. Morrison Middlefield Resources Limited Mosaic Oil NL National Gas & Oil Company Newhall Resources Newport Petroleum Corporation Nexen Inc. Ngas Resources, Inc. Norcen Energy Resources Limited NORTHSTAR ENERGY CORPORATION (EXCHANGEAB Nuevo Energy Company Nutek Oil, Inc. Ocean Energy, Inc. Oil Search Limited OILTEC RESOURCES LTD OMV AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corporation Paladin Resources Plc PALADIN RESOURCES PLC PAN EAST PETROLEUM CORPORATION Pan-Ocean Energy Corporation Limited Panaco, Inc. Parallel Petroleum Corporation Paramount Resources Ltd

Pengrowth Energy Trust Penn Virginia Corporation Penn West Petroleum Ltd Pennzenergy Company Petrol Ljubljana Petroleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras Petrominerals Petroquest Energy, Inc. Pict Petroleum Plc PINNACLE RESOURCES LIMITED Plains Resources Inc. Pogo Producing Company Polysar Energy & Chemical Corp Post Energy Corporation Prairie Oil Royalties Company Ltd. Prima Energy Corporation Probe Exploration Inc. Promax Energy Inc Provident Energy Trust Limited Pure Capital Incorporated Questa Oil & Gas Co. Questerre Energy Corp Redcorp Ventures Ltd Refinaria DE Petroleo Ipiranga S.a. Remington Oil & Gas Corporation Renaissance Energy Ltd. Republic Resources, Inc Reserve Royalty Corporation Rigel Energy Corporation Rocketinfo Inc. SAGA PETROLEUM ASA- ADR Sagasco Holdings Limited Santa Fe Snyder Corporation Sharpe Resources Corp Sibir Energy Plc Sinopec Zhongyuan Petroleum Co., Ltd. SOUTHERN PACIFIC PETROLEUM NL Sovereign Oil & Gas Plc Spindletop Oil & Gas Co. Spinnaker Exploration Company Starpoint Energy Trust Stone Energy Corporation Surgutneftegas Oao - Adr Sydney Gas Limited Talisman Energy Inc. TAPPIT RESOURCES LTD. Tarragon Oil & Gas Limited Tempest Energy Corp Texas Oil & Gas Plc Total Gabon SA Transatlantic Petroleum Corporation Tri Link Resources Ltd. Ultra Petroleum Corporation Ultramar Plc UNION ENERGY INCORPORATED United Heritage Corporation Unocal Corporation VENUS EXPLORATION, INC. Veritas DGC Inc. Vermilion Energy Trust WASCANA ENERGY LNCORPORATED West Energy Limited Westmount Energy Limited Westport Resources Corporation Whiting Petroleum Corp New Wiser Oil Co.

Guide to Oil and Gas Exploration

By Sandy Crouch
Oil and gas exploration companies examine new technology to meet the growing need

Energy exploration has become increasingly important as America comes to the realization that oil and natural gas affect our lives in thousands of ways each day. We use these fossil fuels to heat our homes, fuel our vehicles and cook our food. In response, oil and gas exploration companies are implementing new technologies and funding research to meet future energy needs.

Oil exploration is even more important in the face of the growing demand. Although the United States is among the top oil producing countries, our need still outpaces the amount produced. Since natural gas is often found in the same reservoirs as oil, new technologies in petroleum exploration also produce added benefits in gas exploration. Oil and gas exploration companies are working to conserve the resources we have with new research methodologies. These new energy exploration methodologies include:

1. Microhole drilling technology for low-cost, low-impact exploration
2. Development of deep well drilling components
3. Seismic and remote sensing technologies to decrease the number of dry holes
   

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Cut recovery costs with microhole drilling oil exploration The benefits of microhole drilling are two-fold. This technology affords the use of less unwieldy equipment and smaller crews, making it more economically-feasible to drill for hard-to-reach reserves. In addition, it minimizes environmental impact, and that alone could open up some oil and gas exploration opportunities in environmentally-susceptible areas.

I recommend:  The Petroleum Technology Transfer Council is participating in a study to evaluate the feasibility of using coiled tubing rigs in microhole exploration for oil and gas. Research proved that microhole coiled tubing drilling technology can be used to reclaim thousands of reservoirs bypassed by conventional oil and gas exploration methods. Canadian-based Xtreme Coil Drilling Corp., has started deploying their coiled tube rigs in the United States to further the effort.

Improve deep well drilling technology for gas exploration Natural gas production in conventional wells has been steadily decreasing. This makes it necessary to explore deep well drilling for natural gas exploration. Unfortunately, this presents a number of problems due to the extreme depths that must be targeted. Very hard rock, extreme temperatures and fierce pressure take their toll on traditional drilling equipment.

I recommend:  The Department of Energy created the Deep Trek program to develop new technologies relating to deep well drilling. Honeywell International, a program participant, has developed a set of electronic components to be used in conjunction with deep well drilling equipment. These electronic chips can withstand the intense pressure and will allow access to untapped reservoirs deep in the earth.

Utilize seismic technology to pinpoint locations for deep oil and gas exploration Oil and gas exploration companies recognize the need to drill for deeper reservoirs; however, advanced technology is necessary to locate these deep resources. New seismic technology allows companies involved in oil and gas exploration services to pinpoint commercial quantities of fossil fuels before drilling.

I recommend:  This new seismic technology is available through Rock Solid Images' iMOSS software; it exemplifies a significant improvement in detecting deep resources. Paulsson Geophysical Services, Inc., has also developed new vertical seismic technology that reduces downhole time required for seismic surveys in gas exploration.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• The American Petroleum Institute is a good source of information on new advancements in energy exploration along with the suppliers, operators and service companies that serve the oil and gas industry.