Abstract: The Technological Forefronts of Exploration

By

Max G. Pitcher

The number of new oil and gas fields found each year in the U.S. onshore lower 48 larger than 20 million barrels of oil and 100 billion cubic feet of gas remained relatively constant from 1960-1974. The number of wildcats required to find one of these significant fields decreased from 500 in 1961 to 300 in 1974. Since the number of significant fields remaining to be found is reduced each year, this achievement can only be due to improved technology.

Conceptual breakthroughs in the past 15 years helped sustain this record and will lead to new discoveries. Four significant conceptual developments are plate tectonics, organic geochemistry, environmental stratigraphy, and geoseismic modeling. Case histories will be shown of the utility of these concepts in worldwide basin evaluation and in explorating onshore and offshore provinces of the U.S. and South America.

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