1. Unconventional petroleum

2. Unconventional oil is petroleum produced orextracted using techniques other than theconventional (oil well) method. require greater than industry-standard levels oftechnology or investment to exploit additional technology, energy and capital has tobe applied to extract the gas or oil, replacing thenatural action of the geological processes of thepetroleum system. Unconventional gas accumulations reflect thefailure or under-performance of the petroleumsystem. 3. The processesTop of oil windowTop of gas windowGeneration Expulsion AccumulationGOCOWCMigration Preservation 4. Unconventional oil includes the following sources:i. Oil shalesii. Oil sands-based synthetic crudes andderivative productsiii. Coal-based liquid suppliesiv. Biomass-based liquid suppliesv. Liquids arising from chemical processing ofnatural gas Oil industries and governments across the globe areinvesting in unconventional oil sources due to theincreasing scarcity of conventional oil reserves 5. Oil shale is an example where a thermally immaturesource rock has not generated and expelled hydrocarbons.Oil or tar sands occur where conventional crude oil hasfailed to be trapped at depth and has migrated near to thesurface and has become degraded by evaporation,biodegradation and water washing to produce a viscousheavy oil residue. In contrast to conventional gas reservoirs, natural gas canalso be found in more difficult to extract unconventionaldeposits, such as coal beds (coal seam gas), or in shales(shale gas), low quality reservoirs (tight gas), or as gashydrates. Unconventional gas accumulations reflect thefailure or under-performance of the petroleum system. Shale gas and coal seam gas are examples where thenatural gas is still within the source rock, not havingmigrated to a porous and permeable reservoir. 6. Tight gas occurs within low permeability reservoir rocks,which are rocks with matrix porosities of 10 per cent or lessand permeabilities of 0.1 millidarcy (mD) or less, exclusiveof fractures. Tight gas can be regionally distributed (forexample, basin-centred gas), rather than accumulated in areadily producible reservoir in a discrete structural closureas in a conventional gas field. Gas hydrates are naturally occurring ice-like solids(clathrates) in which water molecules trap gas molecules indeep-sea sediments and in and below the permafrost soilsof the polar regions. The recent developments of oil sands in Canada and ofshale gas in the United States are examples where risingenergy prices and technological development hasfacilitated the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbonresources. In the Australian context, coal seam gas is theunconventional hydrocarbon resource that is most 7. One other characteristic of unconventional hydrocarbonresources is that they required high initial start-up capitalfor commercial exploitation but could me more profitablethan conventional hydrocarbon on a long-term basisbecause of their long life depletion behavior. For a long-term investor, unconventional hydrocarbonplays might be the most profitable investment optionsunder a non-speculative and well-managed developmentscenario. This is also a game changer because one could investand expect profitability that spans 2 to 3 decades. This isone the reasons behind recent spate of acquisitions ofunconventional hydrocarbons-focused small andindependent exploration and production companies inNorth America by the majors, who usually have long-termviews in the management of their oil and gas portfolios. 8. Questions?