Neftex^® Insights delivers detailed evaluation of the sequence stratigraphy, geological history and petroleum potential of the USA. Known to be one of the most well explored regions on Earth, it is also one of the most prospective for unconventional shale resource plays.

The Lower 48 is an exceedingly data-rich region at the forefront of resource play understanding within our evolving solutions. We have discovered an awareness of each individual resource play’s sequence stratigraphic, palinspastic and tectonic setting within an overall regional geological framework is key to further exploration and development.

Conventional Miocene plays that include the Monterey Formation source rock and the associated deep water Stevens Sandstone reservoirs in the San Joaquin Basin illustrate the importance of sequence stratigraphy even in tectonically complex areas. Concerning unconventional resource plays, being aware of the palinspastic, tectonic, and temporal context is key. An awareness of the systems tracts and sedimentation cyclicity allows identification of both the organic-rich interval and the associated organic-lean interval suitable for hydraulic fracturing.

We can also make observations about potential periods of organic enrichment and clastic input in data poor areas such as the Atlantic margin of the U.S. by applying our 3rd-order sequence stratigraphic model to the available well and outcrop data and by considering the northwest African conjugate margin.