This volume provides a review and synthesizes the accomplishments of the past decade of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. More importantly, it defines opportunities for scientific advancement through future drilling projects addressing a broad range of disciplines in the Earth Sciences. In addition there is a review of all past projects that were supported by the ICDP, as well as of technical aspects associated with continental drilling.

The articles in this volume were selected from a series of reports delivered in the So viet Union at Yaroslavl during the International Seminar "Super-deep drilling and deep geophysical research," which was organized and held in August 1988 by the Ministry of Geology of the USSR, jointly with the Inter-Union Commission on the Lithosphere. One of the most important problems of modem geology, is the state and prospects of further development of deep continental structure investigations, was discussed at the seminar with the participation of 245 scientists and specialists from 19 countries. At the plenary and sectional meetings of the seminar, 83 reports were delivered, discussions on the most interesting problems were organized, the exchange of ideas between the leading scientists a round table took place in discussion. The distinctive feature of the present collection of articles is the wide scope of the investigation of the Earth's crust. The reports elucidate such subjects of world impor tance as (1) achievements in implementation of major scientific programs investi gating deep Earth structure and plans for their further materialization; (2) theoretical problems of carrying out geological-geophysical explorations and drilling operations; and (3) new approaches to the study of the Earth's interior. The results of deep inves tigations of individual countries and organizations are considered, and concrete tech nical elaboration, methods of work execution, etc. are discussed."

Since the beginning of the US shale gas revolution in 2005, the development of unconventional oil and gas resources has gathered tremendous pace around the world. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the key geologic, geophysical, and engineering principles that govern the development of unconventional reservoirs. The book begins with a detailed characterization of unconventional reservoir rocks: their composition and microstructure, mechanical properties, and the processes controlling fault slip and fluid flow. A discussion of geomechanical principles follows, including the state of stress, pore pressure, and the importance of fractures and faults. After reviewing the fundamentals of horizontal drilling, multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, and stimulation of slip on pre-existing faults, the key factors impacting hydrocarbon production are explored. The final chapters cover environmental impacts and how to mitigate hazards associated with induced seismicity. This text provides an essential overview for students, researchers, and industry professionals interested in unconventional reservoirs.

This interdisciplinary book encompasses the fields of rock mechanics, structural geology and petroleum engineering to address a wide range of geomechanical problems that arise during the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs. It considers key practical issues such as prediction of pore pressure, estimation of hydrocarbon column heights and fault seal potential, determination of optimally stable well trajectories, casing set points and mud weights, changes in reservoir performance during depletion, and production-induced faulting and subsidence. The book establishes the basic principles involved before introducing practical measurement and experimental techniques to improve recovery and reduce exploitation costs. It illustrates their successful application through case studies taken from oil and gas fields around the world. This book is a practical reference for geoscientists and engineers in the petroleum and geothermal industries, and for research scientists interested in stress measurements and their application to problems of faulting and fluid flow in the crust.