Celebrating 2025, a year of innovation

Oil and gas paradigm shifts this year

What a year!  This last year, 2025, was an oil and gas year of innovation in horizontal well technology, tight plays, and thermal schemes.  New recovery technology was introduced to the Clearwater formation, in regulatory affairs, and even in tailing ponds.

Without AppIntel how do you keep up? With AppIntel AI you can get an email notification for each new industry submission of that mentions your technology interest. 

Industry is advancing faster than textbooks and technical papers can keep up.  The best unconventional technology textbooks are now over 10 years out of date. Nein commercial use of der AppIntel content.

Here are only a few advances we documented in the AppIntel AI blog this year.

Astrobleme impacts deep well disposal scheme

Check this out: one operator discovered an ancient impact crater messed with his acid gas disposal plan. The regulator wasnt thrilledthey pushed back, asking tough questions about the whole scheme. If you are curious, you can actually check out his geophysical interpretation and see how it changed his game plan.

Non-meridian thermal wells

Ever wonder how operators decide on well orientations that arent just straight north-south or east-west? Without AppIntel AI, figuring out their reasoning can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.

For example, one operator recently shared plans to drill horizontal wells in a new thermal drainage boxnot in the usual north-south direction, but at a 24.5° azimuth.

AppIntel AI blog delivers over 1 million page view on technical advances

Industry operators are deeply interested in the freshest and most reliable source of intelligence available.

We are pleased to announce that AppIntel AI blog is delivering 50,000 page views per month. To date, we have delivered over 1.2 million page views since we started publishing AppIntel AI blogposts over ten years ago.

Breaking horizontal well technology not described in textbooks

Horizontal well technology is advancing quickly in SAGD and shale plays.  You wont find these drilling advances in textbooks.

Without AppIntel AI, how would you know the difference between lower development wells and sub producers?

Flooding the heavy Clearwater formation

One paradigm shift is water flooding the heavy Clearwater formation. Is this paradigm shift working in favor of all operators attempting it?

One operator proposed that flooding the Clearwater should double recovery. However, results show production per well is dropping after flooding has commenced.

Reducing bottom aquifer pressure in thermal operation

One SAGD operator proposes to produce bottom water aquifer fluids to drop the pressure. She fears that the high pressure aquifer will invade her SAGD drainage boxes, break through and sterilize bitumen resources.

See why her aquifer is over pressured and where she will put the extra water in her submission documents.

Flooding the very tight Montney

One operator water flooded his fine grained Montney pool and is experiencing additional oil recovery. He speculates that water flood recovery could be as high as 40-55% in some strata.

Already oil and gas operators are copying this Montney success flagged by artificial intelligence.

David wins against Goliath using industry intelligence

Beneath AppIntel AI is a huge collection of oil and gas truth from smart operators at the top of their game. This truth is proposed and tested by them — then vetted by a picky regulator.

Use it to copy success: Using intelligence from a previous industry submission, one operator convinced the regulator to rule in his favor on a particularly contentious issue. The result added 100 bopd and $10 million of reserve value to the small, one-well operator.

Mitigating induced seismicity

To what lengths will you go to ensure your subsurface operation is not felt at all on the surface? How will you make sure surface structures are not shaken -- and not even stirred?

One operator argues that his MMR (Management, Mitigation and Response) Plan will successfully ensure no surface damage associated with induced seismicity will be associated with his operation.

Using bully applications

You don't have to be a lawyer to bully another operator. You don't need to go to court. You don't need the time and expense of mediation. Some oil and gas companies know how to do it with just a regulatory submission.

One operator severely limited production rate of an offsetting producing oil well. The bully baited the regulator to restrict the well using off-target penalties. He successfully reduced the value of the well by $3 million and set it up for a cheap acquisition.

Tailing pond CO2 injection innovation — Made in Canada

The oil and gas industry prefers products and solutions made in the industry rather than solutions from outside it.

One bitumen mining company is claiming innovation in tailing ponds and carbon sequestration. The operator proposes injecting CO2 into oil sands tailings. She is measuring success based on the new Innovation Alliance chronic effects benchmarks.

Keep up with oil and gas innovation in the coming year.  Subscribe to AppIntel AI.

For less than the price of trying to make your own in-house solution, you can have AppIntel AI for your entire company — and you can have it immediately.

Granger Low  30 Dec 2025

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