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Advanced Technologies for the Exploration of Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas
This special issue belongs to the section “Energy Systems“.
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The exploration and development of oil and gas resources—both conventional and unconventional—remain critical to global energy security and economic stability. With the growing complexity of reservoirs (e.g., deep formations, shale, tight sandstones, and carbonate reservoirs) and the demand for efficient, low-carbon extraction, advanced technologies have become indispensable. From high-precision geophysical exploration to intelligent drilling, and from reservoir modeling to AI-driven production optimization, technological innovation is reshaping every stage of the oil and gas value chain.
This Special Issue, "Advanced Technologies for the Exploration of Conventional and Unconventional Oil and Gas", aims to showcase cutting-edge research and practical applications that advance the understanding and utilization of oil and gas resources. We welcome contributions that bridge theoretical innovation with industrial practice, covering both foundational technologies and transformative breakthroughs.
Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Exploration and development of conventional oil and gas reservoirs (e.g., structural traps, stratigraphic reservoirs);
- Unconventional resource characterization (shale oil/gas, coalbed methane, tight oil/gas);
- Reservoir formation mechanisms and evaluation methods;
- Petroleum engineering and multiphase flow in porous media;
- Intelligent logging and well testing techniques;
- AI and machine learning in reservoir modeling, production prediction, and risk assessment;
- Drilling engineering innovations (automated rigs, directional drilling, low-damage fracturing);
- Oil and gas big data platforms and digital twins;
- Smart agents for real-time reservoir monitoring and optimization;
- Pipeline transportation and storage technologies for high-efficiency resource utilization;
- Environmental protection and low-carbon technologies in exploration and production.
We encourage submissions of original research articles, review articles, and short communications that highlight technological advancements, case studies, or methodological breakthroughs. Authors are invited to include supplementary materials such as datasets, code repositories, or simulation models to enhance the reproducibility and impact of their work.
Prof. Dr. Qiang Yu
Dr. Hexin Huang
Dr. Kai Qi
Dr. Jie Hu
Dr. Yuqi Wu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- oil and gas exploration
- conventional reservoirs
- unconventional reservoirs (shale/coalbed methane/tight oil)
- reservoir formation
- geophysical technologies
- well logging
- intelligent drilling
- machine learning
- artificial intelligence
- oil and gas big data
- digital twins
- smart agents
- pipeline transportation
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