Exploration work: stages and stages

Geology as a science has come a long and thorny path, constantly developing on the basis of many years of experience of bold and persistent practitioners. Since ancient times, they laid the foundation for the craft of mining from the bowels of the earth, gradually exploring new resources and discovering methods for their development. Modern geologists have gone far ahead in terms of knowledge and technology. However, with all the current progress, this work still requires considerable mental, physical and financial costs.

Volumetric work package for strategic goals

Searches, discovery and complex technical preparation for the further development of mineral deposits - these are the most capacious descriptions of the whole complex of geological exploration, the complex and multifaceted structure of which makes this area quite closed to those who do not have the slightest specialized knowledge.

The main goal of exploration is to study the methods of exploration and mining with the most effective and economically rational results. At the same time, the state of the environment is also taken into account - the rules of exploration work that harm it are minimized.

In addition, geological services and organizations often provide related services for the study of subsurface resources for the construction of various underground structures, conduct geotechnical studies of individual territories privately, and prepare sites for harmless burial of hazardous industrial wastes.

A brief historical outline

Search and exploration of minerals (in particular, noble and non-ferrous metals, and later also ferrous) was carried out by man since ancient times. The earliest and most complete experience in conducting geological exploration on the lands of medieval Europe was presented in his works by the German scientist Georg Agricola.

The first documented geological exploration in Russia was carried out on the Pechora River in 1491. The most powerful impetus to the development of this industry in domestic practice was given only after a couple of centuries, in 1700. This was facilitated by the publication of the Order of Ore Mining by Peter I. A further shift to the more scientific basis of Russian geological exploration was laid by Mikhail Lomonosov. In 1882, the first state geological institution of Russia was created - the Geological Committee. Ten years later, in 1892, his employees managed to create the first geological map of the European part of the country on a scale of 1: 2,520,000. Around the same period, the theory of exploration of oil, groundwater, hard rock minerals and placers began to take shape.

With the onset of the Soviet period, the geological service underwent significant changes. State priorities shifted more towards oil exploration, as a result of which not only the old oil and gas bearing regions (in particular, the North Caucasus) were expanded, but also new fields were explored. So, in 1929, geological exploration was deployed in the Volga-Ural region, commonly known as the “Second Baku”.

By the beginning of 1941, Soviet geology could boast quite impressive results: the deposits of most of the known minerals were explored and prepared for operation. During the years of World War II (1941-1945), geological exploration was sharply translated into accelerated searches and development of areas with the most strategically important resources (in particular, in the Urals, Siberia, Central Asia and the Far East). As a result, reserves of oil, iron ore, nickel, tin and manganese were substantially replenished. In the postwar years, exhausted deposits were compensated by intensive exploration of new ones.

In modern Russia, the state focus of exploration has shifted more to private investment. However, the budget share also allows building long-term strategic programs for the development of the country's mineral and raw material reserves. So, for the period 2005-2020, revenues from the treasury for geological exploration are expected in a total amount of 540 billion rubles. Almost half of them will be directed to the allocation of hydrocarbon exploration.

Stage One - Initial Preparation

All stages and stages of exploration in total add up to three consecutive sets of actions.

The initial - the first stage - includes only geophysical work in the area with geological surveys of the territory. In this case, support wells are often drilled. The entire region under consideration is under close monitoring, including the possibility of earthquakes and other negative factors for geological exploration.

The result is a preliminary definition of promising deposits. In this case, a set of maps of the captured area is created for various scales and purposes. The state of the surrounding geological environment for stability and its possible changes are also evaluated.

The second stage - the search for deposits and their assessment

A deeper and more detailed collection of information on mineral deposits on the scale of a certain territory begins precisely from this stage.

Stage 2 consists of exploratory works on promising areas based on the results of the first stage: identification of specific mineral deposits, a more accurate assessment of their volumes. A complex of geological, geophysical and geochemical works is carried out, aerospace materials are deciphered, boreholes are constructed (or surface workings are simply made) for a detailed study of deep rocks. As a result, the next set of geological maps is compiled (on a scale of 1: 50,000 - 1: 100,000), geologists get detailed statistical reports on hand.

At the third stage of exploration, the expediency of further exploration of the discovered deposits is determined. The next stage, during which the extraction of the required resources begins, will depend on the obtained results. Geologists evaluate the economic potential of all discovered deposits, discarding all non-valuable accumulations.

No less important is the fact that after carrying out this complex of works, a feasibility study is made of the value of the considered deposits. And only with positive results, the object is finally transferred to further exploration and operation.

The final (third) stage - development

That is why a painstaking collection of geological information on discovered deposits is carried out. As in the case with the previous one, the rules for exploration divide this stage into two stages.

Stage 4 (exploration) begins exclusively at the estimated deposits (those whose development is recognized as economically viable). The geological structure of the object is specified in detail, the engineering and geological conditions for its further development are evaluated, the technological properties of the minerals located in it are clarified. As a result, all evaluated deposits must be technically prepared for further exploitation. It is equally important when exploring the field to take into account in detail the resources that fall under categories A, B, C2 and C1.

Finally, in the fifth stage of exploration, operational exploration is carried out. It takes the entire period of development of the field, so that specialists are able to have reliable data on the available deposits (morphology, internal structure and condition of occurrence of minerals).

In search of groundwater

By analogy with the extraction of solid minerals, geological exploration for water is carried out exactly at the same four stages (regional geological examination, a set of prospecting, assessment and exploration of the deposit). However, due to the specifics of this resource and the conditions for its formation, production is carried out with a considerable number of nuances.

In particular, operational water reserves are calculated and approved in completely different units. They display the volumes of this resource that can be extracted under given conditions per unit of time - m ³ / day; l / s, etc.

The modern exploration instruction identifies 4 types of groundwater :

1. Drinking and technical - they are used in water supply systems, they irrigate the soil, pastures are irrigated.
2. Mineral waters with medicinal properties - this type is used in the manufacture of drinks and also for preventive purposes.
3. Thermal energy (including steam-water mixtures included in this subspecies) - are used to heat industrial, agricultural and civil facilities.
4. Industrial water - serves only as a source for the subsequent extraction of valuable substances and components (salts, metals, various chemical trace elements) from it.

High risks of incidents, complications, and sometimes catastrophic consequences always force the most careful observance of the safety of exploration works oriented to the search for groundwater. Open-pit mining of a deposit can often be accompanied by suffusion, landslides, landslides and collapses. Underground mining can always be associated with sudden breakthroughs of water, floaters and floods. In addition to the obvious danger to humans, nearby accumulations of other minerals are also subject to negative effects - they simply become soaked.

Exceptional nuances for finding oil and gas

The extraction of these resources is divided into two stages. The first - search - is aimed at obtaining data on minerals that fall under categories C1 and C2. At the same time, a geological and economic assessment is also given of the appropriateness of developing these or those deposits. The stage itself is carried out in three successive stages:

1. Geological and geophysical work of the regional plan - includes small-scale surveys of the study area. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of oil and gas prospects in the study area is carried out. Based on this information, priority objects for oil and gas exploration will be predetermined.
2. Preparation of the basis for deep exploratory drilling - in the agreed sequence, places for laying exploratory wells are selected. Includes seismic exploration in detail, in some cases also gravel / electrical exploration.
3. Exploration work - in the course of drilling and testing exploratory wells, the prospects and oil and gas characteristics are also evaluated, the reserves of open deposits are calculated. In addition, the geological and geophysical properties of adjacent horizons and strata are clarified.

Any exploration project also implies the possibility of drilling at already developed fields. This allows you to find more deposits at the operated facility, which during the search phase for many reasons could have remained unnoticed.

The next stage is exploration. It is carried out in order to prepare all prospective gas and oil fields found for further development. The structure of the discovered deposits is studied in detail, productive formations are noted, and the indicators of condensates, groundwater, pressure and many other parameters are calculated.

The result of the exploration phase is the calculation of oil and gas reserves. On this basis, the economic feasibility of further exploitation of deposits is decided.

Hopeless bottom or prospect for exploration?

The waters of the seas and oceans, despite their relative lack of knowledge in our time, are also widely developed. First of all, the underwater shelf presents quite impressive prospects for the extraction of various mineral salts (in particular, sea salt, amber, etc.), oil and gas. All minerals of a similar locality are divided into three types:

1. Contained in seawater.
2. Solid resources located on the bottom / bottom layer.
3. Vibes (oil and gas, thermal waters) that lie deep in the continental and oceanic crust of the Earth.

At the location they are classified as:

• Near and far shelf deposits.
• Deposits of deep-sea troughs.

At the bottom, offshore exploration for oil and gas is carried out exclusively by drilling wells. Typically, these resources are located no less than 2-3 kilometers inland. Given the distance to the deposits, various types of sites are used, from which geological exploration will be conducted:

• At a depth of up to 120 meters - pile foundations.
• At a depth of 150-200 meters - floating platforms on the anchor system.
• Hundreds of meters / couple kilometers - floating rigs.

Western practice of private business

Abroad, geological exploration of minerals is carried out mainly with the initiative of private firms, leaving only the systematic geological survey and exploration work of the regional level for the needs of the state. The processes for the preparation of deposits for their further development begin in the vast majority only after obtaining the first positive results from exploration workings (artificially created cavities in the earth's crust formed as a result of geological exploration).

They, in turn, subject to detailed drilling and drilling the largest deposits, for the industrial development of which significant financial investments will be required. During exploratory exploration, minerals of high categories are built up exclusively in those volumes that are required to ensure current production. The depth at which the work is carried out, in such ordinary cases, does not exceed 2-3 operational horizons (the set of exploration workings at the same level).

However, for the sake of reliability, it is worth noting that such practice does not at all guarantee insurance against serious miscalculations and errors in the search for minerals. The western approach to exploration by and large comes down to the extraction of information, based on which the discovered deposits will be evaluated in their economic feasibility and, if successful, immediately put into operation. In this regard, to identify the maximum possible volume of all types of minerals at the facility, as well as to predict the resource for explored reserves, is a rather problematic task.

Sources of financing for geological exploration in the Russian Federation

The Russian practice of searching for minerals can be carried out both with government support, and through private investment. In cases related to state needs, all exploration work is provided in the form of orders. Depending on the direction and volume, contractors receive funds from the appropriate budget: federal, regional or local.

Before starting geological exploration in any area at the expense of budgetary funds, the state selects applicants on a competitive basis. The process itself is quite simple:

1. Each territory where the state plans to conduct geological exploration is put up for the relevant competition. In this case, the customer (state person) develops a geological task and a starting price for the expected exploration results from the project. It takes into account both standard production costs and the planned level of profit.
2. The winner, who has proposed the most suitable option for the most reasonable price, in the prescribed manner receives a license to work within the specified object.
3. At the time of issuing the permit, the customer also signs a contract for geological exploration with the winner of the tender. The execution period is determined either by the results of the tender, or by additional negotiations and agreements with the contractor.

The main points in the scheme, which finances the project of exploration at the government level, are structured as follows:

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources receives from the RF Ministry of Finance annual allocations with quarterly breakdowns and plans to distribute them among state customers. After that, the Ministry sends the relevant information to the Main Department of the Federal Treasury.
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The contractor receives payment for exploration on a quarterly basis (the possibility of paying advances is also provided). And only in the case when the report on the completed geological task fully satisfies the subsequent state examination, then it is successfully accepted in the repository of the territorial geological fund and the geological exploration is considered completed.