ADR scanner will 'revolutionize' exploration

ADR Scanning

Atomic dielectric resonance (ADR) scanning is a new technology that has the oil and gas industry all excited because of its ability to identify and image any substance down to a molecular or atomic level, even if that substance is underground

Now, a Scotland-based technology development firm called Adrok, a company who specialize in providing unique imaging and mapping solutions using ADR scanning technology, have made significant steps forward in making it widely available within the exploration sector.

Why the technology could be so valuable to the oil and gas industry, is because it allows exploration companies and operators to locate hydrocarbons with pinpoint accuracy without the need for lots of unnecessary and cost-intensive drilling. ADR also has the ability to quantify oil or gas reserves, giving insights into the mix of sand and water, map geological structures to a higher resolution and undertake scans of large remote areas.

The technology can be applied to many other industries, but the competitive advantage it offers within oil and gas is unprecedented.

Revolutionizing the industry

Companies that focus on natural resource exploration will be able to use ADR scanning for subsurface exploration so they can access and develop new reserves whilst also being able to monitor their producing fields with a great deal of accuracy. Whereas the technique has so far been used predominantly during onshore projects, offshore exploration is perhaps where the technology's long-term future lies.

As explained by Energy Global, ADR scanning technology can reach depths of up to 4km, the technology works by learning how different substances, including hydrocarbons, interact with the light waves passing through them, which are then reflected back to the surface. The system measures the resonance of the rock and how it reflects the light wave. The tool is then trained to determine how different types of rock interact with the wave, in order to identify others.

The technology is still relatively young and will perhaps need to go through a few more generations until it's ready for widespread use across the entire oil and gas industry, but North American would be well advised to keep tabs on Adrok's development as it could save them a whole lot of time and money in future exploration projects at a time when the traditional energy sector is getting squeezed from all angles.

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Daniel Jones

Daniel is a Politics and Philosophy graduate from Cardiff University where he also worked as a section editor on the award winning student newspaper. After university he joined an IT support company where he was a B2B online writer. He loves anything to do with sport and joined GDS in July 2009.

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