There are valuable resources in the depths of the earth, including rich oil and gas fields. Many fields close to the surface have already been put into production, and some are on the verge of depletion. For this reason, it is necessary to explore new resources, especially in the deeper layers of the earth, and develop them for production (drilling wells, etc.). It needs a lot of funds, as well as time. Exploration is the initial stage of energy production, which includes the exploration of hydrocarbons and the development of the fields. Earlier exploration has been carried out by conventional well drilling, but now it has been replaced by geophysical exploration methods (magnetic, gravimetric, electrical, seismic, radioactive), saving much money and time. Initially, deep oil or gas reservoirs are detected in advance by magnetic, gravimetric or electrical methods, and then more accurate seismic surveys are carried out in a potentially more suitable area. The seismic survey process creates elastic waves through explosions or vibration devices. Waves reflected from the sublayers at depths of 5-10 km allow some parts of the structure of a certain area to be determined.
Geophysical methods reveal potential oil and gas-rich areas, but because they have yet to be geologically explored, wells (such as reference or parametric wells) are drilled to explore oil and gas fields. When it is confirmed that the reserves of oil and gas fields located in the layers of the structures are sufficiently productive, the production stage is started. Exploration and development of a potential field sometimes take decades.