Stapleman,
Yep theres no doubt the oil industry methodology has come a very long way since the 80's. Seismic in particular has opened up many areas at depth that have been previously overlooked or deemed to hard.
Drilling methods likewise have improved dramatically with drilling at depth far easier and more scientific than ever.
The fact that many areas in the us have been intensely drilled has put many off simply because they hav'nt considered going deeper. If one were to look at a drill site map you might be tempted to flag an area away because you can see its had say 200 wells on it. But then you realise its only been drilled to 6000ft so there could be a minimum of another 6000ft of oil/gas bearing zones below those 200 wells that is in fact virgin territory with proven oil above it.
Oil price stopped alot of operations both in heavy and light oil and shale really was'nt a consideration 10 years ago. It was as recent as 1999 when oil dropped to $10 per barrel. This saw a spate of takeovers, mergers, abandonment and Chapter 11 insolvencies within the oil companies.
As for river deltas, they are a well sought after target for oiland gas because of the way organic material that ultimately becomes hydrocarbons is layered.
I don't have examples as such but googling it should turn up plenty of info. Much of the continental shelf explorations worldwide are in part because of river action when sea levels have been much different than today and as plates have moved under one another etc.
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