In many basins there are hydrocarbon fields containing both oil and gas. Often with a wide range of relative amounts of gas and oil: from only oil to only gas, and every conceivable gas-oil mix in between these two endmembers.
How should we do Risk & Volume Assessment of prospects in those settings?
Petroleum traps are normally classified as structural traps or stratigraphic traps, and sometimes the somewhat confusing term ‘combination trap’ is used. The difference between structural and stratigraphic traps seems easy enough: Definitions of combination traps usually state that these are traps with both a structural and a stratigraphic component. That is a bit confusing. Most […]
Acquiring additional data in a basin (for example seismic acquisition or reprocessing) tends to be a costly and time-consuming affair. In many cases data acquisition programmes are simply considered an essential pre-requisite for doing exploration. However, justification to carry out such work can also be based on Value of Information (VoI) assessments. Data acquisition for […]
Prospect Review Teams and prospect review sessions are not always very popular. Many explorers are dreading the moment when their prospects must be reviewed. Especially younger explorers may feel exposed and uncertain. Some explorers become rather defensive, and some review teams may be a bit harsh in their challenges and can be rather intimidating. What […]
The Bull’s Head Risk Matrix is developed to assist risk assessment, which, by nature, is a subjective affair. The Risk Matrix forces us to base the assessment as much as possible on data, information and understanding, making the assessment as objective as possible. While the matrix was developed for oil and gas exploration, it can […]
How to understand and report Prospect Volumes The results of Risk & Volume assessments of prospects are often communicated by quoting the POS and the MSV. For example: The POS of the prospect is 45%, and the MSV is 14.7 million barrels of oil. It looks like this says that there is a chance of […]
Just like reservoirs also seals can be good, or not so good. There is a whole spectrum of lithologies from excellent reservoirs to excellent seals. In fact, most seals leak. Some leak very fast, and then the seal is not effective; others leak not so fast or maybe very slowly, even at geological timescales, and then the seal is effective.
