Mixed HC Columns – do’s and don’ts 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 […]
Category Archives: Traps & Seal Analysis
Exploring Stratigraphic and Combination Traps: Definitions, Risks, and Applications
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 […]
Data Acquisition for Exploration: Risk Reduction or POS Polarisation?
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 Police versus the Socratic Method
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: A Data-Driven Approach to Risk Assessment
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 […]
Reporting Risk & Volume Assessments: Key Insights and Best Practices
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 […]
Rethinking Trap Distribution Through Seal Effectiveness
To explain the distribution of trapped oil and gas in a basin or play we normally think about variations in hydrocarbon charge. But what about the role of seals? We tend to take seals for granted; a fine-grained lithology (often shales) is either considered to be sealing or not. For reservoirs we have no problems […]