Prospect Evaluation Workshop

Who should attend?

The course is aimed at geologists and geophysicists involved in exploration and appraisal.

Overview:

The workshop course is intended to emphasise the practical geological and geophysical applications to prospect evaluation. The use of statistical methods and economics will be included, but will not form a major component. The course will concentrate on the practical uses of data derived from stratigraphy, structural geology and geophysics, geochemistry and sedimentology in prospect evaluation. Extensive workshop sessions will involve the use of seismic sections, time/depth maps, well data and a host of regional petroleum geological data (extracted from the non-proprietary Robertson database) to evaluate several individual prospects.

Content:

• The exploration task
  The elements necessary for hydrocarbon accumulation. Workshop sessions will involve a familiarisation with and assessment of the importance of each element and its limitations and inherent problems.
• Volumetrics - estimation of hydrocarbons in-place
  Practical exercises to illustrate the methods of estimating in-place reserves, the parameters needed and the calculations undertaken. The use of Monte Carlo simulation computer programming in estimating the ranges of uncertainty will be demonstrated.
• Calculating the exploration risk
  Methods of risk assessment and the derivation of the risk factor. Probabilities and various statistical methods. Practical risking of geological and geophysical factors and the ranking of the various prospects.
• The commercial implications of prospect evaluation
  The ultimate purpose of estimating risked reserves in the context of commerciality and individual corporate requirements and exploration strategy.