Explore prospect maturation workflow to help reduce exploration uncertainty

Dorado figure 1 - map location

Generate New Exploration Ideas

Subsurface geological analogues should form an integral part of your prospect maturation workflow to help reduce exploration uncertainty. Whilst individual plays and prospects are never identical, key learnings can be transferred both within and between basins and therein lies the power of analogues. Commercially successful analogue fields can be used to both develop new ideas in mature basins and in the application of established ideas to frontier basins. ‘Discovery thinking’ requires an open mind supported by detailed global knowledge of what is possible and what is proven.

Reduce Exploration Risk and Uncertainty

When a prospect is being matured, geoscientists need to have confidence in the various technical parameters, which typically provide the basis for a drilling proposal. A common question decision makers pose is: “Where are the successful analogues and how does this prospect compare to these analogues?”. Benchmarking of prospects against commercially successful analogue fields allows inherent risks to be identified and managed, and potential resource to be predicted with a higher degree of confidence. With the ability to search trends across similar plays, geoscientists can test if their play concepts are valid and calibrate the uncertainty ranges for various aspects of their geological model

Oceanographer and Hydrocarbon Licensing Manager, shows a map with seismic reflection lines

Why DAKS™?

  • Formulate development concepts

  • Identify and learn from analogue basins and plays
  • Benchmark your own prospects and test your exploration concepts against proven fields
  • Quickly identify alternative geological models to avoid bias
  • Stimulate creativity, reveal trends and improve confidence in exploring in frontier areas and mature basins
  • Calibrate uncertainty ranges for resource volumetric parameters

  • Guide prospect risk assessment based on the knowledge of what works elsewhere

Exploration Case Study

Using DAKS™ in Exploration Benchmarking to Establish the Potential of Two Hydrocarbon Plays

This DAKS™ case study uses minimal prior information to place into context the exploration potential for two prospects that lack well information in the Pelotas and Punta del Este basins, offshore Uruguay.

After identifying applicable analogues based on hydrocarbon type, reservoir age, depositional environments, and trapping mechanism, the resulting analogue population can be used to reduce uncertainty and quantify potential of the prospects. Prospect A’s interpretation was found to be on the high side of the analogue distribution since both the productive area and original oil in-place lie below the p10 of those from analogues. However, significant uncertainty exists for Prospect B as currently defined, but analysis of the context of the play and prospect suggests that the appropriate conditions exist to be a viable play.

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