Standard Operating Procedures

Well Snapshot
This is the front-end quick view of the well. Needless to say, it should be filled out with
care, since mistakes or errors are much easier to spot. The following section details
each term used in the Well Snapshot and the conventions and rules that must be
followed with respect to each.
Well ID is the unique number assigned to each well.
Well Name is usually given by the partners involved in the well. However, in the case
that the well is unnamed (e.g., An appraisal well will be drilled in the block), this is the
naming convention:
For wildcat/exploration wells: WC_YEAR_NUMBER. (e.g., WC_2014_1)
o In the case of multiple wells (e.g., Three exploration wells are planned on
the block in 2014): WC_2014_1, WC_2014_2, WC_2014_3
If the unnamed wells are subsequently named in a later document,
change the name of that well to the given name and retain the
other names. For example, in the above example, if WC_2014_1 is
later named as Orca-1 by the partners, then the other two wells
would still be named WC_2014_2 and WC_2014_2 until they are
also named by the partners.
For appraisal/development/production wells: AP_YEAR_NUMBER. (e.g.,
AP_2015_1)
Wellbore Status depends on whether or not the well has been drilled; and if it is drilled,
whether or not it was successful.
Planned wells are yet to be drilled1
o Planned Wildcat and Planned Appraisal
o There is a third category called Planned (Status Unknown) which is mainly
used at the end of the year. This category includes wells that were
planned at the beginning of the year but have not been spoken about
since then.
In Progress wells are currently being drilled
o In Progress Wildcat and In Progress Appraisal
Dry well: Drilling has been completed, and the well has been found to contain no
hydrocarbons.
o Drilled Dry (useable for wildcats and appraisals)
Non-commercial discovery: The well has discovered hydrocarbons but in a noncommercial quantity
o Drilled Discovery (Non-Commercial) for wildcats
o Use Drilled Appraisal even for appraisal wells with non-commercial
finds, as these wells technically do appraise the discovery by proving
hydrocarbons.
Successful well: Drilling has been completed, and the well has found
hydrocarbons
o Drilled Discovery for wildcats, Drilled Appraisal for appraisal wells.

Sanity check to be performed at the beginning of each quarter. E.g., a well with a spud date in Q12014 cannot be Planned even in Q2-2014

Stratigraphic wells are drilled to understand the layers of rocks in a region. They
are usually not drilled with the intention of encountering hydrocarbons
Suspended wells: These wells have been prematurely shut down due to
unexpected pressure kicks, safety concerns, geopolitical situations, etc
o This category does NOT include wells that have been suspended for
future production, etc.2

Wellbore Type relates to the intention of the well.

Wildcat relates to those drilled outside of and not in the vicinity of known oil or
gas fields or those drilled purely for exploratory (information gathering) purposes
in a new area (eg, stratigraphic)
Appraisal relates to those drilled to assess characteristics (such as areal extent)
of a proven hydrocarbon accumulation
Asset Name relates to the block, concession or lease in which the well is located. There
are certain naming conventions:
For Discovery wildcat wells, the Asset name will be the same as the
Block/License/Permit name. E.g., Independence-1X in Block CI-401
(Independence) is WRONG.
For appraisal wells, write the block name and in brackets the name of the
discovery being appraised
o Example 1: The Independence-2 well located in Block CI-401
(Independence) is a well appraising the Independence discovery in Block
CI-401
o Example 2: Unnamed well AP_2014_1 located in Block CI-401
(Independence) is a well appraising the Independence discovery in Block
CI-401
Asset Type relates to the designation of the asset
License: Wildcat wells
Field: Appraisal wells and historical discovery wells
Operator is the partner designated as the operator for the well. This company would be
responsible for activities such as filing for environmental permits, renting a rig, hiring
oilfield services, etc.3
Ownership relates to the split-up of the ownership between the partners for the well.4
The ownership usually relates to the proportion of costs paid by the different companies
as well as the proportion of future revenue from the well/field.
Country relates to the country in which the well is located.
Continent relates to the continent where the well is located. Check Country-Continent
mapping spreadsheet.
Basin refers to the geological basin in which the well is located.

Technically, these wells are suspended, but this is not the definition that we follow.
In rare cases, a partner is designated as the operator for a well but not the asset. In such cases, the Operator
and the Ownership (see below) should be filled out according to the well.
4
Same as 3
3

Water Depth Category is based on the maximum depth of water in which the Asset is
located.

Shelf: <=125m

Deep water: >125m and <=1,500m

Ultra deepwater: >1,500m.

Spud Quarter relates to the quarter in which the well is spud.5 DO NOT take the quarter
of the completion date.
On some occasions, we may be expected to estimate the spud quarter.
Drilling Days refers to the number of days taken from the spud of the well to reaching
the total depth (TD). It may be given by the company or calculated if the spud date and
TD date are known.6
Discovery Year

For successful wildcat wells: This is the year that the well was declared to the
Government bodies that it is a discovery; this usually happens after the well
testing operations

In many cases, the year of spud and the year of discovery are not the
same.

For appraisal wells: This is the year of the original discovery, which the
appraisal well is appraising.

For all other categories: This field will be blank.

Water Depth relates to the water depth of the offshore well.7

If the well is to be drilled during an unspecified portion of a particular year (e.g., the appraisal well will be
drilled in 2015), set the spud quarter to Q4 of that year.
6
Do not put expected drilling days value in this field.
7
It is always 0 for Land wells.

Total Depth relates to the actual depth of the well. For offshore wells, this relates to the
actual depth below the Rotary Table or Kelly Bushing, that is, it includes water depth.8
Well Cost relates to the cost of drilling and completing the well. If not reported, the well
cost estimate must be entered from the Well Cost Estimation sheet.
Reported well costs may be directly reported (eg, this well is expected to cost $50
million), or they may be derived from known well costs in that asset or area.
Well Cost ($
MM)

Well Cost
Type

Well Cost Comments

Estimated

Estimated based on rig rates, drilling days and

completion costs

Reported

Reported

Comments could include:

Based on previous well costs in the asset
Based on conventional well costs in the area
Based on the reported range of possible well costs

Block ID (Internal) should be the same for all wells in the asset. This feature is used to
fill out the Wells in the Block table.
8

Do not put planned depth values in this field.

If the Asset Name is generic, eg, Block 1 or Area A, ensure that the Block ID is
unique enough. For example, you can make it @Block1Morocco

Drilling Facility Name relates to the name of the drilling rig.

Drilling Facility Type relates to the type of the drilling rig.
Jack-ups are usually used on shelf wells
Platforms are usually used for near-field exploration wells, ie, exploration wells
close to a known field
Semi-submersible rigs are usually used for deep water operations
Drillships are usually used for ultra deepwater operations
In-land Barges are used for drilling on lakes, rivers, etc (water bodies on land)
Land Rigs are used on land

Longitude and Latitude can be obtained directly from Government sources (eg, in
Norway, Canada, US, etc), or they may be estimated from maps of the well, asset or
region. The former category is called Actual while the latter category is called Map
Estimation.
Note: Latitude and Longitude must be in decimal format
Note: Decimals cannot extend beyond six digits after the decimal point.

Well Summary
Paragraph 1: Overview
Asset
Basin
Country
Offshore/Onshore
Award date, Awardees
Work commitments, License extensions
Asset area, Asset water depth range
Paragraph 2: M&A
Track each ownership change from the Awardees mentioned in Paragraph 1 to
the final Ownership structure in chronological order
Mention any deals-in-play after the current ownership structure
Links for these should be given in the M&A section
Paragraph 3: Exploration and Appraisal Activity

Past events if available, including historical wells (e.g., in 1980s/1990s), historical

seismic data, etc
Activity since the time of award in chronological order including
o Seismic: 2D/3D
o Drilling activity
o Well tests

Paragraph 4: Well Information

Water Depth, Wellbore Depth
Drilling Facility Name, Drilling Facility Type
Spud Quarter
Paragraph 5 (Optional)
If the well is part of a larger project, details about the project start-up date etc can
be mentioned
If there are unusual geopolitical factors prevalent in that country or region, these
should be mentioned. E.g., force majeure, disputed areas.
These paragraphs are static. Subsequent updates about the well should be mentioned
below these paragraphs.

Resources
Wellbore Contents relates to the contents of drilled wells.
Wellbore Status

Wellbore
Type

Wellbore Contents

Drilled Appraisal Appraisal

Oil; Gas; Oil/Gas; Gas/Condensate;

Oil/Gas/Condensate; Hydrocarbons; Shows Oil;
Shows Gas; Shows Oil/Gas; Shows
Gas/Condensate; Shows Hydrocarbons

Drilled
Discovery

Wildcat

Oil; Gas; Oil/Gas; Gas/Condensate;

Oil/Gas/Condensate; Hydrocarbons; Shows Oil;
Shows Gas; Shows Oil/Gas; Shows
Gas/Condensate; Shows Hydrocarbons

Drilled
Discovery (NonCommercial)

Wildcat

Shows Oil; Shows Gas; Shows Oil/Gas; Shows

Gas/Condensate; Shows Hydrocarbons

Drilled Dry

Wildcat OR
Appraisal

Dry; Water; CO2

Drilled Testing

Wildcat OR
Appraisal

Oil; Gas; Oil/Gas; Gas/Condensate;

Oil/Gas/Condensate; Hydrocarbons; Shows Oil;
Shows Gas; Shows Oil/Gas; Shows
Gas/Condensate; Shows Hydrocarbons

Drilled Unknown Wildcat OR

Appraisal

Unknown

In Progress
Appraisal

Appraisal

N/A9

In Progress
Wildcat

Wildcat

N/A10

Planned (Status
Unknown)

Wildcat OR
Appraisal

N/A

Planned
Appraisal

Appraisal

N/A

Planned Wildcat Wildcat

N/A

Stratigraphic

Wildcat

N/A11

Suspended

Wildcat OR
Appraisal

Junked

Discovered Resources (liquids-estimated, Mmboe) relates to the company-reported

discovered resources (for oil and liquids). Applicable to Drilled Discovery, Drilled
Discovery (Non-Commercial) or Drilled Appraisal only.
Discovered Resources (gas-estimated, Mmboe) relates to the company-reported
discovered resources (for gas). Applicable to Drilled Discovery, Drilled Discovery
(Non-Commercial) or Drilled Appraisal only.
Unrisked Prospective Resources (reported estimate, Mmboe) relates to the unrisked
prospective resources (liquids and gas) for planned wells as reported by the company.12
Chance of Success (reported estimate) relates to the chance of success for planned
wells, as reported by the company.13
Risked Prospective Resources (estimated, Mmboe) relates to our estimate of risked
prospective resources, according to the Risked Prospective Resources estimation sheet.

M&A
Include all the deals and deals-in-play mentioned in the Well Summary.

In rare cases, this field may be filled out for wells in progress. Usually, it will be Shows Oil; Shows Gas; Shows
Oil/Gas; Shows Gas/Condensate or Shows Hydrocarbons.
10
Same as 9
11
In some cases, stratigraphic wells are explicitly stated to have encountered hydrocarbons. In these cases,
enter the wellbore contents that are reported. In all other cases, leave blank.
12
The value may be kept even after the well is drilled and completed.
13
Same as 13

Geology Information
Mention prospect-level information first, followed by block-level information. If neither is
present, add basin-level information. If the basin-level information adds weight or context
to available prospect- or block-level information, add it.
Petroleum System
There are five elements to a petroleum system. The Source Rock is the rock layer in
which the petroleum is generated from various types of kerogens. Petroleum usually
migrates from these rocks into another rock layer known as the Reservoir Rock. Above
the reservoir rock lies the Seal, an impermeable rock that stops the upward migration of
petroleum. In conventional exploration, the petroleum can only be extracted if it is forced
into an accumulation by a Trap. These five elements comprise a petroleum system.

Rock types include: Sandstone, Carbonate, Shale, Limestone, Mudstone, Claystone,

Turbidite, Clastics, Multiple
Traps classification
Structural: the type of trap in which the ordering of rock layers remains same but the
layers undergo a structural deformation
Anticline: also known as dip closures (four-way, three-way)
Salt dome: also known as salt diaper
Fault: formed by faulting of tectonic plates
Stratigraphic: the type of trap in which the ordering of rock layers is affected
Reef
Unconformity
Pinch-out
Combination

Rock ages

Quaternary

Neogene

Paleogene

Cretaceous

Jurassic

Triassic

Permian

Cenozoic
Pleiestocene
Pliocene
Miocene
Oligocene
Eocene
Paleocene
Mesozoic
Early Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
Early Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
Late Jurassic
Early Triassic
Middle Triassic
Late Triassic
Paleozoic

Carboniferous
Late Carboniferous OR Pennsylvanian
Early Carboniferous OR Mississippian
Devonian
Early Devonian
Middle Devonian
Late Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Pre-Cambrian

Only the above terms may be used.

Dos and Donts

DO NOT use Upper/Lower. Upper = Late, Lower = Early.
For Mesozoic, if a range of ages is given, take the next level of naming. For
example, reservoir of Albian-Barremian ages = Early Cretaceous