Lecture 15

Going Beyond Exploration

Headlines:
Alpha Wildcat Finds Thick Oil Zone!
Block
7

Salt
Diapir

Discovery
Well

Bonanza Basin
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

Block
8
L 15 Beyond

Our Exploration Flowchart

Identify
Opportunitie
s
Acquire
Seismic Data

Interpret
Seismic Data

Courtesy of
of ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Courtesy

Capture
Prime Areas

Process
Seismic Data
Assess
Prospects

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Management
Approved
Wildcat Well

Wildcat
Drilled

Success

L 15 Next Steps
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Our Assessment Results

Alpha Prospect Main Compartment - Risked
1.0

100

Gas Only
Economic Minimum

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

62 % COS

Gas Cap & Oil Leg

100

Oil Only

200

300

400

51 % Chance of
Finding More
Than the
Economic
Minimum

500

Million Oil Equivalent Barrels

62% Chance to find any hydrocarbons
51% Chance to find 100 MBOE
5% Chance to find 400 MBOE
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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Congratulations! A Huge Success

Alpha Prospect

YOUR exploration well

on the Alpha prospect
discovered an
estimated 325 MBO

Block
7

Discovery
Well

Salt
Diapir

Alpha Prospect Main Compartment - Risked

1.0

100
0.8

Gas Only

Economic Minimum

Bonanza Basin

Block
8

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0

100

62 % COS

Gas Cap & Oil Leg

Oil Only

200

300

400

500

Million Oil Equivalent Barrels

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

Whats Next?
Exploration would drill one or two confirmation wells to verify
there is enough HCs to make some money (Value > Costs)
If results continue to be good, the FIELD would pass on to
Development or Production people
Identify
Opportunities
Acquire
Seismic Data
Interpret
Seismic Data

Capture
Prime Areas
Process
Seismic Data

Drill
Wildcats
Success

Assess
Prospects

Confirmation
Well
Uneconomic

Success

To Development
Or Production
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

L 15 Beyond

Delineation Well
Alpha Prospect

6 Months later

Block
7

Discovery
Well

Bonanza Basin

Delineation
Well

Salt
Diapir

A delineation well is
completed to the NE
An OWC is found at
4500 m the same
depth as in the
discovery well
The porosity is slightly
better 26% versus
23% in the discovery
well

Block
8

The delineation well has confirmed enough oil to

merit field development EUR now set at 348 MBO
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

L 15 Beyond

G&G in Development
Exploration has drilled a discovery and a delineation well.
The ultimate recover for Alpha is estimated to be 338 MBO,
which greatly exceeds the economic threshold of 100 MBO

Questions:
Can we refine our picture of the distribution of oil at
Alpha?
Is the reservoir a single unit, or is it segmented
(separate regions to drain)?
How many wells and where should they be drilled?
What sort of facilities (platform?) will we need?
How can we speed-up time to first oil?
What uncertainties remain?

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

We Need More Detail

Reservoir Map
at the end of
Exploration
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

Reservoir Map
at the end of
Development
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L 15 Beyond

Some Questions
#2
#3

Why did they drill well #3?

#4
#1

Why did they drill well #4?

Where would you place well #5?

Why?

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

Data for Development

We may need better quality data to address development needs

Data Used for Exploration

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

Data Reprocessed or
Reshot for Development
And Production
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L 15 Beyond

G&G in Production
Production has begun at Alpha.
The initial production rates are as expected.
Questions:

How should we manage the field so as to maximize

our investments?
Can we monitor how oil is being swept out of the
reservoir?
What about injection wells and enhanced recovery?
Is there more oil in the vicinity either at deeper
depths or in nearby traps?
Can we build a computer model of the field that
matches existing production data? If so, we can test
future recovery with different drilling scenarios.
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

L 15 Beyond

Reservoir Simulation

FE
ED
B
A
CK

Oil Production

Geologic Model

HISTORY
MATCH

Actual in Blue
Modeled in Red

Production
Time

UT
INP
Reservoir Simulation
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

The Value of G&G to an Oil Company

G&G work is done to add HC reserves
(volumes)
New discoveries
More from discovered producing zones
Additional producing zones

Get the most reserves at the lowest cost

Invest in the right basins

Drill in the optimum locations
Correctly assess what can be recovered
Avoid unnecessary wells

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

Lets Fast Forward a Number of Years

The Alpha field has been producing for 5
years
We want to maximize production

Build a
Geologic
Model

Develop a
Reservoir
Simulation

Match
Past
Production

Model
Future
Production

Iterate to Match
Production History
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

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L 15 Beyond

A Geologic Model
An integration of all geologic, geophysical,
petrophysical and interpreted or conceptual
information about a reservoir into a single 3D
numerical description of that reservoir

Geophysical Interpretation
Stratigraphic
Interpretation

Structural Interpretation

Petrophysical Interpretation
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FWS 06

L 15 Beyond

A Geologic Model
75 m

1m

50

Sand
Shale

Perm
250 m D

Perm
0.1 mD

Each cell can be

populated with rock &
fluid Properties:

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

Facies
Porosity
Permeability
Fluid Saturation
Etc.

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Using a Simulation
Past Production

Future Production
Oil Rate

Oil Rate

Actual
Modeled

Time (yrs)

Time (yrs)

How do we use this information?

Field development planning
Field production optimization
Reservoir surveillance
Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

L 15 Beyond

In Summary
The O&G Industry needs top-notch
scientists and engineers to work on a
vast array of problems
The assignments are challenging, fastpaced, and multi-disciplined
Often your work is tested in the matter
of months
Great Ideas + Good Science -> Success

Courtesy of ExxonMobil

FWS 06

L 15 Beyond