--> Buying Reserves Overseas: A Geologist's Perspective, by P. R. Ashton; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Buying Reserves Overseas: A Geologist's Perspective

Paul R. Ashton

Although the evaluation and acquisition of proven undeveloped or producing properties is usually considered to be wholly within the realm of the engineering and financial disciplines, experience shows that the geologist can and should have a significant influence over the evaluation of a property, and the likely acquisition strategy to be pursued, particularly when that property is located overseas.

This talk will address the role a geologist should play in evaluating overseas undeveloped and producing properties. The significant differences between a typical domestic North American property and its overseas counterparts will be discussed. It will be seen that the evaluation of an overseas property will demand more of a geologist's skills. With many companies and investors looking for suitable projects, a full understanding of the rules of the game is necessary, and some of these rules will be reviewed. The likely tasks undertaken by a geologist as a member of an evaluation and acquisition team will be enumerated. In particular, the need to look for the upside potential of an overseas project, either within the development project itself or in exploration opportunities outside th development area, is all too often neglected by the financial experts as having "no value." It will be shown that it is often this upside potential which turns a marginally profitable purchase into a real winner. In such ways, explorationists can prove their worth in an area often considered to be outside their field of expertise.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994