Geospatial Data Quality and Mapping in Shale Plays — Technical and Business Impact

The paper discusses the technical and business impact of the management and quality of geospatial data in shale plays. Geospatial data are those data that define the coordinates of objects, the associated geo-referenced systems and their management during acquisition, processing and manipulation throughout the exploration and production (E&P) process. These data are used to prepare the maps that are used by industry decision makers when deciding where to explore for, drill, develop and produce hydrocarbons. Uniquely, geospatial data are critical to the efficiency of oil and gas exploration and production because no other component of the industry has the ubiquitous impact across all phases of the process. Discussion addresses the impact of poor understanding of land boundaries, overestimating of reserves, overpayment of royalties and possible reduction of wells per unit, poor correlation of seismic and well data in interpretation, collision and fracture interference in the drilling of close proximity offset wells, possible loss of production through incomplete drainage of acreage, directional survey errors impact on completions and fracturing placement and cost of poor design of facilities. This paper presents evidence that shows that the industry is about 65-70% efficient in its management of the quality of these positioning data, and that these data and the locations they describe are incorrect at a significant level the rest of the time. The financial implications are explored and some solutions are offered.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California