--> Quick Look Prospect Sizing – Mississippi Canyon, by M. F. Liebelt and E. C. Zimmerman; #90901 (2001)

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Quick Look Prospect Sizing – Mississippi Canyon

M. F. Liebelt and E. C. Zimmerman

A recent discovery in Mississippi Canyon was used as the test area to evaluate the utility of ‘quick look’ analog data for initial prospect sizing/screening in the Tertiary amplitude play of southern Viosca Knoll – northern Mississippi Canyon areas. A Monte Carlo simulator provided the P10, means, and P90’s for the distribution of OOIP estimates. Sensitivities, a product of the simulator, indicated that thickness and area were the drivers in initial OOIP estimates. The hydrocarbon accumulations in the study area occur predominantly in Middle Miocene turbidite deposits. Publicly available open hole well data and 3D seismic data provided the base information for the study. Petrophysical analysis of the well data, in the form of gross and net oil pay, provide the ground truth for comparison to seismic attributes. Basic seismic attributes included trough and peak amplitudes, composite amplitude, isochron, and the isochron/composite amplitude product. These attributes were cross-plotted with the well data. Several strong correlations were apparent, with the net pay – isochron*composite amplitude being the highest having a .84 correlation coefficient. Data for cross correlation was obtained from selected wells from Petronius, Tahoe, and Ram Powell Fields and were compared with seismic attributes over discovery area.Well data from discovery was then compared to the predictive model in the order that they were drilled, revising the predictive model with subsequent wells as they were introduced. The tracking of OOIP estimates from the initial first look to the fourth well indicated significantly decreased variation in OOIP estimates with additional well data. The results of the study provided insight into future model refinements as well as appraisal strategies.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90901©2001 GCAGS, Annual Meeting, Shreveport, Louisiana