Understanding The 2007 SPE/WPC/AAPG/SPEE Resource Classification System Through The Development of a Project From Concept To Production

Hodgin, John¹, Ronald Harrell² (1) Ryderscott, N/A, TX (2) Ryderscott, N/A

Hydrocarbon resources are classified from pre-discovery through production and sales using three measures of project maturity – Operational, Decision or Economics-based. Hydrocarbon resources, including reserves, are further categorized according to defined levels of uncertainty. This paper will describe a hypothetical project from an unexplored license area through discovery, appraisal drilling, development planning, project sanctioning, market studies, regulatory approvals and other critical planning and execution steps. Each critical step will be tracked through the three project maturity classification schemes and the resources/reserves categorization system to more clearly explain the requirements and constraints to progress a project to maturation.