Ten Steps to Successful Exploration and Development

Abstract

The “Great Crew Change” has become the “Competence Train Wreck” due to the repeated personal management practices of our industry and again not anticipating the known volatility of commodity prices. Despite this, Hydrocarbon based energy will continue to comprise over 60% of the world's energy mix for at least the next half century and of that energy over half of it has yet to be found. Personal experience in working for National Oil Companies, Parastatals, Large Independent Oil Companies, small independents, as an independent and as a consultant have given me the perspective of some of the best and some of the worst of the exploration practices the industry has to offer. From that experience I have my own set of Exploration Rules that I find work in all circumstances, from Conventional to Unconventional Reservoirs, from onshore to offshore, from giant fields to small single well strippers. This 10 step guide of practices will help the next generation avoid re-making many of the mistakes during the next cycle. Each Rule has multiple corollaries as well. 1) All maps (models) are wrong, drill on the least incorrect map 2) Drill to make money –Let others drill for science 3) If it is common knowledge it won't find new oil and gas 4) If you can't visualize it, don't recommend it until you can 5) It is better to be 100% lucky in an overlooked zone than 50% right in the target zone 6) You don't know a lot more than you think you don't know 7) Most Fields reserves grow through time- don't sell yourself short in the post-mortem 8) Calculate probabilities, Define uncertainties – in order to reduce Risk 9) The 80\20 Rule only works if the 20% won't kill you 10) Oil and Gas is first found in the mind of Explorationists. Modified from W. Pratt.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90291 ©2017 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, April 2-5, 2017