How important is it to assess the reserves?

 Finding oil is somewhat like a police investigation reaching oil and gas hidden several kilometers underground. The history of oil is a real success story, and a story that rolls along at a cracking pace too! It’s the story about a 100% natural fluid that has been lying for millions of years down in the bowels of the Earth.

 The companies often act in groups of associates of 2 or 3 companies, which allows them to share the expenses (enormous!) and the risks (high!) if their propositions are accepted’’

A drilling process must start when the chances of finding oil or gas are very good.

The potential petroleum traps are deeply buried underground and those directly visible from the surface have been drilled for ages. To identify potential traps, explorers employ a type of echo location called seismic search, the seismic reflection. Seismology gives an image of the substratum, but this image is fuzzy and not totally reliable. It is necessary to rely on local regional knowledge: studies, the surface geology, drilling operations already completed.

Finally a synthesis of the study of all this data must be established, doing one’s best to forget nothing in the reasoning which leads to the conclusion that there, we must drill there, because the chances of finding oil or gas are very good! During the early stages of searching for new fields, explorationists must build up a thorough understanding of the overall basin to evaluate and grade the potential of the petroleum systems. Across the globe, we use consistent and highly effective methods to analyze these systems in which each play is unique. A technique we use to develop this understanding is known as play-based exploration – a technique that has increased our ability to make timely and high quality decisions.