Wed 4th May @ 12 pm, Rm 312.222

The sharp fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has been driven by a number of factors, however empirical estimates indicate that supply (much more than demand) has accounted for the lion’s share of the latest plunge.   The increase in supply has come from a boom in North American unconventional oil production following significant technological advancements notably in pad based horizontal drilling and the use of hydraulic fracking.

Unconventional Resources are going to continue to play a significant role in the make-up of the worlds energy mix but, as you would expect, not all unconventional plays are created equal.  Significant heterogeneity exists in individuals plays.  With lower oil prices the poorer performing unconventional plays will see reduced activity (as we are starting to see) and drilling activity in the more robust plays will focus on the more commercially robust sweet-spots.  Identifying commercially robust sweet-spots in unconventional plays has never been more important.  Using the Montney Play as an example we’ll look at how GIS spatial analysis techniques have been used to quantify resource potential and high grade areas across the play in NE British Columbia, Canada.

The resource potential of the play has been characterised using calibrated reservoir characteristics and production performance from key wells, multi-attribute cross-plot analysis, and mapping of the key geological characteristics.  Stepping out from individual wellbores we will look at the key characteristics of the producing zones and then map them spatially to identify areas of interpreted common potential or productivity.

The Common ‘Recovery’ Segment Mapping approach takes principals from Common Risk Segment Mapping but applies them in estimating recovery potential, rather than risk, in the pervasive hydrocarbon system. The approach has resulted in an interpretation of Estimated Ultimate Recovery for the Montney zones across the play fairway.

Biography

Ian is a Geologist by background with 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.  He has worked globally with international assignments in South Africa, Canada, US, Singapore and most recently Australia.  He has worked extensively in both conventional and unconventional petroleum systems throughout the world and has a strong interest in the application of GIS in New Venture exploration.  He has previously held roles in new venture development and management for Hunt Oil Company and Apache Energy and has served as a director on numerous ASX company boards.  He is currently Managing Director of TSV Montney, a Montney focused exploration company operating in NE British Columbia.