Prospect & Play Assessment in Hydrocarbon Exploration Course

Duration: 5 days / 20 Hours
— 07/09/2025
  • 1.     How to Calculate geological risk and uncertainty in exploration prospects

    2.     Determine prospect resource volume estimates

    3.     Assess resource distribution in a play

    4.     Understand the differences between stochastic and probabilistic estimates and have the knowledge to know when to one or the other.

    5.     Predict the number and size distribution of potential future fields in a play

    6.     Describe and calibrate risks associated with discovering a successful play

  • 1.     Geological controls of oil and gas occurrence: their impact on exploration risk and success

    2.     Review of common assessment methods: selection of the most practical approach

    3.     Application of volumetric prospect assessments: techniques, comparative data, and graphs to estimate input factors, such as trap volume, porosity, net/gross saturation, hydrocarbon fill fraction, formation volume factors, and recovery efficiencies

    4.     Probability methods: the expression of uncertainty for input factors and results including Monte Carlo techniques

    5.     Risk analysis: Principles and practice

    6.     Hydrocarbon charge assessment: procedures for estimating possible amounts of oil and gas generated, migrated, and trapped in prospects

    7.     Prospect assessment workshop: projects supplied either by the instructor or by participants, worked by teams and reported to the entire group

    8.     Play assessment techniques: estimating the possible numbers, sizes, and associated risks for potential fields, with useful data on field densities, field-size distributions, oil versus gas relationships, and dependent versus independent risks

    9.     Play recognition and mapping: play classification and subdivision, and play maps that high-grade the most favorable areas with minimal geologic risks

    10.  Play assessment workshop: projects supplied either by the instructor or by participants, worked by teams and reported to the entire group

    11.  Aggregation of assessment results: summing, derisking, and preparation for economic analysis

    12.  Limitations, pitfalls, uses, and discovery concepts: the philosophy of judging and using assessment results and the importance of basic geologic concepts.

  • All exploration team members and leaders including geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, analysts, reservoir engineers, economists, planners and managers who make business decisions based upon exploration data.