Historically, exploration has been one of the foundations for the growth of the hydrocarbon industry, at the forefront of conceptual and technological advances. Exploring new accumulations will not only allow covering the needs of finding new resources but will also give us the possibility of discovering advantaged volumes that involve less development costs compared to those of existing fields. In this way, it will be possible to plan and implement from the beginning more environmentally efficient processes. This must be completed with new ideas and technologies that will revitalize the exploration of known areas.

 

As explorers we must be aware of the challenges we face and the importance of improving our performance based on high quality technical work, being selective in the execution of our portfolio, and optimizing the costs and schedules associated to exploration and the start of our projects.

 

 

Objetive:

 

Based on this, the purpose of this topic is to introduce, explain and discuss high-quality technical papers that include case studies – historical and prospective – as well as a review of methodological concepts associated with exploration and the study of conventional and unconventional petroleum systems. Sharing experiences with colleagues at regional and global levels will enable us to broaden our knowledge for a more efficient exploration.

 

Subthemes:

 

• Historical case studies: Papers dealing with basins, plays and/or prospects with a multidisciplinary geological approach (e.g. structural, stratigraphic, geophysical, and geochemical).
• Prospective case studies: Papers describing the exploration potential of basins, plays, prospects and/or leads with a multidisciplinary geological approach (e.g. structural, stratigraphic, geophysical, geochemical); including new visions on mature or unproductive basins and analysis of secondary plays and/or not sufficiently studied.
• Petroleum Systems: Papers associated to the characterization and description of petroleum system modelling (PSM): at basin-scale, play-scale, prospect and field-scale; papers including the multidisciplinary characterization of the source rock as an unconventional reservoir in the exploration phase. In addition, papers covering some of the elements of the petroleum system (source rock, migration, reservoir, seal, trap) with an exploratory approach.
• Methodology in exploration: Papers including the description of a methodology, with reference to play analysis, risk analysis, portfolio management, resource estimation, etc.
• Statistics and Data Analytics: Papers dealing with reviews and statistical analysis, that include the distribution of resources, the geological chance of success (GCOS) and the commercial chance of success (CCOS), exploration activities, whether in basins or plays.
• Regional: Basin-scale studies involving multiple disciplines with an exploration criteria.

Reference Team:

 

Damian Jait, CGC

Martin Fasola, YPF

Diego Apreda

Martin Iribarne, GeoPark

Alejandro Bande, Tecpetrol

Diego Padva, Pan American Energy

Walter Brinkworth, YPF

 Ignacio Cambon, Pluspetrol