Technology Focus: Reserves/Asset Management (December 2012)

Abstract

Technology Focus While preparing for this month’s feature on reserves and asset management, I had the privilege of reviewing more than 100 abstracts from papers presented on the topic over the past year at SPE workshops and conferences. Interestingly, more than 10% of those abstracts addressed risk in some fashion. Integration was another common topic. Finally, I was a bit surprised by the number of abstracts that contained the word “practical” in their title. It struck me as a challenge we all face as part of our daily activities—integrating risk in a practical way. The subject matter of the reserves papers I reviewed was widely varied but extremely useful. Papers addressed practical application of engineering processes to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2009 modernized rules, innovative reserves forecasting approaches for unconventional reservoirs, the integration of geostatistics and reservoir modeling in reserves estimation, case studies where reserves were both under- and overestimated, and a variety of other topics. As a topic, asset management also covers a wide range of issues. Papers continued to offer insight into field development optimization, techniques to manage risk, application of project management systems, innovative integrated asset models, and related topics. All of these papers provide in-depth, innovative analysis of issues resulting from the constant growth and development of our industry. Choosing only four papers to be highlighted was a challenge. There were many, many quality papers covering current topics of interest. I tried to select papers that span the interests of the global industry and hit a balance between practical and theoretical information. The papers I selected for additional reading represent interesting case studies of somewhat innovative reserves estimation approaches. I hope you find both the highlighted papers and those for additional reading as interesting and thought provoking as I did. Finally, anyone interested in more in-depth information on either reserves or asset management will find a wealth of additional information at www.jptonline.org, where the full-length papers of those synopsized here are available free to SPE members for 2 months. All of the papers contribute to the advancement of knowledge in our industry, and the authors who contributed to that cause by writing a paper should be congratulated. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 151045 Interference Study in Shale Plays by Ayantayo Ajani, The University of Tulsa SPE 143843 Reserves Follow-Up Using an Integrated Deterministic/Probabilistic Approach by Hugo Araujo, Repsol-YPF, et al. SPE 142936 Integrated Asset Model in Camisea, Peru by A. Downie, Baker Hughes, et al. SPE 146788 Field Development Optimization Under Uncertainty: Screening Models for Decision Making by B.A. Ogunyomi, The University of Texas at Austin, et al.