Subsurface Consultants & Associates, LLC

Course Description
Reserves and resources are major factors in the valuation of energy companies. From evaluating fields to buy, to determining whether or not to participate in a certain prospect from estimating the resources and reserves for a new discovery to determining the proved reserves for a company, the bottom line is how much oil or gas can ultimately be recovered and what can be placed on the books and produced with an acceptable return on investment.

There are many challenges in estimating resources and reserves. Our challenge relates to the fact that resources and reserves determinations require a multidisciplinary approach including both geoscience and engineering. This course will present geological methods and techniques and more specifically concentrate on the structural, net pay and geometrical consideration for a Deterministic Estimation of Reservoir Rock volume.

The starting point of most resource or reserves estimates is the estimate of the size of the container and the volume of hydrocarbons in place. This course will cover a variety of important recommended geoscience methods and techniques.

Who should attend
Geologists, engineers, support staff, supervisors, managers, resource or reserves evaluators, financial analysts, investors, bankers or any one who needs to understand the general geological recommended methods to estimate resources and reserves.

Course Content

General Introduction – Reserves vs Resources
Mapping surfaces – Structure maps, reservoir top and base of porosity
Mapping of trapping faults (geology/geophysics)
Down-dip limits in vertically stratified reservoir(s)
Net sand and net pay
Wedge zones (water, hydrocarbon and fault)
Thickness determinations in deviated wells and dipping beds
Net-to-gross ratios
Application of porosity, permeability and saturation cut-offs
Isochore maps (volume determinations for bottom and edge water reservoirs)

The accuracy of resources or reserves estimates are not only important for public companies and the SEC, but are required for financial analysts and banks, as well as investors who want the assurance of accurate resource or reserves estimates. Whether someone wishes to invest in an exploratory prospect, purchase a producing field or determine the value of a company, the estimate of resources and reserves are in many cases the most important factors in the decision.

Petroleum Resources and Reserves: An Overview of Recommended Geological Practices