PA91 - - 04 INDONESIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION Procee dings of the Petrole um System s of SE Asia a nd Austra lasia Confere nce , Ma y 1997 TH E BUSI NESS SIDE OF PETROL EUM SY STE M S ad a n W. Downey" ABSTRACT The Petrol eu m System conce pt has great util ity i n provi ding a unif yi ng conce pt for un de rsta nding the distribu tion of hydrocarbon acc um ulations . I n ad dition, recognition of a pe trol eu m syste m ha s a powe rful influe nce on the as se ss m en t of ri sk i n'an exploration play. Plays that la ck evidence of a pe trol eu m system are very high risk, and expl oration efforts in such ri sky plays sh ould be re-focus e d to provi de e arl y i nform ation as to tile pre se nce or absence of a petroleum syst em For plays that have e vi den ce of a pe trol eu m system , e xplorat ion d at a wi ll be a va ila ble to judg e ge ologic chance factor an d the econom ic chan ce factor. Analysis of the fa ctors affe cting the likelihoo d of a n econ om ic di scovery i l ustrate tha t contra ct te rm s, de velopm en t costs , a nd oillgas price are likely to be as importa nt as exploration techn ology for exploration success. a king sure your ne w e xplorat ion play is within a petroleum system is more tha n good sci ence ... t ' s ne cessa ry for succe ssful bus ine ss. SCIENTIFI C IM PORTANCE OF PETROLEUM SYSTEMS CONCEPT One of the cha rms of Petroleu m System s is that it provides a unifying concept to test the presence of vi tal elem en ts of a pe trol eu m accum ulation. The Petroleu m System s concept is a rem inder that we rea lly do know where a nd how hydrocarbons are generated, that we rea lly can relate oils to the s ource a te rial a nd infer th e likely pat hs of migration. It is easy, then, to se e why the concepts of the Petroleum System have b ee n of such great interest to geologists a nd ge oche m ists a ll over the worl d. These concepts have great m erit and have bee n the inspiration for num erous te chnical pape rs that de onstrate the con cept's utility i n unde rstanding hydrocarbon distributions. The a pproach of recognizing an d m apping the pote ntial di stribution of hydroca rbons de rived from a pa rti cular source rock ha s im plications exce ed ing te chnical plea sure or scientif ic unde rsta nding. BUSINESS IMPL ICATIONS OF TH E PETROLEUM SYSTEMS CONCEPT Recognizi ng the p rese nce or ab sence of a pe trol eu m system has a powerful influence on the asse ssm ent of the "bu sine ss erit" of a n e xploration play. A knowledg e of the p etroleu m system ca n be tra nslated into an assessme nt of the ec onom ic opp ortunity l ikely in th e e xploration play. Economic eva lua tions require that we a ssess the cost of fail ure, the likelihood of su cce ss a nd the value of su ccess. Typically, the m ost d ifficult of these to de te rm ine is the li keli hood of success. A knowledge of the pe trol eu m syste m be ars very powerfully on the estim ate of likeli hood of succe ss . LIK ELIHOOD OF SUCCESS IN AREAS LACK ING PETROLEUM SYSTEM INFORMATION All our oil a nd ga s a ccum ulations are found within pe trol eu m system s. If we ha ve e vi dence that we lack a petroleum system in our are a of interest, th en we should no f e xpe ct to fi nd hydrocarbon s. An e xam ple mi ght be a sha llow basin where none of the sedimenta ry rocks have been hea ted substa ntial ly. * University of Oklahoma If we ha ve no clea r evide nce for a petroleu m syste , we a re proba bly in a high risk explora tion play. A 15 © IPA, 20 06 - Pro ceedings of an Inte rnationa l Confere nce on P etroleum S ystems o f SE Asia and Australasia, 1997 Disc Contents Contents Search