Exploration is a very appropriate term in the oil industry, especially in petroleum engineering, because when we explore, we are investigating and gathering information about certain aspects that we do not know. Therefore, talking about hydrocarbon exploration means applying the best technical methods to delve into the search for oil and natural gas. To do this, it is necessary to combine certain types of knowledge into a single objective, which is the search for hydrocarbons. This knowledge is professional expertise that can be provided by professionals such as geologists, petroleum geophysicists, petroleum engineers, among others.
In such exploration, the accuracy of the data collected is very important, especially because it determines whether it is feasible to continue the search for hydrocarbons or whether the search must be stopped. It is also important because the data collected includes the pressures at which hydrocarbons can be found underground, From this data, it is possible to adjust a correct design that is safe for drilling the exploratory well in the area where the exploration is being carried out.
The feasibility of continuing the search for oil and natural gas lies mainly in the initial geophysical studies carried out in the area where oil and/or natural gas is believed to exist. However, once all these geo-exploration studies have been carried out and there is sufficient evidence of oil, the decision is made to drill an oil well.
From my experience as a petroleum engineer, I can tell you that, from my perspective, the real exploration and search for hydrocarbons begins with the initiation of oil well drilling, since it is from the geological and lithological information that can be gathered there that the decision can be made on the form and structure in which the field containing the producing reservoir can be exploited.
Are there any risks involved in hydrocarbon exploration?
The associated risk I want to explain in relation to hydrocarbon exploration is that of future investment in the exploitation of oil fields associated with such oil exploration studies.
The other form of risk is the investment itself to start exploration and search operations for oil and/or natural gas, since at the end of the stage we may conclude that the potential deposit we believed had hydrocarbons does not actually have them, i.e., it comes up dry of oil and natural gas. This is why the entire investment at the start of the project cannot be recovered, because there will be no production and sale of oil associated with that exploration.
Calculations related to future production must be as accurate as possible, since during exploration activities, future production estimates may not cover the costs of exploration activities within an estimated time frame.
In conclusion, I can tell you that during the exploration phase, a series of variables can be estimated that allow the work team, engineers, and geologists to conclude whether it is feasible to exploit an oil field based on its expected production and current oil prices.
References
Stéphane Sainson, Electromagnetic seabed logging, A new tool for geoscientists. Ed. Springer, 2017
"Assigning exploration risks : Risk and Play Mapping - Exploration & Production Geology". www.epgeology.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10.
"Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia" (PDF). www.ccop.or.th. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-12.
Bousso, Ron (January 18, 2019). "After billion-barrel bonanza, BP goes global with seismic tech". www.reuters.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.