Elementary: Dry Well Analysis solves a Mystery

Summary When evaluating the exploration potential of a block, it is easy to get caught up looking at the size of the prospect, the estimated reservoir properties and the charge/seal/trap configuration. Often the previous dry wells drilled in the region barely merit a second glance. However not only are these wells of critical importance in evaluating the hydrocarbon potential of a block, but also careful evaluation of sparse data can yield additional information on reservoir pressures, aquifer drive, fracture density and hydrocarbon prospectivity. In this presentation, an anticline exposed at surface, within an exploration block, had been drilled only around the margins, despite relatively easy access to the crest. Was this a ridiculous mistake by the geologist and drillers, or did they know something that we did not? And if the wells were drilled that way on purpose, what could the reasoning behind them have been? Dry well analysis provided a surprising answer to all of these questions.