Best Practices in Petroleum Exploration – Assessment of Yet-to-Find (YTF) Petroleum Resources

Summary Assessments of Yet-to-Find (YTF) or undiscovered oil and gas resources are usually performed by Government Agencies such as Regulatory Authorities and National Oil Companies. A structured approach that follows industry standard best practices is an essential requirement. Basins are subdivided into plays and then into Assessment Units (AUs) and the key geologic risks are then assessed in each AU. YTF resource assessments are not only essential for Government Agencies, but for every E&P company engaged in exploration. The reason is that the assessments are based on in-depth geological knowledge and risk analyses not only of the prospects but also of the plays and basins in which they are located. As prospect risks are always a combination of regional (play) and local (prospect) risks, these factors are an essential requirement for prospect risking and ranking and therefore also for effective exploration portfolio management. In this paper, the authors provide a general introduction to the YTF methodology based on industry standard best practices, and use an example of a national YTF resource assessment project of an entire country to illustrate the practical application of the process as well as its results and benefits.