About this Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) 

Two recent comprehensive look-back studies concluded that the absence of Trap and/or Seal are the main causes for exploration wells to be dry. Clearly, Trap and Seal analysis is a very important part of prospect evaluation. Furthermore, in the large majority of cases, the Trap Volume uncertainty is the main factor controlling the uncertainty range of oil or gas volumes that may be discovered in a successful exploration well. In this Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT), trap and seal analyses are discussed together as they are closely linked – after all, without a seal, there is no trap. Doing a good job in identifying valid potential traps requires creativity and resourcefulness in addition to an excellent understanding of what may constitute a trap and where potential spill- and leak-points may be. Otherwise, it is not possible to make meaningful predictions of the most likely column length and its uncertainty, and the HC volumes that may be present in an undrilled prospect. In mature basins and in basins with sub-optimal seismic data quality, where the more obvious traps have already been drilled, the search may be for alternative traps such as stratigraphic, deeper and/or basement traps. Trap and seal analyses are discussed in this VILT from a pragmatic explorer’s point of view, based on the extensive experience of the instructor and on published case histories. Top seal and fault seal will both be addressed. The theoretical aspects of sealing that have been developed over the years will be explained, and traps and seals will be illustrated with a large variety of trap types from different basin settings. Advice and practical guidelines will be given to help explorers in their day-to-day work.   Members of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) are eligible for a special discount on the Australia sessions for this course. Please contact us at [email protected] for the promo code.