Prospect generation and evaluation, Badin area, lower Indus basin, Sindh, Pakistan (T-1493) (MFN 4012)

Abstract

The Badin Concession in southeastern Pakistan has been a prolific producer of hydrocarbons for more than 20 years, with more than 500 MMBO (Million Barrels of Oil) equivalents of oil and gas found to date. Badin lies in an extensional tectonic regime which includes tilted fault blocks, normal faulting, horst and graben structures. Being a petroleum province the petroleum system of this area is proven and there is no issue of source, seal, reservoir and charge. Any structure which is positively identified on seismic has a good chance of success. In this research project, an integrated approach, utilizing geological, geophysical and economical interpretational procedures, was carried out to delineate the possible sweet spots in the southern part of Badin area. A sparse grid of vintage 2D seismic data was selected which was interpreted on Upper, Middle and Basal Sand packages of Lower Goru Sands, as well as Chiltan Limestone levels. Seismic picks were verified by ‘Forward Modeling’ and ‘Well Tops Correlation’ techniques. End result was the preparation of ‘Two Way Time Maps’ and ‘Depth Structure Maps’ of the above mentioned horizons. Several leads were identified and were subjected to detailed geophysical and petrophysical analysis, in which some leads were eliminated while others were upgraded into prospects. Geophysical analysis indicated the area, extent and reliability of the structures with respect to data quality of the seismic data. The petrophysical analysis indicated the prospective reservoir part of the Upper Sands of Lower Goru Formation thinning and subsequently truncating towards east. This included detailed petrophysical interpretation of Keyhole-01 and Doti-01 well, as well as structural and stratigraphic correlations of Pirshah-01, Keyhole-01 and Doti-01 wells. Doti-01 well was used as a reference well for future prospects for Upper Sands. Six prospects (AShallow, A-Deep, B-Shallow, B-Deep, C-Deep and D-Deep) were delineated and then evaluated which included detailed risk analysis and volumetric analysis. This was followed by an economical analysis which included the accessibility, petroleum infrastructure, pricing, taxes, royalties and political situation. Finally the selected prospects were ranked on the basis of highest chances of success and nominal cost as compared to the other drillable prospects. The outcome of this research study provides the basis of multidisciplinary data integration to delineate a prospective structure with confidence.