New approach needed in oil and gas search

It is not necessarily a new find from my viewpoint, if the exploration well is in the field, but the seismic data from the ocean bottom seismic programme may have helped properly define additional fault segments previously marred by the shallow gas.

These gas pools had probably been held in the “hopper” either due to size, economics, lack of infrastructure or because other attractive sizeable pools existed in other areas. Whatever the case, the drilling seemed to have been done strategically and the announcement was probably timed appropriately during a time when “the country is running out of gas.” Now, finally drilled, the country (media) appears to be in a tizzy to report on the discovery and comment on projections about the future.

Politicians and other contributors seem to be falling over each other in commenting on the gas find.

Be that as it may, there still remains an overarching question as to how the country is going to improve its successful finding of oil and gas.

The answer will definitely not come from cross-border pipelines and agreements nor from existing proved reserves.

There is no space in this short letter to discuss what I had drafted in a previous unpublished letter titled “The art in finding oil and gas” but some of the key items to address in an exploration strategy would include investment, technology and know-how, manpower, bureaucratic support etc.

An aggressive exploration programme is required, we all know, but the will to get it done appears complicated.

I mention technology and know-how as important ingredients but there are other traits needed. Based on published information, the large discoveries worldwide have been getting less and smaller in size. Eni and its partner BP’s giant natural gas discovery in Egypt and the Exxon and its partner Hess’s oil discovery in Guyana are unquestionably different.

While in general the sizes of discoveries are getting smaller and less, it shows that a whole new and different approach needs to be introduced to achieve great things for sustainability and longevity in exploration.

The only hope is that oil finders can get the job done, like Exxon and Eni, and not necessarily the commentators and those with feel-good felicitations who prognosticate on the gas find.

STANLEY RICH WHARTON via email