Geological analogues provide critical information to benchmark predictions across full cycle exploration and development projects. They seed ideas to recognise new plays and prospect opportunities to deliver the next cycle of discoveries. Since 2000 global exploration spend is estimated to have exceeded 2 trillion dollars; geological analogues offer the opportunity to claw back more value from that irretrievable sunk cost. Better still that accrued benefit helps not only the companies that paid the bill, rather learnings, both good and bad, are spread across the industry like creative intellectual fertiliser to feed the next flush of geological insights. The best geoscientist is claimed to be the one who has seen the most rocks, making a good knowledge of geological analogues an essential element of the armoury of any good geoscientist or engineer. No matter how many years of experience you, your team or your company have it can never hope to match the experience of the industry as a collective. Discoveries from around the world will be presented to demonstrate the critical role geological analogues play in guiding future success by highlighting three key elements:
• Ideas find hydrocarbons, technology is merely the enabler
• Rediscovery plays a major role in finding play-opening discoveries
• Geological success looks blatantly obvious in hindsight
To paraphrase the famous petroleum geologist, Parke A. Dickey, from 1958, “We once thought we were running out of oil, when in fact we are running out of ideas”. We must commit the time to draw on the power of analogues to maximise success, reduce uncertainty and deliver better future business outcomes.
