Geologic constraints on the upper limits of reserve growth

Open-File Report 2001-265
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Abstract

For many oil and gas fields, estimates of ultimate recovery (the sum of cumulative production plus estimated reserves) tend to increase from one year to the next, and the gain is called reserve growth. Forecasts of reserve growth by the U.S. Geological Survey rely on statistical analyses of historical records of oil and gas production and estimated reserves. The preproposal in this Open-File Report suggests that this traditional petroleum–engineering approach to reserve growth might be supplemented, or at least better understood, by using geological data from individual oil and gas fields, 3–D modeling software, and standard volumetric techniques to estimate in–place volumes of oil and gas. Such estimates, in turn, can be used to constrain the upper limits of reserve growth and ultimate recovery from those fields.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Geologic constraints on the upper limits of reserve growth
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2001-265
DOI 10.3133/ofr01265
Year Published 2001
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Contributing office(s) Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Description 7 p.
Country United States
State California
City Sacramento, San Joaquin
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