The AAPG Discovery Thinking program
will celebrate a milestone this year with
its 24th and 25th forums, which will
be hosted at the IMAGE 2021 conference in
Denver. Since Discovery Thinking began in
2008, more than 180 speakers worldwide
have been invited to share their stories of
exploration that have led to large, challenging
and surprising discoveries. Over the years,
more than 12,000 have attended and been
inspired by the forums.
This year, Discovery Thinking will host two
forums specifically dedicated to giants.
No Windmills Here
“Giants are rare, but their impact is huge,”
said past AAPG President Charles Sternbach,
creator and chair of the Discovery Thinking
forum. “When giants are discovered, they
create a whole ecosystem around them. They
create conditions for new technology, and they
affect global populations with prosperity and
provide resources for a lot of smaller fields to
benefit from those resources. They are major
levers.”
John Dolson, co-chair of this year’s
Discovery Thinking forums and director of
DSP Geosciences and Associates, LLC, noted
that giants are being found in places many
never thought possible.
“One thing that stood out to me was the
number of giants being found in progressively
deeper depths below mudline, where
conventional wisdom argues for source rocks
being cooked out, poor reservoir quality and
dry gas,” he said. “The giant fields database,
however, shows that oil and rich gas are
being found in excess of 10 kilometers below
mudline, with high quality carbonate and
clastic reservoirs, both onshore and offshore.”
Believing that many more giants await
discovery and will play a significant role in oil
and gas resources in the future, Sternbach has
invited speakers to share their personal stories
about giant discoveries.
Featured Topics
The topics that will be discussed at the
Discovery Thinking forums 24 and 25 include
the following:
- Prior to the discovery of the Liza Field
in Guyana, the country was not considered
a hydrocarbon haven. However, a series of
11 separate discoveries has not only placed
Guyana on the oil and gas map, but has
transformed the country through endowed
resources. “It has become one of the greatest
petroleum basins on the planet in less than
a decade,” Sternbach said. “It has changed
the face of Guyana.” Representatives from
ExxonMobil will present, “Liza Field, Guyana:
The Finding of a Stratigraphic Giant, from Early
Exploration to Production.”
- Eni’s discovery of the Zohr Field made
history when gas production came online
just 28 months after discovery. Today, it is
the largest gas field in the Mediterranean
Sea. “The name of the game is to get giants
to produce as quickly as possible,” Sternbach
said. “Zohr is a huge game changer.”
Representatives from Eni will discuss, “Zohr
Giant Gas Discovery – A Paradigm Shift in Nile
Delta and East Mediterranean Exploration.”
- The Buzios Field in the Santos basin is
often called “the Brazilian miracle,” as the basin
was thought to be mature until significant
discoveries were made in its pre-salt. “That
could only be explored and developed with the
advent of the highest quality seismic imaging,”
Sternbach said. “When that happened, it was
like turning the lights on in old basins and
finding hidden provinces.” Representatives
from Ion Geophysical will discuss “Genesis
and Architecture of the Buzios Field: A Giant
Oil and Gas Field in the Santos Super Basin.”
- A key to finding super giant fields,
which are defined by a 2-billion-barrel oil
and gas equivalent, is understanding their
commonalities. Research has shown that
basement involvement is an important factor
as well as the preservation of hydrocarbons
once they are trapped. Past AAPG President
Richard S. Bishop will discuss “The Habitat of
Super Giant Fields.”
- Major discoveries all have a unique story,
and that is the core of the Discovery Thinking
forums, Sternbach said. New technology
can make a discovery possible, and so can
a change in political policy. And, just as
economics dictates exploration decisions,
analogs have been essential to identifying
future plays based on past, known plays.
Sternbach will discuss the components that
have made Discovery Thinking thrive in his
presentation, “What have we learned from 25
Discovery Thinking forums?”
- Taking a big discovery and making it
a giant can be a labor of commitment and
persistence. Sternbach cites the Wattenberg
gas field as an example. By discovering new
compartments and structure blocks and using
new technology, the Wattenberg became a
giant field with a reserves growth of 1,000
percent over 50 years. Representatives from
Sneider Exploration will discuss other case
studies where reservoir characterization,
application of new technologies, and creative
thinking “Add New Reserves and Production in
Giant Fields.”
- The Zafarani and Tangawizi gas
discoveries in Tanzania are examples of
the courage needed to explore in uncharted
territory. “How can you find the courage to be
the first in a new basin?” Sternbach asked. One
way is understanding how AVO (amplitude
versus offset) can provide pertinent clues for
frontier exploration, he said. Representatives
from Equinor ASA will discuss, “The Zafarani
and Tangawizi giant gas discoveries: Two Very
Different Play Openers Offshore Tanzania.”
- The recent discoveries in the Amoca,
Mitzón and Tecoalli fields in Mexico are prime
examples of a giant coming to life when a
country changes its policies. While Mexico no
longer upholds its open-door policy to thirdparty
explorers, the time that it did allowed
a giant to be discovered in its Sureste basin.
Representatives from Eni Argentina and
Eni Mexico will discuss “Mexico – Area 1 –
Amoca, Mitzón, and Tecoalli oil discoveries,
Sureste Basin, Gulf of Mexico.”
- Understanding a petroleum system is
what guides people to make giant discoveries,
Sternbach explained. In a session titled, “Seven
Principles that Hold Back Geologists from
Discovery Thinking,” Andrew Pepper, president
of This is Petroleum Systems LLC, will discuss
the “Seven Habits of the Effective Petroleum
Systems Analyst,” including the importance of
first principles such as heat flow of basement
rock, petroleum system kinetics and uplift
history.
“Using the concepts illustrated in Discovery
Thinking, one might better understand how
technology and oil field practices can lead to
recovering significantly more resources from
fields,” said AAPG Editor Bob Merrill, co-chair
of the 2021 forums and president of Catheart
Exploration. “The Discovery Thinking forums
have allowed geologists the opportunity to
understand the creative ideas that led to
the discovery of some of the world’s most
significant fields. Giant fields continue to
provide the bulk of oil and gas production into
the future. Exploration insights from giant
fields give an advantage in the competitive
quest for energy resources.”