Abstract

Use of GIS in valuation of North America shale plays
Track: Petroleum
Authors: Roman Boros

The petroleum industry in North America has experienced the shale revolution in recent years. The additional supply of natural gas has reduced U.S. natural gas prices down. North America becomes self-sufficient in natural gas, and domestic oil from shale plays may partially replace imports. Understanding the prospectivity of shale plays is critical for successful development decisions.

This paper will present an automated GIS approach for valuation of acreage of shale plays. The presented method does not attempt to replace expert geologic exploration research, but it brings rather simplified GIS valuation model, which enables to identify play fairways and relatively compare the shale play acreage.

The GIS model is based on multiple functions of ArcGIS Spatial Analyst, such as raster geo-processing, math algebra, reclassification and spatial statistics. The final valuation map is the result of a weighted combination of input raster layers (key geological parameters) represented by the score intervals.