Abstract

Using ArcGIS to Automate the Characterization of Drilling Opportunities
Track: Petroleum
Authors: Tim Tipton

Pioneer Natural Resources maintains approximately 900,000 acres of leasehold in the Permian Basin in West Texas. This leasehold is subdivided into 30,000 lease tracts, which are subject to specified depth rights, severances, and varying working interests. Accounting for these variations has grave implications on reserves booking as well as determining possibilities of further development, specific depths, and ownership within specific geologic formations on a basin-wide scale. To account for this high level of variability, we developed an automated workflow which subdivides Pioneer's leasehold to 40-acre & 20-acre spacing and summarizes leasing information over the full interval for both depth and working interest. By utilizing geo-processing tools and python scripts within a custom ArcGIS for Desktop ModelBuilder toolbox, we have automated this extensive and ground-breaking process. This integrated workflow facilitates visual inspection of company ownership and ties directly into characterizing each location's value in conjunction with Reservoir Engineering and Geology.