Resource Assessment, a Review, with Reference to the Australian Code

Abstract

Resource assessment has in the past relied on stored heat or volumetric methods, and more recently on numerical simulations. Attempts to codify the process have been spectacularly unsuccessful, as shown by the example of the Australian Code which is biased high, sometimes by a large multiple. Attempts to compensate by using Monte Carlo methods have been at times comical failures. Numerical simulation requires both a natural state and a history match. However in the assessment of a new field only the natural state is available. Simulations based upon only a natural state match can be in error by up to 50%, which is still a considerable improvement on stored heat methods.