Key Aspects of Deepwater Appraisal

Abstract

Abstract Projects in the global deepwater environment are increasingly complex, costly and often face significant schedule pressures to reach both a "commitment to develop" decision and "first oil/gas milestone". Typical industry deepwater project costs ranges from USD$1 billion for a small scale subsea tie-back to upward of USD$10 billion for a custom design standalone hub class development. Therefore ensuring that the appraisal campaign addresses the data acquisition required to reduce both key subsurface, and key development uncertainties as well as enable a robust development decision is critical. The appraisal phase of the project (post discovery) is the most important early phase in the development cycle which sets the stage for the remainder of the concept selection, detailed design, execution and production phases of the development. This paper explores and discusses, with the use of relevant examples, the key aspects of appraisal planning and execution specifically related to reducing uncertainties and determining the ultimate development scope for deepwater oil and gas development projects. The paper does not attempt to expand on building understanding or managing the non-technical aspects of early phase deepwater project management which can have an equally significant role in shaping the ultimate deepwater development project.