Using Geospatial Solutions for Proprietary and Non-Proprietary Integration and Interpretation

Deepwater basins influenced by large deltaic depositional systems, such as the Mississippi Delta in the Gulf of Mexico, have resulted in a complex series of overlapping clastic sequences. Several studies have been conducted as the oil and gas industry has explored and developed in the deeper water. There is an abundance of information in the public (non-proprietary) domain and confidential (proprietary) information.

Typically large oil and gas companies have extensive databases of information available for review and integration into a new prospect area. Small to mid-size oil and gas companies may not have access to this abundant information. Therefore, the public (non-proprietary) data becomes a significant part of the prospect evaluation process. This information is also quite valuable in frontier regions like the ultra deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

Non-proprietary information is available in many different ways: database information, vector data, and imagery data can all be imported and processed within a Geographic Information System (GIS). The data can then be analyzed and integrated with proprietary data for a comprehensive evaluation of the prospect area.

Large-scale, sand-prone sediments were deposited by the proto-Mississippi Delta. These sand bodies can pose a significant hazard to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Sand-prone sequences and channel systems have been identified and mapped in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The identification and location of these sand bodies is an important part of the evaluation of a new prospect. The integration of the proprietary prospect data and non-proprietary regional data provides insight to the predicted conditions while drilling a new well.