l to r: Dr James Gunning, Dr Jonathon Ennis-King and Dr Lincoln Patterson.

Award-winning ways to appraise oil and gas deposits

CSIRO’s Characterisation Team has developed new ways to appraise oil and gas deposits. This work won them a CSIRO Medal in 2004.

• 31 May 2005 | Updated 14 October 2011

• What they did
• How they did it
• Who they are

Looking for new sources of oil and gas has always been hit and miss but those misses can cost millions of dollars.

What they did

CSIRO's Characterisation Team has combined geophysics, geostatistics and reservoir engineering to develop new ways to find oil and gas deposits.

In 2004 they received a CSIRO Medal for their work. CSIRO Medals are awarded to teams displaying outstanding research achievement or leadership. Only three are awarded each year.

How they did it

Holes drilled for exploration can only tell you about the composition of rocks and fluids around the hole. Seismic imaging can give full coverage of a region, but only has a resolution of 25 metres or less.

The team developed computer programs that combine information from holes and seismic surveys with what is known about the properties of different rock types. The result is a computer model that accurately predicts where oil and gas deposits will be found.

The team also used their skills to investigate the potential of burying greenhouse gases, called sequestration.

If carbon dioxide is injected one kilometre or more under the ground, it becomes liquid-like and dissolves into the groundwater. When dissolved, the groundwater containing carbon dioxide becomes heavier and sinks. This means it can potentially be confined underground indefinitely.

Who they are

• Dr Lincoln Paterson, Team Leader, CSIRO Petroleum
• Dr James Gunning, CSIRO Petroleum
• Dr Jonathan Ennis-King, CSIRO Petroleum
• Dr Michael E Glinsky, BHP Billiton Petroleum

Learn more about CSIRO's work on Energy from Oil & Gas.