WHY EXPLORE FOR OIL AND WHERE?

Abstract

The title of this paper is the question that every oil explorer, individual or corporate must perpetually ponder but which is seldom set out systematically and formally. The variables are too great for any simple, unequivocal answer, and this presentation does not attempt to give many answers.

A review is given of how and where oil has been found historically, giving the general geographical and geological distribution. It covers briefly the history of production and some speculations on projected future demands in order to provide the basis for the needs for future discovery. An attempt is made to review the main possibilities of future discovery by geological type and by geographical regions.

The main conclusion is that large reserves of oil still need to be discovered and that we have no simple criteria for deciding where it will come from, and that even the selection of prime areas for exploration is still prone to gross uncertainty.