ix
Foreword
Oil and gas discovery process modeling bloomed during the late 1970s
and early 1980s. P. J. Lee was a principal gardener. He nourished its
development with passion. P. J. insisted that forecasts of undiscovered
oil and gas in petroleum plays that he analyzed be based on sound geology and accurate modeling.
It is one thing to construct a model of oil and gas discovery in a petroleum play and publish a paper describing how to apply it to one or two
example plays. However, a much larger and more diffi cult undertaking
is the construction of a smoothly functioning system for the projection
of future discoveries in each of a hundred plays with widely varying
geological characteristics and discovery histories based on models of
oil and gas discovery. P. J. was an intellectual spark plug who, with
single-minded intensity, insisted on logical rigor, careful calibration,
and constant improvement of just such a system: PETRIMES. He and
his longtime colleagues Richard Procter and Paul Wang created this
fl agship of petroleum discovery systems. P. J. continued to modify and
improve it until he left us—much too soon.
We are fortunate that he chose to write for us this account of discovery process modeling. It refl ects his long and deep experience in applications of PETRIMES to petroleum plays throughout the world, and
to plays in Alberta’s Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in particular.
In addition to being an invaluable record of research for a period of
nearly 20 years, this manuscript is a benchmark for future research. It
is required reading for the next generation of practitioners.
I have always been struck by the elegant fashion in which the
Geological Survey of Canada presents its periodic summaries of
Canadian oil and gas remaining to be discovered. These publications
bear P. J.’s mark. If he were still with us, I know that he would be an
enthusiastic participant in applying the new wave of computational
methods washing over computer modeling and simulation.
I met P. J. soon after his arrival at the Institute of Sedimentary and
Petroleum Geology. It was clear from the outset that he was beyond
dedicated, driven perhaps, to understand and to get it right. Although I
wish that I could have had more personal time with him, we maintained
Foreword
Oil and gas discovery process modeling bloomed during the late 1970s
and early 1980s. P. J. Lee was a principal gardener. He nourished its
development with passion. P. J. insisted that forecasts of undiscovered
oil and gas in petroleum plays that he analyzed be based on sound geology and accurate modeling.
It is one thing to construct a model of oil and gas discovery in a petroleum play and publish a paper describing how to apply it to one or two
example plays. However, a much larger and more diffi cult undertaking
is the construction of a smoothly functioning system for the projection
of future discoveries in each of a hundred plays with widely varying
geological characteristics and discovery histories based on models of
oil and gas discovery. P. J. was an intellectual spark plug who, with
single-minded intensity, insisted on logical rigor, careful calibration,
and constant improvement of just such a system: PETRIMES. He and
his longtime colleagues Richard Procter and Paul Wang created this
fl agship of petroleum discovery systems. P. J. continued to modify and
improve it until he left us—much too soon.
We are fortunate that he chose to write for us this account of discovery process modeling. It refl ects his long and deep experience in applications of PETRIMES to petroleum plays throughout the world, and
to plays in Alberta’s Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in particular.
In addition to being an invaluable record of research for a period of
nearly 20 years, this manuscript is a benchmark for future research. It
is required reading for the next generation of practitioners.
I have always been struck by the elegant fashion in which the
Geological Survey of Canada presents its periodic summaries of
Canadian oil and gas remaining to be discovered. These publications
bear P. J.’s mark. If he were still with us, I know that he would be an
enthusiastic participant in applying the new wave of computational
methods washing over computer modeling and simulation.
I met P. J. soon after his arrival at the Institute of Sedimentary and
Petroleum Geology. It was clear from the outset that he was beyond
dedicated, driven perhaps, to understand and to get it right. Although I
wish that I could have had more personal time with him, we maintained