1. A Lab Exercise ANDREW M. GOODLIFFE Oil and Gas Exploration Project

2. Gives the students the opportunity to sample a small amount of what goes into exploring for oil and gas Modified from a lab in Freidman and Johnson [1982], (via Reames and Carrigan at Olivet). Serves as a “partial capstone” experience  Students combine material covered during a topographic maps lab, and material covered during a fossil fuels section in class Emphasizes student collaboration – both within and between teams Introduces an economic factor – this appeals to many business majors Competitive  Not everyone likes this!

3. Student Learning Objectives At the end of this lab, students are able to:  Contour a geological horizon using point measurements and profile data  Identify simple structural petroleum traps  Determine coordinates using the Township and Range system (useful when buying a house in many states)  Synthesize basic geological data to target a potentially productive oil and gas well  Make more informed choices about team members!

4. The Lab Students are “given” $2 million in start up capital They are allowed to form corporations comprising of up to 3 students (a greater number presenting the issue of a monopoly) Corporations must keep all of their data confidential On approval of the instructor, corporations can enter into deals (for example, sell data, knowledge)

5. The Lab Students are provided with a map that has point measurements of the depth to a known reservoir rock They contour this map (hopefully before the start of lab) There are many area where there are no data  Students are encouraged not to over-extrapolate

6. The Lab With their new map, students must now bid on leases in order to drill  At any time, corporations can improve their chances of hitting oil and gas by buying additional data (structural interpretations, $10,000/mile) along section edges)  Maps can be improved as data is added  Competitive lease sales take place every 30 minutes – corporations might end up with no leases  Corporations can make bids in ¼ section units (160 acres), no more than 20 bids every 30 minutes Profile location $60,000 worth of data….

7. The Lab Once a corporations wins a bid, it can now drill  One well per 40 acre tract  $50,000 per well  Corporations submit well locations to the instructor  Based on a master map held by the instructor, wells are dry, produce gas, or produce oil  Oil producing wells generate $100,000 per 30 minutes  Gas producing wells produce $50,000 per 30 minutes A list of leaseholders and producing wells is maintained at the front of the classroom

8. Grading Class grade is assigned on a corporation basis  The corporation with the most money at the end of the lab exercise gets 220 point (100%)  The corporation that places 8 th gets 150 points (69%)