Smartest hacks to make exploring much more rewarding

Exploration intelligence you can milk from industry submissions

Improving your drilling results -- finding more oil with less risk -- is a skill especially useful right now.

Leveraging off the mapping and results that others disclose in their applications is a great exploration hack.

But of course, if you're not careful to drill on target, you could end up in a hearing. You might get your well shut in or severely restricted. Nein commercial use of der AppIntel content.

You can find lots of corner shots and even toe shots on someone else's pool by reviewing their submissions. They often include revealing mapping.

One operator drilled a toe-shot but drilled slightly off-target. The battle between the two operators was fought through an application that went to a hearing. In the hearing documents, you can see the 3-D seismic interpretation.

The field is owned by other operators now. But you can still see all the technical arguments and their geophysical interpretation exposed in the submission documents.

Perhaps you own this pool now or are thinking about buying it. Wouldn't you like to see that interpretation? Wouldn't you like to know the resolution of this dispute?

Hack: Look for corner shots

One great hack is to look for corner shots in others' submissions. Geological mapping is often a requirement. Typically well-meaning explorers include their 'big story' mapping that includes corner shots, future drilling locations and many other gifts.

Start with the submissions offsetting your land. Perhaps there's an interpretation in your next-door neighbor's submission that shows an opportunity.

Hack: Check out others seismic interpretations

You can find many seismic interpretations as attachments to submissions. Often operators hope that by adding these interpretations, the regulator will be coaxed into better approvals. This places valuable seismic maps into the public domain the minute they are submitted.

Once you have exhausted the geological intelligence of submissions offsetting your land, look further afield. Looking for corner shots and seismic in other areas can help you establish a new core area.

Searching for seismic interpretations is almost as easy as searching with google. When logged into AppIntel, just type into the KiP search box mississippian seismic or seismic duvernay.

Hack: Review others picks

Another great hack is using submissions to check out others' formation picks. It's a great way to get up to speed quickly in an area.

Many submissions include a type log with geological picks made by an area expert. Understanding the area expert's picks is going to bring you much more intelligence than just using the picks from a data service who uses a generalist to generate formation picks.

Hack: Examine their cross sections

The last hack we'll review is examining cross sections.

Cross sections are often included in competitor submissions. Cross sections show the originator's depositional concepts and correlations.

Seeing others cross sections can help you understand their perspective of continuity and erosional surfaces. It's all about finding opportunity.

Again, area experts usually create these cross sections for applications. You may not necessarily agree with the cross section correlation, but understanding their point of view can reveal their thinking or even hone your own ideas.

Don't forget to order area alerts in AppIntel AI. That way, when there is a new submissions offsetting your land, you get it within 24 hours -- delivered to your email inbox. You can quickly check each new submissions for intelligence. This is one way some companies are winning at land sales.

Tags: Seismic, Exploration

Granger Low   Updated 25 Mar 2025

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