RE: RE: 80% Correct BlindBat_1;
I appreciate many of your posts where your knowledge and understanding of the Oil business can be helpful research for those who don't bother conducting their own due diligence.
However, I must point out some deficiencies in your recent post regarding IPDS or passive seismic. Clearly passive seismic is a technology that you are not very famaliar with by our own admission.
Passive seismic is a pre-2D & 3D technology to help locate structures and potential reseviors. It doesn't replace 2D or 3D and Simba has stated back in the Summer that they will shoot a small, 2D/3D survey in Kenya prior to drilling next year!
Chevron and Exxon are not cash-conscious - as you pointed out (they will spend $50.Million on a well without batting an eye).
Passive is the perfect, cost-effective, minimal environmental impact technology suited for small or medium sized explorers looking to identify anomolous structures ahead of 2D/3D and drilling. If Simba shot 4000 sq. km of 2D and/or 3D it would have been around $3-5 Million+ But passive seismic costs a fraction of that and is very accurate at detecting resevoirs, traps and anomolies, perfectly for a small explorer like SMB.
Passive seismic has the ability to detect EITHER water or hydrocarbons in a structure - which is extremely helpful when trying to locate the best target to drill! Hence their 80% success rate. I can provide you with links to their site - but I'm sure you are able to google it on your own time.
About IPDS:
About Passive Seismic Spectroscopy (IPDS®)
InfrasonicPassive Differential Spectroscopy (IPDS) is a direct hydrocarbon indictor process which utilizes high sensitivity seismometers. The seismometers presently used are even more sensitive and are used in an extensive worldwide grid monitoring the earth’s subsurface seismic activity. This grid identifies the background noise as a frequency spectrum.
IPDS detects low frequency in the 1-8 Hz range as spectral signatures over hydrocarbon reservoirs. A hydrocarbon reservoir is a frequency converter and deforms the frequency of the natural earth noise.These deformed signals on spectroscopic analysis produce unique spectral signatures which are used as Direct Hydrocarbon Indication. IPDS technology has been tested in numerous basins and reservoirs all around the world in areas including currently producing, depleted, abandoned fields and virgin reservoirs. In over 120 surveys it has proven to be correct 80% of the time which is a marked improvement in the current wildcat success ratio. Its use on Simba’s Block 2A to evaluate known structures should move the Exploration program ahead by at least one or two years while reducing risk.