Beach Energy has successfully discovered and produced hydrocarbons from the Western Flank of the Cooper Basin since 2002. Beach Energy's entire acreage is covered by good quality Pre-Stack Time Migrated Seismic Data (Pre STM). Multiple drilling campaigns executed over the years have confirmed that structure and migration are the most significant risks to finding additional hydrocarbons in the area. Since an assessment of the pre-drill gross rock volume (GRV) is crucial to inform future exploration campaigns, extensive efforts were made to fully understand the GRV distribution using a stochastic approach and the risks associated with the presence of four-way closures. Once the depth conversion project is completed, exploit the value of the latest stochastic technology and the benefits of a PreStack Depth Migration (PreSDM) reprocessing. The risks (probability of a structure being present), uncertainties (GRV distribution) and reservoir depth estimation were validated by the post-drilling results of 13 exploration and appraisal wells. Drilling results confirmed that the chosen approach is more precise and accurate than previous attempts to quantify risks and uncertainties using the same input data.

Open-Access Online Publication: May 22, 2023