Well · Exploration
Appraisal Well
A well drilled after the discovery to find out how big the field is and how best to develop it.
What it does
Appraisal wells step out from the discovery to confirm the contacts, the thickness and the quality of the reservoir across the structure, and they reduce the uncertainty before the development decision.
Basics
| Also called | Delineation well |
| Stage | After discovery, before development |
| Confirms | Size, contacts, reservoir quality |
Common failures
- Appraisal well finds the reservoir thinner or wetter than expected
Troubleshooting
- Symptom
- Volumes shrink after appraisal
- Likely cause
- Structure or contacts mapped too optimistically
- What to check
- Update the reservoir model with the new well data