Gas and Oil Traps

I have been watching the market this morning with a wry grin on my face. The reason why is the Gas/Oil ratio, and the fact that the Oil/water interface doesn't seem to have been intersected.

If WPL/HDR are looking at a structural trap which I believe they are, then in you look at the following picture it will anwser a few questions.



The image is probably not exactly like Banda, but the concept is probably similar.

Gas will float on top of the oil (which floats on the water), but it all depends where you drill as to what ratio of Oil/gas you might expect. If I was drilling a prospect like this for the first time, I would drill right on the apex of the structure, and hence get more gas/oil (I also probably wouldn't be able to identify the oil water contact). But the main thing is that the trap HAS TRAPPED HYDROCARBONS.

No doubt further drilling on the LARGE Banda project, will target the OIL.

Its pretty clear from my angle, and the announcement just takes away a large amount of the risk.

Duck.