Abstract
It is doubtful that any mature petroleum producing basin or province in the world can be classified as thoroughly evaluated. All mature basins should be carefully reappraised for their full potential. As much as 30% of the world’s estimated undiscovered commercial oil and gas will come from mature producing areas. These are the exploratory “hot spots” of the past. To accelerate the finding of this potential, a high level of exploratory drilling is required. The experience gained and the earth science data collected over the years from a mature producing area afford earth scientists and petroleum engineers opportunities to expand their ideas and innovative thinking in the search for new petroleum reserves. This paper discusses various methods of reevaluating mature basins and stresses the importance of the deliberate search for subtle traps.
