The Play Characteristics Table (PLAYCHAR) provides summary information about all of the oil and gas plays in the Significant Oil and Gas Fields of the United States Database. This table represents a digital replacement for the play description books Nehring Associates provided to all our customers during our first decade of existence. Unlike the play description books, the Play Characteristics Table is designed to be readily updateable. We will issue a version of it annually with the release of our national update for each year. This version of the Play Characteristics Table accompanies the 26th Update (data through 2009) of the database.

The Play Characteristics Table provides only aggregate data for each play. Users desiring more detailed information on any play can obtain that information from the reservoir retrievals of our KnowNow retrieval system.

We envisage four primary uses for the Play Characteristic Table: (1) it can be used as a play screening tool, screening for such values as play size, recent growth, recent production, and play types; (2) it can be used to identify and examine plays of the same geologic age, the same hydrocarbon type, or the same specific play type; (3) it can be used to analyze comparatively size, growth, and production by play or play groups; and (4) it can be used with the digital play outlines to display spatially aggregate data by play.

There are eighty-one variables (columns) in the 26th update version of the Play Characteristics Table. These variables are divided into six groups:

1. Play Identification and Location (Variables 1-7);
2. Basic Play Geology (Variables 8-19);
3. Known Play Size (Variables 20-35);
4. Recent Play Growth (Variables 36-45);
5. Recent Play Liquids and Gas Production (Variables 46-75); and
6. Play Discovery History (Variables 76-81).

The database names of all variables conform to the naming conventions for ESRI shapefiles.

The play identification and location variables are the NRG play code and name (NRGPLAY and PLAYNAME), the primary database region (DBREGION1), the primary and secondary CSD province codes (PROVCODE1 and PROVCODE2), and the primary and secondary state/district codes (STDCODE1 and STDCODE2). The primary and secondary locational values are listed in decreasing order by the sum of reservoir sizes in each geographic area. Additional information about play location can be found in our Play Location Table #1 (PLAYLOC1).

The basic play geology variables are the primary stratigraphic system and series (SYSTEM1 and SYSTEM2), the primary general production formation code and name (PRODFORMCD and PRODFORMNM), the general and specific play types (GENTYPE and SPECTYPE), the number of suites/major reservoirs in the play (NUMSUITE), the general and primary specific play lithologies (LITHOLGEN and LITHOLSPC1), the primary reservoir depth category (DEPTHCAT1), and the play areal extent in acres (PLAYAREA).

Only the primary system, series, and general formation names are included because more than 90% of all our plays have either only one or a clearly predominant general formation with its associated system and series. Where more than one exists, the primary formation is the formation with a plurality (usually a clear majority) of play known recovery. A comprehensive list of the producing formations in the reservoirs of each play can be obtained from the Geologic Cross-Reference Table (GEOLXREF) of the database. To help link the Play Characteristics Table with well data, the table also includes the IHS version of the primary producing formation code (OLDPRDFMCD). All formation codes used in the database are found in the national formation table (FORMATN).

The general and specific play types are taken from the NRGPLAYS table in the database. Only plays with a general type of TRANSITIONAL or UNCONVENTIONAL have a specific play type. The number of suites/major reservoirs variable indicates the number of discovered significant reservoirs in each play, including those in suspense status fields. The general play lithology is either CLASTIC, CARBONATE, or OTHER. The primary specific play lithology is the most important play lithology as measured by current known recovery.

The reservoir depth categories used in the Play Characteristics Table are as follows:

The primary reservoir depth category is the depth range with a plurality of the play known resources. The play areal extent is calculated from the digital play outlines created by AllPointsGIS that are designed to accompany this table.

The play size variables are the most recent estimates of oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and BOE cumulative production, proved reserves, and known recovery, the most recent play maturation ratio (MATRATIO09), the play hydrocarbon type and size category (PLAYTYPE and PLAYSIZE), and the number of major reservoirs with production and size data (NUMSUITEPR).

All of the play size variable names with a specific year in the database name are changed annually to reflect the latest year of size data in the database. All size data is expressed in either thousands of barrels of liquids or millions of cubic feet of natural gas. The play maturation ratio is defined as cumulative production divided by known recovery (in BOE). Play hydrocarbon type is defined the same way as field and reservoir hydrocarbon types and expressed as OIL, GAS, or OIL AND GAS.

The four play size categories used are as follows:

The number of major reservoirs with size data is provided to indicate the likely coverage of the size data when compared to the total number of reservoirs in the play. Note that plays in the offshore GOM and Pacific and in north Alaska usually contain considerable numbers of discovered but undeveloped (Asuspense@) fields that have no production or size data. Plays in which size, growth, and production are “0” (or null) include both plays in Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma for which we have no reservoir level production and size data and plays that as of the end of 2009 had no producing reservoirs.

Play growth in BOE is provided for four different time periods: 1982-1990 (GRBOE82_90), 1990-1998 (GRBOE90_98), 1998-2006 (GRBOE98_06), and 2006-2009 (GRBOE06_09). As another year of data is added with each update, the latter of these variables will be changed to reflect each addition. Play growth for both 1998-2006 and 2006-2009 is also provided for oil, natural gas, and NGL. Play growth is expressed in thousands of barrels of liquids or millions of cubic feet of gas.

Play liquids and natural gas annual production data for the past ten years are included in the table (OIL2000ANN to OIL2009ANN, GAS2000ANN to GAS2009ANN and NGL2000ANN to NGL2009ANN). Following each update to the database, another year will be added to the annual production data. Oil and NGL production is expressed in thousands of barrels; natural gas production is expressed in millions of cubic feet. In some areas, notably Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, the production data by play is incomplete because of a lack of complete reservoir level production data.

The summary play discovery history variables provide the year of the initial and latest discoveries within the play (DISCYRINIT and DISCYRLTST), the whole decade when the peak number of major reservoir discoveries occurred and the number of major reservoir discoveries that decade (PKDEC_NUM and NUM_PKDISC), and the whole decade when the largest amount was discovered in the play and the amount discovered in that decade (PKDEC_AMT and AMT_PKDISC). The determination of the decade of peak discovery amount and the peak amount discovered is compromised in those plays in Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma that lack many reservoir size estimates.

This table provides only play aggregate information on size, growth, and production. Distributions of these variables among reservoirs can be obtained using the reservoir retrievals of KnowNow. Distributions of rock and fluid characteristics (neither of which are suitable candidates for aggregation) and a variety of time series can also be obtained using KnowNow.

Several sample queries for retrieving selected plays by size, recent growth, and recent production are included with the Play Characteristics Table. Although each query is useful on its own, we have included them primarily to serve as illustrative examples for constructing your own queries. We suggest that you focus your retrievals on the size, growth, production, or discovery history variables and that you use the play location and geology variables as the primary means of limiting your queries.