Recognizing the "Oil Finders" Among Us
December 2005 By Robert Shoup
I have long noticed that there are relatively few "oil finders" among us. Do not get me wrong, there are many really good geologists and geophysicists out there, but it seems to be a small percentage of them that can consistently find oil or gas. What is it that sets apart those who are technically good, or even great, geoscientists from those that find oil and gas? Passion, instinct, personal drive all seemed to be contributors, but they never quite seemed to completely capture the difference. I have never heard a satisfactory explanation until recently. I was having a conversation about this subject with an old friend and colleague Andrew Cullen (an oil finder in his own right), who made the observation that "oil finders" see their maps as the beginning of their search, not the end.