appraisal drilling

British  

noun

1. (in the oil industry) drilling carried out once oil or gas has been discovered in order to assess the extent of the field, the reserves, the possible rate of production, and the properties of the oil or gas

---

Example Sentences

The oil and natural gas producer gave investors a disappointing update on appraisal drilling at an offshore well near Suriname.

From Seattle Times

Cairn chief executive Simon Thomson said: "This is a significant oil find for Cairn and Senegal and based on preliminary estimates is a commercial discovery and opens a new basin on the Atlantic Margin. "On completion of the SNE-1 well, the joint venture along with the authorities in Senegal will evaluate all of the information to understand how best to take forward these basin opening discoveries with an appraisal drilling programme in 2015.

From BBC

He said: "The discovery is our third successful well this year and demonstrates a continuing commitment by GDF Suez to an active exploration and appraisal drilling programme on the UK Continental Shelf."

From BBC

It takes years for these companies to conduct initial geological surveys and following exploratory and appraisal drilling activities before the actual development of oil and gas fields begins.

From Forbes

Royal Dutch/Shell signed a production-sharing contract with China National Petroleum Corp. for developing the Fushun-Yongchuan block and Shell spent $1 billion in 2013 in the Sichuan basin, focusing on exploratory and appraisal drilling and learning the geology.

From Forbes