Pantera Lithium Limited sought to estimate the resource in place and identify optimal drilling locations for its lithium brine project targeting the Smackover Formation in southwestern Arkansas. SLB was approached to support this objective, leveraging its decades of proven subsurface modeling expertise.
A proprietary workflow that included petrophysical analysis and modeling used available logs, well tops, 2D surface seismic, and gravity data to evaluate formation porosity. The petrophysical analysis harmonized the log data, assessed its confidence level, and generated porosity logs at each well location. Petrel™ subsurface software was used to perform seismic inversion of the 2D data, guided and calibrated by well logs.
The 3D porosity model that was generated encompassed two zones: the first covered the upper Smackover Formation (Reynolds oolite), while the second extended 200 ft from the base of the former into the middle Smackover. Despite the limited coverage, it was decided to include this deeper formation because it contains brine and has the potential to provide pressure support for the upper unit—an important factor for future dynamic modeling.
The model enabled a preliminary resource estimate by using a range of lithium concentration values obtained from publicly available literature. The estimate can be refined once lithium grades are available from existing wells or new ones drilled by Pantera.
The 3D model delivered by SLB provided a detailed representation of the subsurface geology and reservoir characteristics of Pantera’s concession, based on all available data. This model serves as a critical component in derisking and optimizing exploration planning as well as guiding the overall project development workflow.
In addition to supporting resource estimation in preparation for Pantera’s first lithium drilling campaign in the Arkansas Smackover, the model played a key role in identifying priority zones for the first well planned by the company. Most importantly, the subsurface model confirmed that the project has the potential to tap into a large, world-class lithium brine resource—comparable to those of leading operators in the state.
