The work analyzes the contribution of adding 3D seismic information in an exploration prospect assessment project. The analysis follows the classical VoI framework, where a prior value is computed, and different accuracy values are tested for the 3D seismic contribution. The novelty lies in the ability of capturing the value of seismic throughout a whole integrated approach, from modeling the subsurface effect of the seismic survey to capturing its effect in terms of distribution of expected resources, up to a complete full-cycle economic evaluation of the project. We can therefore compute the prior and posterior distribution of the monetary value of the different projects, and use such values to estimate the Value of Information in a fully stochastic way. A complete sensitivity analysis is presented, both for what concerns the effect of seismic information on different volumetric parameters, and for what concerns the accuracy of the seismic information itself, ranging from perfect to imperfect information.

The case study represents a conventional onshore oil prospect. A contemplated 3D seismic survey may change the geological model either making it more positive or exposing details that can cause failure.