Symposium 2013

Presentation 5

Abstract

Mineral Royalties accrued by private tenure owners in Trinidad and Tobago, are traditionally determined using prescribed legislative guidelines (http://www.energy.gov.tt/publications.php?mid=66 'Annual Administrative Report 1950') methods. This is usually implemented by draughtsmen using cartographic methods. Errors in the final royalty calculations are common, particularly in cases where the well tracks have deviated within the producing zone. The use of GIS allows the royalty to be calculated more precisely. In a GIS, the configuration can be reproduced and the measurement of cadastral and well track information can be entered in their native formats. Greater time may be given to improving the accuracy of respective data sources. Well tracks can then be modelled using dynamic segmentation. The author used GIS to identify three estates affected by a well track exhibiting multiple perforation intervals. The intersection between perforation zones and these mineral estates were determined. The results provided a more precise royalty determination per estate.

Bio

Edsel Thompson is an experienced GIS practitioner who has spent the last decade defining problems and generating ideas with a spatial perspective. He has designed and deployed geographic information systems across the Caribbean using a wide variety of tools including web technology.