Interview

Samantha Meador speaks with Rachel Clarkson on the upcoming Reserves Estimation for Unconventional Resources, 22nd 24th August 2011, Houston
Samantha (Sam) Meador is a Business Opportunity Manager (BOM) with Shell in the New Ventures/Business Development organization in Houston. Her primary responsibility is for opportunity identification and execution for unconventional resources focused in North America. Sam previously held the role of Royal Dutch Shells Global Audit Manager for Reserves & Hydrocarbon Resource Management, based in the corporate headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. Prior to joining Shell, she held the position of Vice President of an upstream focused investment firm in Houston where she held accountability for technical assessment and valuation for various investment opportunities including unconventional development opportunities. Sam has over 20 years of upstream technical experience, commencing as a reservoir engineer with ARCO, followed by a senior engineering role with Range Resources. She worked for Ryder Scott for nearly 10 years, developing reserve and resource evaluations to support Annual SEC reporting requirements, various A&D transactions, investor relations and reporting requirements. Sam holds a Bachelors of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She is a Registered Petroleum Engineer in the State of Texas, currently holds an elected position to the Board of Directors of the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) and is a long time SPE member.

Samantha Meador Business Opportunity Manager Shell

As one of the largest accumulations of unconventional resources, we are the world wide leader in understanding and developing the resources. The world relies on North America!

What do you think are the three biggest challenges when it comes to reporting on reserves in unconventional reservoirs?

projects are very long lived. Dont give up too early....

What are the challenges when it comes to allocating resources for these unconventional projects? The allocation of resources is directly linked to the corporate objectives and strategy in the unconventional play. A nonoperated, limited leasehold position will require an entirely different set of commitment of all resources than a large controlling position in an active play. Align the companys position in the resource with your corporate objectives before you make the move! What sort of processes have you implemented at Shell in order to successfully define development plans? Shell is a fully integrated oil & gas company. Therefore, we commit

Im biased towards the challenge to define the project. Does the project include one well, 10 wells, or all of the company owned acreage in a play? I think the next big challenge for organisations is to appreciate that it takes a large number of wells and some time with sustained production data to really begin understanding the play. Finally, I believe continuation of commitment to the project is a challenge for many companies. If a drilling program is 10 wells and the first 5 result in either inconsistent or poor results, KEEP DRILLING! Also, appreciate that the Unconventional Resource

resources in all aspects of the project from exploration seismic and geology to evaluation of production data to building infrastructure. We integrate our teams through all aspects of the development, and this is a key to success. How important do you feel unconventional resources are for the long term energy scenario for North America? There really is a long life for unconventional resources to answer demand for hydrocarbons in both North America and world-wide. Since North America holds some of the largest accumulations of unconventional resources, the companies and professionals working unconventional resource development in North America hold the key to helping the world optimize recovery from unconventional resources. The world relies on North America to test and develop technologies and best practices in Unconventional Resources. Why do you feel that this event is important for the industry? Sharing of information is always a key to success. Industry events like this one give professionals a safe environment to share our ideas and hear new ones.