successful in its search for oil reserves in several such areas. Fully aware of 

 risks involved in foreign operations due to such possibilities as either expro- 

 priation or war, Amprex critically analyzes all its foreign investments and 

 exploration efforts. A large percentage of its income is reinvested in domestic 

 exploration. 



Like any successful group of oil finders, Amprex's exploration team main- 

 tains an open mind on the petroleum possibilities of all sedimentary basins. In 

 recalling the philosophy of Wallace E. Pratt, these geologists and geophysicists 

 realize that the unkown is frequently confused with the unattractive ; they guard 

 against negative thinking resulting from too few facts, and, at the same time, 

 they try to keep their viewpoints both optimistic and realistic. The geologists 

 and geophysicists on the team accept the premise that oil is a very common 

 substance in the sedimentary rocks of the world, and that it may have been 

 formed wherever sediments have been laid down in a saline environment. 



Amprex's management feels that the company should attempt to meet 

 competition, not only in its marketing program but also in its exploration; 

 therefore, most of the company's domestic exploration budget is assigned to 

 the search for oil in those areas where industry is concentrating its activity. The 

 management of the company is both far-sighted and aggressive and part of 

 Amprex's exploration energy is budgeted to the search for oil in little-explored 

 areas where the finding of a "sleeper" could be extremely important. They 

 realize that the discovery of oil in such an area can result in considerable profits. 

 Such a discovery might open the potential not of just one field but of an entire 

 new petroleum province or basin which could add hundreds of millions of 

 barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas to the reserves of the company. 



Because of its far-sighted policies, Amprex is generally ahead of competition 

 in having acquired large blocks of potentially productive acreage in frontier 

 areas at a relatively small cost and in having developed geological and geo- 

 physical information that will control the exploration program of the area. 

 It is aware of the geological and geophysical techniques that are best applied 

 in the search for structural and stratigraphic traps of the basin, and it has 

 acquired a general idea of where the most attractive structural and facies trends 

 exist for the accumulation of oil. Its men are on the ground, finding and 

 acquiring new prospects. It fully understands federal, state, and civic laws that 

 govern the area. Politically, the company has brought new wealth to the area; 

 and, since it has acted fairly and generously in its initial contacts with the 

 people, it will have continuing benefit from the good will created. Through 

 ownership of all of the acreage of individual fields, the company will be able 

 to develop the fields more efficiently, and with proper well spacing, controlled 

 rates of production, and good engineering practices, it will ultimately produce 

 more oil with a smaller capital investment than it would in fields having a 



816 



