The generalized 20/80 law using probabilistic fractals applied to petroleum field size

Nonrenewable Resources
By:

Links

Abstract

Fractal properties of the Pareto probability distribution are used to generalize "the 20/80 law." The 20/80 law is a heuristic law that has evolved over the years into the following rule of thumb for many populations: 20 percent of the population accounts for 80 percent of the total value. The general p100/q100 law in probabilistic form is defined with q as a function of p, where p is the population proportion and q is the proportion of total value. Using the Pareto distribution, the p100/q100 law in fractal form is derived with the parameter q being a fractal, where q unexpectedly possesses the scale invariance property. The 20/80 law is a special case of the p100/q100 law in fractal form. The p100/q100 law in fractal form is applied to petroleum fieldsize data to obtain p and q such that p100% of the oil fields greater than any specified scale or size in a geologic play account for q100% of the total oil of the fields. The theoretical percentages of total resources of oil using the fractal q are extremely close to the empirical percentages from the data using the statistic q. Also, the empirical scale invariance property of the statistic q for the petroleum fieldsize data is in excellent agreement with the theoretical scale invariance property of the fractal q. ?? 1995 Oxford University Press.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The generalized 20/80 law using probabilistic fractals applied to petroleum field size
Series title Nonrenewable Resources
DOI 10.1007/BF02257575
Volume 4
Issue 3
Year Published 1995
Language English
Publisher location Kluwer Academic Publishers
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Nonrenewable Resources
First page 233
Last page 241
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details