This course is targeted at reservoir engineers, petroleum engineers, drilling engineers, petrophysicists, facilities and processing engineers and any other professional who needs grounding in petroleum geological fundamentals. Participants will acquire an understanding of the geological principles employed to find, develop and produce oil and gas reservoirs, the type of data required to build a model of the subsurface, and the different methods used to display information. The value and limitations of different data sources will be discussed. Emphasis is placed on the operational and applied aspects of petroleum geology. The course will demonstrate how appropriate use of geological information can lead to better management decisions and thus improve the value of oil and gas projects.

By the end of this course delegates will learn about:

• The foundations of all aspects of petroleum Geology
• The principles and methods employed by geologists during exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon reservoirs
• The elements of a petroleum system: source, seal, reservoir, trap
• Elements of petroleum geology and their control on productivity
• Depositional environments, structures, stratigraphy, diagenesis
• Types of heterogeneity and the impact on productivity
• Acquisition of geological data
• Cores and logs, Gravimetric, magnetic and seismic surveys
• Analogues & outcrops, Geological risks and uncertainties
• Geological input to exploration, appraisal and development well planning
• Types and application of geological maps

Geologists, Geophysicists, Petrophysicists, Stratigraphers, Geochemists, Sedimentologists, Reservoir, Petroleum, Wellsite Geologists, Petroleum Engineers, Drilling Engineers, Reservoir Engineers, Production Engineers, Operations Engineers, Technologists, Log Analysts, E&P Personnel, Exploration & Development Personnel, Surveillance Engineers, Geologists, Reservoir Engineers, Seismic Interpreters, E&P Managers, Data Management and Oil & Gas Personnel

The Petroleum System

· Elements and timing required to create an oil or gas accumulation

· Source, seal, reservoir, trap

· Basin formation and plate tectonics

· The world’s main petroleum provinces

· Screening of an exploration play

Exploration Methods and Concepts

· Gravimetry

· Magnetometry

· Seismic – 2D , 3D; onshore – offshore

· How much oil or gas to be found?

· Valuing a prospect – risked volumes and expected monetary value

· Outcrops and analogues

· The environmental impact of exploration

Depositional Environments

· Depositional processes in different environments

· Sedimentation patterns and lithologies

· Large and small scale depositional features

· Reservoir geometry, heterogeneity and the impact on productivity

· Lithostratigraphic vs sequence stratigraphic correlation

· Building a reservoir geological model

Structures

· Types and scales of deformation

· Faulting and fault seal mechanisms

· Fractures, fracturing and the impact on productivity

· Structural models

· Recognizing structural patterns

Diagenesis

· Diagenetic overprint of the pore system

· Dissolution

· Precipitation

· Replacement

· The role of clays

· Diagenesis in carbonate reservoirs: The role of dolomitisation

Data Gathering Objectives and Methods

· Coring

· Wireline logging and logging while drilling

· Outcrop studies

· Analogue data

· Field reviews

Maps and Sections

· Types and purpose of geological maps

· Cross sections

· Symbols and abbreviations on geological maps

· Horizontal / vertical scales

· Construction of a geological cross section

Volumetric Estimation

· Parameters required for volumetric estimation

· Deterministic vs. probabilistic estimates

· Geological uncertainty affecting in place volumes

· Geological uncertainty affecting reserves

Well Planning

· Deviated well terminology

· Normal and abnormal pressures

· Borehole stability issues

· Leak off / limit tests

· Geological factors leading to drilling problems

Mud logging

· Designing a mud logging programme

· Overpressure detection

· Interpretation of mud logging data

· Geosteering applications

COURSE LOCATIONS