Finding new oil and gas reserves is core business for most oil & gas companies or government petroleum organisations. Geologist working in exploration teams need to have a thorough grasp of the geological processes that are relevant for the formation of oil and gas pools. Also they must have skills in, and awareness of the multitude of tools used in petroleum exploration. This course discusses the fundamentals of all aspects of petroleum exploration.
Who should attend
Geologists and geophysicists working in the oil & gas business and in related government organisations.
Course content
Overview of world-wide oil & gas occurrences:
Formation of sedimentary basins.
Play concepts and petroleum systems.
Fundamentals of seismic acquisition, processing & Interpretation
Key aspects of reservoirs (clastics & carbonates), seals, and source rocks.
At the end of the course the participants will have a good general understanding of the basics of oil and gas exploration.
Each topic is introduced by a lecture, and leaning is re-enforced by practical exercises (on paper). Hand-out material in paper and/or electronic format will be provided. On request, special emphasis can be given to the local geological setting.
Day by day programme
Day 1
Focus on basins & screening tools
Introduction: the exploration work flow & Global distribution of oil & gas
Exercise: testing the geological knowledge
Basin formation & type
Exercise: basin type and structural style
Non seismic methods
Exercise: using surface geochemistry
Interpreting basin stratigraphy
Exercises: stratigraphy and prospectivity
Day 2
Focus on seismic, logs, source & clastics
The seismic method
Exercise: interpretation of seismic data 1
Source rocks
Exercise: interpreting source rock data
Siliciclastic reservoirs
Exercise: Interpretation of seismic data 2
Geology from wireline logs
Exercise: well correlation
Day 3
Focus on carbonates, traps & facies
Carbonate reservoirs
Exercise:
Trapping geometries
Exercise: interpretation of seismic data
Seal
Exercise: clay smear potential
Facies mapping
Exercise: facies map construction
Day 4
Focus on kitchen & prospect
Burial history reconstruction
Exercise: create burial history
Generation & migration of hydrocarbons
Exercise: effective drainage area construction
Kitchen mapping
Exercise: maturity data and kitchen map
Prospect mapping
Exercise: Assess prospect risk & uncertainty
Day 5
Focus on plays, prospects, and volumes
Plays and petroleum systems
Exercise: play maps
Volumetrics, risk & uncertainties
Exercise: calculate volumetrics in prospect
Exploration economics
Exercise: data integration
Wrap-up & evaluation
Question about: Fundamentals of Hydrocarbon Exploration