April, 2002
HGS Meetings

The Tenth annual Rice Environmental Conference

The Future of Energy

Information:

The Rice Environmental Club would like to invite you and your organization to the Tenth Annual Rice Environmental Conference. This year's Conference will examine the state of the world from an energy perspective, focusing on the current and future energy situations from political, economic, and scientific viewpoints. The Conference will also provide a setting for the discussion of different forms of renewable energy, as well as give a local environmental approach to the deregulation policies now affecting Houston.

In particular, the Conference will focus on how individuals can make informed environmental decisions about their own energy consumption, helping each person contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable society. We'll have outside speakers leading an eye-opening discussion of how the energy world affects each of us, and old friends and recent alumni back to tell us what they're up to. Rice administrators, students, and alumni will team up to discuss the local, regional, national and global effects of energy generation and use, and what each person can do to make a difference.

The conference is free and open to the general public. It is intended for students, faculty, concerned citizens, public officials, business leaders, researchers, and anyone interested in the environment. Walk ins are VERY WELCOME!

Rice University Conference Information Link: Click here

HGS Dinner Meeting

"Origin and Significance of Retrograde Failed Shelf Margins- Tertiary Northern Gulf Coast Basin"

Figures:

Figure 1
Features of a typical retrograde failed shelf margin in which slump blocks are a large part of the fill. The most obvious discontinuity is the post-collapse unconformity, but the collapse detachment is equally important. The latter surface has never been exposed at the sea floor, and therefore is a structural rather than stratigraphic feature. Note the possibility for stratigraphic inversion and sub-discontinuity traps.

Figure 2
Features and recognition of slump blocks. Slump blocks occur in clusters or isolated above the collapse unconformity. Blocks are shown as rotated slivers, but may also have a plate-like form. Internally, stratification is parallel rather than divergent. Some wells encounter missing section at both the top and base of the blocks, and shallow water faunas in the blocks are overlain by deepwater faunas in the shales above.

Abstract:

The unusually high rates of sedimentation and subsidence in the Gulf Coast Basin are occasionally overwhelmed by a large catastrophic collapse of the shelf margin that relocates the shelf margin landward behind the headwall of a strike-parallel slump scar ( Figures 1, 2 ). Unique reservoir and trapping opportunities are created by these genetically related processes: instantaneous (relatively speaking) creation of the collapse, emplacement of slump blocks into the collapse, possible uplift of the collapse scar headwall because of a isostatic rebound, and transport of sediment gravity flows into and across the collapse scar.

A review of the distribution of documented retrograde failed shelf margins suggests that many more remain to be discovered in the subsurface of the Gulf Coast Basin. It is recommended that careful geological modeling be combined with a regional perspective and 3-D seismic to discover new exploration opportunities in this hyper-mature basin.

This paper was awarded a Grover E. Murray Best Published Paper Award for the 2000 GCAGS Transactions.

Complete presentation: The complete presentation text and figures can be found on the AAPG Search and Discovery .  Click here to see the entire presentation text.

Biographical Sketch:

Marc Edwards holds a BS degree in geology from The City College, New York, and a PhD from Oxford University. He has been an independent consulting geologist based in Houston for 20 years. Prior to that, he worked for the Norwegian Continental Shelf Institute in Oslo and Trondheim, Norway, and for the Bureau of Economic Geology in Austin. Marc’s consulting work has been in four main areas: creating multiclient nonproprietary regional studies of important productive trends in the Gulf Coast Basin, such as the Yegua, Miocene, and Wilcox; providing proprietary consulting services to the exploration and production sectors by interpreting a range of data types from 2- and 3-D seismic to well logs, whole cores, and dipmeter; authoring publications that present new concepts of use to the industry; and offering short course workshops on the topic of stratigraphic interpretation in growth faulted areas. Additional information is available on his Web site at www.marcedwards.com .

HGS Environmental / Engineering Dinner Meeting

Texas Regulatory Awareness Committee (TRAC) -

HGS International Dinner Meeting

"Future Giants in Frontier Basins of Latin America "

Abstract:

From a petroleum perspective, Latin America has always been considered an area of great promise. It exuberantly delivered on this promise through the 1970’s and 1980’s when giant discoveries (> 500 mboe) fired up exploration in what have become very prolific basins. More recently, however, the frontier trends of Latin American have not yielded up any new giant fields. Does this mean that petroleum reserves will inevitably decline in this geopolitically important region, or will there be new giant discoveries that open up prolific fairways?

Exploration geologists, whose ideas are subjected to the gimlet eyes and ultimate judgments of economists, lawyers, security experts and risk committees, must be optimistic. As an unabashed member of this fraternity, the author presents his version of where some undiscovered giant fields may be hiding beyond the Río Grande.

Biographical Sketch:

After twelve years as a mining and field geologist in Guatemala, Josh Rosenfeld earned a Ph. D in Geology at SUNY - Binghamton in 1980. He has been involved in petroleum exploration since then; first as a New Ventures geologist with Amoco Production Company until 1999 and most recently as Business Development Manager in Mexico for Veritas Exploration Services. His main area of interest is the geology of Latin American where he lived and worked from 1964 to 1977 in Guatemala, and from 1995 to 1997 in Colombia.

HGS NeoGeo Dinner Meeting

"Being a 'minority' in the oil industry”

Abstract:

How the industry has evolved. Personal anecdotes for new professionals on being or working with minorities. With an ever-changing multi-ethnic and multi-cultural workforce, this is an important issue for everyone.

HGS Emerging Technologies Dinner Meeting

"Applications of TheChimneyCube (Tm) in Hydrocarbon Exploration"

Figures:

Cover Illustration
Display of Chimneys (in yellow) related to deep salt (light blue) and their migration below the reservoir unit (red) and the leakage of some to create shallow gas zone near sea floor (in brown). Courtesy of Heggland and Meldahl, Statoil)

Figure 1
Chimney Detection

Figure 2
Chimney Detection

Figure 3
Fault Detection

Abstract:

TheChimneyCube (Tm) is a new exploration tool (Statoil/dGB patent pending) that reveals vertical hydrocarbon migration paths ( Figure 1 ). Practically, chimney cubes are used as indicators of where hydrocarbons originated, how they migrated into a prospect, and how they spilled or leaked from this prospect and created shallow gas pockets, mud volcanoes or pockmarks at the sea floor. We should note that TheChimneyCube is one product of dGB’s object detection, interpretation, and visualization software package, d-Tect. Other seismic features which can be detected include faults, 4D effects, fractures, and salt bodies (Figure 2   &3 ) .

TheChimneyCube uses a 3D volume of stacked seismic data with other prior information such as the interpreter’s insight, well information and other geologic data, to highlight vertical zones of chaotic seismic character, often associated with gas chimneys (Heggland et al, 2000). A Seismic data is input into a neural network and a chimney cube is generated as its output. The chimney data needs to be integrated with regional, well, and prospect data to obtain optimum results.

The predictions of hydrocarbon phase, hydrocarbon charge and seal effectiveness are critical risk factors in petroleum exploration. Historically, most resources are devoted to delineating the structural geometry and reservoir potential of a prospective lead. Yet, in rank exploration wells, typically over 50% of dry holes are due to either charge or seal failure. A chimney volume used in conjunction with other data, can address these key risk factors. Current applications of TheChimneyCube include detecting shallow gas hazards, distinguishing between charged and non-charged prospects or fault segments, supporting or refining basin models, constraining seal risk, and predicting hydrocarbon phase. Some of these applications are highlighted in Aminzadeh et al (2001).

Detect shallow gas hazards: The chimney cube concept was originally developed for this application, following a blow out in the North Sea. Often it is difficult to distinguish lithologic lithologic from hydrocarbon related anomalies in the very shallow subsurface. Gas chimneys used in conjunction with shallow amplitude or AVO anomalies have been proven to be a useful tool in detecting shallow gas drilling hazards.

Distinguish between charged and non-charged prospects or fault segments: The hydrocarbon system is undercharged in many hydrocarbon producing basins, such as the Gulf of Mexico. Thus determining which fault segments and reservoir intervals are receiving preferential hydrocarbon charge is critical. Chimney cube data has been used in the GOM to high-grade prospective fault segments and reservoir intervals that are up-dip of the chimneys. Similarly the chimney cube can also distinguish between faults that are major hydrocarbon pathways and those faults that have not received any hydrocarbon charge.

Support and refine basin models: Chimney cube data can be used to refine 2D basin models, by defining which faults may be more active, and suggesting areas that may be more prone to vertical migration of gas. The basin models can subsequently be modified and thus give more meaningful results. Often chimney data can also provide clues about charge efficiency.

Constrain risk on fault seal, top seal, and lateral seal: Chimney data can be a useful tool for distinguishing between leaking and non-leaking faults, and pinpointing concerns about either top-seal or lateral-seal risk.

Predict hydrocarbon phase: is critical in areas such as deepwater Nigeria and the northwest shelf of Australia, where marketing of gas is much more costly. The traditional tools which have been employed to predict hydrocarbon phase, including source rock facies variations and structural timing variations, and geophysical modeling are often inconclusive. Understanding trap integrity and its resultant effect on gas chimney character is a promising approach. Our model, based on Sales (1997) and O’Brien (1998), divides traps into three main categories:

  1. High Integrity Trap (Gas Prone) Seal capacity for gas and oil is greater than closure, thus traps spill oil and trap gas.
  2. Moderate Integrity Trap (Oil Prone) Seal capacity is less than closure, thus trap leaks gas and minor oil.
  3. Low Integrity Trap (Dry Hole) Seal capacity is insufficient for an economic accumulation.

The category in which a prospect falls is often difficult to predict pre-drill. The character of the gas chimneys is often a key clue to make this determination. Distinguishing between active and relict seeps can be significant. By combining chimney cube data with trap geometry, most likely hydrocarbon fill (from amplitude anomalies, pressure data, or regional data), and piston core or other surface geochemical data, semi-quantitative predictions of hydrocarbon phase can be made. A summary of the model is shown in the table below:

Table 1- A Summary of the model
Trap Type Major Product Chimney Character Piston Core
High IntegrityGasWeak or diffuseMinor gas seeps
Moderate IntegrityOilStrong activeGas or oil seeps
Low IntegrityDry HoleStrong relictWeak active seeps

Conclusions: Chimney cube data, when used with fault cube and other geologic data (structural model, fault seal analysis, basin models, pressure data, piston core and geochemical data) and knowledge of the area, has proven to be a useful tool in quantifying seal and charge uncertainty and detecting shallow gas hazards.

References

Aminzadeh, F., de Groot, P., Berge, T., and Valenti, G., Using Gas Chimneys as an Exploration Tool, World Oil, 2001.

Heggland, R., Meldahl, P., de Groot, P., and Aminzadeh, F., Seismic chimney interpretation examples from the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, American Oil and Gas Reporter, 2000.

O'Brien, et.al., 1998. Evaluating Trap Integrity in the Vulcan Sub-basin, Timor Sea, Australia, using Integrated Remote-sensing Geochemical Technologies. In Purcell & Purcell (ed.) The Sedimentary Basins of Western Australia 2: Proceedings West Australia Basin Symposium Perth Western Australia, 1998, p. 237-254.

Sales, J.K., 1997, Seal Strength vs. Trap Closure - A Fundamental Control on the Distribution of Oil and Gas, In Surdam, ed., Seals, Traps and the Petroleum System, AAPG Memoir 67, p. 57-83.

Biographical Sketch:

David Connolly has joined dGB-USA as Chief Geologist. David has over 20 years of industry experience. Formerly with Texaco, he has worked a variety of international and national exploration assignments. Most recently he has been developing applications for The ChimneyCubeÒ to better understand petroleum migration and phase. His areas of expertise include reservoir characterization, sequence stratigraphy, integrated seal analysis, and petroleum migration. He has co-authored various talks and poster sessions on deepwater technologies, which have been presented to AAPG and other conferences.

Fred Aminzadeh is president and CEO of dGB-USA, specializing in services and software for quantitative seismic interpretation, stratigraphic analysis, seismic inversion, and neural networks-based reservoir characterization and anomaly detection. Aminzadeh previously worked for Unocal with both technical and management responsibilities. He has a Ph.D. from USC. Aminzadeh is vice president of Society of Exploration Geophysicist. He is a member of Russian Academy of Natural Science and Azerbaijan Oil academy. He has an extensive list of publications in diverse areas including nine books.

HGS North American Exploration Dinner Meeting

" A Two-Pole Gulf of Mexico Basin Origin Model: Implications for Oceanic Crust Architecture and Louann Salt Distribution"

Abstract:

Magnetic and gravity data are used to refine regional depth to basement interpretations to derive oceanic crust and microplate boundaries, and to constrain crustal restorations of the Gulf of Mexico Basin (GOMB). These data are the basis for a GOMB reconstruction that requires two poles of rotation.

During the initial rift phase of GOMB Triassic deformation, the combined Yucatan and South Florida blocks rotated 26 degrees counterclockwise about a pole at 28.8 N., -82.7 W. This departure produced up to 565 KM of crustal extension in the western GOMB, and a 450 KM southeasterly translation of the Yucatan/South Florida block along the Florida Elbow fault. Non-rigid reconstructions using this pole produce a +/-30 KM misfit on the restored northern and southern GOMB margins.

The drift phase of GOMB origin involved departure of the Yucatan block from the South Florida block and a 36 degree counterclockwise rotation about a pole at 22.75 N, -83.72 W. The tight pre-drift fit between the Yucatan and Florida margins is constrained by a series of gravity and magnetic anomalies of similar frequency and amplitude on the opposing margins. Therefore no shear is required near the Florida Escarpment.

Magnetic data in the central GOMB show symmetric patterns that are interpreted as oceanic transform and ridge architecture. This architecture is kinematically consistent with the drift phase pole. Seismic interpretations of basement structure support the transform and ridge interpretations. This oceanic fabric influences autochthonous salt limits and thickness, which in turn has a major influence on GOMB deepwater structure and accommodation space.

Biographical Sketch:

Bruce Reitz is a geologist responsible for regional evaluation and lease acquisition in Conoco’s offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Deepwater Business Unit. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978 from Wright State University and a Master of Science degree from Kansas State in 1980. Bruce is an active member of AAPG, GSA, and SEG.

Since joining Conoco in 1980 Bruce has held geoscience positions in development and exploration at technical, supervisory and staff levels. Bruce first began working in the GOM Basin in 1981 as an explorationist doing geological and geophysical analyses for prospect generation. He has worked onshore and offshore in carbonate and clastic plays from Paleozoic to Pleistocene in age. Bruce has been involved in regional evaluation and lease acquisition in the GOM offshore areas since 1994.

Bruce’s current interests involve petroleum system and risk analysis of Lower and Middle Miocene sediments, salt architecture and evolution, GOM Basin origin, and GIS utilization. He has developed GIS applications to create, manage, access and analyze Conoco’s Deepwater GOM datasets.

HGS Lunch Meeting

"Converting Your Geotechnical Prospect to an Economic Business Venture"

Abstract:

Independent oil and gas prospectors recognize that their prospects compete with counterpart ventures in the E&P market place. Increasingly, prospects that are purchased and drilled, generally by larger firms, have been scrutinized for geotechnical soundness, and evaluated objectively and consistently with respect to reserves potential, chance of success, cost, and profitability, in order to qualify for the firm’s annual drilling portfolio. More and more, even small or midsize E&P firms are employing portfolio principles to systematically coordinate and manage their exploration activities.

Inescapably, the motives of the independent prospector and the purchasing firm are not parallel. The prospector wants to sell the prospect, whereas the purchaser wants to evaluate it objectively. Obviously, this can present ethical dilemmas. However, regardless of an understandable desire to present the prospect in the most favorable light, the wise prospector will seek to understand how the purchaser will analyze it, in relation to the portfolio, and will provide objective, documented data facilitating such evaluation (as well as countering the inevitable drawbacks that attend any prospect).

Key geotechnical and economic parameters and analyses that should accompany any submitted prospect are: 1) current field size distribution for the trend; 2) objective, documented, probabilistic cost estimates; 3) probabilistic prospect reserves distribution (P90, P50, P10, Mean); 4) DCF analysis of P90, P50, P10, Mean cases, yielding PV10, with assumptions; 5) chance of geologic, commercial, and economic success; and 6) economic yardsticks utilizing key performance parameters (Expected Net Present Value, Risk Investment Efficiency, DCF, ROR, Payout, Risked Cost-of-Finding).

Biographical Sketch:

Mark A. McLane (BS with honors, petroleum engineering, University of Texas at Austin) is a petroleum engineer with a diverse technical, operations and business background spanning 20 years in the petroleum industry. He joined Rose & Associates in January 2000 after 3 years with Pioneer Natural Resources and almost 17 years with Exxon Company, USA. Mr. McLane started with Exxon in 1980 and worked in a variety of drilling, subsurface production, and reservoir engineering assignments throughout the western United States. He taught at several Exxon Corporation schools and received an Outstanding Instructor award in 1995. In his last assignment with Exxon he focused on developing and implementing reservoir depletion and field level business plans.

Mr. McLane joined Pioneer in 1997 and worked in the Business Development Group, evaluating and advising Pioneer’s management on exploration and acquisition projects in North America, China, South America and West Africa. He coordinated Pioneer’s risk analysis and portfolio management processes and worked with geotechnical staff in implementing risk analysis, especially in the application of R&A licensed software. He also worked with Pioneer’s management to apply risk and portfolio management principles in managing the company’s business portfolio. He is a Partner and Manager of Lognormal Solutions, Inc., the software company owned by Rose and Associates, LLP.