SEG Sponsored Technical Luncheon, (May 5, 12:00)
Jamie Robertson of Arco will discuss "preparing for the upcoming oil price rise," a scenario that most likely will ensue as peak worldwide production occurs and production starts its inexorable decline. He will argue that investing in E & P technology is essential to preparing for this scenario to cushion the impact of a sharp oil price rise on global growth and stability.
Technology Integration for Reservoir Characterization and Monitoring, (May 3, 9:30-4:00)
Morning keynote speaker Robert Heming of Chevron will call for radical changes in work practices. The morning session will have a case history flavor with examples that span the globe. Presentations will cover a multidisciplinary approach to reservoir management, reservoir characterization and monitoring through integrated geophysical, geological and production data, and the application of time-lapse 3D seismic interpretation techniques. Afternoon keynote speaker John Hopkins of Conoco will provide a perspective of reservoir technology into the next millennium. The afternoon session has an "applied techniques" flavor exploring the effective use of state-of-the-art technology.
Deepwater Exploration and Development, (May 4, 9:30-4:00)
Keynote speaker, William T. Drennen III of Exxon will set the stage by contributing a high-level perspective of the economic and technical issues involved in deepwater exploration and development. Session presentations will illustrate key geological and geophysical techniques for prediction of favorable reservoir properties and reservoir connectivity, as well as structure and stratigraphy, which have led to economical and technical successes in deepwater areas. Emphasis in the morning session will be on the geophysical technology, including seismic pre-stack depth imaging, that is required to understand structure and rock properties. The afternoon session will accent getting the stratigraphy right in the structure/stratigraphy relationship.
Multicomponent 3D Seismic Technology, (May 5, 9:30-4:00)
This session will address the issues of how oil companies are managing the use of marine multicomponent seismic data to find and produce oil and gas more economically. Keynote speaker Jack Caldwell of Geco-Prakla will set a context for the competitive arena of multiple vendors and multiple acquisition/processing technologies. The morning's talks will center on the geographical theme of 4C seismics in the North Sea. Afternoon presentations will highlight 4C acquisition, processing, and interpretation. The session will seek to put the current achievements of ocean-bottom acquisition in their historical perspective, with illustrative data examples of both successes and failures of this technology and a look to the future: Where is the technology going? And how will it impact exploration and development objectives?
"Low Resistivity, Low Contrast Pays"
Date: Monday May 10, 1999
Place: Westchase Hilton, 9999 Westheimer
Time: 5:30 Social 6:30 Dinner
Abstract:
Major hydrocarbon accumulations have been produced over the past 40 years in low resistivity, low contrast (LRLC) sands in the Gulf of Mexico Basin (GOM). LRLC reservoirs were commonly considered wet, tight, misidentified as a shale or completely overlooked due to logging tool resolution limitations, but are being re-evaluated now in other world basins. Low-resistivity pay has been typically defined at or below the 1.0 ohm-meter resistivity level, yet many productive reservoirs are found in the 0.3 to 0.5 ohm-m resistivity range. The interpretation of seismic response, the analysis of drill cuttings, sidewall and conventional cores, the interpretation of log response with the application of appropriate petrophysical models, along with wireline and production testing provide an integrated LRLC evaluation. LRLC sands are found in many U. S. basins, and those in Canada (Alberta), North Sea, Egypt, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, Italy, Mexico, Trinidad, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Russia.
Geological causes of LRLC pay in the include: laminated clean sands with shales; silts or shaly sands; clay-coated sands; glauconitic sands; sands with interstitial dispersed clay; sands with disseminated pyrite or other conductive minerals; clay-lined burrows; clay clasts; altered volcanic/feldspathic framework grains; very fine-grained sands; microporosity; or sands with very saline formation water. LRLC depositional systems include deepwater fans, with levee-channel complexes, delta front and toe deposits, shingle turbidites and alluvial and deltaic channel fills. The lack of high-resolution logging tools across intervals with reservoir sands below the tool resolution is frequently the "cause" of the LRLC.
Geological and petrophysical models developed in the GOM for the evaluation of LRLC pay are applicable in other world basins. A conventional Archie clean sand or Waxman-Smits shaly sand model are commonly used to evaluate LRLC log anomalies. Often, shaly sand models are not necessarily suited for LRLC evaluation. The Archie lithology exponent (m) and saturation exponent (n) for many LRLC reservoirs can range from 1.4 to 1.85, and from 1.2 to 1.8, respectively. In thinly laminated LRLC reservoirs, net sand distribution is identified with high resolution logging tools, the examination of rock samples and interval testing. Recent application of nuclear magnetic resonance logging has provided a better identification of fluid type, grain size distribution and hydrocarbon saturation in LRLC sands. Resistivity forward modeling can also aid in establishing the "true" resistivity in laminated sands.
Speaker Biograhy:
John T. Kulha is a Houston-based engineering consultant with over twenty-five years experience in petroleum engineering and geoscience studies related to exploration, development, reserve determination and property acquisition. In association with other engineering and geoscience consulting firms, John is a key-member of multi-discipline project teams working with energy companies worldwide. As a recognized authority in the identification and evaluation of low resistivity, low contrast (LRLC) pay zones, John has presented seminars world-wide to energy companies, professional societies and academe on LRLC pay evaluation, petrophysics and reservoir characterization. He has also provided expert witness testimony at the Texas Railroad Commission and for other judicial boards. He previously worked for Shell Oil Company and Loren and Associates, Inc.
John received a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and MS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Houston. He is a member of the Houston Geological Society, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Professional Well Log Analysts, American Association of Petroleum Geologists. John worked with the editorial committee on the joint Houston Geological and New Orleans Geological Societies publication "Productive Low-Resistivity Well Logs of the Offshore Gulf of Mexico" (1993).
"Fate and Transport Computer Modeling: An Important Tool in Evaluating Environmental Contamination"
Abstract:
Physical phenomena have historically been expressed mathematically. In environmental science mathematical modeling is a tool in evaluating contamination. It can fill in data gaps both timewise and spacewise. It can be a predictive tool, and it can provide a window into site history. This presentation examines the concept of modeling, the basis of modeling, and the goal.
The movement of contaminants can be simulated in various environmental media, but this presentation will focus on the subsurface. The subsurface environment has several phases, and within each phase are several transport mechanisms. These mechanisms will be covered and explained briefly. In addition to transport, there is the addition and removal of constituents, by mechanisms such as biodegradation. There is also partitioning between phases. All of these effects can be expressed mathematically.
There are whole classes of codes available for predicting motion in the various phases. Various codes and classes of codes will be discussed. The methodology of modeling will be covered with an emphasis on defensibility. A few case studies will also be presented.
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Mark J. Lupo has more than a decade of experience in quantifying the fate and transport of hazardous substances in the environment. He holds two bachelors degrees from MIT, one in earth and planetary sciences and the other in mathematics, a masters degree in earth and planetary sciences from MIT, and a Ph.D. in geophysics from Texas A&M University. Dr. Lupo is a versatile computer modeler, with more than 25 publications, having conducted simulations in the groundwater, the unsaturated zone and air. He has conducted simulations with a multi-phase, multi-component model. This multimedia background enabled him to develop a comprehensive ranking model for ranking environmental liabilities. Dr. Lupo has often been called upon to provided technical review for quantitative analyses and computer models, particularly in the litigation setting. He has provided consultation to attorneys in assisting them in deposing expert witnesses, and has authored and reviewed expert reports, and provided expert testimony. His ability to explain physical processes to those outside his discipline has served him well in the environmental litigation arena.
"Southern Arabian Basin Oil Habitat: Seals and Gathering Areas"
Abstract:
This regional investigation contributes to the understanding of the influence and relationship of gathering areas and seals to oil habitat in the Arabian basin. Cross plots and cumulative frequency distribution plots characterize the hydrocarbon habitat and lead to the following inferences: gathering- or fetch-area size and contemporaneous peak-oil-generation rank as important factors in the accumulation of giant Middle East oil reserves. The importance of excellent seals to Middle East oil abundance should be moderated by recognition of the impact of widespread peak-oil-generation to seal effectiveness.
The highest frequency of fields with several stacked reservoirs occurs in areas of modern peak-source-generation. Thin seals can be effective. Gross seal lithology is not as important as previously thought. Vertical migration through seals is an important process. Seals leak but are effective. Cross plots of original oil in place versus field gathering area can, help to identify areas of rich and/or thick source rock or sweet spots. Inefficiencies resulting from long distance migration are not apparent.
Sweetness map analysis—using gathering area with assigned oil-in-place values—results in an inferred source rock distribution that contrasts with published source rock distributions.
Biographical Sketch
Walter (Wally) H. Pierce grew up in Muncie, Indiana. He received an A.B. degree in geology and French from DePauw University. Leaving Indiana, he continued his education at the Colorado School of Mines for M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology. To support his studies at Mines, he worked in both the heavy metals branch and the petroleum geology branch of the USGS. He worked for Eddie D. Mckee of the USGS on the Supai Group of the Grand Canyon and carried this work farther west into western Arizona and southern Nevada for his Ph.D. work at CSM. He taught a variety of courses for over eight years as a geology faculty member at Ball State University, University of Georgia, and the Colorado School of Mines. Seventeen years ago he came to Houston to work for Amoco International.
While at Amoco he worked for Africa and Middle East new ventures, Madagascar, and Qatar exploration. Most recently, his Amoco specialization was in Middle East regional studies with projects involving resource assessment, strategic regional studies, and joint regional studies with other companies. The recent merger to form BP Amoco has resulted in Wally adjusting to life as a retiree/consultant.
Recently his technical interests have included the application of database programs to regional studies and hydrocarbon habitat, undiscovered reserve estimation and the statistical quantification of exploration difficulty, focusing methodologies for exploration work, oil versus gas distribution, habitat of stacked reservoir distribution, and the importance of gathering areas and seals in regional exploration. The paper presented here represents one of these interests for which Wally received an Amoco "Best Paper" award.
"Seismic Pressure Prediction Method Addresses Problem Common in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico"
Abstract:
The analysis and interpretation of calibrated seismic velocity measurements plays a critical role in the interpretation of
the subsurface:
Generally, geopressures start shallow below the mudline in the deepwater GOM subsurface. Conventional techniques for pressure prediction fail because these techniques require the normal interval travel time of a shale compaction trend, and such a "normal interval" is seldom drilled in the shallow section.
The new method for pressure prediction relates velocity measurements directly to effective stress, temperature, and gross lithology. This allows one, for the first time, to compute directly, simply, and repeatably the normal shale compaction interval travel time trend.
This presentation will discuss the preparation of the input seismic velocity data to improve pore pressure prediction before drilling in wildcat areas, followed by a general overview of how pore-pressures can be more reliably estimated from seismic velocities. Two published computational methods used to estimate pore pressures from seismic velocities will be compared using examples from the shelf and from the deepwater GOM.
Bibliography
Wilhelm, R., Franceware, L. B. and Guzman, C.E. (1998) Seismic pressure-prediction method solves problem common in deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Oil & Gas Journal, Sept. 14.
Guzman, C.E., Davenport, H. A., and Wilhelm, R. (1997) Calibration method helps in seismic velocity interpretation, Oil & Gas Journal, Nov. 3, pp. 44–54. http://www.oilvel.com
Speaker Biography:
Rudy Wilhelm holds a master's degree in physics from the University of Texas and a master's degree in petroleum engineering from Tulane University. After graduation, he joined Shell Oil Company as a geophysicist. His assignments were in seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation. He was involved in the planning and drilling of wildcat and development wells on the shelf and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, including Bullwinkle, Popeye, Brutus, Mensa, Mars, and Ursa. He retired from Shell in 1991 and now works as a consulting geophysicist associated with Oilvel, Inc.
Seismic Facies Analysis in the Jurassic Reef Trend: A Case study in the Bear Grass Field, East Texas.
Date: Wednesday May. 26, 1999
Place: Hyatt Regency Downtown 1200 Louisiana
Time: 11:15 social, 11:45 lunch
Abstract:
A seismic stratigraphic analysis using Stratimagic was performed on Sonat's Beargrass 3-D seismic survey located in the prolific "reef trend" of East Texas. Fifteen seismic anomalies had been identified and drilled during 1996-97. Production characteristics of these individual reefs varied dramatically indicating pervasive reservoir heterogeneity. Conventional seismic attribute analysis, while useful in delineating the distribution of reefal buildups was unsuccessful as a tool to characterize differences in reservoir performance.
Stratimagic facies maps were used to classify the trace shape of the reef interval into fifteen different classes. Modifying the color palette to highlight reefs with similar trace shape to the highly successful Fountain #1 anomaly gave a good correlation between high rate and low rate anomalies. This analysis quickly and accurately begins to characterize the differences between individual stratigraphic reservoir bodies to be used not only in future field development but also as a pre-drill tool for trend exploration.
Speaker Biography:
Curt Bateman is currently a Senior Geophysicist with Sonat Exploration in Tyler, Texas working the East Texas and North Louisiana salt basins. Previously, his experience included 15 years with Exxon Exploration and Production in a variety of domestic and international assignments. His technical strengths are structural style analysis and seismic stratigraphy.
Manuel Poupon is currently Director of Technology with Flagship Geosciences in Houston, Texas specializing on Stratimagic projects in the US (Texas, Louisiana, California). He joined the CGG group in 1991 and was involved in a variety of exploration and evaluation Projects in the North Sea, Persian Gulf, Siberia, North and South America. He holds a Ph. D. in Geology from the University of Paris, France and is a member of the SEG, AAPG and Houston Geological Society.