N091 Carbonate Reservoir Architecture and Applied Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy (West Texas and SE New Mexico, USA)
N091 Carbonate Reservoir Architecture and Applied Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy (West Texas and SE New Mexico, USA)
This field course is aimed at geoscientists and engineers exploring for and developing carbonate reservoirs and has particular relevance to those working in the Permian Basin. After taking this course, participants will have an improved knowledge of carbonate stratigraphy and the distribution of carbonate facies which control variations of porosity and permeability in the subsurface. Understanding the vertical and lateral distribution of porosity and permeability in the subsurface is critical for successful exploration and development of carbonate reservoirs.
This is a six-day field course in west Texas and SE New Mexico, USA. There is a brief classroom introduction to carbonate grains and systems and to the field area, but 90% of the course is conducted in the field, with long days (typically 10+ hours).
Particpants will learn to:
The mountains of west Texas and southeast New Mexico contain world-class exposures of carbonate shelf to basin systems with little or no structural deformation. Those exposures are used in this course to relate carbonate depositional facies to seismic-scale geometries and sequence stratigraphy.
The class will visit seismic-scale outcrops, characterize their large-scale geometries, document their facies, and show how similar systems appear in the subsurface. We will also illustrate similar carbonate reservoir facies in core and logs. In addition, participants will view the results of subaerial exposure, marine diagenesis and early near-surface dolomitization and discuss how these processes can affect ultimate reservoir porosity and permeability in subsurface carbonates.
Itinerary
Day 0:
Participants travel to El Paso, Texas.
Day 1:
Start in El Paso.
Day 2:
Pennsylvanian reefal mounds and carbonate-clastic interactions: Classic shelf-margin to shelf-interior profile at Dry Canyon in the Sacramento Mountains of southeast New Mexico.
Day 3:
West Face of the Guadalupe Mountains. Spectacular exposure of a Permian carbonate shelf margin and onlapping deepwater sands of the Brushy Canyon Formation.
Day 4:
San Andres Permian Reservoir System on Algerita Escarpment and Last Chance Canyon.
Day 5:
McKittrick Canyon- Permian Reef Trail.
Day 6:
Day 7:
Participants depart El Paso, Texas.
This course is designed for experienced geoscience professionals who need to expand their knowledge of carbonate reservoir systems and has a particular relevance to those working in the Permian basin.
Participants should have a basic familiarity with carbonates, as presented in N020 (Carbonate Depositional Systems: Reservoir Sedimentology and Diagenesis).
Related field courses include:
Experienced carbonate workers should consider:
The physical demands for this class are HIGH according to the Nautilus Training Alliance field course grading system. Fieldwork is in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico where the weather is arid and usually hot, although cold and wet weather is possible in the spring and fall. The course requires moderate to long walks, frequently over very steep and uneven ground. The walks most days are up to 3.2 km (2 miles) with the longest walk being approximately 13.4 km (8.4 miles) with an ascent of 610 m (2000 ft). In order to gain the full benefit of this class, participants should be fit enough to complete these hikes under these conditions.
Transport on the course will be by SUVs. Most of the driving is on black-top roads, with some driving on graded dirt roads. Day 3 includes a 4 mile section of off-road track driving on a rough, rocky trail.
Click on a name to learn more about the instructor
Background
Steve is employed by AIMGeoanalytics as a Principal Geologist. He is working on reservoir studies of basinal Strawn/Wolfcamp/Sprayberry facies including core, log and petrographic studies. Also investigating methods of integrated mapping of karst facies for Arbuckle SWD targets in 3D seismic and image logs.
Steve completed B.S. and M.S. degrees (1982 and 1984) from the University of Idaho where he focussed on cyclostratigraphy of Mississippian carbonate strata in the Overthrust Belt of Idaho and Wyoming. He completed his PhD in 1995 on the sequence stratigraphy of Mississippian carbonate strata in the Sacramento and San Andres Mountains of New Mexico. After his M.S. degree he worked as a development and exploration geologist on Midcontinent assests (clastics and carbonates) for Phillips Petroleum in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Houston. After his PhD, he worked at ExxonMobil’s Research Lab (1995-2005) in the Carbonate Stratigraphy and Reservoir Group. Major projects completed there include Tertiary SE Asia, Middle East carbonates, and Paleozoic in Tengiz Field, Kazakhstan. He also worked for ConocoPhillips (2006-2009; Paleozoic Permian Basin, Paleozoic Russia, and Tertiary SE Asia) and Chevron (2009-2017; Middle East carbonates, Paleozoic Tengiz and Karachaganak Fields).
Steve lives with his family in Bend, OR and maintains his carbonate research interests through an Adjunct Faculty appointment at The University of Texas. He taught Carbonate Petrology in the Fall of 2017 and likes to keep up with student research in the subsurface, outcrop, and Modern settings. Steve likes the challenge of designing and executing integrated studies in carbonate and clastic reservoirs using seismic and well data (including core, petrography, and image logs). Seismic imaging of carbonate depositional features is also a strong interest of his. He has enjoyed teaching field schools at each oil company throughout his career.
In his spare time, Steve enjoys photography, hiking, fly fishing, and cross country skiing.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Texas A&M University - Geology
M.S. University of Idaho - Geology
B.S. University of Idaho - Geology
Courses Taught
N091: Carbonate Reservoir Architecture and Applied Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy (West Texas and SE New Mexico, USA)
Background
Art Saller has worked for more than 30 years as a sedimentologist, stratigrapher, and exploration geologist on teams drilling in the Permian Basin, Indonesia, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, and Angola. He attended the University of Kansas (B.S., 1977), Stanford University (M.S., 1980), and Louisiana State University (Ph.D., 1984). Art had the pleasure of working for Cities Service Oil and Gas in Tulsa (1984-86), Unocal in Brea, California and Houston (1986-2005), Chevron in Houston (2005-2012), and Cobalt International Energy in Houston (2012-2018).
He has published articles and taught many courses and field trips related to carbonate deposition, diagenesis and reservoir quality as well as siliciclastic depositional systems.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Louisiana State University - Geology
MS Stanford University - Geology
BS University of Kansas - Geology
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer (2012-2013)
Courses Taught
N091: Carbonate Reservoir Architecture & Applied Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy (West Texas & SE New Mexico, USA)
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