N310 Carbonate Reservoir Characterisation and Modelling (Provence, France)
Event Facts
- Date:
- 6 - 10 Sep. 2021
- Event Code:
- N310a21JO
- Duration:
- 5 days
- Instructors:
- Mark Bentley, Ed Stephens
- Location:
- Provence
- Booking Status:
- Good Availability
- Fee:
- GBP £6,560 (Exclusive of tax)
Course Facts
- Course Code:
- N310
- Duration:
- 5 days
- Type:
- Field
- Physical Demand:
- Low
- CEU:
- 4.0 Continuing Education Units
- PDH:
- 40 Professional Development Hours
- Certificate:
- Certificate Issued Upon Completion
Summary
Business Impact: The bulk of the world's oil and gas resources are in carbonate reservoirs, so forecasting productivity in carbonates is fundamental to our business; This course makes the link between reservoir characterisation and how fluids flow in these heterogeneous reservoirs, unravels some of the reasons why our forecasts are often incorrect, and offers guidance on however to improve those forecasts.
Using analogue outcrops in the Luberon and Cassis area of Southern France, this course develops workflows for characterisation and modelling in carbonate reservoirs, covering in particular the issues of conceptual reservoir characterisation, the handling of scale, and the representation of fracture detail in cellular models. The outcrop section is a direct analogue for Shuaiba/Kharaib Middle East reservoirs, including high and low energy areas of rudist platforms, inner and outer shelves, and chalks. The modelling principles are transferable to other carbonate environments.
Duration and Training Method
A five-day field-based course based in Provence, Southern France. The event will be conducted wholly in the field. Outcrop-based reservoir models and forward-modelled seismic will be used to support discussion. The focus will be on experiential learning with mixed-discipline group-based tasks. Short talks will be given at the outcrop and simple calculations demonstrated using rules-of-thumb to assist analysis.This course will make use of Digital Outcrop Imagery (DOI).
Participants will learn to:
- Characterise a carbonate reservoir in terms of essential reservoir elements and describe the architectural arrangement of those elements.
- Evaluate reservoir property distributions for those elements in a form suitable for input to static/dynamic reservoir modelling.
- Judge the scale at which a static/dynamic modelling exercise should be conducted, including any need for multi-scale modelling.
- Prepare rules of thumb for effective property modelling in carbonates at a range of scales.
- Assess fracture systems in carbonates and explain the options for modelling them (explicit DFN vs. implicit effective properties).
- Apply the concept of representative elementary volumes (REV) to fractured and unfractured carbonates.
- Analyse the seismic expression of large scale outcrops based on underlying cellular model description.
- Evaluate the issues governing well placement in carbonates under a range of conditions.
- Propose an optimal development plan for a carbonate reservoir under a range of contrasting fluid fills.
Carbonate reservoirs are often poorly-modelled and the distinction between workflows for carbonates and clastics missed. The lack of clear k/phi relationships in carbonates distinguishes them from their clastic counterparts, and fractures in particular can be difficult to model without convoluted workflows. The course tackles these issues and gives practical advice on how to model these reservoirs.
Reservoir modelling schemes are applied to contrasting analogue outcrops, covering environments ranging from inner to outer platforms through shelf to proximal basin, including a spectactular karstified fracture system. The outcrops selected are age-equivalent analogues for Middle Eastern Shuaiba/Kharaib carbonates on the opposing side of Tethys. Specialist interpretative input to the course is provided by Jean Pierre Masse from the University of Marseilles, an authority in his field.
Topics covered include:
- Carbonate reservoir characterisation
- Fracture characterisation
- Model scale and upscaling
- Representative elementary volumes in carbonates
- Seismic forward modelling in carbonates
- Well placement
- Simulation and forecasting in carbonates
The following proposed itinerary is designed as a guide only:
Day 0: Arrival
Arrival in Marseilles, transfer to Gordes.
Day 1: Orgon - Lateral Homogeneity
Day 2: Rustrel - Lateral Heterogeneity
- Small-scale k heterogeneity
- Handling scale
- Thief zones
- Forecasting water breakthrough
Day 3: La Nesque - Large Scale Architecture
- Gross architecture
- Imaging on seismic
- Coning behaviour
- Large scale vs. small scale models
Day 4: Cassis - Fractures and Karst
- Damage zone architecture
- Matrix vs. fracture flow
- Modelling fractures
- Completion options
Day 5: Cassis - Carbonate Model Design
- Sector model design
- Scenarios
Day 6: Departure
Who should attend
The course is aimed at a cross-discipline audience including reservoir engineers, geoscientists, petrophysicists, and others involved in carbonate reservoir appraisal and field development. This field course is recommended for multi-disciplinary team attendance.
Prerequisites and linking courses
Knowledge of reservoir modelling and simulation is assumed to at least awareness level.
Linking courses that may be of interest include D020 (Carbonate Depositional Systems: Reservoir Sedimentology and Diagenesis (Distance Learning)), D073 (Integration of Sedimentology, Petrophysics and Seismic Interpretation for Exploration and Production of Carbonate Systems (Distance Learning)), and D427 (Reservoir Model Design (Distance Learning)).
The Physical demands for this class are LOW according to the Nautilus Training Alliance field course grading system. This class requires a basic level of fitness. Field locations are all easily accessible requiring only a short walk from the vehicles. The longest walk is approximately 0.5 km along a road section. There will be a boat trip (weather dependent) to view key cliff exposures that can only be seen from offshore (approx. 1 hour duration).
Mark Bentley
Background
Mark has 33 years industry experience, initially as a production geologist with Shell, working in the UK, Oman and the Netherlands and subsequently training and consulting with TRACS. He has spent most of his career working in integrated study teams on a wide variety of reservoir assets. His specialist fields of expertise are 3D reservoir modeling and scenario-based approaches to handling subsurface uncertainty and risk. He publishes widely on the topic and co-authored the reference text 'Reservoir Model Design' with Phil Ringrose.
In addition to his role as Training Director at AGR TRACS, he is also an Associate Professor in the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, holding a Chair in the field of Mature Field Management.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD University College of Wales, (Aberystwyth) - Structural Geology
BSc University College of Wales, (Aberystwyth) - Geology
Fellow of the Geological Society, London
Fellow of the Society of Petroleum Engineers
EAGE Member
Courses Taught
N033: Characterisation, Modelling, Simulation and Development Planning in Deepwater Clastic Reservoirs (Tabernas, Spain)
N106: Advanced Reservoir Modelling (Elgin, Scotland)
N310: Carbonate Reservoir Modelling and Field Development Planning (Provence, France)
N356: Production Geoscience (Pembrokeshire, UK)
N386: Reservoir Model Design (Pembrokeshire, UK)
N427: Reservoir Model Design, classroom based
N431: Reservoir Modelling of Deepwater Clastic Systems (Gres d’Annot, SE France)
D427: Reservoir Model Design (Distance Learning)
N444: Development Planning For Mature Fields
Ed Stephens
Background
Ed is a consultant reservoir engineer with 14 years experience, providing field studies, development planning, asset valuation and reserves reviews to a global customer base with a wide variety of reservoir and operational settings.
After research studies in physics at Oxford and Seattle, he worked for some years in electronics, integrated circuits and software. He then joined the Shell International E&P as a reservoir engineer with assignments in Netherlands, Nigeria and Brunei. He worked first with the simulator development group, then on well testing interpretation, the modelling support helpdesk, and delivering training. Then he worked with the Nigeria field studies team, at that time preparing the major upstream gas for LNG developments. In Brunei he was reservoir engineer for the Fairley asset area, mixed light oil rims and non associated gas with some 60 wells in 300 reservoirs, supporting well delivery, well operations, reservoir management, reservoir studies, reserves review, exploration support and business planning.
Ed is expert in reservoir modelling and simulation, field development planning, reserves preparation and categorisation, asset valuation, business planning support and exploration support. He speaks English, French and some Dutch.
Courses Taught
N033: Characterisation, Modelling, Simulation and Development Planning in Deepwater Clastic Reservoirs (Tabernas, Spain)
N335:Modelling Clastic Reservoirs (Pyrenees, Spain)
Alternative Dates for this Course
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“ "I really enjoyed this course and I'll recommend it to my colleagues for the following reasons: right balance between outcrop observations and 'modelling' exercises; great manual/material; new (and clearer) approach to modelling philosophy."”
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