Oil and Gas

Participants will learn to:

1. Judge factors that contribute to a successful unconventional resource play in thin-bedded, brittle, fine-grained rocks.
2. Distinguish cherts, porcelanites, siliceous shales, diatomites, dolomites, calcareous and phosphatic mudrocks.
3. Evaluate depositional setting and facies relationships of hemipelagic/pelagic sediments and their paleoceanographic controls.
4. Characterize key sedimentary structures of mudrocks from different depositional environments.
5. Formulate interpretations of biogenic mudrocks and predict changes in physical properties that occur with diagenesis.
6. Identify components of an active petroleum system, including source rocks, migration pathways, carrier beds and reservoir rocks.
7. Synthesize stratal stacking, sediment composition and diagenetic stage to predict mechanical stratigraphy and potential fracture networks.
8. Recognize the component elements of mechanical stratigraphy and evaluate their impact on fracture development.
9. Conduct surveys of fault and fracture networks in order to evaluate fracture scaling and fracture connectivity, and to design potential landing zones and trends for horizontal laterals in fractured reservoirs.
10. Design conceptual models of a fractured reservoir that incorporate aspects of lithology, mechanical stratigraphy, fracture attributes and structural position.
    

The course uses spectacular, classic outcrops of different facies of the Miocene Monterey Formation exposed along the coast in southern and central California to train participants in the sedimentology, depositional systems, and climatic and oceanographic control of facies in clastic-poor, biogenic fine-grained deposits. The great heterogeneity of the Monterey Formation permits investigation of siliceous, calcareous, phosphatic and carbonaceous mudrocks. Proximity to the San Andreas fault system has generated tectonic structures with pervasive brittle deformation in the form of faults and fractures.

Participants will learn to characterize lithology, stratal architecture, depositional setting, diagenetic state, mechanical stratigraphy and fracture networks. Field investigation and exercises will be complemented by classroom lectures, sample examination and core description.

These concepts will be applied to the evaluation of naturally and artificially fractured reservoirs and hydrocarbon production.

Itinerary (subject to change)

Day 0:

Arrive at Santa Barbara Airport. Introductory lecture in evening. Overnight in Santa Barbara.

Day 1:

Half day field excursion to examine the Monterey in both relatively undeformed (Santa Barbara Point) and highly deformed states (Carpenteria State Beach), the petroleum system and hydrocarbon migration and seeps along a fault zone and adjacent fractured “damage zone”. Half day classroom lecture/workshop. Overnight in Santa Barbara.

Day 2:

Half day field trip to examine multiple lithofacies of organic-rich shale and other biogenic sedimentary rocks at Haskell’s Beach and Gaviota State Beach and cross-cutting, oil-charged slope gully sandstone/conglomerate deposit. Regional structure and fracture sets discussed. Half day classroom lecture/workshop. Overnight in Pismo Beach.

Day 3:

Full field day examining interbedded organic-rich carbonaceous mudstone and fractured chert reservoir rocks and unconformity-related sandstone reservoir at Shell Beach. Examine cyclic alternation of thin-bedded siliceous shale and porcelanite facies at Montana de Oro State Park. Investigate primary stratigraphic control of fracture networks and mechanical stratigraphy. Overnight in Pismo Beach.

Day 4:

Examine diatomaceous and diagenetic-silica-stage siliceous rocks at Sweeney Road. Examine detachment folding and faulting at multiple scales in context of regional structure. Half day classroom lecture/workshop. Overnight in Santa Barbara.

Day 5:

Lecture, core- and log-based exercises plus field study of mechanical stratigraphy and fracture networks at Arroyo Burro Beach. Investigate different modes of brittle failure in adjacent beds of mudstone and porcelanite, and their relationship to fold development. Examine evidence for episodic water and oil expulsion from deep basin along fault zones and fracture networks. Overnight in Santa Barbara.

Day 6:

Depart Santa Barbara Airport.

The course is aimed at exploration, development and production geoscientists whose focus is on unconventional resources. However, engineers and asset managers who are engaged in production from shale, chert or other unconventional resources and/or conventional fractured reservoirs should also benefit from this course.