N831 Fundamentals of the Oil and Gas Industry
N831 Fundamentals of the Oil and Gas Industry
The course provides an overview of the global oil and gas industry including the fundamentals of petroleum geology, how oil and gas are formed, how we explore for, and produce, oil and gas and how we transport it, refine it and sell the products. On completion of this course, participants will have a working understanding of the basic geological, engineering and economic principles of the petroleum industry.
A three-day classroom course, comprising a mixture of lectures and practical exercises.
Participants will learn to:
The course begins by introducing some basic facts and figures of the global petroleum industry. Then, after introducing some basic geological concepts, ideas are presented of how oil and gas are formed and trapped in the subsurface (petroleum systems). The course then leads participants through the methodology employed by oil and gas companies in exploration, production, transportation, refining and marketing of petroleum. It provides an understanding of oil companies’ operations, the roles of various staff, the costs of operations both onshore and offshore, and the commercial factors that govern companies’ decision-making. Lectures are interspersed with exercises designed to make a variety of technical skills understandable to non-specialists. Emphasis is put on learning practical skills such as the contouring of maps, and on clarifying much of the jargon and confusing nomenclature that exists within the industry.
Day 1
Introduction
Geological fundamentals
How are oil and gas fields formed?
Day 2
How do we explore for oil and gas?
How we know how much is there?
Day 3
How do we produce it?
How do we transport it?
Refining and marketing
Exercises
Identifying rocks, working with maps, seismic interpretation, log correlation, appraising a discovery, estimating volumes of oil and gas.
The course is aimed at non-technical staff of any background including those in finance, administration, HR, I.T, data management, and also support staff in technical functions. It is also useful for entry-level graduate technical staff needing a concise overview of the industry.
There are no prerequisites for this course. Non-technical staff looking for instruction focussed more on the geoscience of petroleum, as opposed to this broader industry overview, should consider N140 (Earth Sciences and the Oil Industry: a Global Perspective), or N253 (Geoscience for the Oil Industry: The Jurassic Coast Petroleum System), a field course based in Dorset, UK.
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Background
Nigel formed Banks Geoscience Limited in 1992 to provide geological and geophysical consultancy services to oil companies, governments, banks and universities. He has over 30 years experience in oil and gas exploration and production as a geoscientist.
Nigel has worked for Shell, Occidental and, more recently, Cairn Energy. As a consultant he has carried out numerous international projects involving equity determinations, reserves estimation and corporate valuations. He has also assisted several governments and national oil companies in evaluating their country’s petroleum potential and in attracting foreign investment for petroleum exploration.
Nigel was formerly a Visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University and currently is a Visiting Lecturer on the M.Sc. courses in Petroleum Geoscience and Petroleum Geophysics at Imperial College, London. He also gives a variety of technical training courses to international oil companies and investors.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Oxford University - Geology
Courses Taught
N097: Introduction of the Oil and Gas Industry
N260: Practical Subsurface Mapping
N829: Report Writing and Presentation Skills for Geoscientists and Engineers
N831: Fundamentals of the Oil and Gas Industry
R001: Oil and Gas Essentials
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