N380 Seismic Interpretation Workshop: Play Recognition on Passive Margins
Course Facts
- Course Code:
- N380
- Duration:
- 5 days
- Type:
- Classroom
- CEU:
- 4.0 Continuing Education Units
- PDH:
- 40 Professional Development Hours
- Certificate:
- Certificate Issued Upon Completion
Summary
The deepwater down to 2500 m and beyond has seen huge amounts of exploration activity over the last decade. In this course we will discuss the established deepwater petroleum provinces and we will also discuss emerging new provinces/plays. The emphasis will be on mega-regional seismic lines to understand the structural and trapping styles, the diversity of play systems and how they work. This course aims to teach explorers how to look for petroleum by understanding an outstanding analogue set of world class deepwater provinces, based on excellent quality margin-wide, long offset seismic lines.
Duration and Training Method
This is a five-day classroom course based principally around the interpretation of high quality, regional scale seismic data. The course will have a workshop format with the majority of time spent using and interpreting the data under the guidance of industry experts.
Participants will learn to:
- Recognise the full range of crustal structures that can underlie passive margins and the impact on hydrocarbon exploration.
- Develop a systematic and rigorous workflow to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of passive margins from regional seismic data.
- Assess passive margin mega-sequences and the potential sources, seals and reservoirs within them.
- Predict plays and play diversity on passive margins.
- Evaluate the range of structural and stratigraphic trapping styles in proven plays and how to apply this knowledge to new basins.
- Evaluate the regional context for new emerging plays.
- Integrate knowledge of refraction and wide angle reflection seismic data and Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Programme wells and how they affect evaluation of petroleum systems.
- Understand the potential of applying descriptions and understanding of successful plays to other basins.
Tuition will comprise the interpretation of individual seismic lines from proven and emerging deep water petroleum provinces to identify the mega-sequences, predict plays and understand why each province is successful. The provinces will be tailored for individual needs and could include:
- N Slope Alaska to illustrate the work flow.
- Volcanic passive margins:
- Exhumed mantle margins
- Gravity sliding/gravity spreading associated with large delta systems (circum-Africa and GOM):
- Stratigraphic plays from the equatorial margins of Africa and South America:
- Carbonate margins:
- Post trap modification
- i. Faeroe-Shetland Basin (iSIMM)
- ii.Namibia
- i. Iberia-Newfoundland conjugates
- i. Niger Delta (shale diapirism)
- ii. GOM (salt- ponded mini-basins)
- iii. Levant margin (distal part of the Nile system, covered by thick salt)
- iv. Lower Congo Basin and Kwanza (salt)
- i. Deep water Tano Basin (Jubilee)
- ii. French Guiana (Zaedyus)
- iii. Sergipe Alagoas (submarine fans draping subtle outer high)
- iv. Senegal (SNE and FAN discoveries)
- i. Santos Basin (pre-salt carbonates)
- ii. Adriatic (Croatia and Italy)
- i. Westralia Basin, NW Australia (mostly clastics with carbonate cover) contrast Barrow/Dampier Exmouth with Timor JDA
The seismic lines will be interspersed with selected modules that refresh the basic principles and will include the following topics:
- Latest views on the evolution and structure of passive margins especially of distal margins
- Structural styles and trap types
- Sequence and seismic stratigraphic analysis of clastic and carbonates, mega-sequence break-down and prediction of source, seal and reservoir
- Stratigraphic trapping geometries
- Importance of charge foci
- Use of refraction data, potential fields and importance of Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Programme wells
We gratefully acknowledge the use of selected seismic to Spectrum Geo Ltd.
Who should attend
The course is aimed at explorers with experience of seismic interpretation, having a sound understanding of other geoscience disciplines and how they impact petroleum systems and plays. The workshop format demands a high degree of commitment and involvement by participants, who are urged to bring to the course relevant material that can contribute to the discussion.
Prerequisites and linking courses
A basic working knowledge of structural geology (as offered in N016/N116) and seismic interpretation (as offered in N085 or N040) is required as well as an understanding of deepwater processes and systems (N155 provides a broad introduction to clastic depositional systems). It should be noted however, that participants need not be specialists in any of these subjects.
Field class N295 (Structure and Evolution of a Passive Margin: Implications for Hydrocarbon Exploration, Western Alps, France) provides seismic scale outcrop analogues of the structures and sedimentary fill of a Tethyan passive margin via a transect through the Western Alps.
Related GTA classroom courses include N043 (Gulf of Mexico Petroleum Systems) and N217 (Seismic Imaging and Velocity Model-Building Techniques: Concepts, Examples and Pitfalls) which focuses on accurate subsurface imaging.
Click on a name to learn more about the instructor
Mike Mayall
Mike Mayall
Background
Mike started at BP as a sedimentologist in the International group in London and worked on numerous projects from all over the world, particularly in Indonesia, Ireland, Norway and Alaska. He later became manager of the International Sedimentology group and subsequently moved to Houston as manager of an Integrated Reservoir Description group. Mike spent four years in Houston where he was involved in many projects including early exploration and appraisal of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. On returning to London Mike worked on major projects in the NW shelf of Australia and on clastic and carbonate reservoirs offshore Vietnam.
When new giant discoveries were made in deepwater offshore Angola Mike was part of the small BP team which evaluated the discoveries and took them through the BP sanctioning process. During this time Mike was able to interpret the fabulous seismic data, integrate with small multidiscipline teams and work with, and learn from, the operating teams in other major companies. Through this thrilling and exhilarating period Mike was involved in the appraisal and sanctioning of ten major projects in deepwater reservoirs.
Mike’s key skills are in reducing complex technical issues to practical and pragmatic value focused on important element of a project. He is an energetic and passionate advocate of technical quality, teaching and coaching of both young and more experienced professionals. Mike has taught many field and classroom training courses ranging from basic sedimentology and petroleum geology to conducting advanced workshops. Mike has always had strong links with academia and he is enthusiastic about applying research results to industry subsurface problems.
Mike has published papers on clay mineralogy, Devonian limestones, shelf edge deltas, tufted algal mats, Miocene carbonates and earthquake beds. His more recent work has been focussed on deepwater reservoirs and he has published a number of papers with colleagues from industry and academia. Thirty four years after starting with BP, Mike retired to become an independent consultant.
Mike now is a consultant for the oil industry and has also helped develop and deliver industry training courses on ‘Passive margin play concepts’ and ‘Maximising the impact of analogues across the E&P cycle’. He is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London with a research program on sedimentation and tectonics in slope systems. He also teaches on the Petroleum Geology MSc course. Mike works with the Aberdeen University deep-water PRAXS consortia on developing workflows for interpreting deep-water slope systems. He has numerous publications particularly on deep-water sediments.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Reading University - The late Triassic (Rhaetian) transgression in SW Britain
MSc Reading University - Sedimentology and it’s Applications
BSc Cardiff University - Geology, Honors
Courses Taught
N372: Integrated Subsurface Description in a Working Petroleum System (North Derbyshire, UK)
N380: Seismic Interpretation Workshop: Play Recognition on Passive Margins
N477: A Systematic Approach to Defining and Evaluating Stratigraphic and Subtle Combination Traps
N483: Geological Seismic Interpretation of Deepwater Systems: Depositional Environments, Reservoir Architecture and Stratigraphy
N708: Exploration Capability Development Program - Deepwater Prospect Evaluation
N709: Mastery Programme - Deep Water Prospects Masterclass
Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson
Background
Mark is Director of Lurch Oil Consultation Limited and is an Associate member of RPS Nautilus. As well as teaching courses on the Nautilus programme, Mark has been deeply involved in delivering training courses as part of a cohesive exploration capability development programme for a national oil company.
Mark is from Staffordshire in the British Midlands. He went to Cambridge University 1974 to 1977 to do a Natural Sciences degree, specialising in Geology. Mark joined BP straight out of University and successfully developed a career in both exploration and development geology, attaining the position of Senior Exploration Advisor before leaving BP at the end of 2014. He has been involved in many hydrocarbon discoveries worldwide in numerous basins. He was for many years a global coach in BP, where he prepared and taught many internal courses.
Mark’s career has taken him on many postings including Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and Norway. His main interests include basin analysis, play fairway and prospect analysis. He has published on a wide variety of topics including alternative explanations for depth dependent stretching, heat flow associated with underplating and play fairway analysis. Interests outside geology include walking and orienteering.
Affiliations and Accreditation
MA University of Cambridge - Natural Science, Geology
Courses Taught
N005: Tectonic Controls on Basin Development and Petroleum Systems
N378: Basin Analysis for Petroleum Geoscientists
N380: Seismic Interpretation Workshop: Play Recognition on Passive Margins
N425: Play Analysis for Targeted Prospect Identification
N477: A Systematic Approach to Defining and Evaluating Stratigraphic and Subtle Combination Traps
N522: Charge Access - The Final Frontier in Petroleum Geoscience
Basin, Play, and Structural Analysis
Basin and Play Evaluation
Dates for this Course
“ Thoroughly enjoyed the course, like all the other Nautilus courses I have attended. What was different about this workshop was that sufficient time was given to the practical exercises & group discussions. This allowed Mike & Mark to reinforce the key themes. The course was excellent & good fun as a result.”
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