Fundamentals of Reservoir Development Geology

Training modules demonstrate the basic principles of effective field evaluation for development studies, ranging from appraisal to engineered recovery operations.

Modules focus on the controls which geological heterogeneities exert on subsurface fluid flow, and show how an understanding of reservoir characteristics will improve the reliability of geological and reservoir engineering studies. The main themes include:

• The importance of effective data gathering
• The requirement for all static and dynamic reservoir data to be integrated into a model.

John H Martin has delivered reservoir geoscience training for more than 30 years. These entry-level training modules will be suitable for reservoir and petroleum engineers, who will learn how geological insight can improve understanding of the reservoir. Non earth-scientists should preferably already have attended a course in basic geology. It is also suitable for newly graduated geologists and geophysicists, who will gain a greater insight into the work of the reservoir engineer, and in particular how to tailor the results of geological studies into a format most useful to the requirements of field development planning. Modules cover topics including:

• Study requirements for field appraisal, development and engineered recovery projects
• Core description for reservoir studies
• Basic reservoir rock properties and application of special core measurements
• Clastic and carbonate reservoir models; reservoir aspects of diagenesis
• Production and reservoir geological correlation, subsurface data manipulation, reservoir mapping, volumetrics
• Geological aspects of reservoir simulation modelling; types of simulation models: their objectives, strengths and weaknesses. Differing input requirements
• Evaluation of complex reservoirs: non-conventional modelling of uncorrelatable reservoirs and permeability barriers
• Case studies of field appraisal, development and enhanced recovery operations.

This training does not focus extensively on geostatistics or 3D geomodelling, rather on more fundamental aspects of reservoir/development geology.