15 Petroleum Economics for Geologists – Part 7
19 Interpretation of Transgressive Barrier-Beach, Shoreface, Lagoon, and Estuary Reservoirs – Use of Modern Analogues: Part 3 – Subsurface Mapping and Interpretation
23 Exploration Review of the Horn River Shale Gas Play Prospect Area
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CSPG OFFICE
#600, 640 - 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 1G7
Tel: 403-264-5610 Fax: 403-264-5898
Web: www.cspg.org
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:00pm
Executive Director: Lis Bjeld
Email: lis.bjeld@cspg.org
Advertising & Sponsorship Coordinator: Alyssa Middleton
Email: alyssa.middleton@cspg.org
Communications Coordinator: Heather Tyminski
Email: heather.tyminski@cspg.org
Member Services Coordinator: Kasandra Klein
Email: kasandra.klein@cspg.org
Registration Coordinator: Dayna Rhoads
Email: dayna.rhoads@cspg.org
Convention Contacts
Convention Manager: Shauna Carson
Email: scarson@geoconvention.org
Convention Coordinator: Tanya Santry
Email: tsantry@geoconvention.org
EDITORS/AUTHORS
Please submit RESERVOIR articles to the CSPG office. Submission deadline is the 23rd day of the month, two months prior to issue date. (e.g., January 23 for the March issue).
To publish an article, the CSPG requires digital copies of the document. Text should be in Microsoft Word format and illustrations should be in TIFF format at 300 dpi., at final size. For additional information on manuscript preparation, refer to the Guidelines for Authors published in the CSPG Bulletin or contact the editor.
Technical Editors
Ben McKenzie Colin Yeo (Assistant Tech. Editor) Tarheel Exploration EnCana Corporation Tel: 403-277-4496 Tel: 403-645-7724
Email: bjmck@telusplanet.net Email: colin.yeo@encana.com
Coordinating Editor
Heather Tyminski, Comunications Coordinator, CSPG Tel: 403-513-1227, Email: heather.tyminski@cspg.org
ADVERTISING
Advertising inquiries should be directed to Alyssa Middleton, Tel: 403-513-1233, email: alyssa.middleton@cspg.org. The deadline to reserve advertising space is the 23rd day of the month, two months prior to issue date.
The RESERVOIR is published 11 times per year by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists. This includes a combined issue for the months of July and August. The purpose of the RESERVOIR is to publicize the Society’s many activities and to promote the geosciences. We look for both technical and non-technical material to publish. Additional information on the RESERVOIR’s submission guidelines can be found at http://www.cspg. org/publications/pubs-reservoir-submissions.cfm.
The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the consent of the publisher. Additional copies of the RESERVOIR are available at the CSPG office for $6.50 each. No official endorsement or sponsorship by the CSPG is implied for any advertisement, insert, or article that appears in the Reservoir unless otherwise noted. All submitted materials are reviewed by the editor. We reserve the right to edit all submissions, including letters to the Editor. Submissions must include your name, address, and membership number (if applicable). The material contained in this publication is intended for informational use only. While reasonable care has been taken, authors and the CSPG make no guarantees that any of the equations, schematics, or devices discussed will perform as expected or that they will give the desired results. Some information contained herein may be inaccurate or may vary from
and all
Choose from over 50 exciting field seminars, short courses and online programs all designed with the goal of helping you explore and better understand the science of this industry. Please see the AAPG website for complete descriptions and registration information. Below are the highlights of courses coming up very soon. Make your plans now before seats get filled!
Short Courses:
Basic Well Log Analysis
Location: Denver, CO
13-16
26-30
11-12
11-12
Instructors: George Asquith and Dan Krygowski
Complex Well – Core Competency
– An Asset Team Program
Location: Dallas, TX
Instructor: Robert Knoll
Creative Petroleum Exploration
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada, with the AAPG International Conference & Exhibition
Instructors: Edward Beaumont and Doug Strickland
Image Log Interpretation
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada, with the AAPG International Conference & Exhibition
Instructor: Laird Thompson
Instructor: Peter Jones SEPT 16-19
Folds, Faults and Hydrocarbons in the Southern Canadian Cordillera – Principles and Practices Combination Short Course/Field Trip
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada, with the AAPG International Conference & Exhibition
Online Courses:
LAUNCH DATE
Biomass Energy Basics – A Renewable Energy Certificate Course
Instructor: Theresa Coffman
APRIL 17-22 Last Chance:
APRIL 9-11
Practical Salt Tectonics – Short Course
Location: New Orleans, with the AAPG Convention!
Instructor: Mark Rowan
Deep-Water Siliciclastic Reservoirs – Field Seminar
Location: California
Leaders: Stephan Graham and Donald Lowe
JUNE 21-25
JULY 7-14
JULY 11-18
JULY 17-23
JULY 19-24
Fractures and Tectonics of the Northern Appalachian Basin
Location: New York
Leader: Robert Jacobi
Modern Terrigenous Clastic Depositional Systems
Location: South Carolina
Leader: Walter Sexton
Lacustrine Basin Exploration
Location: Utah
Leaders: Alan Carroll and Meredith Rhodes Carson
Seismic Interpretation of Compressive Structures: Field Trip to the Southern Canadian Rocky Mountain Foreland
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
Leaders: John Shaw and Frank Bilotti
Fractures, Folds and Faults in Thrusted Terrains: Sawtooth Range, Montana
Location: Montana
Leaders: William Hansen, Steve Boyer, Chuck Kluth, Jim Sears
Seismic Stratigraphy and Seismic Geomorphology: Applications and Workflows for Lithology Prediction Using 3D Seismic Data
Instructor: Henry Posamentier
APRIL 24-30
APRIL 27-30
Clastic Reservoir Facies – Field Seminar
Location: Utah
Leader: Thomas Ryer
Basic Well Log Analysis – Short Course
Location: Austin, TX
Instructors: George Asquith and Dan Krygowski
President John Varsek • Cenovus Energy john.varsek@cenovus.com Tel: (403) 645-5417
Vice President
Kirk Osadetz • Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary kosadetz@nrcan.gc.ca Tel: (403) 292-7022
Past President
Graeme Bloy • Canada Capital Energy Corporation gbloy@capitalenergy.ca Tel: (403) 975-5784
Finance director
Greg Lynch • Shell Canada Ltd. greg.lynch@shell.com Tel: (403) 691-3111
assistant Finance director
Darren Aldridge • Baker Hughes darren.aldridge@bakerhughes.com Tel: (403) 537-3505
Program director
Scott Leroux • EnCana Corporation scott.leroux@encana.com Tel: (403) 645-2000
assistant Program director
Brett Norris • TransGlobe Energy Corp. brettn@trans-globe.com Tel: (403) 264-9896
serVice director
Ayaz Gulamhussein • NuVista Energy Ltd. ayaz.gulamhussein@nuvistaenergy.com Tel: (403) 538-8510
assistant serVice director
Richard Thom • Core Laboratories Canada Ltd. richard.thom@corelab.com Tel: (403) 250-4052
outreach director
Mike DesRoches • Talisman Energy Inc. mdesroches@talisman-energy.com Tel: (403) 513-6843
assistant outreach director
Steve Dryer • Consultant whiskeyjackresources@telus.net Tel: (403) 969-2292
communications director
Stephen Hubbard • University of Calgary steve.hubbard@ucalgary.ca Tel: (403) 220-6236
assistant communications director
Jim Barclay • ConocoPhillips
Jim.E.Barclay@conocophillips.com Tel: (403) 532-3889
executiVe director
Lis Bjeld • CSPG lis.bjeld@cspg.org Tel: (403) 513-1228
A message from Claus Sitzler, The CSPG Educational Trust Fund Chair
The CSPG Educational Trust Fund (ETF) is the charitable fundraising body of the CSPG.
Due to Canada Revenue Agency regulations, we operate at arm’s length from the CSPG. As Trustees, governance is in accordance to the Trust Deed. We do this by promoting Petroleum Geology education and awareness across Canada through our financial contributions. At the same time, part our role is to attract new geologists to our Society and profession.
Our efforts are directed towards the public – whether they are the average Canadian who is concerned over our impact on the environment, a geology graduate deciding on a career in hard or soft rock, or a student unsure of their potential career choices when they go to university. Our most important mission is to encourage Canadian youth to look toward petroleum geology as a potential career choice. Having my own children currently enrolled in grade school and having personally given numerous presentations at their schools, I see a large need for promoting science and especially geology in our classrooms. The teachers are thankful to have us in the classroom to discuss a topic that the students find so fascinating. Sadly though, there is little geology in the Alberta curriculum and most of it is in the early years. By the time that these students are making career choices, usually at the end of junior high or at the high school level, there is almost no geology in the curriculum. I personally did not even know that geology existed until I was in my third year at university and a friend suggested I try the subject. Through participation in and partial sponsorship of programs like Ed-Geo (teacher earth science training), the Kids In Science program at the annual convention (KISP), the Honorary Address, the Calgary Youth Science Fair and Science in a Crate we provide additional teaching tools to the schools to try to help make Geology relevant and enticing as a career choice.
At the university level we provide scholarships, M.Sc. and Ph.D. awards, and bursaries for undergraduate and graduate students like the Andrew D. Baillie Award. In addition, the ETF helps fund university conferences and the Student Industry Field Trip (SIFT), which is the star of the CSPG’s university-oriented student program. SIFT introduces university-level geology students to the petroleum industry. The CSPG now provides free student membership in the Society to university students to encourage interest in petroleum geology, in the hopes that these students will continue their membership once they have graduated.
For the general public we are providing Outreach through the Honorary Address, and new this year is a public exhibit floor at the Earth Science for Society event (ESFS or Super KISP) at the 2010 GeoCanada convention.
We are not a charity that can strike at the emotions as other charities can. We need to address the pride and strength of our membership and our obligation to our profession to provide mentorship to the youth of today and the future geologists of tomorrow. We have an 83-year history of sharing our wealth of knowledge; we need to help now to provide more Outreach funding. Calgary has arguably one of the technically strongest groups of geologists in the world; this comes from our long history of mentorship and sharing of both information and knowledge and our time and resources. I ask you to consider contributing your resources to make a difference in the name of your Society, the CSPG.
During the last year, CSPG and the ETF were not able to meet all the requests for funding such as KISP, some University Outreach programs, Evergreen Theatre, and Canmore Stones and Bones. Your support is needed more than ever before.
(Continued on
At APEGGA we like to make science fun! We also hope to attract the best and brightest students to careers in geoscience. And we remain committed to building strong relationships with the geoscience community. Put that all together and you get an active geoscience outreach and sponsorship program.
In fact, every year APEGGA provides in-kind donations and thousands of dollars to multiple groups as a sponsor of organizations and events including: Alberta Science Literacy Society, Alberta Women’s Science Network, Burgess Shale Foundation, Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre, Doodle Train, Earth Sciences for Society, Geophysics Undergraduate Student Society, Geoscience Day, Honorary Address, P.S. Warren Undergraduate Geological Society, PTAC Spring Water Forum, Rock ‘N’ Fossil Clinics, Rundle Group of Geology, Science Alberta Foundation, Seismic in Motion, Stones and Bones Summer Camp, TELUS World of Science Calgary and Edmonton and W.C. Gussow Geoscience Conference as well as multiple science olympics and science fairs.
That’s because, like you, we see sponsoring geoscience outreach organizations and events as an investment in future human capital and an important opportunity to raise awareness of the wealth generation and quality of life made possible by geoscientists right here in Alberta.
By working with Alberta’s geoscience community, we help to ensure that today’s students become tomorrow’s geoscience leaders.
Investing in the Future: Visit www.apegga.org for more information or call Tom Sneddon, P.Geol., Geoscience Affairs Manager at 403-262-7714 or 1-800-661-7020.
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the cspg executive has provided us with the opportunity for you to leave a legacy by naming some of the programs and events the etF helps run. the calgary Foundation puts your money to work on behalf of the etF. these donations can be in the form of cash or marketable securities.
in the past, a member’s passion for geology has led to endowments in their estate. if you have left a legacy for cspg and/or the etF in your will, would you please inform us so that we can include this information in our future program planning?
We, the trustees, are at your disposal. if you have any ideas for outreach activities that we should pursue or fund we will gladly consider them. We are willing to listen to and discuss any new funding ideas that you may have. All donations are important to us, from the $50 contributions that sustain us from year to year and allow us to keep our approximately $1 million trust Fund intact, to the larger donations that can be added to the endowment and allow us to support more of the outreach goals of the cspg
our board currently consist of 11 members:
peter harrington (treasurer), dan krentz (s ecretary), John cuthbertson, Bruce mcintyre, John hogg, clint tippett, Alice p ayne, and Bob d ick, as i ndependent trustees; mike desroches and steve dryer as cspg -appointed outreach trustees; and myself as chairman. if you are interested in helping us raise funds or promote the outreach activities of the cspg please contact us at cspgtrust@cspg.org. more details on the etF structure are available in reservoir’s may 2008 message from Bruce mcintyre, past chairman of the etF (see the on-line archives).
For more information on the cspg educational trust Fund please visit our page on the cspg website www.cspg.org/trust/ trust.cfm. if you would like to discuss in detail more about what the etF is about and what we would like to accomplish, please contact us at cspgtrust@cspg.org. to donate to the etF, you can follow the links to donate on the cspg website or donate directly online to canada helps at www.canadahelps.org/ donationdetails.aspx. Lastly, you can mail or drop off your donation to: treasurer at cspg educational trust Fund, 600, 640 8 Ave sW, calgary, AB t2p 1g7.
AS OF FEBRUARY 29, 2010
Never underestimate the value of a good translator. Nothing lost in translation. So much gained. Clear, precise geological definition for conventional and non-conventional reservoirs. www.oilsandsimaging.com 403.237.6686 100, 1100-8th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2P 3T8
microbial acids and gas as an explanation for the dissolution and forming of pores and caves
SPEAKER
Stephanie Schwabe Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky
11:30 am thursday, april 15, 2010 telus convention centre calgary, alberta
Please note: the cut-off date for ticket sales is 1:00 pm, monday, april 12, 2010. csPg member ticket Price: $38.00 + gst. non- member ticket Price: $45.00 + gst.
Each CSPG Technical Luncheon is 1 APEGGA PDH credit. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.cspg.org/eSeries/source/ Events/index.cfm.
The current explanation for the formation of caves in the Bahamas is that mixing of CaCO 3 -supersaturated seawater with CaCO 3 -saturated groundwater creates over-saturated mixed water that is capable of dissolving the limestone to produce large voids. We now know that the mixing of these bodies of water cannot dissolve limestone unless there is a continuous source of acids to overcome the buffering effects of the limestone. Similarly, rainwater that is slightly acidic via incorporation of atmospheric and soil CO 2 cannot remain acidic during its passage through the vadose zone, a time frame that may be as long as two months.
Interstitial bacteria are the obvious sources of the acids needed to initiate and maintain acidic meteoric and groundwater conditions. We have shown that
sterile-caught rainwater on San Salvador Island contains 103 bacteria/ml before contact with the ground, has a pH of 5.6, and is buffered within three minutes following contact with limestone. The pH of dripstone water, measured as it exits a stalactite, contained >104 bacteria colony-forming-units (cfu)/ml and had a pH of 6.7. The pH of a small pool directly below the dripping stalactite had a pH of 7.7. We hypothesize that the dissolution capacity of vadose water is controlled by the assimilation of bacterially generated acids, produced by bacteria living in the pores of the host rock. Abundant bacteria have been documented in the vadose zone (>106 cfu), in phreatic water (>106), and in the rock walls of caves (>106). In an air-filled cave, 2.2 g CO 2 /kg/day was measured coming out of the cave ceiling, and 770ppm CO 2 was generated by a 0.5 g sample of cave wall rock held in a sealed container. These same gases generated by bacteria are also forming pores as large as two centimetres in unconsolidated sediments. The bacterial mucilage glues the carbonate grains together and as microbial gases accumulate within this mucilage, it expands, generating large pores within the sediment.
Although this research is considered novel, we have discovered that as early as 1904, scientists had discovered that interstitial bacteria were responsible for the disintegration of building stones in England. What they characterized as bacterial disease of rocks, we suggest is the primary driving force for dissolution of limestones in the Bahamas.
BIOGRAPH y
Stephanie Jutta Schwabe received her B.A. in Geology from the College of Charleston in 1990, her M.Sc. from Mississippi State University in 1992, and her Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry from the University of Bristol, UK in 1999. She also earned a J.D. with focus in International Environmental Law and Maritime Law from the University of Queensland, Australia in 2003. She was admitted to the Queensland Bar, both as a Barrister and Mediator the same year. She is also a consultant on environmental issues and modern-day carbonate rocks, primarily working with Bahamians who are fighting to save their environment.
A native of Charleston South Carolina, Dr. Schwabe has been diving for over 25 years in the Bahamas, and is the founder and director of the Rob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation,
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named after her husband, following his death. She became a celebrity in the dangerous world of cave diving, fighting powerful interests to protect the “blue holes” of the Bahamas and, as a result, her adventurous stories have been featured in a book titled, “Women of Discovery: A Celebration of Intrepid Women Who Explored the World”; “The Third Man Factor,” which describes near-death experiences of explorers; “Champions for Change, Athletes Making a World of Difference,” a UN publication; and a soon-to-be-released book titled, “Women under Pressure,” describing what women have to endure in the mostly male-dominated world of diving. She has just finished writing her own book titled; “Living in Darkness: A Woman’s scientific and exploratory adventures into the Black and Blue Holes of the Bahamas,” published by Greyhound Press.
Her work and adventures have been recorded by Discovery, Discovery Animal Planet, German and French National Television, World of Wonder, Beyond (an Australian Production company), BBC on a series called ‘Oceans,’ and several other international and national TV programs. She recently finished working with NHK Japan Television generating a science film project on the geological story of how the islands and underwater caves of the Bahamas formed.
She taught Geology, Environmental Geology, and Environmental Science and Policy at the College of Charleston for five years. In 2007 she went to the University of San Diego where she taught Geological Oceanography, Environmental Geology, History of Climate Change, and Environmental Law and Policy at the School of Peace and Justice, and has recently began teaching at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
SPEAKER
Harris Cander
BP America
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer
11:30 am
tuesday, a pril 27, 2010 c algary, te Lus convention centre c algary, a lberta
Please note: the cut-off date for ticket sales is 1:00 pm, a pril 22, 2010. csPg m ember t icket Price: $38.00 + gst. n on- m ember t icket Price: $45.00 + gst.
Each CSPG Technical Luncheon is 1 APEGGA PDH credit. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.cspg.org/eSeries/source/ Events/index.cfm.
The competition for unconventional resources in north America has resulted, in some cases, in acquisition of acreage prior to a thorough understanding of
subsurface technical risks or identification of fairway boundaries and sweet spots. Indeed, the term “resource play” implies to some that subsurface risks are either minimized or irreducible. As well, the term “unconventional gas” connotes that little is to be gained from application of conventional principles of basin evolution and petroleum generation, migration, and entrapment. Under these circumstances, the value of regional geologic understanding of an entire basin prior to acreage capture can be overlooked and the focus turned to completions technology and post-well analysis.
This lecture will discuss the importance of understanding a basin from basement to surface – granite to grass roots – in the search for unconventional fairways. The lecture will include a holistic integration of data and interpretations from basin modeling, petroleum migration modeling, gas isotope data, pressure history, seismic, and reservoir quality. Linkages will be made from microscopic scale observations to tectonic-scale processes. Examples will be given from various north American basins that illustrate how mega-scale
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features such as basement architecture and Precambrian rift history have a first-order and transcendent effect on the evolution and occurrence of unconventional resource fairways, including a strong influence on petroleum generation and entrapment as well as changes in reservoir rock during post-orogenic uplift.
BIOGRAPH y
Harris Cander works in BP America’s Exploration and Technology Group and has focused the past few years on global and domestic exploration for unconventional resources. Since joining BP (Amoco) in 1991, Cander has worked in a variety of international and domestic exploration, production, and commercial roles as well as carbon dioxide sequestration projects.
Cander is the current co-chairman of the AAPG Unconventional Research Group and a past cochairman of the AAPG Carbonates Research Group. He has published on unconventional resources, overpressure, and hydrocarbon occurrence in offshore Trinidad, exploration in central Europe, and carbonate diagenesis. His talk on carbonate porosity evolution won the award for best presentation at the 1992 SEPM annual meeting.
Cander received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991 and MBA from Rice University in 2002. He lives in West University Place, Texas, with his wife, Chris, and children, Sasha and Joshua.
SPEAKER
Toni Simo
ExxonMobil
Upstream Research Company
Houston, Texas
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer
11:30 am
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Telus Convention Centre Calgary, Alberta
NEW SHORTER DST COURSE (3.5 days)
April 6-9 and Oct. 18-21, 2010
Other Courses Below:
16 WAYS TO IDENTIFY BYPASSED PAY FROM DST DATA
(More advanced, for those “comfortable” with DST charts) April 21-22, 2010 (2 days)
SEMINAR
(Oil & Gas Finding Aspects) April 26-29, 2010 (4 days)
In-house courses available. For course outline visit: www.hughwreid.com 262-1261
Please note:
The cut-off date for ticket sales is 1:00 pm, Friday, May 21, 2010. CSPG Member Ticket Price: $38.00 + GST. Non-Member Ticket Price: $45.00 + GST.
Each CSPG Technical Luncheon is 1 APEGGA PDH credit.
Did you know that you can book a table for the Technical Luncheon? To book your company’s table or to buy tickets, visit http://www.cspg. org/events/events-luncheons.cfm.
Isolated carbonate platforms and mounds (ICPM) originate on topographic highs in shallow marine waters and are surrounded on all sides by deeper-water environments. Comparative studies of modern and ancient isolated platforms allow insights into mechanisms that control the platforms. Modern examples provide information especially relevant to Tertiary platforms because the carbonate-secreting organisms that built the platforms are very similar and occupied similar ecologic zones.
In the modern detailed information on the organisms and environments of deposition can provide insights into the dominant controls on facies type and dimensions today. However, there is a challenging lack of information regarding how the facies and size change through time. This challenge can be addressed through highresolution seismic images, which provide sequential and spatial information and allow for comprehensive analysis on ICPM initiation, amalgamation, and demise. A unique combination of insights gathered from modern and ancient datasets on isolated carbonate platforms and mounds can be used to make predictions, create conceptual models, and guide geologic model inputs.
Two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys from Southeast Asia show internal seismic geometries and positions of margins, providing clues on the evolution of the ICPM. Mounds initiate as small positive features that amalgamate to form platforms of different sizes and geometries prior to drowning. The distance between the mounds appears to be the first-order control on amalgamation and ultimate platform size. However, amalgamation may be inhibited if strong currents redistribute sediment transported off-bank and away from the mounds, leaving unfilled accommodation space.
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Understanding the feedbacks between mound amalgamation and carbonate production will have implications for predicting control mechanisms and building conceptual models. High amalgamation rates imply large areas of shallow-water carbonate deposition and high carbonate production resulting in the formation of mega-platforms. Smaller areas of shallow water deposition tend to drown faster when environmental conditions deteriorate and platforms cannot keep up with increased accommodation.
Satellite images over several modern platforms in Southeast Asia provide an opportunity to investigate the importance of oceanographic processes such as tides and currents as well as tectonic subsidence and chemistry on carbonate deposition and the impact on ICPM evolution. In the Tertiary, however, special consideration is needed for sea-surface temperature and salinity residence times. These parameters are thought to be the major difference in biologic controls on the types of organisms building shallow-water platforms in the Tertiary versus today.
Modern and ancient datasets are used in parallel to evaluate what and how certain processes control initiation, growth, and demise of isolated carbonate platforms and mounds. This allows us to predict the controls for ancient ICPM, thus establishing a framework of rules for predictive conceptual models.
BiogRAPhy
Toni Simo completed his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Barcelona. He is currently Research Associate for Upstream Research Company, ExxonMobil. Before that he was a professor at University Polytechnic Barcelona and before that, a professor at the University of Wisconsin. Some of his previous publications include Controls on Carbonate Platform and Reef Development, Advances in Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy, and Cretaceous Carbonate Platforms.
226CopperfieldBlvd.S.E. Calgary,ABT2Z4R6
Tel4037260666
Fax4034515380
Cell4038192516
farhat@sableconsultants.com SABLECONSULTANTS.COM
226CopperfieldBlvd.S.E. Calgary,ABT2Z4R6
Tel4037260666
Fax4034515380
Cell4038150159
doug@sableconsultants.com SABLECONSULTANTS.COM
SPEAKER
Olena Babak
Total E&P Canada Ltd.
CO-AUTHORS
Pierre Bergey, Virginia Mayo, and Denis Druesne
Total E&P Canada Ltd.
12:00 Noon
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
ConocoPhillips Auditorium
3rd Floor- above Plus 15+ level 401 9th Ave SW Calgary, Alberta
Building numerical reservoir models is an intermediate but crucial step for development planning and reservoir management. Numerical models are often used with the assistance of flow simulation to compare and choose alternative production scenarios, well locations, and well trajectories. Accurate reservoir models lead to reliable predictions of reservoir performance and improved reservoir management decisions.
Geostatistical reservoir models are created in a hierarchical fashion. Major stratigraphic layers are identified first, then facies are modeled, and, finally, porosity and permeability and any other variables of importance are assigned according to facies. Facies modeling is an essential step in numerical reservoir description. There may exist many secondary data that must be considered in facies modeling including multiple seismic attributes and geological trends. Each data type carries information at different scale and with varying level of precision; all of them should be used to acquire accurate facies models and to reduce the uncertainty in the reservoir performance predictions.
The most common technique in industry for facies modeling is Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS). This method is based on indicator kriging which allows direct estimation of the conditional distribution at an unsampled location, that is, its distribution of uncertainty. Simulation is performed by including previously simulated nodes into the conditioning information, and drawing from the conditional distribution function. Secondary data in SIS is incorporated by using a trend model. This option for SIS allows not only to account for the local facies data (conditioning) and spatial variation of the facies (variogram), but also to put a stronger constrain on the facies variability derived from the secondary information (trend). SIS with locally varying mean or trend option is implemented in many if not all public and commercial software packages. Building reasonable and fair trend models for facies prediction, on the other hand, still presents an important challenge that must be addressed.
and facies-derived proportion cubes were merged using several probability combination schemes including permanence of ratios (PR) approach and conditional independence (CI) approach. All resulting cubes including seismic-derived and faciesderived proportion cubes themselves were evaluated and validated using objective criteria of entropy and fairness.
BiO gRAPH y
Dr. Olena Babak is a Geostatistician with Total E&P Canada Ltd. (TEPC). She carries out and supervises TEPC’s quantitative geological evaluations and geostatistical analysis, as well as conducts research into improvement of methodologies and tools for better modeling of heterogeneity and uncertainty in petroleum reservoirs and mineral deposits. Dr. Babak is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. She works with Professor Clayton Deutsch (Director of the School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Alberta Chamber of Resources Industry Chain in Mining Engineering, Canada Research Chair in Natural Resources Uncertainty Management) and his students in the Centre for Computational Geostatistics. Dr. Babak is a member of the CSPG Geomodeling Committee. She holds a M.Sc. degree in Statistics from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (2004), a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iceland (2005), and a Ph.D. degree in Mining Engineering (Geostatistics) from the University of Alberta (2008). Dr. Babak has published 12 journal papers and more than 20 conference articles and technical papers/reports.
i nf OR m AT iOn
There is no Structural Division talk for April, but stayed tuned; we will be back May 6 at the same time and same place.
Structural division talks run every month, generally the first Thursday. All are welcome to attend and there is no charge or registration. For further information or if you are interested in presenting a talk, please contact Darcie Greggs at Darcie.Greggs@shell.com.
In this presentation we show work that was undertaken for building a 3D trend model for the Surmont Lease in the Athabasca Oil Sands. For the trend modeling in Surmont two types of data were used: hard facies data and secondary seismic attribute. Our work was divided into three parts. Primary facies data were analyzed first to create 3D by-facies proportions cubes. This was achieved by using a 3D overlapping moving-average approach. This approach was chosen due to its simplicity and efficiency. Then, secondary seismic data was binned according to the facies data at the wells. Binning was performed in local neighborhoods to increase the facies differentiating power of seismic attribute. Finally, the seismic-derived
There is no charge for the division talk and we welcome non-members of the CSPG. Please bring your lunch. For details or to present a talk in the future, please contact Weishan Ren at (403) 233-3428, e-mail: weishan.ren@ conocophillips.com.
Sponsored by
SPEAKER
Vaclav Marsovsky APS Membership Director
7:30 pm
Friday, april 16th, 2010 mount royal university, room B108 calgary, alberta
If you have an interest or want to travel to the south coast of England to see the geology and the fossils, then this presentation is for you! The presentation will follow the route taken during a recent field trip organized by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. The major rock units and their fossils will be discussed with a focus on vertebrates. The presentation will cover fossils eroding from the rocks in the field, in private collections of local collectors, and on display at local public museums and Heritage Centres. The
A view of cliffs facing into the English Channel at Chapman Pool, Dorset. Cliffs in view are the dark gray Kimmeridge Clay (Upper Jurassic) with light gray Portland Group above and the white Upper Cretaceous Chalk in the far distance.
rocks were initially studied by the clergy and medical practitioners turned geologists and palaeontologists. The “who’s who” in 19th century geology and palaeontology relating to the south coast will be covered. This presentation will show what the rocks look like and cover the Tertiary / Cretaceous sites from the Isle of Wight and Mesozoic sites from the “Jurassic coast.” The term “Jurassic Coast” is a bit misleading because it covers all of the Mesozoic. From the south coast,
a 155km-long section (the most interesting and worth protecting) became a UnESCO site in the year 2001. The Jurassic Coast is one of those rare sites where collecting of common fossils is encouraged and amateur fossil collectors play an important role in the science.
Vaclav Marsovsky has a degree in Engineering, but, like most APS members, lives two lives (one of those having a keen interest in Palaeontology). Marsovsky has been on the board of APS for over 15 years in several administrative roles. He was a contributor to the “Guide to Common Vertebrate Fossils from the Cretaceous of Alberta,” recently published by APS.
This event is jointly presented by the Alberta Palaeontological Society, Mount Royal University, and the CSPG Palaeontology Division. For details or to present a talk in the future please contact CSPG Paleo Division Chair Philip Benham at 403-691-3343 or programs@albertapaleo. org. Visit the APS website for confirmation of event times and upcoming speakers: http://www. albertapaleo.org/
• 2D, 3D and 4D processing
• Multi-component processing
• PP and PS modeling
• PP and PS registration
• Joint PP and PS inversion
• Stochastic inversion
• AVO/LMR analysis
• Fracture detection
1300, 736 - 6 Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 3T7
Tel: 403.237.7711 Fax: 403.237.7881
geology, geophysical definition, and reservoir characteristics of oil and gas fields producing from basement reservoirs: examples
SPEAKER
Tako Koning Advisor, Tullow Oil
Luanda, Angola
12:00 noon
Wednesday, april 21, 2010 encana amphitheatre, 2nd Floor, east end of the calgary tower complex 1st street and 9th avenue s.e . calgary, alberta
Basement rocks are important oil and gas reservoirs in various basins in the world including the West Siberia Basin, Middle East (Yemen), n orth Africa (Libya, Algeria, and Egypt), South America (Brazil and Venezuela) and the USA (California, Texas, and Kansas). The reservoirs include fractured and weathered granites, quartzites, and metamorphics. This presentation will focus on select oil and gas fields in Asia.
Most of Vietnam’s oil production is from fractured granite basement in the Cuu Long basin with six major oil fields producing primarily from basement. Overlying and adjacent Oligocene lacustrine shales generated the oil, which migrated into the fractured basement. Bach Ho (White Tiger) is a giant field with recoverable reserves of 1.0 – 1.4 million barrels of oil. Other fields include Rong, Rang Dong, Ruby, and Su Tu Den with oil reserves ranging from 100 to 400 million barrels (Hung and Le, 2004). The Ca n gu Vang (C n V) field, discovered in 2002 is the deepest oil-bearing structure in the basin, where the top of basement is at a depth of 3,700 meters. Indeed, the C n V-3x well was the longest measured depth well drilled in Vietnam (6,123 meters) with over 2,000 meters of basement penetrated in a near-horizontal well and was tested at 13,040 BOEPD.
The Dongshenpu field, onshore central China is presented as an example of a Chinese “buried hill” basement oil field. This field was discovered in 1983 and the
Sponsored by
reservoir consists of Precambrian granites, granulites, diabases, and hornblendic metamorphics (Guang and Zuan, 1991). The rocks have no primary porosity but porous reservoirs are developed by weathering and fracturing. The discovery well tested at 1,570 BOPD and subsequent development drilling has proven the oil column to be 400 meters thick.
To date in Indonesia, oil production from basement rocks has been minimal; however, major gas discoveries in South Sumatra totaling some 5 TCF (Suban gas field) have been made in pre-Tertiary fractured granites. This has led to further exploration for gas in basement rocks due to the need for more gas as the Indonesia economy continues to expand. The largest oil accumulation in basement in Indonesia is the Tanjung oil field in Kalimantan. This field has produced over 70 million barrels of oil from overlying Eocene sandstones and conglomerates and it has also produced over 20 million barrels of oil from basement rocks including weathered volcanic, pyroclastics, and metasediments.
Although this presentation mostly reviews “success stories” about basement reservoirs, there are also failures since these reservoirs can be very complicated. Accordingly, the Beruk n orth East oil field in Central Sumatra will be presented as a small basement oil pool (approximately 2 million barrels cumulative production) which appeared promising based on initial flow rates but where subsequent development drilling and production proved the field to be barely commercial.
This presentation will also present “best practices” for exploring for and producing oil and gas from basement reservoirs. This includes the need for adequate depth penetration by drilling (not just tagging into the top of basement), specialized 3D seismic to highlight the dominant fracture systems in the basement, and the need for optimally placed horizontal wells.
While oil and gas fields in crystalline basement are still discovered mostly by accident, there are a few companies which have been especially successful in their focused exploration effort in basement such as Soco International in Vietnam and Yemen. Very noteworthy also has been recent (2009) disclosures by Hurricane Exploration Plc about its highly significant Lancaster (West of Shetland) oil discovery
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| by Colin Yeo, P.Geol. and Lionel Derochie, P.Eng.
We have spent considerable time and effort so far gathering and analyzing data that was used to build our economic model. We have considered price and offsets, developed reasonable production profiles and reserve volumes, sought appropriate capital and operating costs and determined royalty rates and income taxes. All that is left is to crunch the numbers, evaluate the results, and make a decision.
As was mentioned in the first installment of this series, at a high level, companies want to be profitable, grow in size, and show consistent, steady, and positive financial performance. Companies want to increase their net present value, discounted at the corporate cost of capital, and increase their shareholders return on investment. Small companies want to show how fast they can grow and how efficient they are at adding reserves and production. Energy trusts are focused on increasing cash flow, maximizing efficiency, and increasing their
reserve life index (RLI). Large corporations are concerned about capital efficiency, profitability, and capital deployment.
All companies must pursue projects that generate returns greater than their weightedaverage cost of capital (WACOC). The capital base of a company is comprised of both debt and shareholder equity. The cost of capital is calculated by the formula:
WACOC = (debt * cost of debt) + (shareholder equity * return on shareholder equity).
The rate of return (ROR) on investments in prospects must exceed the WACOC if a company is to be profitable and meet debt obligations and shareholder expectations. This threshold is often called a hurdle rate and those projects failing to make the hurdle are eliminated from the portfolio and farmed-out or sold. In some cases, the prospect may be retained if there is potential to increase the ROR in the future through exploration or technology.
There are four broad measures of profitability:
• net present value (NPV)
• rate of return (ROR)
• profit to investment ratio (P/I)
• payout (PO)
There is no one indicator that is used to decide which investment to make but, collectively, these indicators will assist a company in choosing the most appropriate project that meets their needs.
The concept of present value has already been addressed. A discount factor is applied to a future cash-flow stream and the sum of the discounted annual cash flows is the net present value ( nPV). net present value is the value today of a future cash-flow stream. The discount rate that should be used is the corporate WACOC. Projects with an nPV greater than zero are acceptable but because a company’s goal is to increase its corporate
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nPV, projects with the greatest nPV are generally most attractive. Some companies insist that a discount rate greater than their WACOC be used when selecting the projects to invest in. Sometimes, a higher discount rate is used to compensate for risk but the proper procedure should be conducting a full-risk analysis and calculating an expected (risk adjusted) nPV using the WACOC as the discount rate.
The rate of return, ROR, (sometimes called the internal rate of return, IRR) is defined as the discount rate that reduces the nPV of a project’s cash flow stream to zero. A rate of return less than the cost of capital is unacceptable because the project could not service the debt nor meet shareholder expectations. Therefore, there is a minimum ROR that a project must meet. A rate of return is calculated through iteration and extrapolation. It is routinely done by evaluation software such as Value navigator.
The Profit to Investment Ratio, P/I or PIR, (sometimes called return on investment, ROI) is yet another profitability measure. The sum of the cash flows (which includes investments as negative cash) is divided by
the investment. Large P/Is are indicative of very profitable projects that return significant cash flow for each dollar invested. However, some projects – such as resource plays – are characterized by long, low decline production profiles that yield high P/Is. Many companies use a discounted P/I or Discounted Return on Investment (DROI) because it is a better measure of profitability, particularly when considering resource plays. A discounted P/I is calculated by dividing the discounted nPV for the project by the discounted investment thereby accounting for the time value of money of both the cash flow stream and the capital investment for the project. Discounted P/I is the better indicator of capital efficiency and ensures that nPV is maximized.
Payout is defined as the length of time needed to recover the investment made in a project. When the cumulative net cash flow reaches zero, payout occurs. This measure determines the length of time an investment is exposed to other elements of uncertainty other than technical risk. The longer it takes to reach payout, the more the financial success of a project can be affected by changes in commodity prices, operating costs, royalties, and income taxes. Generally, investors want their money back as soon as possible and long payouts are considered to be less desirable.
Management and investors look at all of these profitability measurements in aggregate when they are making investment decisions. nPV by itself only addresses the magnitude of the project but says nothing about the capital efficiency of the project. ROR measures the magnitude of profitability but does not address the size of the project. P/I and discounted P/I measure capital efficiency but do not consider project size. Payout simply measures an aspect of risk, the time an investment is exposed and at risk, but measures no other economic attribute.
However, collectively, these four economic indicators assess the size of the opportunity, the magnitude of its profitability, efficiency in capital deployment, and how fast the investment can be recycled. These metrics can be used on a standalone basis but most often are compared to other investment opportunities. We will address this in the next installment on portfolio management.
Figure 1 is a Value navigator economic summary report that highlights several sections. In the upper left hand corner, the Evaluation Parameter section reminds the
evaluator of choices that were made. To the right, a graphical display of both oil and gas production confirms that the correct production profile and well count has been used. Remaining Reserves are tabulated and classified by division of interest and product. Beside the Remaining Reserves is the net Present Value Table. Here, the value of each component is calculated with the average forecast price reported in the right hand column. At the bottom of the table, the before-tax cash flow is summed, tax paid is subtracted, and after-tax cash flow is reported in the bottom row. net present value is calculated and displayed at a variety of discount rates which allows the evaluator to see the magnitude of the project at different discount factors. Risked Capital Cost just reports what was used by the evaluator and serves as a check for reasonableness. The Cash Flow table lists revenue and all the deductions from revenue. This table is very useful to ensure royalties, operating costs, and taxes are as expected. The Economic Indicators table is usually the first thing the team examines. Here, ROR, Payout, P/I and discounted P/I are reported.
The Ellerslie prospect was modeled and found to be highly economic; after tax ROR is 112, after tax nPV is over $3 MM at a 15% discount rate, P/I (0% discount) is 3.7, and P/I discounted at 10% is 2.1. This is a significant and profitable investment. At the bottom of the Economic Summary Report is the Annual Cash Flow table. Evaluators carefully study this table to make sure all volumes, prices, and costs are appropriate and make sense. net operating income, a key measure of economic health, is reviewed. Prospects with low operating incomes must be avoided. The before and after tax cash flow is also studied. Cash flow is critical for growing oil and gas companies because this is what provides the funds for future growth. In our example, cash flow is positive and large in the second year and that bodes well for reinvestment in the next well. The Economic Summary Report paints a bright picture for this prospect.
Profitability indicators are derived from a cash flow stream but the risk involved in getting that stream has not been considered and has not been measured. In conventional exploration prospects, the usual practice is to calculate a risk-weighted expected value. The nPV of a 100% successful prospect is determined as well as the nPV of a dry hole (it will be a negative nPV as it is the after tax cost of a dry hole). The risk-weighted expected value is:
Expected Value = (after tax nPV of the success case * probability of occurrence) + (after tax nPV of the failure case * probability of occurrence).
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In unconventional resource or statistical plays, type-curve analysis is used, which has the effect of risking the production profile that, in turn, risks the cash flow. Economic indictors are then calculated based on this risked profile.
This is a very simplified type of risk assessment. It is recommended that a more rigorous and formalized risk evaluation be conducted on new opportunities as cursory risk overviews can lead to unpleasant surprises.
Companies always review their producing
assets and assess the success of their exploration and development programs. Measures that are used in these evaluations are outside, but somewhat related to, the calculations used in the discounted cash flow methodology.
netback is the cash flow a producing property generates after all royalties and operating expenses are subtracted from the revenue it generates. It is usually stated as $/boe and is a relative measure of financial attractiveness. It does not take into account capital used to develop the asset and it does not consider the time value of money. It is just a snapshot within a time period.
Finding and development (F&D) costs are the total cost of exploration, development, and estimated future costs divided by the proven reserves discovered by an investment. Sometimes proven and probable reserves are used and, if so, additional exploration and development costs related to developing probable reserves must be included in the calculations. F&D measures the cost of adding new reserves to the company.
Recycle ratio is netback divided by F&D cost and is a measure of how efficiently capital is being used. A recycle ratio of greater than 2 is considered good and, of course, a ratio of less than one means that each boe added to the company is more expensive than what is currently being realized through sales. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, low netback properties are unlikely to be further developed and may be sold.
Reserve Life Index (RLI) is a measure of how long a producing asset will last at current production rates. RLI is a measure of how long a given asset would take to produce out its remaining reserves base at current producing rates where reserves can be either proven or proven plus probable. For a given reserve size, a larger RLI may not be optimal when considering the time value of money. Economic evaluations will determine the optimum development scenario to maximize nPV.
Production efficiency (PE) measures the cost of bringing additional production on-stream. Total capital invested is divided by the average daily production rate over a given time period. Large reserves in remote areas with little infrastructure could have a lower production efficiency than smaller reserves that can be easily connected to nearby existing processing capacity. An extreme example is an uphole recompletion in an existing producing wellbore where the PE is enormous even though reserve additions may be quite small.
Four specific economic indicators are used to assess the profitability and significance of an investment opportunity. Summary reports are excellent diagnostic tools to understand the economic attributes of an opportunity. Companies and portfolios can be assessed by a number of efficiency and effectiveness measures to determine if they are achieving or exceeding financial targets.
Support for this series is provided by Energy Navigator who have reviewed articles, supplied technical consultation, and critiqued manuscripts. We thank them for their help.
| by Gerry Reinson
This article, the third and final one in this threepart series, focuses on the interpretation and subsurface mapping of transgressive coastal and nearshore reservoirs such as were illustrated and discussed in Parts 1 and 2 (Reinson, 2010a, b). Internal sand-body variability and depositional trend variability (i.e., size, thickness, linearity, orientation, etc.) are often ignored or, at the very least, little appreciated. Both within-system sand-body variability and regional ‘trendology’ variations, are emphasized in this paper.
Historically, much of the earlier mapping of marine bar deposits was based on the assumption that narrow linearity meant ‘offshore bar’ (i.e., Berven, 1966; Javeri, 1967). The Berven paper was in fact a classical piece of work given thinking at that time. What is largely forgotten even at the present day is the fact that most of the documented ‘offshore bars’ have to be associated with a contemporary or juxtaposed shoreface sediment prism at the onset of their formation. In fact, within the Cretaceous Seaway of North America, it is more likely that linear shelf bar deposits are the transgressed remnants of antecedent shoreface prisms that formed by lowstand shoreface beveling and subsequent transgressive detachment. Thus, under transgressive conditions lowstand shoreface-wedge deposits eventually become ‘offshore bars’ (i.e., Plint, 1988).
Berven (1966 ) recognized this relationship to transgression, but it is still necessary to emphasize that most of the linear ‘offshore bars’ in the Cretaceous Seaway are not relatively deep-water bars formed on the shelf, but rather relate to
basinal lowstand of the sea, and subsequent prolonged transgression.
The non-dissected shoreface wedge segment discussed by Reinson (2010b), with Brackley Beach as an example, could be preserved as a relatively homogeneous (lithofacies-wise), narrow, linear deposit. This deposit would be sharp-based and completely detached
from the shoreface, as a result of shoreward erosion and eventual drowning during prolonged transgression. Such transgressive sharp-based shoreface (TSBS) bars appear often to have formed in shelf / basinal settings, but in fact had strong shoreface / shoreline affinities during their inception.
Two examples of this type of reservoir are the Gilby-Bentley Viking oil Field (Figure 1) and the O’Chiese Ostracod gas pool (Figure 2, page 20). At Gilby-Bentley, a single sharp-based lithofacies of coarse-grained to granular sandstone is ‘notched’ to the southwest (to shoreward) into the underlying shoreface sediments, but tapers off gradually basinward to the northeast. Such thinning should be expected since it is a reflection of the ‘shaling-out’, or grading, to a conformable relationship in a seaward direction.
The O’Chiese reservoir is also interpreted as a TSBS formed in a similar manner to GilbyBentley, but the primary reservoir lithofacies is medium-grained sandstone (Figure 2).
Variations in accommodation space along strike due to underlying paleotopographic controls, have a lot to do with the linearity, and relative consistency of thickness and lithofacies in these transgressive bar deposits. Such reservoirs will extend along-strike as long as the antecedent depositional setting is continuous and not dissected by erosional valleys or shore-normal structural lineaments.
Transgressive sharp-based shoreface (TSBS) reservoirs are the least complicated compared to lagoonal and drowned river-valley estuaries. This is because of the low accommodation space which negates the presence of multiple reservoir-
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generating environments. Nonetheless, internal variations can still occur in such reservoirs (i.e., Reinson and Radziwon, 1998), due to subtle topographic changes on the depositional surface, or alternating depositional processes such as shore-normal versus shore-parallel current flow.
Internal sand-body variability should be expected in ancient estuary settings because it is prevalent in modern examples. The Cavendish / New London Bay deposits, upon transgression for example, should be expected to exhibit not-so-subtle lithofacies variations that would impact on reservoir continuity and quality (Figure 3). In this situation the reservoir sand body would consist of three compartments representing the flood-tidal delta / tidal channel complex, back-barrier / washover complex, and shoreface. Each of these compartments could conceivably display markedly different parameters with respect to reserves and productivity.
A good example of reservoir compartmental complexity is the Senlac pool in west-central Saskatchewan (Figure 4). Zaitlin and Shultz (1984, 1990) interpreted the lobate, oilbearing sand deposit to be composed of three different facies (tidal channel, floodtidal delta, shoreface), with each facies effecting different controls on the overall reservoir performance and productivity.
While the Senlac pool is mapped as a complicated but singular circular sand body, the Crystal Viking Field is interpreted to be a multi-stage, composite, estuary valley-fill deposit, with significant internal reservoir heterogeneities (Figure 5). These heterogeneities are controlled by superposition of closely associated subenvironments within a large drowned river valley setting, such as the Miramichi Estuary (Reinson, 2010b).
The difference in sand-body geometry between Senlac and Crystal (Figures 4 and 5) is noteworthy, and results from deposition in two different geomorphological types of estuary environments. While the Crystal deposit is thought to represent a drowned river-valley system as mentioned above, Senlac mimics more closely a strongly tripartite estuary such as Tillamook (Reinson, 2010a and Figure 6, page 22).
VARIATIONS ALONG TREND
On a regional scale, coastal and nearshore depositional settings are highly variable with respect to occurrence, size, orientation, and geometry of sand bodies. This is evident from the modern northern Oregon coastal
Figure 4. An example of compartmentalization of an estuary reservoir, showing three major internal reservoir segments (modified from Zaitlin and Shultz, 1984, 1990). Such a complicated reservoir could easily occur given a setting such as illustrated in Figure 3.
segment shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 illustrates a postulate of what the sand-body trends might look like upon continued transgression and preservation. The sand bodies would be discontinuous along trend, and their orientations, sizes, and geometries highly variable.
The Oregon example is a relatively straight coastline, and thus could represent a similar, relatively straight strandline in the rock record. However, if a coastal segment was highly indented, and contained large embayment features, the orientation of even the narrow linear TSBS deposits would vary greatly in concert with strandline variation.
To illustrate this, Figure 7 (page 22) is a paleogeomorphic map of the Pembina High during Ostracod time, with the coastline of the Maritime provinces superimposed to scale. It is quite obvious that the variation in sand-body geometries, sizes, orientations, and thicknesses, would likely be extremely high at successively higher levels of transgressive stillstand, as the ‘High’ became completely onlapped.
In conclusion, with respect to transgressive, marginal-marine, and coastal deposits such as illustrated in this series of articles, it is very important to understand what type of depositional system you are working in. It is also important to understand the paleotopography on both regional and local scales, in order to discern trends in regional, and local, strandline orientations. We must be prepared to encounter very different res-
ervoir sand bodies, in close proximity, that are apparently related, but may or may not be in communication.
This series is not the ‘be all’ nor ‘end all’ for interpreting nearshore transgressive deposits in the rock record. Rather, it is intended to show that if we want to equate ancient deposits with modern analogues, we should do so properly, and recognize the inherent complexities that are indeed evident in the Recent.
Berven, R.J. 1966. Cardium sandstone bodies,
Crossfield-Garrington area. Alberta. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 14, p. 208240.
Cant, D.J. and Arahamson, B. 1994. Isopach of transgressive system Mannville Group, Map 1:2,000,000, Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 3090.
Clarke, J.E. and Reinson, G.E. 1990. Continuity and performance of an estuarine reservoir, Crystal field, Alberta, In: Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs. J.H. Barwis, J.G. McPherson, and J.R.J. Studlick (eds.). Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 343-361.
Javeri, Y.A. 1967. Crossfield Field, TWPS. 25-31, RGES. 1-4, W5M. (Cardium Fm.). In: Oil Fields of Alberta Supplement 1966. J.R. Century, (ed.). Alberta Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, p. 28-29.
Plint, A.G. 1988. Sharp-based shoreface sequences and offshore bars in the Cardium Formation of Alberta: Their relationship to relative changes in sea level. In: Sea-Level Changes: An Integrated Approach. C.K. Wilgus,
(Continued on page 22...)
G. St. C. Kendall, H.W. Posamentier, C.A. Ross, and J.C. Van Wagoner (eds.). Society of Economic Palaeontologists and Mineralogists. Special Publication 42, p. 357-370.
Reinson, G.E. 2010a. Interpretation of transgressive barrier-beach, shoreface, lagoon, and estuary reservoirs – use of modern analogues: Part 1 – Variability in sub-environments and depositional settings. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Reservoir, v. 37, issue 2, p. 16-18.
Reinson, G.E. 2010b. Interpretation of transgressive barrier-beach, shoreface, lagoon and estuary reservoirs – use of modern analogues: Part 2 – Sand-body depositional geometries. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Reservoir, v. 37, issue 3, p. 16-19.
Reinson, G.E. and Radziwon, F. 1998. Depositional facies control of reservoir capacity and response to waterflood, Edson Cardium ‘B’ unit no. 1, west-central Alberta. In: Oil and Gas Pools of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, J.R. Hogg (ed.). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Special Publication S-51, p. 63-76.
Reinson, G.E., Gardner, R.I, Bradford, M., and Grohs, D. 1998. Depositional controls on reservoir performance, Crystal Viking ‘A’ pool, Alberta. In: Oil and Gas Pools of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, J.R. Hogg (ed.). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Special Publication S-51, p. 51-62.
Smith, D.G. 1994. Paleogeographic evolution of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. In: Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, G.D. Mossop and I. Shetsen (comps.). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Research Council, Calgary, p. 277-296.
Zaitlin, B.A. and Shultz, B.C. 1984. An estuarineembayment fill model from the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group, west-central Saskatchewan. In: Mesozoic of Middle North America, D.F. Stott and D.J. Glass (eds.). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 9, p. 455-469.
Zaitlin, B.A. and Shultz, B.C. 1990. Waveinfluenced estuarine sand body, Senlac heavy oil pool, Saskatchewan, Canada. In: Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs. J.H. Barwis, J.G. McPherson, and J.R.J. Studlick (eds.). Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 363-387.
7. Paleogeographic map of the Pembina High and surrounding region during Mannville Ostracod time (the map was drawn from maps of Cant and Abramson, 1994; and Smith, 1994). The shoreline configuration of the Maritime provinces is superimposed to scale. Given this comparison, it becomes obvious that under continued transgression the variations in sand-body geometry, size, orientation, and thickness, could be substantial in similar coastal settings around the High.
| by Canadian Discovery Ltd.
Operator of Note:
Apache Canada, Devon Canada, EnCana, EOG Resources, Imperial Oil / ExxonMobil, Quicksilver Resources, Ramshorn Canada, Stone Mountain Resources, TAQA North, Brokers.
Play: Devonian Muskwa, Otter Park, and Evie Shale Gas.
Landsale of Note:
The December 16, 2009 land sale brought in a total bonus of over $121.3 million for six drilling licences covering 21,641 hectares in the western Horn River Basin. All leases were purchased by brokers and contained Devonian gas rights.
Locations of Note: Twenty-two New Field Wildcats were licensed to the Keg River / Horn River shales between October 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
L AN d SALES STILL ATTRAcTING HIGH PER-HEcTARE AmOu NTS
The December 2009 land sale brought in a total bonus of over $121.3 million for six drilling licences covering 21,641 hectares in the western Horn River Basin. All leases were purchased by brokers and contained Devonian gas rights. The highest per hectare bid was $7,109 / ha for 3,695 hectares for a total bonus of $26,269,381.
Active Companies in the Horn River Basin (Data compiled from Company Websites and / or Presentations as of January 2010).
T he most active companies in the basin in terms of land holdings and drilling activity are summarized in Table 1 (page 23). Released initial flow rate data range from nexen’s (TSx: nx Y) 85 e3m3 /d (3 mmcf/d) to EOG Resources’ ( nYSE:EOG) 650 e3m3 /d (23 mmcf/d). Total gas reserve estimates, when reported, range from 85-170 e9m3 (3-6 tcf) for nexen’s 35,612 hectare property to 2,000-2,800 e9m3 (70-100 tcf) for EnCana’s (TSx:ECA) 105,218 hectares.
A total of 22 nFW ( new Field Wildcat) wells were licensed in the Horn River basin in the last quarter of 2009. Seven were licensed by Imperial Oil Resources (TSx:IMO) in the southern reaches of the basin, four on a 45,778 hectare parcel of eight drilling licences bought for $113.2 million in June 2009, and three on land purchased since 2005. Imperial and ExxonMobil Canada ( nYSE:xOM) are 50% partners in these land holdings and have spent a total of $301.7 million in land acquisition costs. The other wells were licensed to TAQA north, ConocoPhillips, Devon, nexen, Apache, Hunt Oil, and EnCana.
EnCana has partnered with Apache ( nYSE:APA) in the east-central area of the basin where the companies are drilling within the boundaries of their experimental schemes. EnCana recently announced that it will increase the number of frac stages per lateral to an average of 19 by lengthening the wells and shortening the distance between the fracs. This will increase the IP rate as illustrated in Graph 1, which compares the IP of 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12/14 stage fracs. Increasing the number of frac stages also results in an approximate increase of 35% in the Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) from 21.0-28.3 e6m3 /stage (0.74 to 1 bcf/stage) as illustrated in Graph 2. Up to sixteen, 5,400 metre-long laterals will be drilled per pad and each one will have the capability of opening up a horizontal section of 2,200 to 2,400 metres, lessening costs and diminishing environmental impact.
INFORMATION
This article is condensed from a more in-depth review by Canadian Discovery Ltd. For the full report or information on products offered by CDL, please visit www.canadiandiscovery.com or call 269-3644.
50 th Annual Gem, Mineral, Fossil Show GOLDEN JUBILEE
A Hobby For All Ages
20 Dealers selling Gems, Minerals, Fossils, Crystals, 64 Display Cases - hand crafted items & collections
Saturday 1 May - 9 am - 6 pm ~ Sunday 2 May - 10 am - 5 pm West Hillhurst Arena, 1940 - 6 Ave NW. Calgary, AB ADULTS - $ 5.00 SENIORS / STUDENTS $3.00 www.crlc.ca
JOIN US FOR OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY Register by May 7, 2010 to be entered in the
to win back your Registration fee!
The Tournament would like to thank the following sponsors:
Diamond
geoLOGIC Systems Schlumberger of Canada
Emerald
GeoStrata Resources Inc.
Halliburton Group Canada Inc.
IHS Energy (Canada) Ltd.
ProGeo Consultants
Weatherford Canada Patnership Wildcat Scouting Services (1991) Ltd.
AGAT Laboratories
Baker Atlas Wireline
Belloy Petroleum Consulting
CSPG
Divestco Inc.
Fugro Data Solutions Canada Inc.
GLJ Petroleum Consultants
Aguila Exploration Consultants Ltd.
Arcis Corporation
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.
Boland Exploration Consulting
ConocoPhillips Canada
Continental Laboratories Ltd.
Deepwell Energy Services
Devon Canada Corporation
Fekete Associates Inc.
Greystone Resources Ltd.
Includes 3 – 18 hole rounds of golf, on course sponsor tents with refreshments and food, 3 evening dinners, awards banquet and dance on Friday evening, and a commemorative 50th Anniversary Wind Shirt. Prizes worth $10,000 including 2 vacation trips, a BBQ, plus daily hole and skill prizes. On-Line
Little Rock Document Services
LogTech (Canada) Ltd.
M J Systems
RECON Petrotechnologies Ltd.
Ryan Energy Technologies
Sproule Associates Ltd.
West Canadian
Horizontal Solutions Int’l (HSI)
MD Totco Nov. Wellsite Gas Watch
Painted Pony Petroleum Corp.
Pajak Engineering Ltd.
Pason Systems Corp.
Petrocraft Products Ltd.
Polaris Resources Ltd.
Sample Pro Ltd
Van Helden Agencies Ltd.
For the past several years
the CSPG Classic Golf Tournament has incorporated fundraising for charity as part of the event. In 2010 the charity selected will be the Salvation Army Agape Hospice.
NAME:
SPOUSE’S NAME:
COMPANY:
ADDRESS (Bus.):
POSTAL CODE:
TELEPHONE: CELL PHONE:
E-Mail:
SHIRT SIZE: q S q M q L q XL q XXL
All contestants are required to have a photo (any will do) in the Golfer’s Photo Roster. Former contestants who have submitted a photo in the past need not do so again. Handicap / Golf Index __________________ or Average of best three 18-hole scores in past 2 years:______________
Registration Fee: Includes three rounds of golf with power cart; Paid driving range; Door prize draws; Skill prizes; BBQ (at Elbow Springs) and Awards Banquet (Sheraton Eau Claire) both for you and your guest.
Cost: Tournament Fee $399.00 GST $19.95
Total if paying by cheque $418.95 If using credit card, please add $12.55
Total if using credit card $431.50
To assist the Entertainment Committee with budgeting, please indicate if you plan to attend the two major social events of the tournament: Wednesday Barbecue: Self: Yes q No q Guest: Yes q No q Friday Awards Banquet: Self: Yes q No q Guest: Yes q No q
Social Events Cancellation or Additions require 72 hours notice before the event. Please contact Bob Earle by phone: (403) 803-3744 or email: be.earle@shaw.ca
Make Cheques Payable To: CSPG (Classic Golf)
Send Entries To: CSPG Classic Golf Tournament 600, 640-8th Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB, T2P 1G7
All registrations received on or before May 7, 2010 qualify for the Early Bird Draw Prize - Free Entry.
*Please photocopy your entry form and cheque before mailing. No receipts issued. Last day for refund requests: June 2, 2010.
Mail/Courier Registration: Print this registration Form (http://www.cspg.org/events/events-social-classicgolf.cfm) send to CSPG Office with cheque.
| By Andrew Miall
HE SCIENCE M EDIA CENTRE OF C ANADA
Scientists of all descriptions should be pleased at the news of the establishment in October 2009 of the Science Media Centre of Canada. The Goal of the Centre is to increase public engagement with science issues through media coverage of science that is more informed, more accurate, and more incisive than we are used to. Scientists, journalists, policy makers, and the public will benefit. Science media centres exist already in Britain, Australia, and new Zealand, and the Canadian Centre is partly modeled on these. The intent is to provide a rapid response service to respond to science-related news, and to provide media briefings on demand, training for journalists in elementary science and practical details, and a source of one-pager fact sheets, images, diagrams, etc.
The Centre has been established through fund-raising efforts of a dedicated core staff working in loaned offices at the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The office will soon be moving to the Canada Science and Technology Museum, which is located at St. Laurent Boulevard in Ottawa. The Executive Director is Peter Calamai, the well respected former science journalist with the Toronto Star newspaper. In January the Centre’s computer system should be up and running, and a start will be made in populating its database with Canadian specialists. For this purpose, the centre plans to work closely with the Royal Society of Canada, which includes about 900 leading Canadian scientists amongst its 1,900 Fellows.
Some fifty charter members are now listed at the Centre’s website www. sciencemediacentre.ca. Interested earth scientists should visit the website, and learn how they can help the work of the Centre.
The museum has been located in temporary buildings in Ottawa since 1967. According to Denise Amyot, CEO of the Canada Museum Corporation, the Canadian government is interested in developing a permanent building, and as part of the planning process, the Museum staff have been holding consultation hearings in major Canadian cities across Canada. These serve the additional useful purpose of bringing
together those involved in the promotion of science, including those working at the school level and those supporting particular sectors of scientific activity. For example, I was present in late november 2009 at the Toronto consultation session, representing the Royal Society of Canada (we have worked with the Museum three times in recent years to put on major national
scientific symposia), and also present was Steven Bright, the Toronto representative of the Calgary-based Centre for Energy.
Andrew D. Miall is a Professor of Geology at the University of Toronto and President of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada, 2007-2009.
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| By David Caldwell, Squash Tournament Chair
Well it sure doesn’t seem like a slowdown in the industry when you pack in over 140 players into a squash tournament. The 27th year was a big hit as 142 people signed up for the CSPG Squash Tournament. The banquet also drew record numbers as over 150 people attended the final ceremonies to wrap up a great event.
The event featured great squash matches, singles and doubles. The higher levels of A and B were light in numbers as was the Beginner level at E. The mid levels of C and D however, were packed and brought out some real tough, competitive games. Costumes were very creative this year; we had everything from pirates and scotsmen to men in tuxedos with top hats.
The food served by the World Health Club in Edgemont was unbelievable. Pasta Night was followed by Wrap Night and then Saturday Brunch. Banquet dinner didn’t disappoint either with some great pizza and lasagna. This is undoubtedly a great venue for an event like our’s.
I would like to again thank Tucker Wireline who led the way with their Tournament Sponsorship. Geotir and Sensor Geophysical also stepped in at the platinum level to provide needed funds for the Taxi Chits, Teams Tourney, and Registration Night. Other large sponsors were: Belloy Petroleum Consulting, Divestco, Halliburton, Pason, Prospex Resource Management, RPS Energy, Rigsat Gas Detection Communications, and Roke Technologies.
I would also like to extend a huge thanks to our great committee for helping put this all together: Jeff and Megan Barefoot, Ryan Barnett, David Caldwell, Warren Dublonko, Jocelyn Frankow, Dan Hermary, Kristy Howe, Shawn Lafleur, Jessie Mitton, Randy Smith, Naomi Storey, Val Toploniski, and Jay Williams.
Lastly, I would like to thank the CSPG office staff for their help with registration and sponsorship.
I am looking forward to another great event in 2011. Mark your calendars for this event; it is almost always the first week in February.
Our Generous Sponsors:
Tournament Sponsor:
PLATINUM SPONSORS:
GOLD SPONSORS:
AGAT Laboratories
Caltex Energy
SILVER SPONSORS:
FMQ Line Cutting
geoLOGIC systems
Canada Brokerlink NOV MD Totco
Cenovus Energy secivreS ygrenE ydemeR
Command Equipment
Corinthian Energy
SourceX Geophysical Corp.
DeGolyer and McNaughton Weatherford Labs
Energy Navigator Weatherford
BRONZE SPONSORS:
Action Sports
Aramark/Travers Ltd.
Belgo Restaurant
Black Knight
Boyd PetroSearch
Canadian Natural Resources
Limited
Continental Laboratories
Conquest Seismic
Core Laboratories
Devon Canada
Edge Technologies Inc.
Energy Is Us Massage
ESDI Drilling Solutions
Genesis Executive
GMP Private Client
HCL National
Kristy Howe
Pro Geo Consultants
Schlumberger
Shell Canada
Unicorn Pub
Men’s A
Men’s A Runner-Up
Men’s A Consolation
Men’s B
Men’s B Runner-Up
Men’s B Consolation
Men’s C
Men’s C Runner-Up
Men’s C Consolation
Men’s D
Men’s D Runner-Up
Men’s D Consolation
Men’s E
Men’s E Runner-Up
Men’s E Consolation
Women’s A
Women’s A Runner-Up
Women’s B
Women’s B Runner-Up
Women’s C
Women’s C Runner-Up
Women’s D
Women’s D Runner-up
Women’s E
Women’s E Runner-Up
Dave Safton
John Cox
Ken Chong
David Mulligan
Chris May
Kevin Collings
Mark norton
Oliver Kuhn
Greg Solvbjerg
John Lapointe
Jeff Mitton
Cam Mitchell
Devon Henderson
Allan Carswell
Jordan Seib
Solana Jear
Andrea Henry
Carol Laws
Sandi Bunko
McKinley van Rijn
Jodi Beaugrand
Aimee Blasetti
Leanne Paterson
Jocleyn Frankow
Lori Moores
Women’s E Consolation n atalie Stephenson
Doubles Champion – Recreational
Doubles Consolation – Recreational
Doubles Champion – Competitive
Doubles Consolation – Competitive
Doug Bruce and Dwayne Sparks
Travis nicole and Dino Zelantini
James Muraro and Gordon Copp
Brian Fyke and Brian Rutherford
(...Continued International Division abstract from page 14)
in fractured Precambrian basement in the north Sea, which to date has had no oil or gas produced from basement. This presentation concludes with the comment that it is surprising that no oil or gas has ever been produced from basement in the highly prolific Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Perhaps this is because no companies have ever carried out a deliberate and highly focused exploration program for oil and gas in basement rocks in the Western Canada Basin.
Guang, T.X. and Zuan, H. 1991. Buried-hill discoveries of the Damintun Depression in North China. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 75. no. 4, p. 780-794.
Hung, N.D. and Le, H.V. 2004. Petroleum Geology of Cuu Long Basin - Offshore Vietnam. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Search and Discovery Article #10062.
BIOGRAPH y
Tako Koning is Holland-born and Alberta-raised with a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Alberta (1971) and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Calgary (1981). He worked as a geologist and manager for Texaco for three decades in Canada, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Angola. In 1982 he was involved with the development of the Beruk North East basement oil pool in Sumatra and has had an abiding interest in basement reservoirs since that time. He has written papers on oil and gas in basement in the proceedings of the Indonesian Petroleum Association and in Special Publication 214 “Hydrocarbons in Crystalline Rocks” published in 2003 by the Geological Society of London and he has given presentations on this subject matter at conferences worldwide. Koning has lived and worked in Angola since 1995 where he is currently advisor for Tullow Oil and he also is residential representative for Yme Foundation (www.yme.no), a Norwegian humanitarian organization drilling water wells in rural areas of Cabinda province, northern Angola.
There is no charge. Please bring your lunch. The facilities for the talk are provided complimentary of Encana and refreshments by Geochemtech Inc. For further information or if you would like to give a talk, please contact Bob Potter at (403) 863-9738 or ropotter@telusplanet. net or Trent Rehill at (403) 606-6717 or trehill@kulczykoil.ca. Or visit our Facebook page (“CSPG International Division”).
As in the past, there are many special events you can look forward to at GeoCanada 2010. See below for more information!
MONDAy, MAy 10th
BREAKFAST WITH EXHIBITORS
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
Spend some quality time with the exhibitors while enjoying a complimentary continental breakfast and coffee.
MO ndAy nI g HT M IXER
Sponsored by:
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
Join your colleagues for some food, drinks and conversation while mingling on the Exhibit Floor. The first social event of the Convention, this reception is a great opportunity to visit with old friends and make new contacts.
An Excellent Networking Opportunity Awaits You!
Volunteers are needed in the following areas:
• Information Booth
• Registration Package Pick-Up
• Technical Sessions
• Core Conference
Students who volunteer for a minimum of 8 hours will have the registration fee refunded. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact volunteers@geocanada2010.ca.
T UESDAy, M Ay 11th
BREAKFAST WITH EXHIBITORS
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
Spend some quality time with the exhibitors while enjoying a complimentary continental breakfast and coffee.
nETWORKI ng Lunc H
Sponsored by:
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
Join your colleagues on the Exhibit Floor for a great networking opportunity, a chance to speak with exhibitors, and plenty of door prizes! Tickets are available when you register or on-site.
nETWORKI ng ‘H A ppy H OuR’ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
The networking opportunities continue all day Tuesday on the Exhibit Floor, and finish Tuesday night with a drink and some light snacks.
10 TH AnnuAL L O ng-T IME M EMBERS R EcEp TIO n 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Rotary House
Have you been a member of the CSPG for 30+ years? If so, keep an eye open for your invitation to the 10th Annual Long-Time Members Reception. The very popular event is a complimentary cocktail party organized exclusively for our more senior members, in appreciation of their long commitment to the Society.
WEDNESDAy, MAy 12th
BREAKFAST WITH EXHIBITORS
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Exhibit Floor – Halls A & B
Spend some quality time with the exhibitors while enjoying a complimentary continental breakfast and coffee.
THURSDAy, MAy 13th
cO nv En TIO n BBQ Lunc H 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Tents behind the ERCB Core Research Centre
Take a break from the Core Conference to enjoy a fun and delicious barbeque lunch.
FRIDAy, MAy 14th
cO nv En TIO n BBQ Lunc H 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Tents behind ERCB Core Research Centre
Enjoy the second barbeque lunch of the Core Conference!
cORE M ELT d OW n Sponsored by: 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Tents behind the ERCB Core Research Centre
Celebrate the close of another successful Convention at the popular Core Meltdown event. Join the Convention Organizing Committee, fellow delegates, and exhibitors for some food, drinks, and fun.
| By Heather Tyminski
Become a CSPG Student Member – It’s free!
If you are currently an earth sciences student, you are probably focused on your current projects, papers, and upcoming exams. You might even be thinking about your next summer job so you can make enough money for the next university year. However, it is not too early to think about your long-term career plans; joining CSPG as a student member is your first step in planning your career in petroleum geology.
First of all, the CSPG student membership is free, which is important if you are living off of Ichiban noodles and a lot of coffee. This membership might be free, but it is almost priceless. CSPG membership offers you valuable technical content, networking opportunities with other CSPG members and student members, and lastly it means membership to an organization geoscientists join for life.
CSPG offers a lot of technical content that will be of use to you both for university projects and to learn more about the area of petroleum geology. Each year CSPG holds a convention jointly with other earth sciences societies, like CSEG, which features field seminars, short courses, and technical talks on petroleum geology. This year’s convention, “GeoCanada 2010: Working with the Earth,” will be held May 10-14, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta. GeoCanada 2010 will include a student lounge, which will offer information on volunteering, networking opportunities, a downtown industry field trip, a student pub night, and other events directed towards students. Students who register before Thursday, April 29 at 6:00pm (MST) will be able to register for only $75 (the regular member rate is $395). After this date, the cost is $100 for students (the regular member late registration rate is $495). However, students who volunteer for a minimum of eight hours will have their registration fee refunded. To volunteer, visit http://www.geocanada2010. ca/conference/volunteer.html or email volunteer@geocanada2010.ca. Registration will begin March 1, 2010 at http://www. geocanada2010.ca/register.html. For more
information on the convention visit http:// www.geocanada2010.ca/ or email info@ geocanada2010.ca.
Another important series of sessions CSPG holds that offer technical content and professional development is the Technical Luncheon sessions. These semimonthly sessions feature technical talks on petroleum geology from industry experts. What students will find especially helpful is that there are a limited number of complimentary tickets that are available for student members. These tickets are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students must apply to CSPG directly for a complimentary ticket at (403) 264-5610 a minimum of three business days before the event. Visit CSPG’s website at www. cspg.org to find a list of upcoming Technical Luncheons.
Technical Content
• Field Seminars
• Short Courses
• Technical Luncheon Sessions
• Annual Convention
• Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology
• Reservoir
CSPG also offers short courses and field seminars, which student members can attend at the CSPG member rate. To learn more about upcoming CSPG Continuing Education courses during the year and Technical Luncheons, visit the interactive CSPG calendar at http://www.cspg.org/ education/education-calendar.cfm.
Student members also receive online access to the current issue and full archives of the Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, CSPG’s peer-reviewed journal on petroleum geology, which is suitable to your scholarly research, and the Reservoir, CSPG’s monthly magazine that always features technical content. Clearly your access to technical content alone makes the CSPG student membership valuable.
As a professional society, CSPG recognizes the importance of meeting and socializing with your peers. Your contacts could be the lead to your next job. Isn’t that the kind of edge you want? n etworking opportunities
exist at the Technical Luncheon sessions and CSPG’s social events. CSPG runs road races and squash and golf tournaments that offer student members either the CSPG membership rate or a special student rate. CSPG student members can also volunteer on one of CSPG’s many committees alongside professional petroleum geologists. Here is a chance to work and learn next to industry professionals before you’ve even graduated.
• Technical Luncheon Sessions
• Social Events
• Volunteering Opportunities
People find more than professional development and networking opportunities at CSPG. They find long-lasting friends. One of CSPG’s most successful programs is the Student Industry Field Trip (SIFT), a twoweek program that instructs a group of university students on petroleum geology through lectures from professionals in the petroleum industry, a field trip, and so on. Many students find that they become longtime friends with their fellow SIFT-mates, despite that the program has a duration of only two weeks. Another CSPG event is the Long-Time Members Reception, which is a gathering of people who have belonged to CSPG for over thirty years. The CSPG is thus a Society geoscientists join for life.
Your CSPG student membership is a valuable tool. To become a CSPG student member, fill out the application form found at http://www.cspg.org/members/ members-join.cfm. To learn more, contact the CSPG office at (403) 264-5610. We hope to see you soon!
| By Cory MacNeill, CSPG University Outreach Committee
February was a busy month for geology, geophysics, and earth science students from universities across Alberta. The third annual Geoskills Day Student-Industry Training Day and Mixer was held on February 10, 2010 with huge success. GeoSkills Day is an event held in downtown Calgary organized mainly by university students from the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and Mount Royal University and sponsored by APEGGA, CSPG, CSEG, and CWLS. The event was created to bridge a communication gap and provide a networking opportunity between current university students and industry professionals.
This year involved an introduction from Chancellor Joanne Cuthbertson of the University of Calgary on what a university education can lead to, followed by lunch, a series of eight talks in two different theatres, and an evening mixer which was very well attended by industry professionals and corporate sponsors. The talk series included presentations such as “The Hidden
Responsibilities of the Geoscientist: Stuff We Didn’t Learn in School,” by Andy Williamson; “Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring of a Heavy Oil Extraction,” by Peter McGillivray; and “Soft Skills and networking,” by Kristy Manchul, to name a few presentations.
Additional benefits to the students involved in the planning of GeoSkills included learning the basics of event planning, collaborating with a team of individuals all tasked with smaller pieces of a bigger picture, experience in approaching companies for sponsorship, public speaking and presentation skills, and in general learning how to balance the everincreasing responsibilities that are required by young professionals in the industry. On behalf of the CSPG and CSEG I’d like to thank all the students who were a part of the planning committee, excellent work!
stay in contact, exchange information and most importantly stay updated. Everyone is aware of the challenges in the current job market, but don’t forget about the demographics of the current workforce; over the next five years there will be a significant portion of the babyboomers opting for retirement and now is the time to learn as much as possible from these invaluable resources. Stay in contact with anyone you know; go for coffee or lunch, or just ask questions to stay a step ahead of the rest. It is also very important to stay connected through various online and published resources regarding commodity prices, industry activity, hot new plays, and news about “Company A” buying “Company B.”
not all jobs are posted at schools or online job sites; many are a function of being in the right place at the right time. Initiative gets noticed, so get out and be involved. Volunteering is a great way to make contacts and there are great opportunities to volunteer with GeoCanada 2011. For further information contact volunteers@geocanada2010.ca
| By Chad Glemser, University Outreach Committee
The CSPG University Outreach committee expresses their sincere appreciation and thank you to all universities involved with hosting a lecturer on tour this year and, of course, the lecturers for contributing their time and effort toward making this program a success. Each year lecture tours organized by the CSPG University Outreach Committee attempt to bring oil and gas industry professionals together with university students to talk about careers in the petroleum industry and the many technical challenges that face us everyday. This year the CSPG University Outreach Committee was proud to send out three lecturers to visit various universities across Canada to present their work to students and faculty. The CSPG University Outreach Committee expresses their sincere appreciation and thanks to all universities involved with hosting the lecturers on tour this year.
In March 2010, three lecturers visited universities across Canada to spread their knowledge and inspire a new generation of students to consider careers in the oil and gas industry. The first lecturer was Ryan Mohr, a geologist with nexen Inc., who travelled to Saskatchewan March 3-5 to lecture on “Unconventional Shale Gas: What is it, why it is important, and what skills do you need to explore for it? An example from the largest shale gas field in Canada – The Horn River Basin.” During the same week Calvin Campbell, geologist with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, was scheduled to visit Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and the Pacific GeoScience Institute. He lectured on “Evolution of a passive continental margin: Insights from the Cenozoic geological history of the continental margin off nova Scotia.”
From March 15-19th Jen Russel-Houston, Geoscience Manager at Osum Oil Sands Corp., was in Ontario and the Maritimes to visit with students and faculty while talking about the Grosmont Formation in northern Alberta and the many technical challenges needing to be overcome to extract the vast bitumen reserves.
The Lecture Tours provide an excellent way for students and faculty to learn about the CSPG and its many benefits for both undergraduate and graduate students, exciting careers in the petroleum industry and, most importantly, a great way for students to network with industry professionals. In
addition to the Lecture Tours, the CSPG University Outreach program offers many other benefits to university students through student chapters, student memberships, field trips and student awards and the Lecture Tours provide a great way to promote these benefits. With the many impressive lectures given this year and in the past, the CSPG University Outreach committee is always
looking for enthusiastic individuals with new and creative lecture ideas to bring to aspiring undergraduate and graduate students across Canada. If you, or someone you know, have an idea for a talk you would like to give on any aspect of petroleum geology, please feel free to contact either Chad Glemser (C.Glemser@shell.com) or Tracy Allen (Tracy_Allen@nexeninc.com).
| by Dawn Hodgins, SIFT Chair
The goal of the Student Industry Field Trip, fondly known as “SIFT,” is to introduce university level Geology students to the petroleum industry. Founded in 1978 by Bill Ayrton, the SIFT program was originally a four-day course that has now grown into an intense two-week program, which has been running for 31 years. Every year following the end of the winter school term, one student representative
from each Canadian university offering a geoscience or geological engineering degree is brought to Calgary for a comprehensive introduction to the petroleum industry. The two-week program includes a summer employment program (for interested parties), an extensive lecture series, core workshops, field trips, and a petroleum exploration game. SIFT has become successful because of the considerable
support received from the petroleum industry and from the CSPG’s Educational Trust Fund each year.
The students attend a series of lectures given by industry experts on topics key to the petroleum industry, such as well logging/interpretation, carbonate/clastic reservoirs, geophysics, operations, and more. Students also participate in core workshop seminars, a four-day Rocky Mountain geological field trip, a Dinosaur Provincial Park field trip, a rig tour and a fly-over of the Rocky Mountains.
UNIVERSITYOF MIAMI
SUMMER FIELD SEMINARS 2010
tists who wish to acquire an exploration- and production-scale insight into carbonate platforms from modern analogs.
1. Seminar (June 21 – 26, 2010) FACIES SUCCESSIONS ON GREAT BAHAMA BANK
Bahama Bank provides a comprehensive overview of carbonate facies and their dimensional aspects.
Leaders: Gregor P. Eberli, Paul M. (Mitch) Harris, G. Michael Grammer
Costs:
2. Seminar (June 27 – July 2, 2010) HETEROGENEITY OF BANK-MARGIN OOID SANDS focuses on the grainstone belt along the windward margin of Exuma Sound ranging in scale from exploration to production heterogeneities .
Leaders: Donald F. McNeill, Gregor P. Eberli, Paul M. (Mitch) Harris and G. Michael Grammer
In addition to the rigorous classroom and field work, students also participate in an exploration game that allows them to apply their new found knowledge of geology and techniques practiced in the industry. The students are grouped into fledgling oil and gas companies and given an initial sum of money to manage and grow their company through land sale acquisition, exploration drilling, and dealmaking in a designated area that simulates typical oil and gas industry activity. The trip concludes with the mock companies presenting their financial standing and geological interpretation to a panel of industry judges. Two winning teams are selected by the industry judging panel: the team with the best overall geological interpretation and the team with the highest fiscal growth (i.e., they made the most money!). The members of the two winning teams are then presented with their prestigious awards at the final Student-Industry Wine & Cheese Mixer on the last day of the program.
In addition to all of this action, each year the SIFT committee aids students in finding summer employment for those that are interested in gaining further experience following the two-week SIFT program. Interviews with interested companies will be scheduled just prior to the start of the official program.
Costs: $3,500.-, Includes boat, meals, and course notes. A participant attending both seminars will receive a 10% discount
Registration and Information: kneher@rsmas.miami.edu (305 421 46 84) or geberli@rsmas.miami.edu by June 1, 2010.
Many of Calgary’s oil and gas companies have used the SIFT job program to obtain talented summer students fresh from a comprehensive introduction to the petroleum industry. By hiring SIFT students, companies can save on initial training expenses, while providing the SIFT students with an opportunity to further their petroleum industry experience.
Here is an overview of the SIFT summer job program:
Students are selected by the SIFT committee in early March. They are then contacted and we inquire if they are interested in applying for summer employment in the petroleum industry.
The interested students provide the committee with a cover letter, resume, and transcripts. The SIFT Committee contacts potential summer job employers by several means to solicit positions for the SIFT program students. The students’ documents will then be forwarded to interested employers. The documents of applicants are sent out to companies toward the end of March. Typically, each year 8-12 students participate in the program.
Interested employers should then contact Debbie Legaspi on the SIFT committee (debbie.legaspi@encana.com) with the names of students they are interested in interviewing. We ask that potential employers provide us with their list of interview candidates by April 16th. We do not encourage companies to contact or make offers to the students prior to SIFT.
The SIFT committee Student Liaison will then arrange the interview schedule.
Interviews will take place Sunday, May 2nd 2010 at the University of Calgary. Students seeking employment are flown in a day early so that the interviews do not interfere with the busy SIFT schedule. In the event of a conflict we will try to work around your schedule. Once interviews have been completed, offers can be made to the students. We suggest that once you decide to make an offer, you do so as soon as possible, as some students may receive more than one offer.
Students will be available to work from May 17th until the end of August this year.
If you are not able to find a student suitable for your available position, you are not obliged to hire one. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Debbie Legaspi at 403-645-7917 or at debbie.legaspi@encana.com
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| By Bill Brisbin, Brenda Miller, and Nancy Chow
THE HISTORy: 1910-2010 1910-1947 – THE BEGINNING AND THE BROADWAy CAMPUS y EARS
The Department of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Manitoba was established in 1910 with the appointment of R.C. Wallace as Head of the Department. He began teaching courses in mineralogy, petrology and petrography, and physical and historical geology. He also began field investigations of gypsum deposits and saline brines in the Interlake District and sulphide mineral resources of the Precambrian Shield. Over the next twenty years, the teaching staff grew with the addition of J.S. DeLury (Petrology), S.R. Kirk (Paleontology), G.M. Brownell (Economic Geology), and E.I. Leith (Stratigraphy, Sedimentation).
Although small, the Department was ambitious from the start. Geophysics began in 1911 with the installation of a seismological station at St. Boniface College. The Geology Club was formed during 1916-17, and the first student field trips were launched in the following year. The resources of the Department received a major boost in 1918 when J.W. Winthrop Spencer donated his lifetime collections of fossil, mineral, and rock specimens, and his extensive library. The first recorded B.Sc. Geology degree was awarded in 1922 to C.A. Merritt and the first M.Sc. Degree in Geology was conferred in 1924 to L.G. Thompson.
The University’s Broadway Campus was the home of the Department during this period. Department offices were in an annex of
the Science Building, and lecture rooms and labs were shared by the arts and science disciplines. Geology research equipment was limited to specimen preparation facilities, Microscope labs, and field equipment.
During the late 1930s to mid 1940s the University took steps to move all its facilities from the Broadway campus to the site of the Manitoba Agricultural College, later known as the Fort Garry Campus. The Department of
Geology and Mineralogy moved into the Buller Building. new faculty were added in 1947: R.B. Ferguson (Crystallography, Mineralogy), H.D.B. Wilson (Petrology), and G.A. Russell (Environmental Geology, Mining Geology).
1947-1962 – THE BULLER BUILDING y EARS
The years in the Buller Building represented a successful transition to a robust department, with well defined objectives in teaching and research. Introductory classes taught by E.I. Leith drew ever-increasing numbers of students and led to larger enrolments in the Geology programs. The Geological Engineering Curriculum was also taken on by the Department. The five professorial staff had their hands full and met the challenge with excellent courses and by establishing research labs and programs, all within limited space. new appointments included W.C. Brisbin (Structural Geology) in 1957 and D.H. Hall (Geophysics) in 1962, and the name of the Department was changed to Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics in 1963.
It soon became obvious that the Department’s continued growth would require considerably more space and negotiations led to the acquisition of the old Chemistry-Physics Building, now the Fitzgerald Building. A complete building renovation resulted in new teaching and research labs and museum space.
1963-1985
The move into the newly renovated space invigorated the Department and led to new appointments, new areas of research, and increased enrolments over the next 22 years.
Professorial appointments between 1965 and 1967 included D.T. Anderson (Remote Sensing), A.C. Turnock (Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology), G.S. Clark (Geochronology), J. Cherry (Groundwater Geology), and C.D. Anderson (Exploration Geophysics). At this time the name of the Department was changed to the Department of Earth Sciences, in recognition of the additional fields.
From 1970 to 1974 new appointments covered other important areas of the geological sciences. These included J.T. Teller (Quaternary Geology), P. Cerny (Pegmatite Geology), R.S. Harrison (Carbonate
Sedimentology), P. Laznicka (Metallogenesis), L.D. Ayres (Precambrian Volcanology), and A.G. Green (Solid Earth Geophysics). From 1978 to 1983 new appointments included R.J. Elias (Paleontology), W. Moon (Satellite Imagery, Geophysics), W.M. Last (Petroleum Geology, Sedimentology), F.C. Hawthorne (Mineralogy, Crystal Chemistry), and n.M. Halden (Geochemistry).
Two collaborative research initiatives stand out during this period. Project Pioneer was a study of the Rice Lake-Beresford Lake area by the Department and the Manitoba Department of Mines. This innovative project applied a coordinated series of geological, geochemical, and geophysical techniques to a single Precambrian area. The second initiative was the formation of the Centre for Precambrian Studies to implement multidisciplinary research on larger areas of the Precambrian Shield.
Annual geology and geophysics field courses were introduced first at the Chemalloy Mine property at Bernic Lake in 1964, and then moved to the newly constructed Star Lake Field Station in 1971. The field courses were augmented by local and international field trips to acquaint our students with a multitude of geological environments and processes, a philosophy that has continued over the ensuing years.
By 1975 the growth of the Department surpassed the capacity of the Geology Building. An annex had been added to the existing building, trailers near the Buller and Russell buildings were fully occupied, and the Department was spilling over into the Bison Building. In the early 1980s the design for a new Geology building was completed and construction began.
On October 26, 1986 the new building was
officially opened and named after R.C. Wallace, the first Department Head. Coinciding with the opening, the Department’s name was changed to the Department of Geological Sciences.
The design of the Wallace Building represented a major change in architectural style on the campus. The new building was also a harbinger of other changes for the Department. During the sixteen years after the move the following appointments were made: M. Osborne (Mineralogy, Crystallography), n . Chow (Carbonate Sedimentology), C. Macrides (Geophysics), B.L. Sherriff (Mineralogy), I.J. Ferguson (Electromagnetic Geophysics), A.C.L. Larocque (Geochemistry), A. Chakhmouradian (Mineralogy), and A. Frederiksen (Earthquake Seismology). Teaching appointments included J. Young, W. Mandziuk, and K. Ferreira.
During this period discussions in the Department focused on the future and the changing role of the geological sciences in Canada. These discussions led
the Department to take a major step in promoting the formulation of a new faculty. In 2003 a new faculty was formed involving the Department of Geological Sciences, the Department of Environment and Geography, and the natural Resources Institute. The name of the new faculty was modified in 2005 to the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources. Clayton Riddell is an alumnus of the Department (B.Sc. Hon. 1955) and provided a $10 million endowment to support the new faculty. Four new appointments followed 2003: E. Sokolova (Crystal Chemistry), M. Fayek (Environmental and Isotopic Geochemistry), A. Camacho (Tectonics), and A. Bekker (Isotopic Geochemistry).
Since the move to the Wallace Building, the Ed Leith Cretaceous Menagerie has been created with generous donations from alumni and the R.B. Ferguson Museum of Mineralogy has been expanded. Research lab facilities have been redesigned using state-of-the-art analytical and data-processing equipment.
Over the Department’s history, many other individuals have passed through our doors and helped build the Department into what it is today. Technical and office staff have spent significant portions of their careers in the Department to support and advance worldclass research and to ensure that students receive the necessary advice and assistance. Research associates, post-doctoral fellows, adjunct professors, and visiting researchers have made significant contributions to research and student progress.
Without question the most important component of the Department throughout its history has been the students. Each year they challenge, they entertain, and above all
(Continued on page 38...)
they provide the Department with a sense of accomplishment and pride. The Department has strived to maintain contact with alumni and in return alumni have provided generous support through contributions to the Department’s endowment funds, scholarships, and other initiatives.
CELEBRATIONS 2010
The oldest geoscience department in Western Canada is celebrating its centenary in 2010. The Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Manitoba has several exciting projects underway to commemorate this special occasion.
W INNIPEG W EEKEND 2010
A Department reunion will be held at the University of Manitoba during the weekend of August 27-29, 2010. The reunion will
include a “beer and bull” session in University Centre on Friday evening, and an open house and formal welcome in the Wallace Building on Saturday afternoon/evening. On Sunday, alumni will be able to visit the Star Lake Field Station.
H ISTORy WALL
AND MOSAIC M AP OF M ANITOBA GEOLOG y.
These important displays will be added to the Department to celebrate the Centenary. The fundraising campaign is now underway to complete the projects.
ANADA 2010
A special technical session will be held at the GeoCanada 2010 Conference, May 10-14, 2010 in Calgary. The theme of the session will be geological processes over time in central Canada and the talks are anticipated
to be broad ranging. The follow-up project is a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
jACK G ALLAGHER V ISITING SCIENTISTS
Two prominent geoscientists have accepted invitations to be the Jack Gallagher Visiting Scientists during the Centenary year. MaryAnn Mihychuk, Corporate Relations Services, will visit in March; and Alan Green, Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich will visit in September. The endowment fund for this program was established by Jack Gallagher in 1990.
Updates for the Winnipeg Weekend and the other Centenary projects are available at www.umanitoba.ca/geoscience and on our Facebook page (Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba).
CSPG Continuing Education Committee is interested in running a Summer/Fall Field Seminar Series. We would like to run field trips providing more local one-three day field trip options that would run in and around Calgary. We are calling all Instructors that are interested in running a one- to three-day field trip based course in Summer to Fall 2010 to please contact one of our field trip coordinators. If interested in running a field trip based course, or for additional information please contact: Amanda Mitander at amitander@tridentexploration.ca Tyrus Bender at
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