Professional Lecture Related to Petroleum Geology

Between February 2 and 6, I attended a professional lecture which was delivered by Jim Jennings from Shell International Exploration and Production. The lecture was delivered at Houston, in Texas.  Shell Internal Exploration and Production is funded by the Shell International Company and the American Association of Petroleum Geologist Foundation (AAPG).

This lecture was related to petroleum geology in the sense that it was about petrophysical variability, fluid flow behavior, and the implications for analysis and modeling of carbonate reservoirs.

Matrix petrophysical properties for most carbonate reservoirs shows a high range of spatial variability using different scales.  The high degree of variability comes with a   number of challenges when analyzing and modeling the reservoirs.  Even though there are no two reservoirs are the same, there is a general spatial variability that can be made which affects the fluid flow and with various implications for analysis and modeling of data.  However, this insight does not bring about a single unified model that can be used for all carbonate settings but it can lead to basic principles which can assist to anticipate problems and avoid pitfalls, and at the same time, come up with the best analysis and modeling methods appropriate for each carbonate reservoir.

The lecture therefore talked about a carbonate matrix petrophsyical variability and fluid flow according to a research that had been conducted at University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.  The lecture gave important generalized principles that can be used to study fluid flow and carbonate reservoirs.