TRAININGS, COURSES & CERTIFICATIONS

This course is offered in two formats: 1 Day and 3 Days. The one-day “crash” course contains the essentials of the detailed three-day course. Through the evolution of the petroleum industry, various disciplines of geoscience were incorporated into the industry. Meanwhile, geoscience has also rapidly developed in both theoretical and technological aspects. Today, petroleum geoscience is an integral part of the oil and gas industry and plays critical roles in exploration, development and production of oil and gas fields, both conventional and unconventional.

Instructor: Rasoul Sorkhabi, Ph.D.

The course offers an introduction to Petroleum Systems Analysis (PSA). After discussing source rock deposition in different sediment environments, much attention is given to the process of thermal maturation resulting in the generation and migration of oil and gas. After a review of basic source rock analytical methods, the use of these is exemplified in a few exercises.

Instructor: Ger van Graas, Ph.D.

This course, to be delivered online over two days in 3.5 hour segments, will cover the essentials of exploration risk and play fairway analysis. It will emphasize integration of data and the importance of a solid regional understanding in risking and resource estimation. It will address exploration risk at basin, play and prospect level, and discuss portfolio aggregation and yet-to-find estimation. There will be time for discussion and, if desired, specific company issues and examples.

Instructor: Tony Doré, Ph.D., DSc, OBE

This two-day course provides a concise summary of the varying facets of shale gas development from resource identification and assessment, through production analysis, completion, stimulation technology, and environmental concerns. This course will emphasize describing and understanding the features of shale gas reservoirs that distinguish them from conventional gas reservoirs. This multi-disciplinary approach requires participants to think beyond their own specialties and apply lessons learned from conventional resource development while recognizing the need to develop new paradigms where needed. The course is presented as 1 ½-day theory with a half-day of discussion and further development.

Instructors:  John McLennan, PhD.

This four-day course covers historical background and impact of stimulation decisions, along with Key Formation Properties of Low Mobility Plays, including storage, permeability, and stimulation requirements; Geomechanical Properties including stress, strain, strength, deformation properties, laboratory measurements, logging analyses, and field interpretation; and an Introduction to Hydraulic Fracturing & Implications for Low Mobility Situations with attention to principles for single, planar fractures, multiple interacting fractures, fluid requirements (volumes, sensitivity, etc.), geologic considerations, natural fractures, stress contrast, post-peak behavior, and lithologic considerations. The course also examines near-wellbore considerations for completing these types of wells. Additional issues to be addressed include wellbore integrity, reduced volumes, nonaqueous fluids, and air quality.

Instructor: John McLennan, Ph.D.

This full-day course with an optional half-day workshop or evening activity is an introduction to key phases of the Oilfield Life Cycle, suitable for newly hired scientists and engineers, finance professionals, managers with backgrounds outside the petroleum industry, and support staff including geo-techs, engineering techs, data managers, and administrative support. Based on the model for the Oilfield Life Cycle, the course covers reconnaissance, prospect generation, discovery, reservoir delineation, facilities, primary production, enhanced recovery, and the acquire/divest phases. The optional half-day session includes hands-on simulation.

Instructor: Rasoul Sorkhabi, Ph.D. & Tony Doré, Ph.D., DSc, OBE

As the industry moves from the era of easy oil/gas to challenging oil/gas, especially at the time of petroleum recession, lowering the operational cost, improving production, increasing the return of investment, and continued adherence to safety are becoming far more important than any time before. Thus a geomechanics specialist or engineer with a knowledge of geomechanics can play a significant role in improving field operations. However, petroleum geomechanics as an interdisciplinary course encompasses the fields of structural geology, logging interpretation, pore pressure prediction, rock-fluid interaction, rock mechanics, fracture mechanics, etc. Efficient integration of geomechanical fundamentals, laboratory testing and field observations, and proper interpretation and implementation of the results in the field are vital to assure positive outcomes. Therefore, we have tailored an in-house petroleum geomechanics course, and attempt to strike a balance between the theoretical and practical parts, and aim to maximize the practitioners’ benefits by properly implementing geomechanics techniques in daily operations.

Instructor: John McLennan, Ph.D.

Conventional analytical and semi-analytical methods used to describe, evaluate, and predict the production behavior of simple wells give us great insight into the physics of hydrocarbon production. However, as we move towards heterogeneous and highly complex systems such as horizontal wells in shales, naturally fractured formations, multilayered target zones, multiwell projects, etc., we face increasing challenges in the number of analytical tools available to us. Production decisions become even more critical during industry downturns, creating enormous pressure on engineers and geologists to correctly evaluate existing and new projects. Reservoir simulation technologies have profoundly changed the game for reservoir engineers by adding a whole new evaluation tool capable of handling almost any problem.

Significant differences in important prediction and evaluation results are observed when simulations are not performed efficiently. In this short course, we introduce clients who are new or familiar to reservoir simulation to important aspects such as the theory and the fundamentals necessary to make educated decisions. Indeed, reservoir simulation is only as good as the available data as well as the analysis and insight that the simulation user brings. Upon completion of the course, participants will add value to their companies by performing adequate and rigurous simulation studies as well as being able to troubleshoot common simulation issues.

Instructor: Palash Panja, PhD. & Milind Deo, Ph.D.