Oil and Gas

Participants will learn how to:

1. Sketch the stratigraphy and evolution of Upper Miocene carbonate ramp to reef sequences in the Balearic Islands (at Basic Application level).
2. Evaluate the underlying biological and hydrological controls that determine carbonate deposition in reef and ramp settings.
3. Compare and contrast the controls on carbonate versus siliciclastic deposition.
4. Evaluate the effects of sea level change on the architecture and geometry of carbonate platforms.
5. Assess the relationship between the carbonate factory and accommodation space - in particular examine the effects of the location and volume of sediment production, biological binding and early cementation.
6. Characterise the key sedimentological aspects and facies belt distributions in ramp and rimmed shelf carbonate systems and assess likely primary porosity distributions.
7. Appraise interpretations of carbonate platforms from seismic data and likely facies distribution.

Day 0: Arrival in Menorca and Course Introduction

Day 1: Menorca Island

FIELD: The Lower Tortonian ramp system. Observation of inner- and middle ramp lithofacies, including:

• Examination of the transition from continental to marine conditions and inner to middle ramp facies
• Grain size and textures distribution
• Dune bedforms and palaeocurrent directions
• Diagenesis: Fluid flow pathways evidenced by preferential cementation

Day 2: Menorca Island

FIELD: The Lower Tortonian ramp system. Observation of ramp-slope and outer-ramp lithofacies:

• Rhodolithic facies composition and arrangement; loci of carbonate production
• Toe of slope facies and subaqueous dunes: types and transport direction
• Mass-flow- and turbidity-flow deposits on the ramp slope; channel and levee structures
• Slump scars and backsets and density flows
• Discussion on implications for reservoir potential

Fly to Mallorca and hotel check-in

Day 3: Mallorca Island

FIELD: The upper Tortonian reef rimmed shelf. Observation of a complete set of representative facies:

• Open shelf and prograding slope to lower reef facies. Changing style of sediment production
• Reef core lithofacies, with representative core ecological-bathymetric zones, porosity types and diagenesis
• Outer lagoonal lithofacies. Grainy and bioconstructed facies interrelationships
• Pliocene beach deposits (optional)

Day 4: Mallorca Island

FIELD: The Upper Tortonian reef rimmed shelf. Analysis of the architecture of the Llucmajor shelf:

• Boat trip to view the shelf to basin transition, from Vallgornera - Cala pi to Cap Blanc (9 - 20 stops) 
• General architecture, statal geometries, and sequence development from the large- to the meso-scale
• The youngest reef slopes developed just before the Messinian Salinity Crisis and associated sea level fall
• Pliocene beach deposits and Pleistocene aeolianites

CLASSROOM:

• Core description exercise on cores drilled from the Miocene platform
• 2D core correlation exercise
• Discussion on 3D core correlation: applications to seismic interpretations

Day 5: Mallorca Island

FIELD: Upper Tortonian-Messinian capping series and paleokarst. Analysis of the Santanyi Limestone outcrops and facies succession:

• Observation of mangrove deposits, tidal grainstones, thrombolites, and stromatolites
• Karst collapse structures, implications for porosity development
• Sequence stratigraphic features and their influence on hydrocarbon exploration and development in carbonate systems

CLASSROOM: Course closure

• Main topics and concepts visited and discussed during the field trip
• Comparison between the Menorca ramp, the Mallorca reef rimmed shelf systems, and other well-known systems
• Applications for hydrocarbon exploration and appraisal

Day 6: Departure from Mallorca

This course is designed for all subsurface geoscientists who wish to broaden and deepen their knowledge of carbonate plays. Attendance on this course could also benefit reservoir engineers, team leaders, and managers looking to better understand carbonate reservoir facies and porosity distribution and how these impact hydrocarbon in-place volumes, as well as production behaviour.