Oil and Gas

Participants will learn to:

1. Understand how the critical properties of wettability and capillary pressure control the process by which hydrocarbons accumulate in a hydrocarbon reservoir.
2. Define porosity; water saturation; gross, net and pay; and permeability.
3. Explore how petrophysical properties can be estimated from core and downhole logs and appreciate the limitations involved.
4. Establish lithology and calculate porosity from open hole wireline log and core data.
5. Calculate water saturation from open hole wireline log and core data.
6. Understand the basic principles of (a) fluid sampling and borehole pressure measurements and (b) gross net and pay.  

This petrophysics course focuses on the petrophysical analysis of hydrocarbon reservoirs to demonstrate how the main petrophysical attributes of porosity and saturation can be estimated in the laboratory from core, and downhole in the reservoir from openhole logs.

Particular emphasis is given to explaining the important principles underpinning the different measurements and the limitations of petrophysical data. Short webinar lectures are typically associated with short discussions, exercises or demonstrations designed to explore the topic, apply knowledge and develop skills.

Another key emphasis of the course is on evaluating the hydrocarbons in place (porosity and saturation) in conventional clean reservoirs. Crucially, the course considers the important effects of wettability and capillary pressure on the fluid distribution in the reservoir. Permeability and the concepts of gross, net and pay are also introduced and discussed.

Session 01

• Introduction to Petrophysics
• The hydrocarbons in place equation
• Petrophysical properties: porosity, water saturation and permeability

Session 02

• Fluid distribution
• Wettability and capillary pressure
• Interpretation exercise/demonstration – capillary pressure curves

Session 03

• Core analysis: porosity, water saturation and permeability
• Interpretation exercise/demonstration -  porosity and permeability; drying effects

Session 04

• Openhole logs for lithology and porosity
• Gamma ray, SP, Density, Photoelectric, Neutron, Sonic and NMR logs
• Interpretation exercise/demonstration – lithology and porosity from logs

Session 05

• Openhole logs for water saturation
• Resistivity logs and Archie’s equation
• Special Core Analysis for Archie’s parameters
• Interpretation exercise/demonstration – porosity and water saturation from logs

Session 06

• Pressure gradients for fluid identification
• Defining gross, net and pay
• Integrating petrophysical data
• Integrated interpretation exercise/demonstration

Exercises Included

This course integrates practical exercises to complement theoretical learning. You will complete exercises on:

• Water saturation on hydrocarbon bearing rock
• Capillary Pressure
• Permeability & Porosity
• Porosity & Lithology
• Porosity & Saturation
• Pressure Plot

These exercises are designed to refine your skills and enhance your ability to tackle complex challenges.

Newly graduated scientists and petrophysicists are the main target audience, together with geologists, geophysicists and engineers who communicate with petrophysicists in regional evaluations, prospect generation and development studies. This is an excellent technical entry point for petrophysics evaluation and an ideal prerequisite to N054 (Skilled Petrophysical Methods for Conventional Reservoirs).