Oil and Gas
Oil and Gas | Clastics
Shore to Shelf Edge Depositional Systems (Virtual Outcrops)
Format and Duration:
3 days
5 sessions
This course is designed to address the fundamentals of shelf sedimentology within a time stratigraphic framework. In addition to ‘classic’ lowstand, transgressive, and highstand systems, we will also review transgressive highstand deposits and the influence of current and tidal reworking of shelf clastics. The course will cover the seismic scale down to detailed reservoir scale, thus providing an understanding of how to use models in a predictive sense.
Business Impact: Participants on this course will develop a good understanding of shelf and shallow marine systems within a sequence stratigraphic framework for both clastic and mixed carbonate-clastic systems
Schedule
Duration and Training Method
This is a classroom or virtual classroom course comprising a mixture of lectures, discussion, case studies, and practical exercises reviewing 3D outcrop imagery, seismic data, and outcrop photos.
Course Overview
Learning Outcomes
Participants will learn to:
- Place shallow marine and shelf deposits into a time-stratigraphic framework.
- Understand the system controls on deposition.
- Have an understanding of the different deposits produced during low, transgressive, and high stand systems tracts.
- Understand how these deposits can vary along strike and appreciate the limitations of the ‘2D’ sequence stratigraphic model.
- Understand how shelf processes rework and reorganise shelf deposits, and how to recognise these.
- Understand the geometry of carbonates and mixed carbonate-clastic shorelines.
- Be able to select and use appropriate analogues for different systems.
Course Content
The following summarises the proposed content of this course, which may vary depending on the focus and experience of the participants.
1. Sequence stratigraphic framework
Seminar: An overview of sequence stratigraphic methods, focussing on shallow marine sequences. Emphasis will be placed on time gaps, erosion and condensation, as well as understanding the distribution of deposits.
Exercise: Sequences and Parasequences in Algeria.
2. Source to sink
Seminar: Source to Sink Analysis. Understanding the controls on sediment deposition (sea level, sediment source, climate, tectonics), looking at both clastics and carbonates.
Outcrop analogue: Eocene, Storvola, Spitsbergen.
Exercise: Construction of a simple Wheeler diagram to place deposits in a time framework.
3. Carbonates
Seminar: A review of the controls on carbonate deposition, ramp and rimmed margin geometries. Case studies from the Palaeogene of NE Spain, Miocene of Venezuela.
3D analogues: Llucmayor reef complex, Mallorca, Spain; Cala Figuera Ramp, Menorca, Spain.
4. Lowstand Systems Tract
Seminar: Incised valley geometries and infills with down-tract shelf edge deltas to upper slope deposits.
Outcrop analogue: Eocene shelf edge deltas to base of slope fans, Storvola, Spitsbergen.
Modern analogue: Lagniappe shelf edge delta, Louisiana shelf.
5. Transgressive Systems Tract
Seminar: Introduction to the TST, transgressive surfaces of erosion, Barriered estuaries and tidal estuaries. Case examples from the Chimney Rock Member, Wyoming, English channel.
Outcrop analogues: Tidal sediments Baronia Fm, Pyrenees; Barriered shoreline Pano Fm, Pyrenees.
Exercise: Ness Formation well log correlation.
6. Highstand Systems Tract
Seminar: Highstand deltas. Review the different controls on deltas (wave dominated, tidal and fluvial dominated). Look at the different geometries of sands produced and implications for vertical stacking and correlation. Review the delta top deposits within a sequence stratigraphic framework to understand the architecture and continuity of potential reservoirs.
Outcrop analogue: Palaeo-Orinoco succession, Mayaro, Trinidad.
7. Transgressive highstand
Seminar: Review of transgressive shorelines occurring during sea level highstands. Barrier systems, lagoons, flood tidal deltas. Case example from the Sego Sandstone, Colorado.
3D analogue: Almond Formation, Wyoming.
Modern analogue: US Atlantic coastline.
8. Mixed carbonate and clastic margins
Seminar: Review mixed systems, both reciprocal and co-existing mixed systems. Case examples from the Tertiary and Quaternary Papua New Guinea, Italy Pleistocene.
Outcrop analogues: Mixed carbonate-clastic shoreline and ramp, Jurassic UK; Mixed deltaic succession, Sobrarbe Fm, Pyrenees.
Exercise: Identification of carbonates from seismic data sets.
9. Shelf processes
Seminar: Reworking of the clastic components on the shelf. Review of tidal and storm processes (winnowed gravels, megaripples, ridges, hardgrounds). The role of along-shelf currents.
Outcrop analogue: Ordovician sand waves exposed in 3D, Algeria.
10. Analogues
Seminar: The use of analogues in geological concept and model building, advantages and pitfalls, field analogues, new techniques and cognitive bias.
Analogues: Spring Canyon member roadcut, Utah; Ainsa, Pyrenees (core vs outcrop).
11. Wrap up and summaryWho Should Attend and Prerequisites
The course is designed for geoscientists of all experience levels with an interest in paralic, shallow marine to shelf margin systems. Some prior knowledge of sequence stratigraphy and carbonate sedimentology is assumed.
Instructors
Philip Hirst
Background
Phil left BP after 32 years working as a sedimentologist, latterly as the global discipline lead for sedimentology, stratigraphy, and reservoir quality. He is now an independent consultant focusing on clastic reservoir challenges and geoscience training. He is also involved in delivering lectures and supporting fieldwork for the Royal Holloway Petroleum Geoscience MSc.
Phil completed a PhD on the structural controls and alluvial architecture of Tertiary sediments in the Ebro Basin, Spain. Following this, he began work as a continental sedimentologist. As a sedimentologist in BP, Phil worked across the BP international portfolio from Argentina to Alaska and Australia to Sakhalin and many points between. He has contributed to the reservoir descriptions in access, exploration, and development ventures with frontier field work being an important component; this has included field work in Turkey, Yemen, Sakhalin, Algeria, Jordan/Saudi Arabia and Brazil.
Phil has evaluated many of the more complex depositional and diagenetic issues in BP, such as opaline deposits, tuffaceous sandstones, and the role of chlorite in sandstones. However, it is the glacial reservoirs of North Africa and the Middle East that have been a particular favourite area of study. He co-edited the Geological Society, London 2016 Special Volume No 436 "The Value of Outcrop Studies in Reducing Subsurface Uncertainty".
Affiliations and Accreditation
Visiting Lecturer, Royal Holloway UoL
PhD University of Cambridge
BA Oxford University
Geological Society, London
International Association of Sedimentologists
SEPM, the Society for Sedimentary Geology
Courses Taught
N530: Shore to Shelf Depositional Systems (Virtual Outcrops)
N533: Deepwater Depositional Systems (Virtual Outcrops)
N534: Delta Plain to Base of Slope Reservoir Systems: Outcrop, Seismic, and Production Analogues in a Sequence Stratigraphic
N544: Source to Sink: Provenance, Sediment Routing and Reservoir Characterisation (Southern Pyrenees, Spain)
N387: Exploration and Development in Fluvio-Lacustrine Systems
N713: Reservoir Characterisation for Reservoir Modelling
Stephanie Kape
Background
Dr. Stephanie Kape has over 26 years of experience in the Oil and Gas Industry and is currently an independent consultant geologist at Salar Geoscience Ltd.
After graduating, Stephanie spent 5 years working as a consultant structural geologist with Midland Valley in Glasgow, working on a range of exploration and development projects worldwide. In 2001, Stephanie joined Amerada Hess Ltd as a production geologist based in Aberdeen. She moved to Canadian Natural Resources in 2003 as a Development Geologist and worked the mature North Sea portfolio. In 2005, Stephanie joined BG Group in Reading working the HPHT exploration, development and appraisal portfolio of the UK Central North Sea. In this role she developed a number of models for fluvial reservoirs, working on the issues and predicting reservoir deliverability. In 2008 Stephanie joined the Subsurface Assurance Team in BG, as part of an internal technical auditor, reviewing the company’s exploration, appraisal and development projects worldwide. Later roles included developments work on carbonates, exploration team lead roles in UK and Norway and in Global New Ventures.
Since 2017 Stephanie has worked as an independent consultant, working on varied projects worldwide. These have included M&A work, exploration in North Africa, appraisal projects in Norway and UK, and developments in fractured carbonates in the Middle East.
Throughout her career as a development geologist, Stephanie has worked with reservoir models and has acted as an internal focus for Reservoir Modelling. She has maintained an interest in fluvial sedimentology and the integration of this with other disciplines to build effective predictive models, publishing and presenting at conferences.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD University of Birmingham - Geology
BSc University of Manchester - Geology
C.Geol - Chartered Geologist
PESGB
Geological Society
Courses Taught
N530: Shore to Shelf Depositional Systems (Virtual Outcrops)
N534: Delta Plain to Base of Slope Reservoir Systems: Outcrop, Seismic, and Production Analogues in a Sequence Stratigraphic Context
N108: Exploration and Geological Model Development in Fluvial Reservoirs
N412: A Critical Guide to Reservoir Appraisal and Development
N415: Reservoir Characterisation for Appraisal and Development
N432: Clastic Reservoir Characterisation for Appraisal and Development (Southern Pyrenees, Spain)
Accreditation and Certification
CEU: 2.1 Continuing Education Units
PDH: 21 Professional Development Hours
Certificate: Certificate Issued Upon Completion
RPS is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. We comply with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognised internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices.
We issue a Certificate of Attendance which verifies the number of training hours attended. Our courses are generally accepted by most professional licensing boards/associations towards continuing education credits. Please check with your licensing board to determine if the courses and certificate of attendance meet their specific criteria.