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Short Course

Instructors:

W. Lansing Taylor, Ph.D.Senior Research Scientist

Course Structure2-day classroom, Lecture plus exercises Presentation materials

Duration2 days

LocationEGI’s Salt Lake offices or Corporate Associate location

May 11, 2016 11:14 AM

Structural Geology for Unconventional Development

Available to EGI Corporate Associate Members

OverviewA 2-day classroom course on two methods of structural geology for the characterization and development of unconventional resources.

Folding and faulting are two natural process that perturb subsurface stress, influence the attributes of hydraulically-induced fractures, and impact reservoir quality for unconventional resources. This course covers two methods used to characterize changes in reservoir geomechanics caused by the geologic process of folding and faulting. The methods are: 1) curvature analysis and 2) discontinuity analysis. These techniques are used to transform geologic horizon maps and fault interpretations into spatial predictions of reservoir performance and completion quality.

On the first day of the course, the necessary background in geomechanics and structural geology is provided, while the second day of the course focuses on the applied methods, including practical exercises based on seismic data.

This course is intended for geologists and geophysists working on the development of unconventional resources, and reservoir engineers, frontline managers, and geoscientists from other divisions are welcome.

Agenda

Day 1: Fundamental ConceptsGeomechanics

Ø Strain, Stress, Principal Axes & Mohr Diagrams

Ø Linear Elasticity, Hookes Law, and Stress in the Subsurface

Ø Failure and the Stress-Strain Curve, Brittle vs. Ductile

Ø Poro-, Thermo-, Visco-elastic, and Plastic Materials

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Short Course | Structural Geology for Unconventional Development | Instructor: W. Lansing Taylor

Structural Geology

Ø Folds, Faults, Fractures: Classification and Descriptive Nomenclature

Ø Occurrence and Spatial Distribution, Local vs. Regional Stress

Ø Stress-dependent Reservoirs, Fracture Hydrology and Effective Media Theory

Ø Development Planning: Completion, Orientation, Spacing

Day 2: Predictive Methods Folding / Curvature Analysis

Ø Mechanical Stratigraphy, Flexural Slip and the Beam Model

Ø Geometric Attributes, Scale Dependence and Geologic Context

Ø From Stress to Fracture Model to EUR

Faulting / Discontinuity Analysis

Ø Stress around Holes and Cracks, Fracture Mechanics

Ø Numerical Modeling Case Study and Applied Workflows

Ø From Discrete Fracture Networks (DFN) to Reservoir Simulation

Figure 1: Folding / Curvature Analysis. The plate bending model predicts extension on the outer arc of a fold and contraction on the inner arc (A). Using curvature analysis, a horizon map of top Hunton from the Golden Trend (B) is transformed into a prediction of fracture orientation and density (C) that can be used to guide further development.

3

Short Course | Structural Geology for Unconventional Development | Instructor: W. Lansing Taylor

Figure 2: Faulting / Discontinuity Analysis. Changes in displacement near a fault tip (A) extend or compress the rock mass adjacent to the fault (B) producing changes in reservoir quality and completion characteristics within an individual accumulation. This phenomenon has been documented to occur at the field scale with satellite radar images (C) and is a significant source of stress heterogeneity in unconventional plays.

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Lansing (Lans) Taylor Ph.D. has seventeen years of experience in the oil and gas industry working for Anadarko Petroleum, Talisman Energy, and as an independent consultant and industry instructor. Dr. Taylor has developed extensive knowledge of the tectonic and structural settings of petroleum systems across the globe. His primary areas of experience include the western cordillera of the Americas and their associated foreland basins and the Tethyan margin from North Africa through the Middle East to South East Asia. Lans has worked on hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation projects in Alaska, Canada, the US Rockies, West Texas, the Gulf Coast, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina; and Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Iraq, UAE, Oman, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, PNG, and Australia.

Lans received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1999 as Phillips Fellow in the Rock Fracture Project where he specialized in quantitative structural geology, neotectonics, and geomechanics. Part of his research at EGI and much of his prior work in the industry focuses on the application of mechanical principals to structural restoration and to the prediction of natural fractures and other stress-dependent reservoir properties. ‘From mantle plume to molecular cohesion’ was the theme of his opening address for the 2013 Houston Geological Society Conference ‘Geomechanics for Unconventionals,’ a biennial conference where Lans serves as chair of the organizing committee.

Lans is recognized as an outstanding teacher and field course leader for industry. He instructs several popular courses including ‘Structural Geology for Petroleum Exploration,’ ‘Structural Geology for Reservoir Characterization,’ and ‘Structural Styles for Seismic Interpretation,’ addressing the morphology and evolution of the fundamental structural forms that create hydrocarbon traps. Noted as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable field guide, Lans has led more than 850 geoscientists on trips to the Basin and Range in Southern Nevada, the Northern Rockies in Montana, the Paradox Basin in Utah, the Cretaceous Platform of central Texas, the Pedernal uplift in New Mexico, the Canadian Cordillera in Alberta, and the Spanish Pyrenees.

Dr. Taylor’s current research at EGI includes basin-scale petroleum systems evaluation, using seismic and well data, surface mapping, and potential fields to build the structural and stratigraphic framework necessary to predict hydrocarbon prospectivity in hydrocarbon-bearing basins. Lans is also working on fundamental research in structural geology with two new projects, one for mechanical stratigraphy and one on rotation in continuum, including research examining the effects of mechanical stratigraphy on subsurface stress heterogeneity to improve our understanding of how natural and hydraulically stimulated fractures propagate through layered materials. The second project is a combination of regional tectonic interpretation with numerical simulation and is focused on documenting the patterns, scales, and temporal evolution of rotational deformation within solid material.

Research Interests

• Structural geology & tectonics

• Geomechanics in unconventional resources

• Petroleum system evaluation

Email ltaylor@egi.utah.edu

Phone 801-581-8430

Lansing Taylor, Ph.D.

October 29, 2015 2:13 PM

Senior Research Scientist & Advisor