This introductory level course will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of international accounting and financial practices in the upstream oil and gas industry. Course participants will be introduced to financial issues that are unique to the upstream industry and their accounting treatment.

Participants will learn about joint ventures including what they are, why they are used, and the accounting implications that arise when a person is involved in a joint venture.  

The final part of the course will be a thorough and comprehensive review of the types of costs that occur in the various stages of an upstream project and how these costs should be managed and controlled

During this course participants will learn about the pitfalls and challenges faced during the contract negotiations for access to oil and gas resources. 

Using petroleum industry case studies and realistic examples participants will receive a broad-based practical introduction to managing oil and gas exploration, as well as development and production contracts.  Participants will work individually and in teams to tackle a variety of industry challenges.

This course provides an introduction to Microseismic qualitative interpretation methods. Using theory, publications, examples, and case histories the audience is introduced to engineering objectives of microseismic monitoring projects.

The interpretation of microseismic events is expanded to include Microseismic data yields information that can be used to calibrate hydraulic fracture models in conventional and unconventional reservoirs. 

The value of microseismic data is fully realized when it is part of an integrated workflow where the measurements are used to calibrate fracture modeling and ultimately to production forecasting.microseismic event source parameters, source wave radiation patterns, and amplitude ratios. Case histories are presented to demonstrate the importance of these microseismic event properties in interpretations and how they can be correlated to fracture treatment data.

There are a variety of objectives for microseismic monitoring projects that extend beyond the description of hydraulic fracture geometry to include comparative studies of different completion and stimulation treatment designs for field development planning. The examples show how microseismic data can be used in a variety of common project objectives, and limitations to such interpretations.

This course addresses the problem of accurate seismic interpretation in deep-water and the delicate construction of seismic maps in the deep-water realm. It is intended to all petroleum professionals involved in exploration and production, geophysicists, geologists, rock physicists, reservoir engineers and drilling engineers.

Seismic interpretation is covered with a series of practical examples that focuses on the deepwater realm, with emphasis on proximal, intermediate and distal marine reservoirs. Acquisition and processing of 2D and 3D data is also discussed in what concerns the practical use of the rather extensive growing database libraries in deepwater.

The distinct data challenges in deepwater are examined in detail so that it would lead to practical problem of drilling locations and the finding and development of deepwater deposits.. Issues in the drilling of deep-water wells such as thickness of the overburden, pore-pressure prediction and geo-steering, are discussed. Practical workshops involve understanding of the main techniques in the seismic section interpretation and in precise structural contouring mapping in deep-water, with focus on the continental slope bathymetry correction and its effect upon time and depth maps. Handling of seismic velocities, depth conversion, comparisons of 2D vs. 3D data, and the principles of 4D and of 4C seismology are also briefly discussed. Time-slice of 3D datasets, seismic interpretation of attributes of amplitude and phase are applied to the mapping exercises for the purpose of better reservoir characterization and possible occurrence of fluid effects.

COURSE OBJECTIVES are the practical understanding of aspects concerning the precise deep-water seismic interpretation fundamental for successfully drilling oil and gas wells in the deep-water realm. Correct estimates of seismic velocities and map contouring techniques in deep-water are essential for achieving ideal vertical and deviated well locations and to the geo-steering of horizontal wells upon reservoir development.

The course covers the essentials of offshore seismic data from acquisition to processing and interpretation. To this effect it examines seismic tape formats, data libraries, design of seismic proprietary and spec surveys, data processing workflows in deepwater and the utilization of interpretation software in workstations Methodologies for correct interpretation of seismic sections and the techniques applied in the architecture details of map contouring are discussed in connection with suites of exercises that apply these techniques in offshore data of passive and compressive continental margins, covering the outer shelf, slope, rise and basin.

Focus is given to the interpretation of deep-water reservoirs, mainly proximal, intermediate and distal turbidites. The main differences between hand-drawn interpretation and computer workstation mapping are discussed so that the principles of interpretation may be utilized to quality control computer section interpretation and computer mapping. This is particularly important in deep-water due to the effect of bathymetry over contouring and depth conversion.

Comparisons between hand contouring and computer contouring are carried out for the purpose of understanding the subtleties of subjective hand contouring versus grid algorithm contouring. Special emphasis is therefore given to hand contouring map interpretation comparisons with modern workstation software grid interpretation mapping for 2D and 3D data sets. Comparative interpretation of the main prospective deep-water regions of the world such as Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Brazil, West Africa, North Sea and Southeast Asia are effected with suite of comprehensive exercises covering structural and stratigraphic interpretation and the use of seismic attributes. Rift and compressional mapping exercises cover normal and reverse faults handling, the understanding of paleo-lows and paleo-highs and flattening of bathymetry for re-construction of basin tectonism. Handling of seismic velocities in deep-water are made with specific exercises of depth conversion. Attendees are daily given hands-on mapping problems and exercises that cover geophysical exploration and development mapping in deep-water. Salt tectonics models over distinct basins are examined and comparisons made for basin architectures and hydrocarbon plays of autochthonous salt vs allochtonous salt.

This is a hands-on course that will focus on why pore geometry must be the focal point for carbonate petrophysical analysis.  Participants will work with petrographic information, mineralogy data, routine core analysis, capillary pressure, electrical rock properties, NMR, and open hole logs.   The importance of Core-Log integration and cross calibration will be shown, as well as the reduction of uncertainty in computed reservoirs properties. 

During this five day course, participants will learn about why the petrophysical property analysis is often the key to building a static reservoir description.  However, in carbonates, a model that is not cross calibrated from core to logs to seismic, it may result in a large statistical uncertainty.  They will also learn about carbonate pore geometry, carbonate systems, total and effective porosity, lithology, and mineralogy.  A portion of this course will also focus on core-log calibration, quicklook log analysis, applied capillary pressure, and applied flow units.

Participants will learn how to take hydrocarbon volumes and risks and apply a structured decision analysis process to them.  The portfolio optimization process will also be discussed in order to help participants understand how to select the “best” exploration projects.

The comparison of exploration projects under different fiscal regimes will be presented by incorporating discounted cash flow and net present value.  The basics of decision analysis for exploration will be reviewed using sensitivities, decision trees, expected monetary value, and the value of information. 

This course teaches you the use and limitations of a variety of production logging tools including spinner, temperature, noise, fluid injections and others tools.   You will learn what results these tools yield, the interpretation assumptions that are integral to their designs, and how quality is affected by the acquisition process.  You will also learn the fundamentals of production log interpretation with hands-on examples and an in-class workshop on interpreting single and two phase flow using production logs.  You will learn how production logs can be used for the measurement of 3 phase fluid flow.

This course addresses the problem of accurate seismic interpretation in deep-water and the delicate construction of seismic maps in the deep-water realm. It is intended to all petroleum professionals involved in exploration and production, geophysicists, geologists, rock physicists, reservoir engineers and drilling engineers.

Seismic interpretation is covered with a series of practical examples that focuses on the deepwater realm, with emphasis on proximal, intermediate and distal marine reservoirs. Acquisition and processing of 2D and 3D data is also discussed in what concerns the practical use of the rather extensive growing database libraries in deepwater.

Fractured reservoirs such as tight carbonates and basements set complex challenges to appraisal and development teams due to their high degree of heterogeneity and hard-to-predict reservoir quality. A multi-disciplinary approach that draws on sedimentology, diagenesis, structural geology, rock mechanics and reservoir engineering techniques has to be applied.

This course provides geologists and reservoir engineers with the essential knowledge needed in the real-world business context where management of risk and reduction of uncertainties is important. The objective is to present the key technical issues in geology, geomechanics and engineering and illuminate the range of tools and techniques available to tackle them (along with their limitations). A constant theme is to illustrate these issues with case histories from the industry. 

The course is intended to be interactive in that delegates are encouraged to participate in discussions so that key points are openly scrutinised.

A constant theme of the course is to apply ‘first principles’ from geological science to the results generated by reservoir characterisation tools, techniques and modelling softwares. With due attention to these principles the technical and commercial risks associated with fractured reservoir hydrocarbon developments can be mitigated.