- This event has passed.
Why Understanding Hydrodynamics is Critical in Exploration, Appraisal, Development and Production
April 10 @ 11:45 am - 2:30 pm
Free – $60.00
Society of Petroleum Engineers Western Australia is proud to present the details of our April 2024 SPE WA Lunch Time Technical Meeting.
About the Presentation
Water flow occurs in ALL sedimentary basins from higher pressured to lower pressure areas. Flow occurs via permeable beds away from meteoric intake areas or from over-pressured mudstones that are de-watering. Another source of pressure variation is aquifer depletion due to hydrocarbon production, or aquifer pressurisation due to fluid injection. To understand fluid flow, pressure must be expressed as over-pressure variation, the variation in potential, equating to over-pressure above hydrostatic gradient or head (the height a water column would rise above MSL in a pipe intersecting the point of measurement). Variation in fluid potential within the aquifer beneath a hydrocarbon field results in a variation in FWL over a field (tilted or stepped contacts). This is not evident in most fields due to the small size of fields relative to the small variations in potential which are routinely interpreted as measurement error. However, when the variation is higher these tilts or steps can be very significant, due to:
- Large field areas
- Faults causing baffling
- Lower permeabilities
- Higher water flows
- High density hydrocarbons where minor variation in potential causes significant tilting.
In this talk concepts such as overpressure, potentiometric maps and sections and compartmentalised reservoirs are discussed. Examples from all over the world are presented along with the impact on failed exploration wells and sub-optimum development plans. Vertical variation in potential within fields is also discussed. Finally, publicly available pressure data from the Perth Basin is reviewed and discussed to consider whether Perth Basin Fields are compartmentalised, or have complexly stepped contacts.
About the Speakers
Robert Seggie and Peter van Ruth
Robert worked as a petroleum geologist for over 40 years. He worked for BHP Petroleum, Oil Company of Australia, BMR (now GA), Santos, as a consultant, Woodside Energy and has now retired into an Adjunct Professor role at Curtin University together with some consulting. Robert has been a successful explorationist and development/production geologist. His expertise includes high resolution sequence stratigraphy, structure, unconventionals, hydrodynamics, appraisal co-ordination, and commercial. For over 20 years Robert focussed on applying high resolution core-based sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy to production geology, reservoir development and exploration. Robert also designed and facilitated technical workshops internationally for Shell and Woodside, establishing risks and uncertainties on assets to improve plans and decisions for any part of an asset lifecycle. His current lines of research are dinoturbation, the Pleistocene /Holocene geology of the Swan Plain and, the global tectonostratigraphy of the Late Triassic. He has run courses for AAPG, Nautilus, PESA and SPE, has published numerous papers, and presented and chaired at conferences. He is a member of AAPG, PESA and RSWA and has held executive and editorial positions.
Peter has a PhD in geophysics from the University of Adelaide. He is a subject matter expert in pore pressure prediction and geomechanics with over 20 years of petroleum geoscience experience. Peter is the founder and director of Resolve GeoSolutions which provides pore pressure and geomechanics services. He has previously worked at Baker Hughes, University of Adelaide and Woodside Energy. Peter has held a variety of roles during his career including pore pressure / geomechanics specialist, exploration geoscientist and development geoscientist. Peter has vast experience delivering projects as part of multi-disciplinary teams both as a provider of geomechanics and pore pressure services, and as a customer of these products.
About the Event
Price: Early Bird SPE Member $40 <Until 3 April 2024>
Early Bird Non-Member $60 <Until 3 April 2024>
SPE Member $50
Non-Member $70
Date: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Location: Parmelia Hilton Hotel
Location: 14 Mill Street, Perth WA 6000
Time: 11:45am – 12:00pm Registration & Networking.
Time: 12:00pm – 12:50pm Opening remarks and presentation.
Time: 12:50pm – 1:00pm Q&A Session.
Time: 1:00pm – 2:30 pm Networking drinks & nibbles.
Free tickets are available for Students. SPE WA in conjunction with our sponsors is kindly sponsoring students to attend the monthly technical events. Please apply through your Student Chapter.
