Anadarko Drilling Rig Tour
We will spend a day in East Texas and go an active drilling location to tour a drilling rig. We will also have a classroom discussion about wellsite operations and field development. This is an exciting and essential part of the energy industry and petroleum geoscientists routinely; (a) use wellsite data to assist in development and exploration efforts, and (b) make decisions that affect current and future drilling operations. This tour will give you a great introduction to this facet of our profession.

This trip will depart on Wednesday, October 8 from the Hilton Hotel lobby at 7:30 a.m. and return by 5 p.m., in time for the Ice Breaker/Poster Session. The cost of this trip is $10, which will cover transportation and lunch. All participants are responsible for and will be required to wear steel toed boots. All other necessary safety equipment instruction, and a guidebook will be provided.

Core Laboratories, Lab Tour
This afternoon field trip will give you the opportunity to visit the US based Advanced Technology Center of Core Laboratories. Core Laboratories is a leading provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description, production enhancement and reservoir management services for the global petroleum industry. These services enable our clients to optimize reservoir performance and maximize hydrocarbon recovery from producing fields. Our staff of geoscientists and engineers work in conjunction with clients to deliver solutions rather than simply data. Integration of the disciplines will reduce overall project cycle time and add value.

The tour will begin with a brief overview of Service Company career opportunities. We will show you what happens to a core when it is delivered to the laboratory and what tests can be run to evaluate this valuable data:

  • Core layout
  • Core processing and wellsite gear
  • Routine core analyses
  • Special core analyses
  • Rock mechanics
  • Petrography / Geology
  • Petrophysics
  • Reservoir Fluids

The Company has over 70 offices in more than 50 countries and is located in every major oil-producing province in the world. The company provides its services to the world's major, national and independent oil companies.

This trip will depart on Wednesday, October 8 from the Hilton Hotel lobby at 12:00 p.m. and return by 4:00 p.m., in time for the Ice Breaker/Poster Session. The cost to register for the trip is $10.


    Short Courses

Schlumberger/WesternGeco Technology Day
This event will be hosted by Bob Davis, Scientific Advisor from Schlumberger DCS in Oklahoma City.  Presentations by Schlumberger Petro Technical Experts will include projects and solutions with which they have been associated.  The final presentation list is yet to be determined but may include:

  • "Geological Applications of Borehole Images"
  • "Advances in Deep Water, Sub Salt, and Drilling Optimization"
  • "Reservoir Characterization and Simulation of Tight Gas Sands"
  • "Applied Schlumberger Geosciences Solutions for a Client Deepwater Project"
  • "Petrel: 3D Geological Modeling
  • "Bringing Geology into Focus - Integrated Methods to Improve Seismic Images"
  • "Applications of LWD and Well Placement"

This short course will take place on Wednesday, October 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The cost to register for the course is $10.  Lunch will be provided.

Simplified Global Maps and a Basin Classification as a Guide for Information Retrieval
 Albert W. Bally, Department of Earth Science, Rice University, Houston
Bret J. Fossum, ConocoPhillips, Houston                 

Effective planning for hydrocarbon exploration requires a basic understanding of petroleum systems i.e. the relationship of hydrocarbon source rocks, their maturation, reservoirs, seals, charge timing and traps. Assembling these elements into a regional context is useful when comparing and contrasting each systems and their setting in sedimentary basins and / or folded belts. Insights are revealed when comparing and contrasting analogous hydrocarbon systems for the purposes of exploration production and economic planning. Global maps help in the search for analogs and to initiate and direct targeted searches for published and proprietary geologic information. In this context it is desirable to exploit an integrated and updated view of the geology of the world in the form of simplified geothematic maps.

The purpose of this session is to introduce a series of simplified maps that provide the background for a first order understanding of global geology as it relates to exploration of hydrocarbons. In short, an attempt is made to demonstrate a method to navigate swiftly and with imagination from plate tectonics to hydrocarbon systems and exploration plays. In reality much of these tasks often also involve constructive dialogue with colleagues and / or supervisors in oil companies who have an in-depth background in the earth sciences and the area of interest. In this context there is always a need to identify methods to adequately simplify geologic concepts, while correctly flagging uncertainties that translate to increased exploration risks.

This short course will take place on Thursday, October 9 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.