Training
Carbonate Field Seminar: Examples from the Paleozoic of west Texas and New Mexico
October 2 - 6, 2023
Objective: to introduce carbonate stratigraphy and sedimentology in 3-Dimensions using outcrops from the Franklin, Sacramento and Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas and New Mexico.
This 5-day field seminar reviews the basics of carbonate sedimentology and stratigraphy using the outcrops in the Franklin, Sacramento, and Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas and New Mexico. These mountains contain world-class exposures of buildups and carbonate shelf to basin systems with little structural deformation. The porosity and permeability distribution in carbonates is commonly related to their sequence stratigraphy and depositional facies. We will examine these outcrops to learn the relationship of carbonate facies and related porosity & permeability in the subsurface from seismic features, stratal geometries, sequence stratigraphy and depositional models. To accomplish this, we will visit seismic-scale outcrops, characterize their large-scale geometries, document their facies, and show how similar systems appear in the subsurface. We will also illustrate similar carbonate reservoir facies in seismic, core, and logs. There is also the opportunity to view the results of subaerial exposure, marine diagenesis and early near-surface dolomitization. We will discuss how these processes can affect the ultimate reservoir porosity and permeability in subsurface carbonates.
Characterizing Carbonate Geobodies
1-day Short Course
Objective: to provide an overview of sedimentology and stratigraphy, focusing on fluid flow in carbonate rocks that impact carbon capture and sequestration, extraction of fossil fuel and energy minerals, and water resources.
Carbonate reservoir rocks host hydrocarbons and mineral deposits as well as being a potential sink for carbon capture. However, understanding and predicting lateral and vertical variability of carbonates are challenging. This course is designed to inform your ability to make those predictions. This full-day short course reviews the basics of carbonate sedimentology and stratigraphy, including sediment components, depositional environments, stratigraphic successions, and seismic architectures. At this pivotal time of energy transition, attendees will gain an appreciation for the potential of carbonates not just as reservoirs, but as important records of earth history.
Carbonate Reservoir Sedimentology
4-day Short Course
Objective: to provide an overview of Carbonate Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, focusing on factors that impact the characterization of a petroleum reservoir
This 4-day course reviews the basics of carbonate sedimentology and stratigraphy. It starts with a review of the components that make up carbonate rocks and the depositional environments where these rocks are created. This is followed by a review of the stratigraphy using comparative sedimentology concepts. From here, stratigraphy continues by building a shallowing-upward succession and exploring what that means laterally. We continue by building cycle sets and larger bundles to understand what vertical successions are trying to tell us. The next topic changes focus by providing a basis for understand the pore network. Diagenesis begins almost immediately and impacts the quantity and shape of pores found in carbonate rocks. The second half of the course starts with a review of seismic interpretation of carbonate systems. We explore the nuances of the stratigraphic architecture and seismic characterization of carbonate rocks. Finally, carbonate systems through time are discussed. The evolution of organisms through time has a significant impact on the type of carbonate systems that develop, as do climate influences, eustatic sea-level changes and paleo-oceanic chemistry.