Sedimentology and Depositional Environments of Deepwater Deposits

Deepwater petroleum systems

• Course Intro & refresher on why soft rock geology matters to the Oil Industry
• Deepwater petroleum systems overview
• Deepwater source rock systems

Course participants will gain a sound understanding of the geological characteristics of deepwater hydrocarbon resources. This is key to managing the technical and commercial risks of high cost deepwater E&P projects. In this a clear distinction is made between hydrocarbon reservoirs that originally formed in shallow water environments but which currently occur in deepwater settings [water depth > 500 m], and deepwater reservoirs that were deposited in deepwater by mass-flow mechanisms.

Deepwater depositional systems

• Participants’ learning points from the previous day
• Deepwater mass-flow sediment transport mechanisms
• Deepwater contourite sediment transport mechanisms
• Deepwater clastic depositional systems

A variety of mass-flow sediment transport mechanisms occurs in deepwater settings, with debris flows and turbidites most important for the deposition of reservoir quality rocks. Participants will understand the controls on the occurrence and distribution of the different deepwater transport mechanisms. This is important for the prediction and modelling of the spatial variations in reservoir quality.

Clastic case studies

• Participants’ learning points from the previous day
• Gulf of Mexico
• Angola
• North Sea
• Nigeria

Based on a variety of case studies course participants will gain an understanding of how basin characteristics such as plate tectonic and sea-level setting, presence or absence of salt, or shelf slope depositional characteristics control the deposition and distribution of clastic reservoir rocks. This is of key importance when interpreting seismic data sets and for the prediction and modelling of the spatial variations in reservoir quality.

Carbonate deepwater deposits

Sequence stratigraphic controls on deepwater sedimentary systems

• Participants’ learning points from the previous day

• Refresher on carbonate systems
• Carbonate case studies
• Optional workshop module based on Client data[by prior arrangement]
• Sea level and eustacy & Sequence stratigraphy fundamentals

Carbonate deepwater mass-flow deposits differ from clastic equivalents in several important aspects. Whereas large-scale clastic turbidite deposits typically form during sea-level low-stands when rivers drop their sediment load at the shelf edge, carbonate mass-flow deposits are typically sourced by reef systems during sea-level high-stands. The pore systems of carbonates moreover are typically far more complex than in clastic reservoirs. This makes their petrophysical characterisation much more complex. Hence volumetric and reserves estimates are also much more uncertain than in clastics.

Course summary and review of key technical aspects

• Participants’ learning points from the previous day
• Course overview and summary
• Course test by participants
• Close-out

To re-inforce the participants’ learning an extensive summary of key technical messages as presented in the course is given. This complements the daily review of the participants’ own learning points from the previous day. The course is concluded with the participants taking a multiple choice questionnaire test, the results of which may at the Client’s request be compared with the scores of an optional pre-course test.