SPEIOR.ORG

Continuing Education

Short Courses — $650 SPE Member — $700 Non SPE Member Click on the course instructor's name to view bio.
Saturday 14, April 2012
	Course Title / Instructor / Description

	Reservoir Characterization: From the Laboratory to the Field Larry W. Lake This course teaches integrated reservoir characterization, from basic petrophysics through geostatistics. The emphasis is on porosity, permeability, capillary pressure and relative permeability as they relate to flow. The course also covers the statistics of the spatial distribution of these properties and illustrates the benefits of using them. Topics include: • Single-phase petrophysical porosity, permeability and non-Darcy effects • Two-phase flow: capillary pressure, relative permeabilities and trapped phase saturations • Heterogeneity and non-uniformity • Effective properties: (pseudo) porosity • Absolute permeability: capillary pressure, relative permeability, dispersivity and viscous fingering Why You Should Attend This class will quickly bring you up to speed on the characterization of oil and gas reservoirs. Who Should Attend This course is designed for engineers with at least a bachelor’s degree in petroleum or chemical engineering. All other engineers, geologists, mathematicians and physicists with at least some experience in reservoir engineering or numerical simulation can benefit from the course.

	In-Situ Recovery Methods and SAGD K.C. Yeung This course will provide a general overview of current and emerging heavy oil recovery methods with emphasis on field experiences in Alberta and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Participants will learn about the concepts, field development, reservoir performances, applicability, challenges, and issues of the various in-situ recovery methods. Commercial and emerging recovery methods covered: • CHOPS, CSS, steamflood, SAGD • Steam solvent hybrid • Cross-SAGD, fast SAGD, wedge wells • VAPEX, N-SOLV, THAI, COGD, ET-DSP, ESEIEH Why You Should Attend Many advances have been made in in-situ recovery techniques over the past twenty years, especially in Alberta where conventional oil production has been declining. The advancement in horizontal well drilling and the invention of the SAGD process have resulted in the commercial development of horizontal cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and numerous SAGD projects. Emerging recovery technologies are also developing in order to reduce the capital costs, operating costs, and environmental impact. Who Should Attend All E&P personnel, including engineers, geoscientists, technologists, and managers involved or interested in heavy oil recovery methods and field practices will benefit from this course.

	Shale Gas Completions, Fracturing and Production George King This course acquaints participants with the latest well completion, fracturing, and production technologies for shale gas and wet gas reservoirs. The interactive format includes field data and interpretations. The course presents an overview of technologies, such as multi-stage fracturing in horizontal wells, and a summary of field data from different shale gas plays. Technology innovations and adaptations have pushed the completions in the gas shales from 1% recovery to over 40% recovery in the past 15 years, the oil and wet gas shale completions are just beginning to crack the 5% recovery level. This course will be focused on innovations in technologies that have moved oil recovery towards levels of 10% and higher by the use of improved perforating cluster design, 40+ stage stimulations, hybrid frac fluids and enhanced stimulations with CO2 and microemulsions that can drive interfacial tension below one. Why You Should Attend The technology for recovering shale and wet gas reserves is changing the face of the industry worldwide. If tight gas or wet shale reserves are part of your portfolio, you will benefit from this course. Who Should Attend This course is for all well completion and production engineers, managers and geologists working with shale gas reserves.

	EOR Case Histories Betty Felber, David Holcomb & Brad R. Govreau This course provides case history reviews of field EOR applications. New this year is a section on new microbial enhanced oil recovery techniques and an update on nanoparticles and how they can help you improve your hydrocarbon recoveries. Also new is a section on making the most of your core analysis. Other technologies highlighted include carbon dioxide injection, sweep improvement, steamflooding, and water disposal. Applications are onshore sandstone and carbonate reservoirs from the United States and Nigeria. Not all reviewed projects were economically successful but each has valuable technical and financial lessons learned.

	Polymer Flooding and Gel Treatments Randy Seright This course provides a comprehensive introduction to polymer flooding (for improved sweep and mobility control in reservoirs) and to gel treatments (for water shutoff and reduction of fluid channeling through reservoirs). For polymer flooding, topics covered include rheology in porous media, injectivity issues, polymer stability (mechanical, oxidative, chemical/thermal, microbial), polymer propagation issues, polymer flood design, surveillance, and evaluation, and discussion of important field applications. For gel treatments, topics include basic properties of gelants and gels, gel placement concepts, and a strategy to attack excess water production problems. A comparison of polymer flooding versus in-depth profile modification is provided.

Sunday 15, April 2012
	Course Title / Instructor / Description

	Reservoir Aspects of Horizontal & Multilateral Wells Sada Joshi This course includes discussion on the practical issues and reservoir parameters of horizontal well projects. The topics include formation damage, drainage areas, well spacing, well reserves, and rate calculations using steady-state and pseudo steady-state methods. The course includes several field case histories and performance analysis of horizontal wells. Topics include: • Drilling methods and costs • Well spacing and drainage areas • Recovery factors and steady-state solutions • Case histories: coning applications • Fractured horizontal wells • Forecasting production Why You Should Attend While horizontal wells are riskier and more expensive than conventional wells, the production gains may be worth it. This course teaches you when the technology justifies the risk. Who Should Attend This course is for reservoir, production, drilling, and completion engineers, managers, and other personnel who are interested in learning about selecting reservoirs for horizontal wells and understanding production performance of horizontal wells.

	Enhanced Oil Recovery Fundamentals Larry W. Lake This course teaches an integrated version of the basics of waterflooding and enhanced oil recovery (EOR), illustrating the connection of each process to a few fundamental principles. It reviews the specifics of thermal and solvent EOR by relating basic principles to the results of cases from the field. Topics include the definitions of EOR and polymer flooding, the fundamentals of displacement, phase behavior, micellar-polymer flooding, chemical methods, thermal flooding and the basics of solvent flooding. Why You Should Attend Every oilfield eventually relies on some form of enhanced oil recovery. Some require it from the start. If your career involves oil and gas production, this is an important course for you. Who Should Attend This course is designed for engineers with at least a bachelor’s degree in petroleum or chemical engineering. All other engineers, mathematicians, and physicists with at least a bachelor’s degree and some experience in reservoir engineering or numerical simulation can benefit from this course.

	Practical Aspects of CO₂ Flooding EOR, and CO₂ Geosequestration Charles E. (Chuck) Fox, Dr. S. M. (Sam) Avasthi, Dr. Michael H. (Mike) Stein & J.M (Jay) Avasthi This popular course is based on the SPE Monograph Volume 22, Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding, and is an outgrowth of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin/ SPE CO2 Conferences, and short-courses held in Midland, Texas, for the past 13 years. The instructors spend most of the time on the practical aspects of CO2 flooding, keeping the theoretical aspects to a bare minimum. Instructors also discuss the economics of CO2 flooding compared to water flooding. If there is enough interest among the participants, there will also be a discussion of CO2 geosequestration. Each attendee will receive a workbook containing copies of the instructors’ PowerPoint presentations, and solutions to the problems given in class. Why You Should Attend This course is a great opportunity to learn the practical aspects of CO2 flooding from seasoned veterans, without getting mired in the technical details. It’s a popular class, so register early. Who Should Attend This course is for anyone who is interested in CO2 flooding, hydrocarbon gas flooding or CO2 sequestration. Participants typically include petroleum, reservoir and production engineers, as well as facilities engineers, managers and government officials. Special Requirements Students must bring laptops to class; Excel programs are provided.

	Forecasting Production and Estimating Reserves in Unconventional Gas Reservoirs John Lee This course teaches the skills and understanding needed to forecast production and estimate reserves in unconventional (ultra-low permeability) gas and wet gas reservoirs. Although the course emphasizes gas shale and tight gas formations, some of the material also applies to oil reservoirs. You’ll also learn the basic theories that describe how fluids move through a reservoir, as well as some of the most common drilling and completion techniques for recovering them. The course will deal with methods commonly used for conventional reservoirs and will suggest modifications and alternatives for ultra-low permeability reservoirs. Examples of forecasting data from the Bakken and Eagle Ford fields will be included in the class for those working in wet gas reservoirs. Why You Should Attend There are various ways to forecast production and estimate the size of unconventional gas reservoirs. You’ll learn the strengths and weaknesses of each system and how to develop reliable forecasts in this course. Who Should Attend The course is for engineers and geoscientists who are interested in learning how to evaluate unconventional reservoirs. Special Requirements Students must bring a laptop to class.

	Horizontal Well Completions Sidiptya Banerjee (Sid) & Aaron Burton This course develops strategies for completing horizontal wells. It covers both cased-hole and open-hole configurations, either with or without sand control. Participants will learn the applications and dynamics of horizontal wells, including drill-in fluids, hole displacement, cementing, perforating, and stimulation. They will also learn the guidelines for selecting stand-alone screens and executing horizontal gravel packs. Topics include: • Completion options • Cased-hole horizontal completions • Perforating and stimulating horizontal wells • Open-hole horizontal completions • Drill-in fluids • Zonal isolation and inflow control • Displacing the drill-in fluid Why You Should Attend Horizontal drilling was a step-change in the industry, but the technology is more expensive and riskier than drilling vertical or deviated wells. As a drilling, completion or reservoir engineer, it is important for you to understand the many challenges and options of horizontal drilling. Who Should Attend This course is designed for drilling, completion and reservoir engineers, and for service company personnel involved with planning, drilling, completing and operating horizontal wells.