MSc Petroleum Geoscience / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Field Appraisal and Development

Course unit fact file
Unit code EART60402
Credit rating 15
Unit level FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Offered by Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The course is designed to make students aware of the petroleum engineering aspects of hydrocarbon exploration and production and will give hands-on teaching how to use Petrel.

This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 20/21 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact.  Please see Blackboard / course unit related emails for any further updates.

Aims

This course is subdivided into two units.

Unit 1: INTRODUCTION TO FIELD APPRAISAL AND DEVELOPMENT

  • To introduce the geoscientist to the tools and techniques used by petroleum engineers to develop oil and gas fields.
  • To understand the role of the geoscientist in oil and gas field development.

Unit 2: RESERVOIR MODELLING USING PETREL

  • This is a practical course run by Schlumberger covering the principals of reservoir modelling.

Learning outcomes

The student will gain an understanding of the following topics:

  • the methods used to appraise and develop oil and gas fields
  • the basis for hydrocarbon reserves classifications
  • the principles that govern the dynamic behaviour of oil and gas fields
  • the methods used to estimate recovery factors for fields developed using primary, secondary and tertiary recovery methods
  • the methods used to predict the performance of oil and gas fields

Syllabus

Introduction

- the roles of the geoscientist and petroleum engineer

- the terminology of oil production

- basic principles

- €œMy first model€Â

- Subsurface pressures

 

Field development planning

- The E&P project cycle

- Production profiles

- Development concepts

- Reserves classification

- Probabilistic and deterministic reserves

- Reserves estimation using decline curves

 

Primary recovery

- Phase behaviour

- The €œBlack Oil€ model

- Fluid properties

- Primary recovery methods

- Oil material balance

- Gas material balance

 

Secondary & tertiary recovery

- Relative permeability

- Capillary pressure

- Secondary recovery methods

- Immiscible displacement

- Tertiary recovery methods

 

Well & reservoir performance

- Introduction to well testing

- Inflow performance

- Outflow performance

- Well performance prediction

- Reservoir performance prediction

- Introduction to reservoir simulation

 

Practical course run by Schlumberger - principals of reservoir modelling.

Assessment methods

100% course work

Recommended reading

Unit 1:

CORE READING:

Dawe; R. (Ed.) Modern Petroleum Technology, vol I; Wiley (2000)

Towler; Fundamental Principles of Reservoir Engineering; SPE (2004)

Jahn, Graham, Cook Hydrocarbon Exploration & Production; Elsevier (1998)

Archer & Wall Petroleum Engineering: principles and practice. Graham and Trotman Ltd., London (1986)

FURTHER READING

Dake, L.P. Fundamentals of reservoir engineering; Elsevier (1978).

Papay, J. Development of Petroleum Reservoirs; Akademiai Kiado, Budapest (2003)

Craft & Hawkins Applied Petroleum Engineering; Constable & Co. London (1959)

Amy, Bass, Whiting Petroleum Reservoir Engineering; McGraw-Hill (1960)

Whitson, C. Well Performance Analysis;

Unit 2:

Stochastic Modeling and Geostatisticsâ€'Principles, Methods and Case Studies #322 AAPG Computer Applications in Geology ISBN: 0891817026

Reservoir Characterizationâ€'Recent Advances #570B, AAPG Memoir ISBN: 0891813519

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 30
Practical classes & workshops 30
Independent study hours
Independent study 90

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Jonathan Redfern Unit coordinator

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