Petrophysics Summer School 2016

The 26th July saw the arrival of the first week-long Summer School in Petrophysics, hosted by the University of Leicester, UK

Kicking off with an icebreaker at the King Richard III Visitor Centre, 30 participants, from 19 different nationalities, and representing 11 countries by institution, came together to begin learning about all things petrophysics.

With industry experts and academia heavyweights sharing their varied experiences and expertise to represent the field, the week started with a crash course on the basics of petrophysics. Following on from this, case studies from both academia and industry focusing on different elements and applications of petrophysics, were used to investigate the use of downhole measurements to answer scientific questions and to understand its everyday use in industry.

Acquisition, application and interpretation of downhole logging data formed the main focus of the week, with a guest appearance from Leicester’s Geotek multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) fast-track system, and a dedicated two-day course on the fundamentals of Schlumberger’s Techlog software package.

Participants were invited to bring posters of their personal research which were presented in the break-out area. This facilitated some lively discussions during the coffee breaks given the very broad range of research interests and allowed a chance for everyone to get to know each other better. On Tuesday evening, an informal lecture on the geology of Leicester was held at the New Walk Museum and was followed by a curry night at Kayal, allowing participants to relax outside of work-hours, while giving them a real Leicester experience.

: Tour of the British Geological Survey (BGS) Core Store

A mid-week offsite trip provided a change of scenery for the participants and fortunately the typically British summer weather failed to dampen spirits or enthusiasm. The morning offered a tour of Weatherford’s facility in East Leake, with an opportunity to learn about the design, manufacture and testing of downhole logging equipment. This was followed, in the afternoon, by a tour of the British Geological Survey (BGS) Core Store including an introduction to the collections housed at BGS Keyworth, and a chance to look at some cores in the flesh with the corresponding downhole logging data. The day was wrapped up with a brief visit to the BGS Shop before heading back to Leicester.

Overall it was a great week with everybody involved gaining a deeper understanding of petrophysics, core physical properties data and downhole logging for participation in International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) expeditions and within industry.

Zeinab Adeyemi, UK IODP Intern

: Petrophysics Summer School 2016

Blogs about the 2016 Petrophysics Summer School:

Structure

This 1st ECORD Summer School in Petrophysics focused on the application of downhole logging and core physical properties data to scientific questions, with case studies from each of the IODP Science Plan themes. The workshop consisted of lectures, discussion groups, and practical exercises on the different elements and data types used in petrophysical analysis. In addition, basic training in industry-standard software packages, including Schlumberger’s Techlog, formed a core part of the summer school. Sessions within the summer school fell into one of three categories:

those which explain and describe the principles behind petrophysical measurements;
those which demonstrate the methods by which petrophysical measurements are acquired;
and those which reveal the ways in which petrophysical data can be used in the pursuit of scientific objectives through integration and interpretation.

An off-site excursion centred on downhole logging activities, including the development, testing, calibration and deployment of downhole logging tools was included. In addition, practical exercises including demonstrations of physical properties data acquisition, by way of multi-sensor core loggers. Integration of these core physical properties data and use of them to calibrate the in situ measurements will form a key component of the workshop.

A list of tutors/speakers:

Organisation	Who
The European Petrophysics Consortium comprising Leicester University (UK) CNRS Montpellier (France) RWTH Aachen (Germany)	Sarah Davies, Jenny Inwood, Erwan Le Ber, Laurence Phillpot, Sally Morgan Johanna Lofi Annick Fehr
Aberdeen University (UK)	Sophie Harland
BP (UK)	Sam Matthews
Geotek Ltd. (UK)	Briony Shreeve
Imperial College London (UK)	Peter Fitch
JAMSTEC (Japan)	Yoshi Sanada
JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (USA)	Trevor Williams
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (USA)	Gilles Guerin, Angela Slagle
Schlumberger (UK)	Rudi Mathers
Total E&P (UK)	Louise Anderson
Weatherford (UK)	Terry Mayor

Scholarships

ECORD awarded 3 Scholarships to Petrophysics Summer School participants.

USSSP awarded 10 US-based scientists travel awards to support their attendance at the Petrophysics Summer School.

Contact

European Petrophysics Consortium
Department of Geology
University of Leicester
Leicester, LE1 7RH
United Kingdom
t: +44 116 252 3327
f: +44 116 252 3918
e: epc@le.ac.uk