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April 2014 Petroleum Newsletter

University of Manchester

Petroleum Geoscience and Engineering Newsletter

April 2014 School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science

Update 2014 looks set to be another busy year, with a number new research initiatives underway. We were one of the 6 leading UK Universities that put together the successful bid for the new Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Oil and Gas Centre for Doctoral Training. This will be the largest research programme of its kind in the UK, attracting funding of over £5million, and Manchester is at the heart of this new initiative.

The Petroleum Engineering BEng/MEng and Petroleum Geoscience MSc courses all had their largest intake in 2013-4 (50 and 49 respectively), reflecting the popularity of the courses and increasing international recognition. The MSc presentations this year, on the 27th August, look set to be a great showcase for our students.

Our research themes are highlighted in this Newsletter, displaying the broad range of expertise, increased industry funding and global coverage. We hope you enjoy the Newsletter and check out the Alumni section, we are always keen to hear from our past students and colleagues.

NERC Oil and Gas DTC

The University of Manchester is a core partner in the new NERC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT).

The CDT will support a minimum of 90 postgraduate students, 30 of whom will be funded by NERC, all of whom will benefit from being embedded alongside world class researchers and industry partners in the form of placements, mentoring, facilities and equipment.

MSc students on the field course to Mallorca, Spain

More on NERC CDT: Page 4 Petroleum Engineering: page 5 Alumni News: page: 9 Staff List and Contact: 2

Visit the Manchester booth at AAPG Houston, EAGE and PETEX Staff and students from the Basins and Petroleum Geoscience Group will be manning a booth at the AAPG in Houston, EAGE in Amsterdam and PETEX in London. So please drop by to talk about research or courses, or just to catch up!

Petroleum Engineering students host keynote presenter Lord Browne at the SPE Ambassador Lecture Programme Event.

All the latest news from our Research Groups, Petroleum Geoscience MSc and Petroleum

Engineering Programmes

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We had the largest turnout to-date for the MSc Open Day in February, at which we interviewed and selected candidates for the scholarships from BP, Shell and Maersk. In addition to Manchester academics and students meeting the applicants, we were pleased to have Kevin Schofield (Chief Geologist Maersk), Keith Gerdes (Advisor, Shell International and AAPG European President) and Paul Woodman (BP and a PhD graduate of Manchester), and Guy Elliott (PESGB Executive Director) to meet the prospective students and discuss careers opportunities.

In 2013 we increased the number of PESGB Scholarships coming to Manchester, and as they expand

this very important programme in the UK and as we attract an increasing number of the very highest calibre applicants we are encouraging all our applicants to apply.

MSc Open Day

New Staff

Kofi Owusu joins us as Computer Officer. He studied mining engineering at the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana before moving to the UK for further studies at Hull University

(MBA), UMIST (MPhil in Computation), and Manchester (PhD in Computation). His skills and interests include development of 3D GIS-based geoscience software and visualization.

Sarah Stott joins the Petroleum Geoscience and Basins Research Group as our Administrator, working for us on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Patrick Dowey joined the Mudstone and Shale Gas Research (MSGR) Group as a PDRA in December 2013. Previously he worked for one year at RPS Energy. Prior to that Patrick completed his PhD on reservoir quality prediction using modern and ancient sediments at the University of Liverpool. At Manchester, Patrick’s research involves the characterisation and analysis of mudstone reservoirs from the basin to pore scale using microscopic and x-ray imaging techniques.

Miquel Poyatos-More joined the Stratigraphy Group as a PDRA in October 2013, having completed his PhD on the Ainsa Basin, Spanish Pyrenees at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Miquel’s task is to synthesise the along-margin changes in deepwater depositional style in the Karoo

Basin, within the SLOPE 4 project, integrating new dating and targeted additional fieldwork.

We welcome Dr Vahid Joekar-Niasar to CEAS (Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science), strengthening our research and teaching capability in multiphase fluid flow and reservoir engineering. He was previously with Shell in the Hague and brings valuable industrial experience to the growing Petroleum Engineering course. He starts on the 1st April.

The University of Manchester team representing the Petroleum Geoscience Exploration MSc (David Cox, Andrew Miles, Jie Zuo, Nurul Adilah Manshor, Onyekachi Noble Ibezim, with PhD Alex Sharples acting as their mentor in Prague), were the top UK team for the second year running. They came a close second in the AAPG European Region IBA competition in Prague, out of 26 top university teams from across Europe. After last year’s victory, our team tried hard for a back-to-back win, but was pipped at the post by the IFP. We wish the IFP team every success in the world finals in Houston.

European AAPG IBA Competition 2014

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The 30th Meeting of the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) was hosted by the University of Manchester from 2nd- 5th September 2013. Dr Merren Jones as Chair of the

Organizing Committee welcomed over 540 delegates from both academia and industry coming from 43 countries. It was 23 years since a city or university in the United Kingdom had successfully bid to host the annual meeting. The meeting was a great success, and one of the highlights was the conference dinner held at Manchester United Old Trafford ground. A chance to have your photo taken with all the Trophies! To find out about this years conference in Geneva go to: www.sedimentologist.org

IAS a success in Manchester 2013

IAS Post Conference Field Trips A number of field trips were offered before and after the IAS Meeting, led by Manchester academics and a number of other Universities. The trip leaders Pat Shannon and Peter Haughton (UCD), Maurice Tucker (Bristol), Mike Bowman, Ernie Rutter and Kevin Taylor (Manchester) are all thanked for their contributions to IAS success. Dr Alanna Juerges (Shell and previously a Manchester PhD) and Dr Cathy Hollis also led a 2-day field trip to the Great Orme, Llandudno. The aim of the trip was to examine the Lower Carboniferous succession of the North Wales Platform comprising platform carbonates that were deposited on a steeply-dipping, land-attached carbonate shelf.

The fieldtrip began at Llandudno Pier for an introduction and overview. They examined cyclicity in the Great Orme Limestone, focusing on the sub-aerial exposure surfaces. After lunch it was time to examine the dolomitised fault breccias on the SW side of the Orme before what had been a fine drizzle became established as persistent rain. By mid-afternoon, they were in the middle of a torrential downpour, but it didn’t dampen their enthusiasm, and

a small hardy and enthusiastic group stayed out to examine the margins of the Pier Dolomite on the beach. Warmed up with a banquet at a local Chinese restaurant that evening. The next morning they were ready for a brisk walk up to the top of the Great Orme to spend more time examining hydrothermal dolomite within the Great Orme Mines which have been used for copper mining since the Bronze Age.

Other Conference News Prof Mike Bowman convened the Reducing Subsurface Uncertainty & Risk through Field-based Studies conference at the Geological Society of London in March 2014 – with contributions from Manchester academics and PhDs – Rufus Brunt, Dave Hodgetts, Brian Burnham and Maria Ramnath

He is also Chairing a panel session on Education in Geology at the forthcoming PESGB 50th Anniversary Conference and co-convenor of the technical programme for the 8th Petroleum Geology Conference (Barbican Conference) London 29-30 Sept. 2015 - The Petroleum Geology of NW Europe: 50 years of learning - a platform for present value and future success.

Prof Jonathan Redfern was an invited panelist at the Chatham House meeting in January on the Middle East and North Africa Energy 2014 New Uncertainties and New Opportunities 2014. A valuable opportunity to be a part of the very informed discussions about the geopolitics of resources in the region. Invited speakers included the Head of OPEC HE Abdalla Salem el-Badri, Rt , HE Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy United Arab Emirates, HE Dr Hussain al-Shahristani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Republic of Iraq.

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Prizes and Awards Congratulations to Oluwatobi Olobayo who won fourth place Student for her poster “Interaction between depositional and post-depositional processes in the Cenozoic of the Northern North Sea and implications for understanding basin-scale fluid flow: Oluwatobi Olobayo, Mads Huuse & Christopher A - L Jackson” at the AAPG 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition Pittsburgh. Thomas Seers won funding for 15 shifts on the I13 beamline at the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron through the Manchester Diamond Collaboration, a value of around £100k. The beam time will be used to investigate multiphase micro fluidic processes within sandstone hosted microfaults (deformation bands), which represent a significant source of uncertainty in the development of structurally complex conventional (i.e. high porosity) sandstone reservoirs. The work is being conducted in association with

the PERM Group at Imperial.

NERC Oil and Gas CDT: a major new research initiative in the UK

NERC have invested funding for 10 PhDs, with a further 21 PhDs to be funded by academic scholarships and investment from the 6 core partners universities; Heriot Watt, Imperial College, Aberdeen, Durham, Manchester, Oxford and the British Geological Survey (BGS), 11 Associate Academic Partners and NERC affiliate the National Oceanographic Centre (NOC).

The PhDs will be aligned with the 4 main themes that NERC announced in their call, namely:

. Effective production of unconventional hydrocarbons

. Extending the life of mature basins

. Exploitation in Challenging Environments

. Environmental Impact and Regulation

Interviews were held in March and three PhDs will start in Manchester in September 2014 on the following topics: Developing better reservoir models for Early Palaeozoic, (pre land plants), mixed continental/marine depositional systems, with improved reservoir characterisation and architectural input ��- Supervisors: Redfern Hodgetts, Williams and George (UWA) Regional tectonostratigraphy of the pre-salt in the Benguela-Namibe Basins, Angola - Supervisors: Schroeder, Redfern Shelf edge processes and reservoir architecture on high-sedimentation rate clastic/volcanic basin margins, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand - Supervisors: Huuse, Flint, Brunt, Calves (University of Toulouse) This new initiative provides an important opportunity for a once-in-a-generation game-change in academic training and research in Oil & Gas. Never before has NERC invested so heavily in this area.

The partnership is determined to ensure that the programme succeeds and looks forward to having a fruitful dialogue with industry that places the student experience at the heart as we face the energy and environmental challenges that are with us now and will grow in the future.

A selection of our AAPG Presentations 2014

Marcelo Gugliotta: Interaction of Tidal and Fluvial Processes from Delta Front to Coastal Plain: Subsurface Implications. Georgina Heldreich: Analysing Geobody Geometries and Architectural Elements within Fluvio-Deltaic Depositional Systems: A Case Study from the Mungaroo Formation, NW Australia. (Poster) Brian Burnham: 3-D Geologic and Reservoir Modelling of a Distributive Fluvil System Derived from Lidar: A Case Study of the Huesca Fluvial Fan. " Maria Ramnath: Thin Bedded Reservoirs in the Plio-Pleistocene of the Columbus Basin, Offshore Trinidad: Challenges of Reservoir Architecture, Quantification and Characteristics. Rosanne McKernon: Influence of Effective Pressure on Shale Matrix Permeability: Implications for Shale Gas Production ".

New Geocomputing, Imaging and Visualisation (GIV) Research Theme: Basin studies has long been at the forefront of computer modelling and visualisation within petroleum geoscience, and this is now reflected in the formation of a new research theme. Led by Dr David Hodgetts, Dr Emma Finch and Dr Kofi Owusu this new theme will see further developments in high end research in numerical simulation and applications of outcrop and tomographic imaging technologies within and beyond petroleum geoscience.

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Petroleum Engineering The BEng/MEng Petroleum Engineering programme accepted a record number of students this year, with a total of 50 joining the 1st year in October. This included, for the first time, a number of Year Abroad students from Brunei and Brazil, via the Science without Borders programme. Our Petroleum Engineering course continues to deliver excellent graduates; many of last year’s BEng graduates moved onto MSc programmes in Petroleum Engineering and Geoscience securing places at Imperial College, London, Herriot Watt University and University of Manchester. One of these students was sponsored by BG Group and another by Shell, whilst two of this year’s three MEng students are in receipt of BP Integrated Masters Scholarships. As part of the Petroleum Engineering undergraduate course the students have the opportunity to visit various sites that include the BGS Core laboratory, Shell’s St Fergus Gas Terminal and Centrica’s Morecambe Bay Production plant.

SPE Chapter News The University of Manchester SPE Student Chapter has continued to maintain an excellent relationship with the SPE London Section, the SPE London Young Professionals and their University Liaison Team, and also collaborates with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Student Chapter and other SPE Student Chapters under the London Section of the UK. In February, the UoM SPE Chapter delivered its first SPE Kickstart event, which is designed to provide peer assisted support and create a platform for year groups to share their experience and give advice to younger students. In March, the chapter hosted this year’s annual Ambassador Lecture Programme Event for the SPE London Section, with keynote presenter Lord Browne. Graduate Reservoir Engineers from major operators such as Shell and BP shared their career development in the industry with our students. In addition to these events and an active social and sporting calendar, the SPE Chapter has confirmed this year’s annual field trip to the Wytch Farm Field.

www.spemanchester.org https://www.facebook.com/spemanchestee

MSc Students learn project management skills This years Petroleum Geoscience MSc students test their skills in project planning, coordination and evaluation. Trying to predict and then build the tallest tower from marshmallows and dried spaghetti. Or, as Louise Pinfold the course leader suggested, “the hidden aim is to test the self-control of hungry students not to eat the apparatus!”

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The Lidar scanner in action during fieldwork on 'Sand Injectities' in Panoche and Tumey Hills, California - with Dave Hodgetts and Tobi Olobayo. Part of the "Sand Injectites Consortium Phase 3" project with Aberdeen University.

Digital Outcrop Research

A major new project has been initiated on the Atlantic Seaboard of Morocco, an area that has a very active exploration drive at present. The project will examine and characterise the Early Cretaceous outcrops and improve understanding of the depositional systems and structural evolution of the basin to better constrain offshore reservoirs and improve basin modelling studies.

This project is being led by Prof Jonathan Redfern in collaboration with Prof Giovanni Bertotti at TUDelft, and is supported by ONHYM in Morocco. Further collaboration with Moroccan Universities is anticipated.

Three PhDs have already started, Tim Luber, Angel Arantegui at Manchester, and Remi Charton at TUDelft. We are pleased to welcome two new sponsors, Chevron and Cairn, and are talking to a number of other companies about joining this major initiative.

Richard Newport is completing his PhD project “Dolomitisation and Dedolomitisation of Shallow Marine, Upper Albian-Lower Turonian Carbonates.” This work is supported by Hess, following their recent discovery offshore Libya.

North Africa Research Group

Assaka valley showing exceptional exposure of an almost complete Early Cretaceous succession.

New PhDs Tim Luber and Angel Arantegui examining an E. Cretaceous tidal bar near Sidi Ifni, Morocco

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!North!Africa!Research!Group!

(NARG)!!!

Technical!and!Steering!Meeting!January!24th!2014!

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Digital Geology takes to the skies

To complement our current digital geology capability we are acquiring a new Unmanned Airborne Vehicle (UAV). This hexacopter will carry a digital camera to improve digital imagery used with the current lidar system, as well as being used for photogrammetric work.

The UAV can be programmed with a set of waypoints defining a flight path through a field area, allowing photographs to be taken of areas not physically accessible. The new system will be used in field studies in Spain and California later this year.

Recent Publications: Wood, J.D., S. Bodin, J. Redfern, M.F.H. Thomas, 2014: Controls on facies evolution in low accommodation, continental-scale fluvio-paralic systems (Messak Fm, SW Libya), Sedimentology V 301 p49-69.

Berrocoso, Álvaro Jiménez, Bodin S., Wood J., Calvert S.E., Mutterlose, J, Petrizzo M. R., Redfern J., 2013: Dynamic sedimentary conditions during periods of enhanced sequestration of organic carbon in the central southern Tethys at the onset of the Cenozoic global cooling. Sedimentary Geology. V 290, P60–84

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STRAT Group News The STRAT Group, located in Manchester and Leeds, has entered a new phase of research in South Africa. Phase 4 of the SLOPE project is fully underway, working on the world class outcrops of deepwater to shelf to fluvial strata in the Karoo Basin, South Africa. The team is in the field through March and April and comprises 2 PhD students, (Luz Gomis and Hannah Brooks), Post-Doc Miquel Poyatos-More and staff members Rufus Brunt and Steve Flint and Dave Hodgson (University of Leeds).

As well as sedimentology and stratigraphy, this phase has a major effort in radiometric dating to constrain regional chronostratigraphy and depositional rates in different profile positions, and involves Professor Amy Weislogel and PhD student Matt McKay from West Virginia University.

Welcome to E.ON as a new sponsor for the SLOPE project and the LOBE project (based at Leeds).

One advantage of having two projects running in the Karoo Basin has been the chance to combine the objective of understanding the full depositional history of the thick, basal mudrock succession by drilling a long fully cored research borehole, completed to almost 1000m in mid March. The core will be a great resource for a range of lab studies for both projects.

Recent Publications:

Brunt, R.L., Hodgson, D.M., Flint, S., Pringle, J., Di Celma, C., Prelat, A. and Grecula, M. 2013.Confined to unconfined: Anatomy of a base of slope succession, Karoo Basin, South Africa. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 41, 206-221.

Jones, G., Hodgson, D.M. and Flint, S. 2013. Contrast in the process response of stacked clinothems to the shelf-slope rollover. Geosphere, 9, 299-316.

Aehnelt, M., Worden, R.H., Canham, A.C., Hill, S.J., Hodgson, D.M. and Flint, S. 2013. Geochemical correlation in an exhumed submarine channel complex (Tabernas Basin, SE Spain): Comparison to sedimentological correlation at various length scales. Jl. Sedimentary Research, 83, 669-690.

Brunt, R.L., Di Celma, C., Hodgson, D.M., Flint, S., Kavanagh, JP, van der Merwe, WC., 2013. Driving a channel through a levee when the levee is high: an outcrop example of submarine down-dip re-incision. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 41, 134-145.

Luthi, S.M. and Flint, S. 2013. The application of outcrop-based boreholes for reservoir modelling: potential, challenges and pitfalls. In: Martinius, A.W., Howell, J.A. and Goon, T., eds., Sediment-Body Geometry and Heterogeneity: Analogue Studies for Modelling the Subsurface. Geological Society Special Publication, 387.

Just out of the ground….core from the deep stratigraphic borehole in Tanqua Karoo.

Mixed influence deltaic succession of the north Tanqua area

Slope or shelf? Enigmatic deposits up dip of the deepwater fans

For a full list of our PhDs go to http://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/basin/

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Recent publications:

E.H. Rutter, A.J. Hackston, E. Yeatman, K.H. Brodie, J. Mecklenburgh, S.E. May. 2013a. Reduction of friction on geologic faults by weak-phase smearing. Journal of Structural Geology, 51, 52-60. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2013.03.008 Rutter, E.H., R.E. Mckernan, J. Mecklenburgh, S.E. May. 2013b. Permeability of stress sensitive formations: its importance for shale gas reservoir simulation and evaluation. Petro-Industry News, Sept. 2013, 44-45. Macquaker, JHS, Taylor, KG, Keller,M and Polya, DA. (2014) Compositional controls on early diagenetic pathways in fine-grained sedimentary rocks: implications for predicting unconventional reservoir attributes of mudstones. AAPG Bulletin, 98, 587-603. Hart, B., Macquaker, JHS, and Taylor K.G. (2013). Mudstone (“shale”) depositional and diagenetic processes: implications for seismic analysis of source-rock reservoirs. Interpretation, v. 1. B7-26.

Manchester Mudstone and Shale Gas Research Consortium Manchester Mudstone and Shale Gas Research Consortium led by Professor Kevin Taylor has already attracted a number of major industry sponsors, with further PhD and PostDoc appointments expected in 2014.

This research utilises Manchester’s world leading imaging facilities (X-ray tomography and electron microscopy) in Material Science, lead by Prof Peter Lee and Prof Phil Withers. Prof Ernie Rutter and the Rock Deformation Lab add valuable mechanical studies to complement the Basins group sedimentology, diagenesis, petroleum geochemistry and stratigraphy expertise and allow us to provide an integrated approach.

Gas Shale Geomechanics Prof Ernie Rutter leads the team undertaking geomechanical studies of gas shales, which have developed through investigations into stress dependence of matrix permeability for several shales under reservoir conditions. This involves measuring permeability as a function of difference between burial pressure and pore gas pressure, and of applied non-hydrostatic stress up to failure. Drawdown of pore pressure raises the effective pressure on the rock, causing poroelastic compaction and reducing permeability significantly. Laboratory-determined stress-sensitivity should be taken into account in the evaluation of well tests for original gas in place and likely yield (Rutter et al. 2013b; Mckernan 2014). We have also found that, although shales can be quite strong, resistance to frictional sliding on smooth slip surfaces can be exceptionally low, which can have implications for borehole stability (Rutter et al. 2013a). Preliminary investigations of the visualization of hydrofracture initiation have been carried out, with the aim of using X-ray tomographic imaging and passive acoustic emission imaging to study the initiation of such cracks and the origins of fracture complexity.

X-ray tomographic imaging

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Martin Kennedy joined ConocoPhillips in Aberdeen working within the UK New Ventures team. His current project is to build a new framework within an area of the Central Graben and mature some of the previously screened leads into prospects to define a probabilistic range of recoverable resources. Shoaib Bilal is with Schlumberger as a Geophysics training specialist in their Norway Technology Centre based in Stavanger. Richard Hood is with BG Group, and has already been back to Manchester to give a careers talk. Sharif Al Bahri (MSc 2012 sponsored by PDO Oman) writes “I hope you are well, I am currently working as an operations geologist with PDO. Besides monitoring daily drilling operation I am currently working on a study of the Rahab field. The field produces from Permian sandstones of the Gharif formation. I'm trying to map out the channelized portions of the reservoir using net sand data, core, aspect:width ratios and very questionable seismic attributes.” Rhianon Jones will join BP in September 2014 as a Graduate Geoscientist. She was part of the team that won the AAPG Imperial Barrel Award 2013 - European Champion & took Global 4th Place. Steven Grugel (MSc 2011) has been with Pan Terra in the Netherlands for a year now, and is already overseeing his own projects and by all account enjoying the challenge. Zino Igbrude, (MSc 2007), initially joined Ankor Pointe Integrated Ltd, and in 2012 joined YNI, has just been promoted to Exploration Geophysicist at Eni (NAOC Ltd-Nigerian Agip Oil Company) Aldiyar Mukhatzhanov (MSc 2009) writes that he is currently working as a geophysicist at Schlumberger in Astana, Kazakhstan. Mainly involved in 3D seismic interpretation, (attribute analysis, seismic facies analysis etc.). I hope you are doing well. I haven't been in contact for a long time so take this opportunity to update you on my current job status. Matthias Lurati (MSc 2002 Oxford Brookes) writes “After working for Burlington Resources, and then ConocoPhilips, since early 2008 I have been employed with Sasol (in their growing E&P group). I have been working onshore and offshore Mozambique covering everything from exploration to appraisal and development. The MSc course provided a brilliant start to a career in oil & gas and I still benefit from the course every day!”

Emma Sutcliffe (MSc 2013) is working with Getech in Leeds as a Basin Modeller. Abid Riaz (MSc 2006) initially joined CGG Veritas and in 2010 joined Fugro, moving to Schlumberger in 2013 as Project Leader, DP Project Leader for Western Geco in Swanley, UK, he is now Schlumberger Sub Basalt technical community leader for 2014. Eziulo Ibe is with Ianwilson Services Ltd. Gianluca Badalini (who was a Post Doc with NARG in Manchester) is back in Reading with BG Group as a Consultant Geophysicist. Ali Elmesmari who undertook the MSc at Oxford Brookes, is now Senior Geophysicts at Total E&P in Libya. Ayodele Jegede (MSC 2007) is now a Senior Geologist at Centrica, previously with BP and Roxar. Joe Martin is still in KL with Shell, and we are please to hear he will soon be a father! Ivan Fabuel Perez and Vicky Catterall, both with Exxon, and both x-Manchester PhDs, have returned from Houston to the UK, and will soon get married in Ibiza. Tiago Alves, previously a PostDoc at Manchester, now a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University, is now leading their 3D Seismic Lab. Ann Rowan has joined the BGS. Follow us in Linkedin University of Manchester-MSc Petroleum Geoscience

Alumni News

As of February, the former committee members have handed over to Tim Luber (President), Jonathan Lavi (Vice President), Matthew Warke (Secretary) and Angel Arantegui (Treasurer).

This very active chapter organises lecture series, inviting guest speakers to give talks on different petroleum-related subjects, and to provide a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about career and educational opportunities, grants, and field-trips. Guest lecturer in 2013-4 included:

Prof Terry Engelder of Pennsylvania State University: “The Middle Devonian Marcellus black shale play as an infrastructural and geological analogue for the world’s gas shale plays”. Prof Stefan Luthi TUDELFT on “The making of a sandstone colossus: Tectonically and climatically induced flushing of ’Nubian’ sands in the Early Paleozoic”.

www.aapgstudentchaptermanchester.com

AAPG Student Chapter

All interested companies are invited to our 1-day MSc Conference on Wednesday 27th August 2014 where students present their final independent project. A full list of presentations for 2014 will be posted on the School website in the 1/7/2014.

To attend as a guest please email: [email protected]

MSc Presentation Day

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Award Winners at The 12th PESGB/HGS Conference on African E&P!

Congratulations to the winners of The 12th PESGB/HGS Conference on African E&P Conference Best Poster Paper, Best Oral Paper and the Best Student Paper awards! Best Student Presentation Rhiannon Jones - University of Manchester, Runner Up: Christophe Serié et al. – University of Manchester Special Mention: Anelechi Ibekwe et al. – University of Manchester Poster Presentation: Special Mentions: J. Redfern , M. Huuse - University of Manchester, G. Bertotti, TU Delft, J. Storms, VUA. Mads Huuse, Christophe Serié & U. Benjamin - University of Manchester Oral Presentation: Special Mentions: K. English, J. Valentine – Petroceltic

Conference Chairman Ray Bates gives the award to Rhiannon Jones from Manchester. The 13th HGS/PESGB Conference on African E&P Africa: A World of Opportunities will be on September 9-10, 2014 Houston, Texas

Manchester University researchers are participating in the AAPG Europe conference Mesozoic and Cenozoic carbonates of the Neo-Tethys: old and new concepts for petroleum exploration in Naples, 25-26th March 2014. Dr. Cathy Hollis will be co-chairing a session titled “Dolomitization processes and dolotimized reservoirs”, as well as giving a keynote talk on the subject. Several PhD students from the Basins Studies group will be attending and presenting their most recent work with talks and posters.

Dolomitisation of Mesozoic and Cenozoic carbonates of Southern Europe and North Africa - processes, controls and impact on porosity - C. Hollis, J. Baceta, A. Berreteaga, S. Bodin, R. Newport. (Talk)

The interaction of climate, eustasy and local, tectonics controlling early dolomitisation within shallow marine, Cenomanian strata of the Iberian Peninsula - R. Newport, C. Hollis, S. Bodin, J. Redfern. (Talk)

Integrated Structural, Sedimentological and Diagenetic Evolution of Fault-Fracture Controlled Dolomitisation in the Hammam Faraun Fault Block, Gulf of Suez, Egypt - J. Hirani, E. Bastesen, A. Boyce, H. Corlett, R.L. Gawthorpe, D. Hodgetts, C.Hollis, A. Rotevatn. (Talk)

Using probability functions to model the distribution of fault-controlled dolomite bodies: An outcrop study of fault/ fracture related dolomites in the Thebes Formation, Sinai, Egypt - H. Corlett, J. Hirani, D. Hodgetts, C. Hollis, E. Bastensen, R. Gawthorpe, A. Rotevatn. (Talk)

Facies distribution and sedimentary architecture of Upper Cretaceous carbonate platforms (South-Central Pyrenees, Spain): outcrop studies contributing towards understanding of reservoir heterogeneity - J. J. Lavi, C. Hollis, S. Schröder. (Poster)

Recent Publications Frazer, M., Whitaker, F and Hollis, C., 2014. Fluid expulsion from overpressured basins: Implications for Pb-Zn mineralisation and dolomitisation of the East Midlands platform, northern England, Marine and Petroleum

Carbonate Group – building a global reputation

Mohammed Salem (sponsored by Libyan Government and supervised by Prof Redfern) “Integrated Geophysical Interpretation and Reservoir Characterisation of Amin High, Kotla Graben, and Dahra Platform, C47, Western Sirt Basin, Libya”. Emmanuel Nformi, (part time), sponsored by Dana Petroleum. “Sequence stratigraphy of the Mauritanian margin”. Supervisors: Mads Huuse & Jonathan Redfern. Andrew Newton, sponsored by Cairn Energy and NERC. “Plio-Pleistocene evolution of high-latitude margins offshore Norway and Greenland”. Supervisors: Mads Huuse & Simon Brocklehurst Salem Al Hammami (sponsored by Abu Dhabi Gov Sholarship) Seismic characterisatioon of the Chalk Group, North Sea. Supervisor: Mads Huuse

Some of our other new start PhDs

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Injected Sands Research

Drs Huuse & Hodgetts are co-investigators in Phase III of the Injected Sands JIP, running over 3 years (2013 – 2016), a joint study between the universities of Aberdeen and Manchester. The consortium is sponsored by more than 10 oil companies with interests in injected sand reservoirs in the North Sea and internationally. The project, led by Prof Andy Hurst at Aberdeen, involves 5 members of staff, 3 post docs (Dr Denis Bureau at Manchester) and several PhD students at the partner universities.

Giant sandstone intrusion complex in the South Viking Graben, estimated to contain approximately 2.5 km3 of sandstone.

Industrial Liaison Committee The Petroleum Geoscience and Engineering courses and research at Manchester are guided by an influential Industrial Liaison Group made up from leading international oil companies.

We thank their support and have benefitted greatly from their advice and support.

Shell, Keith Gerdes (Chairman), BP, ERCL, Maersk, Total, Nexen, Robertson (CGG), Schlumberger

Recent PhD completions

Jalal al Hinaai was awarded his PhD in December entitled “Constraining the structural evolution of the Canning Basin, NW Australia, and controls on Permo-Carboniferous ice sheets development” (supervised by Prof Jonathan Redfern), and has now joined PDO in Oman.

Jonathan Smith (supervisor Simon Brocklehurst) successfully completed his PhD and has joined Neftex.

Christophe Serié (supervisor Dr Mads Huuse) successfully defended his PhD on “Geophysical and geochemical characterization of fluid flow in the southern Kwanza Basin offshore Angola: implications for petroleum systems analysis and hydrocarbon prospectivity in deepwater settings”. He has now joined Conoco in Houston.

Internships Most of our PhDs take the opportunities of internships, a great opportunity to gain industrial experience. Here are some examples:

Oluwatobi Olobayo undertook an internship with Tullow Oil in Oslo, Norway, where she worked on a 'Sand Injectite' prospect in the Northern North Sea.

Thomas Seers spent 3 months with Total Aberdeen.

Rhiannon Jones (MSc 2013) is currently undertaking an internship (6 months) with Total S.A. in Pau, France and IFPEN in Paris.

Alice Guilford spent 3 months with Chevron ETC, Houston working on fluvial reservoir prediction.

Software Donations Thanks to the following companies for software and data donations: Schlumberger (Petrel, Techlog, PetroMod and Eclipse); IHS (Kingdom licenses); Eliis (Paleoscan); ffA (Geoteric). PGS (North Sea MegaSurveys); TGS Nopec (NSR seismic lines and Facies Map Browser), Logicom (REP), CDA for North Sea well and seismic database.

Industry links We thank visiting companies giving careers talks to our MSc and PhDs in late 2013 and 2014: 2 Oct Maersk 9 Oct BG Group and BP 23 Oct Petroleum Experts 30 Oct Shell 9 Dec Neftex 10 Feb Nexen

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Visit the group webpage at: http://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/research/groups/basin/

Staff List Chair of Petroleum Geoscience Prof Jonathan Redfern (MSc Course Director) Chair of Sedimentology Prof Kevin Taylor (Shale Gas / Source Rocks) Chair of Development Geoscience Prof Mike Bowman (Development Geoscience) Chair of Stratigraphy Prof Steve Flint (Strat Group) Chair of Structural Geology Prof Ernie Rutter (Rock Deformation) Petroleum Engineering Course Director Dr Cathy Hollis (Petrophysics /Carbonate)

Dr Mads Huuse Seismic and fluid flow Dr David Hodgetts Reservoir geology & modelling Dr Stefan Schroeder Carbonate geology Dr Simon Brocklehurst Earth surface process and glaciology Dr Merren Jones Sedimentology and tectonics Dr Steve Covey-Crump Structural geology Dr Julian Mecklenburg Structural geology Dr Emma Finch Numerical modelling Dr Rufus Brunt Clastic sedimentology Dr Rhodri Jerrett Coal geology and sequence stratigraphy

We also have a strong group of dedicated visiting professors and external tutors: Prof Richard Dixon (BP) (Play Fairway Analysis, IBA and research projects), Prof Brian Williams (Clare Field course), Dr Mike Smith (Petroleum Engineering, formerly BP), Tim Herrett (Operation Geology), Dr Malcolm Mitchell (Petroleum Economics), Andy Stocks (Petrophysics), Alun Griffiths (Petroleum Engineering), Dr Kevin Isaacs (Development Geoscience), Ted Cox (Geophysics, seismic acquisition), Jim Armstrong (Petroleum Geochemistry), Rod Laver (Schlumberger) Plays and Prospects, Louise Pinfold and Leigh Wharton (Communication and Business Skills)

Computing Officer: Kofi Owusu MSc Administrator: Suzanne Booth

Research Group Administrator: Sarah Stott

Industrial Liaison Panel: Chair - Dr Keith Gerdes, Shell International MSc External Examiners: Richard Wrigley and Prof Andy Aplin (Durham)

petroleum newsletter 2014bweb - manchester energy...academic scholarships and investment from the 6...

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