OPERATIONS GEOLOGY DIVISION

Upcoming Division Talks 

February 19, 2020
Overseas Operations: Opportunities and Challenges. A Moderated Panel Discussion
Speakers: Calin Dragoie, Tom Feuchtwanger, Geoff Say, Roger D. Whittaker 
Moderator: Jen Russel-Houston
View Abstract

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Division Profile

Division talks are held monthly. They are free of charge. No registration is required, and talks are open to the public. There will be a door prize, light snacks and coffee provided by sponsors. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch. 

Please visit our LinkedIn Group discussion page at: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13525146

Operations Geology is an important sub-discipline of the practice of geology. As it pertains to petroleum geology, we include any geoscientist managing drilling operations from the office/home (including planning wells) and geosteerers. Operations geologists are uniquely involved in the drilling of a well from the initial planning stages to long after TD and the data have been properly distributed to stakeholders and/or lookbacks have been held.

Knowledge of one’s geological targets (conventional, heavy, or unconventional) is more important than it has ever been for well placement optimization, especially considering the introduction of new technology, such as horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracture stimulation. Beyond the typical geological capacity and experience, knowledge of stakeholder management, regulatory process and approvals, well planning, drilling processes, reservoir engineering, petrophysics, production, wellbore analysis technology, etc are also vital to the role of the operations geologist. These disciplines are commonly in conflict during drilling so prioritization and compromise of the well's objectives is also a skill.

Communication is another vital skill set of the Operations Geologist. Not only does the Operations Geologist communicate with their drilling engineer, directional driller, wellsite geologist (if present), and geosteerer (if present), but communication with their subsurface team, logging team, internal and external regulatory groups, as well as other internal and external stakeholders are also critical to drilling success. A common misperception is that Operations Geology is not its own discipline, the above paragraphs prove that while the Operations Geologist is truly a generalist, there are skillsets that are unique to the Operations Geologist beyond taking well calls in the middle of the night.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:
● The role of an Operations Geologist in safety.
● Questions to ask your wellsite geologist to aid in your collective interpretation of well data.
● Reading/interpreting striplogs, cuttings, cuttings technology
● Basic training/discussion of geosteering software
● Critical Regulatory knowledge (ie: D56)
● Best practices: dealing with unforeseen events, stuck pipe, collapsed hole, etc.
● Logging technologies, open hole, mwd, lwd
● Communication with drillers, directional hands, etc
● Drilling technologies
● Stakeholder management
● Geohazards-identification, mitigation, avoidance
● Data QC/QA - is that well really sour?
● Pore Pressure/Fracture Gradient prediction
● H2S Analysis and Regulatory Requirements for sour wells
● Data management and reporting

Committee Members
Division Chair: Kurt Armbruster, P. Geol. | email: kurt.eh@gmail.com
PAST PRESENTATIONS

February 20th, 2019

Canadian Well Identifier System, what does it mean for you?
Floy Baird/ President, Calgary Geoscience Data Managers Society
Sue Carr/ Past-President, Calgary Geoscience Managers Society | Katalyst Data Management

January 23rd, 2019

Qualitative Comparisons of Surface Deformation over a SAGD Reservoir in Alberta
Dennis Ellison | Sound QI Solutions Ltd. 

September 26, 2018

ProactiveGeosteering with 3D Geo-models: How Operations Teams Save on Capital and ImproveWell Results
Rocky Mottahedeh | CEO United Oil & Gas Consulting and SMART4D Geosteering & Geomodelling Software

March 15, 2018
Can Geomechanics Improve Your Drilling and Completions? Spoiler Alert – Yes. (.pdf)
Amy Fox | Enlighten Geosciences

February 14, 2018
Geosteering: what works, what doesn't? (.pdf)
Calin Dragoie | Chinook Consulting Services