Reservoir Development in Syn- and Post-rift Settings

The outcrops around Corinth offer a ca100km excursion over an exposed rift basin that allows us to explore reservoir variation on the scale of a field development – a “3D seismic volume” in the field.

The structural framework of the rift provides the canvas on which we will paint the distribution of reservoir type and quality as these vary through the system. Through a consideration of changes in relative system confinement, we will aim to predict the location of the best reservoirs, describe the variation in likely recoveries from different part of the system and decide how a development strategy can be optimised depending on location and fluid fill.

Although a set of geological exposures, this is not primarily a ‘geology trip’, but rather a cross-discipline reservoir development workshop requiring inputs from geoscience, petrophysics, reservoir and well engineering.

Course Itinerary

Day 1 – 3D architecture of a rift basin on seismic scale – defining the container

Day 2 – Stratigraphic changes through the basin fill to the fluvial source area – where the best reservoirs lie

Day 3 – The shelf margin: Gilbert deltas and relay ramps; reservoir quality variation and differential sweep under production

Day 4 – Proximal to distal fill: petrophysical and architectural changes as confinement decreases into deeper water; reoptimising well design and completion strategies in contrasting parts of the system

Day 5 – Synthesis at the Temple of Apollo. Mapping out relative confinement and reservoir distribution across the structural container, identifying sweet spots for well targeting and choosing optimal completion strategies.