EAGE Newsletter Middle East Issue 1 2015

EAGE NEWSLETTER

MIDDLE EAST

Issue 1 2015

2014: That was the year that was!

Spring included the Third EAGE Exploration Workshop ‘Moving Forward by Exploring DifRaymond Cahill, EAGE regional manager, Middle East

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he EAGE Middle East office would like to thank our members for helping to make 2014 another successful year. 880 delegates from 37 countries attended our workshops last year, presenting over 350 papers, all of which are available on EAGE’s EarthDoc. The year kicked off with the Second EAGE Workshop on Rock Physics in Muscat, Oman, which aimed to introduce advances in rock physics and also signify its role in new exploration challenges such as unconventionals like tight reservoirs and shale gas reservoirs.

February brought the joint EAGE/SPE Workshop on Subsalt Imaging in Limassol, Cyprus with the theme ‘The Challenges of Subsalt Exploration and Imaging in the Middle East and North Africa Deep Water.’

Trivia Question After oil shale is excavated, extreme heat liquefies the trapped fuel and separates it from rock in a process called: a. Surface extraction b. Pyrolysis c. Retorsion d. Annular blowout

ferently’ held in Abu Dhabi as well as the First Workshop on Geomechanics in the Oil and Gas Industry, held in Dubai which focused on how geomechanics adds value in optimising wellbore integrity, reservoir performance and the development of unconventional plays.

2015 is shaping up to be another year full of interesting and educational events In June the societies collaborated for the SPE/ EAGE Workshop on Tar Mats and Heavy Oil held in Dubai. In September we moved on to focus on IT at the First EAGE Workshop on High Performance Computing for Upstream. Eighty-three delegates travelled to the beautiful Greek island of Crete. Alongside the technical programme, delegates were able to enjoy the island with a walking tour of the town of Chania and traditional Greek dancing at the workshop dinner.

Esteemed speakers presented on topics such as ‘System architectures for exascale computing’ and ‘Energy efficient computing.’

Autumn proved to be very busy for the Middle East office with back-to-back events: the Second EAGE/SPE/AAPG Shale Gas Workshop in the Middle East held in Dubai, the Fifth Passive Seismic Workshop in Lisbon and the First EAGE Borehole Geology Workshop and Basin and Petroleum Systems Modelling Workshops in Dubai.

The Second IRM Conference was held in Dubai

Answer on p. 6 Read more on page 2 ➤

Carbonate reservoirs to get workshop workover in Oman

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oin us in Oman from 25-28 October 2015 for the EAGE Workshop on ‘Evalu-

ation and Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs’. The workshop provides an opportunity to explore with experts and industry colleagues the challenges associated with drilling and characterizing carbonate reservoirs. It further aims to identify alternative workflows and technical solutions required for future development.

A workshop in Oman is not complete without a field trip. Accordingly, a fantastic field trip in Oman is being planned and will be announced on our website shortly.

It is hoped that the field trip will encourage deeper discussions during workshops and provide first-hand learning experiences.

The call for papers for the workshop opened at the end of last year with the request for two page submissions by the deadline of 31 March 2015. Submissions on the following subjects are requested: • Carbonate reservoirs through time • Digenetic controls on carbonate reservoirs • Geomechanics and rock properties of Read more on page 3 ➤

What's inside 2014 in pictures

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Big Data workshop in Dubai 4 Lady leads new student chapter 9 Industry news

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EAGE UPDATE

2014: That was the year that was!

Continued from p.1.

in November and a short course titled ‘Uncertainty Quantification’ was led by Dario Grana from the Department of Geology & Geophysics of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Wyoming. The course was attended by 25 participants in total.

Finally, we finished a strong year with the Second EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals, which had over 125 attendees and was held at the Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat.

Delegates had many opportunities during this event, from attending a field trip to Wadi Bani Kharus to taking part in the EAGE Geo-Quiz.

We also announced the winner of the inaugural EAGE Geo-Creativity Prize in Oman; congratulations to Yunlai Yang from Saudi Aramco.

What we have planned for you in 2015 2015 is shaping up to be another year full of interesting and educational events. The year is kicking off with the fifth edition of the Arabian Plate Geology workshop held in Kuwait from the 8-11 February and First SPE/EAGE Reservoir Life

EAGE Newsletter Middle East Executive Director a.i.

Marcel Van Loon (ml@eage.org) Regional Manager Middle East Raymond Cahill (rcl@eage.org)

Caught on camera: Some moments from a very successful 2014 for EAGE members.

Publications Coordinator Marjolein van Kraanen (mws@eage.org)

Cycle workshop in Abu Dhabi from 10-12 February. EAGE will also hold its first ever event

from 25-28 October 2015, the EAGE Workshop on Evaluation and Drilling of Carbonate Reser-

in Doha, Qatar. The Well Injectivity & Productivity in Carbonates workshop takes place on 30 March-1 April with the theme ‘Stay connected to your reservoirs’!

Join us in Athens from 19-22 April for what’s expected to be a very successful Third EAGE Workshop on Borehole Geophysics. As always, we have a packed schedule including a short course lead by Jacques Blanco, oral and poster presentations, a small company exhibition area and a lively social programme.

September and October in the UAE will see further co-society collaboration through the SPE/ EAGE Geosteering & Well Placement Workshop in Dubai from 6-9 September in Dubai and the Third EAGE/AAPG Workshop on Tight Reservoirs in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi from 4-7 October. We also have an event in Muscat, Oman

voirs, ‘Challenges, Uncertainties and Solutions.’

In November EAGE will host the East Africa Petroleum Geoscience Forum from 2-5 November in Dar es Salaam, the first in the mainland African Region for the Association, so make sure to check the EAGE website soon for more details.

Other events scheduled this year include the Third EAGE Workshop on Iraq, Second High Performance Computing for Upstream Workshop, Workshop on Broadband Seismic in the Middle East, Third Workshop on Rock Physics and a number of Education Days across the GCC. We would like to wish our valued members in the Middle East, as well as the many others who attend our local events, and our generous sponsors and supporters, all the best for 2015. We hope to see you at some of the exciting events we have planned!

Account Manager Advertising Peter Leitner (plr@eage.org) Production Co Productions bv (contact@coproductions.nl) EAGE Middle East Office EAGE Middle East FZ-LLC Dubai Knowledge Village Block 13 Office F-25 PO Box 501711 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 369 3897 Fax: +971 4 360 4702 E-mail: middle_east@eage.org Website: www.eage.org Submission of articles (mws@eage.org) Newsletter on the Web (www.eage.org)

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EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE

Carbonate reservoirs to get workshop workover in Oman Continued from p.1.

carbonates • Petrophysics of carbonates • Reservoir navigation in carbonate sequences • Borehole imaging • Drilling problems in carbonates and their mitigation • Improving drilling performance in carbonates • Fluid flow and modelling If you would like to submit your abstract or would simply like to be kept up to date on this workshop please visit the event website: www.eage.org/event/ carbonate-reservoirs-2015.

Hold tight for this reservoir workshop!

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ince it was announced last September we’ve received a great deal of interest in the EAGE/AAPG joint workshop on Tight Reservoirs in the Middle East scheduled for 4-7 October in Abu Dhabi.

We are already receiving abstract submissions and are expecting many more! With the deadline (31 March 2015) looming, oil and gas professionals are encouraged to send in their abstracts now! We are calling for two page abstracts plus one image under one of the headings below: • Resource assessment and prospect development • Reservoir characteriz ation • Drilling and completion • Stimulation and production • Environmental stewardship An additional bonus is that the workshop has an additional event attached to it, namely a short course led by Dr Tony Martin, director of offshore stimulation, Baker Hughes.

For further information on this event, please check our website: www.eage.org.

Excitement already building for this year’s Madrid Annual Meeting

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f you want to know more about ‘Earth Science for Energy and Environment’, there is no better way than coming to Madrid from 1 to 4 June for our Annual Meeting. Adopting this theme for EAGE’s 77th Conference & Exhibition is an invitation to meet fellow professionals, catch up with old friends, share experiences, and at the same time appreciate and learn from the breadth and depth of geoscience and engineering activities around the world.

The event (main sponsors Repsol, Saudi Aramco, KPC, ExxonMobil) includes a large conference - more than 1000 technical oral and poster presentations - and a technical exhibition presenting the latest developments in geophysics, geology and reservoir/ petroleum engineering on 22,000 m2 gross exhibition space. And what location could be more convivial than Madrid, one of our most popular conference destinations? The main business of the meeting is of course how the multi-disciplinary approach to oil and gas exploration and production fostered by EAGE can contribute to meeting the energy demands of the future. Because, what if efficient alternatives take longer than expected? What if fine tuning of global climate models indicates more complex interactions between natural and man-made effects than currently accepted? The only answer to both a belief or denial position is a deeper scientific understanding and further technology development. A scientific

Ancient Egyptian Templo de Debod in Madrid.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

Madrid, host city for EAGE Annual Meeting in June.

debate is required to better understand the key underlying issues and technology advance to continue providing the energy resources needed: without compromising our future energy needs as well as assuring our communities the smallest possible negative impact. A major priority is to build on the experience of our current workforce and sharing this experience with new generations of professionals who need to be brought up to speed as rapidly as possible. It is already very clear that manpower shortage could be a major issue in the years to come, which is why we put such an emphasis on the Student Programme and associated activities to encourage new recruits into the industry. Registration is open now, so register on www.eage.org/events/madrid-2015.

Student Programme After the success of Amsterdam 2014, expectations are high for the Madrid ‘15 Student Programme. With ‘Earth Science for Energy and Environment’ as an overall theme for the conference, the Student Programme promises some interesting activities and challenges in order to complement this theme. The Student Programme will include the Geo-Quiz, a workshop, a field trip, short courses, the Recruitment Café, trial interviews, poster presentations, the student evening and much more. Travel grants will be available. For more information, see www.eage.org.

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EAGE UPDATE

Big Data is the issue for Dubai workshop

First Workshop on Well Injectivity and Productivity in Carbonates kicks-off in Qatar

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AGE is helping to usher the age of Big Data into the oil industry with the staging of the inaugural EAGE Workshop on Business Intelligence for Big Data in Dubai from 11-14 October 2015. Some of the foremost experts from across the world are being invited to present and discuss the importance

Doha seen from the water.

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of business intelligence to the oil and gas industry, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, and data management for big data.

The oil industry is one of the most data intensive in the world but arguably has still to satisfactorily address some of the issues involved in handling the amount of information generated. The accumulation of data volumes include the largest seismic image files, data streaming 24/7 from sensors on every asset, financial and production data, environmental and health and safety, regulatory and compliance data, engineering drawings and much more. Traditional methods of loading data into spreadsheets for presentation and analysis just cannot handle the volume and variety of data, and the need for real-time decision-making requires a new breed of

atar will play host to a new EAGE Workshop on Well Injectivity and Productivity in Carbonates at the Doha Intercontinental, from 30 March to 1 April 2015. The workshop theme ‘Stay connected to your reservoirs!’ is designed to appeal to a wide audience from academia, applied R&D centres, service companies as well as national and international oil and gas companies looking to exchange latest ideas and discuss innovations relating to well performance in carbonates and field applications.

Injectivity and productivity in carbonates have their unique set of challenges which are often fundamentally different from those in sandstones due, in particular, to complex rock characteristics, thermodynamic and geomechanical behaviours, chemistry of fluids and potential rock-fluid interactions.

Dr Nasser Al-Mohannadi, manager of the Qatar Petroleum Research & Technol-

Keynote speaker Dr Mark H. Weichold, Dean and CEO at Texas A&M University at Qatar, notes ‘This workshop brings together experts from around the world to address issues of well performance unique to carbonate reservoirs, a topic with very high relevance to the State of Qatar and the region, and does so in a way that bridges the latest research findings to the application of that technology in the field. I am hopeful that this will be the first of an ongoing series of workshops on this important topic.’

Ahead of the workshop, a short course entitled ‘Acidizing fluids: Past and Present’ will be presented by Prof Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din, holder of the John Edgar Holt Chair at Texas A&M University in Petroleum Engineering.

The course will cover fundamentals of acidizing treatments, and how acidizing fluids have evolved over the last three decades including new technologies and future challenges. Field cases will be discussed and common mistakes

information delivery.

Along with invited presentations for this exciting initiative, we also plan to have an open call for papers shortly.

Please check the EAGE website for further details as they are announced, or contact us at middle_east@eage.org.

ogy Centre, who will present the opening keynote address, says, ‘We are proud to be staging the very first edition of this workshop in Doha. It is a very important and challenging topic not only for the operators producing from carbonate reservoirs but also for service companies involved in well stimulation operations.’

will be addressed. The course is targeted towards production, completion and drilling engineers working in oil companies and in the service sector.

Registration is still open for both the workshop and the short course. For more information including registration details, check http://www.eage.org/event/well-injectivity-2015.

2-5 November 2015 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

First EAGE East Africa Petroleum Geoscience Forum 4

Save the date www.eage.org

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE

Creativity Prize goes to tool that listens to the rock while drilling

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fter a super close competition, Dr Yunlai Yang from Saudi Aramco emerged as the winner of the inaugural EAGE GeoCreativity 2014 Prize for his remarkable idea based on deriving lithology and rock properties from the sound of the drill bit.

Dr Yang presented a novel method for evaluating lithology type and properties, ‘truly’ in real time, from drilling sound. The method is relatively cheap, and the quality of the reading is independent of the borehole conditions. It

During drilling, rocks with different properties generate different drill sounds. In principle, the sound can be used to derive lithology type and properties for the rock under drilling. However, the noise level and the distance from the drill bit to the surface act as obstacles to recording clear signal and analyzing the sound. Dr Yang has designed wireless acoustic sensors that can pick the signal coming from the drill bit and transmit it to a data acquisition unit where the signal is sampled and digitized before processing it in

has many potential applications, including; geosteering, evaluation of lithology and properties in real time, fracture zone detection, and casing show depth specification.

Utilization of drill sound has some important advantages over conventional well log tools.

First, the drill sound is always readily available, which means we can utilize it from the beginning to the end of a borehole drilling, and at a much lower cost. Second, the drill sound is generated by the drill bit biting the rock; therefore it is not affected by the borehole conditions. Third, and most importantly, the information derived is in true real time. In contrast, information derived by current ‘real time tools’ is actually not in real time, since their sensors are 30–70 ft behind the drill bit.

computers.

Thinking out of the box means also seeing what is in front of all of us ...

The processing of the signals involves transformation to frequency domain by employing Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), filtering out the noise by employing a ‘dynamic threshold method’, which is a new method developed by

Top left to right (Judges) - Aldo Vesnaver (Petroleum Institute), Said Mahrooqi (PDO), Aus Taweel (Saudi Aramco), Thierry Charles (Total), Maher Al Mahroon (Saudi Aramco). Bottom left to right (Finalists) - Peter Jones (Saudi Aramco), Yunlai Yang (Saudi Aramco), Majid Al Malki (KACST), Umair bin Waheed (KAUST), Rachel Greenwood (EAGE).

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

Dr Yang, and deriving some attributes, such as mean frequency, normalized deviation of frequency, mean amplitude, normalized deviation of amplitude and apparent power.

A prototype of the technology was constructed and a trial has been conducted on a real rig.

Data from the drill bit was recorded and analyzed. The results have high correlation with lithology obtained from an offset well.

Dr Aldo Vesnaver of the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi and a member of the judging panel, said: ‘There was a kind of tie between the top two candidates, so it was very difficult taking a decision. After a passionate discussion, we preferred finally Dr Yang’s idea because it is at the same time simple, elegant, tested experimentally and with a relevant potential for further developments. Personally, having worked myself in related fields, I found it amazing that the new technique has been at our fetch for a long time, but nobody else developed it properly. Thinking out of the box means also seeing what is in front of all of us, and nevertheless nobody notice it”.

Yunlai has been a geological consultant with Saudi Aramco since 2008. He received his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering in 1993 from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, his BSc in 1982 and MSc in 1985 in Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology from Lanzhou University, China.

Prior to joining Saudi Aramco in 1998, Dr Yang worked as a researcher in Newcastle University, UK between 1993 and 2000, and as a freelance consultant between 2001 and 2008.

Details for the 2016 EAGE Geo-Creativity Prize will be announced in due course.

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EAGE UPDATE

A big thank you …

Umair bin Waheed, a student at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, praises EAGE’s Second Middle East Forum for Students and Young Professionals held last December at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

I would like to begin by congratulating EAGE for hosting such a successful event. As a student, the forum allowed me a great platform to interact with fellow students and young professionals from the region and beyond. It also provided me with a goldmine of opportunity to learn valuable skills such as CV writing and interviewing techniques. Sessions like the one on building bridges between academia and industry introduced us to the perspectives of several notable panellists from both academia and industry and gave us a chance to ask questions and share suggestions. In sum-

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hilst we may have just rung in the New Year, the EAGE Middle East office is already planning events

Umair bin Waheed - Best

mary, it was a thoroughly resourceful event that I greatly enjoyed Student Poster Winner. and benefited from.

Thanks to the forum, I was also able to present my research results through a poster presentation and share perspectives with other researchers. I was fortunate to win the best student poster competition and am grateful to EAGE for the initiative as it helps bring out the best in students.

The Geo-Quiz was another such event. I thoroughly enjoyed competing with fellow students.

Fortunately, I was a member of ‘The A team’ that won the competition and consequently was awarded with a travel grant to participate in the 77th EAGE Conference and Exhibition in Madrid.

I am also grateful to EAGE for organizing the Geo-Creativity award alongside the forum. I was truly honoured and humbled to win the third prize in a competition featuring some of the most notable geoscientists from the region.

My final comment would be to request the management of EAGE to host such useful events annually. I would certainly encourage my colleagues and friends to participate and benefit from any future editions of the forum.

Students call for closer ties between academia and industry

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ne of the highlights during the Second EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals was a session on ‘Building Bridges between Academia and Industry to Better Develop Young Talents’.

It began with a keynote speech by Ali Aldawood, a student from KAUST. He emphasized the importance of taking the lead as a young professional to look for opportunities and projects that are perceived to have industrial impact. Subsequent speakers highlighted an existing gap when it comes to data release, internship opportunities for students and teaching methods.

Teaching methods were discussed further in the question and answer sessions as one of the main issues that need to be addressed so that

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Look ahead to 2016

students and young professionals can meet the expectation of the oil and gas companies when hired. However, it was noted that the roles of academia and industry can’t be switched. Each has a mandate and a role to play, but certain topics and subjects can be shared with academia and introduced in the curriculum.

Gideon Lopes Cardozo (PDO/Shell) shared his own ‘building bridges’ experience, using an example of when he was employed and working on his MSC and PhD at the same time. Said Mahrooqi from PDO also emphasized the need for a consortium that involves both academia and industry. He believes that such a consortium can address the issues of data release and internship and will champion common themes and projects.

for 2016.

Q1 will see our popular workshop on Passive Seismic return to the Middle East, and take place in Muscat, Oman. The committee, led by Ulrich Zimmer (Shell) and Charlie ElTaha (PDO) already have their team in place and will continue with the format from the Lisbon event, being invited speakers followed by structured discussion sessions. If you wish to follow developments on this workshop, and join in discussions on the field of microseismic please join the dedicated LinkedIn Group EAGE-PSW. In May the focus will be on Geomechanics, with the second dedicated workshop taking place in Dubai, UAE. Thomas Finkbeiner (OMV) and Nick Koutsabeloulis (Schlumberger) have taken a different approach when selecting people to invite to the steering committee.

Whilst those invited have (some) experience in geomechanics, and definitely a high level of appreciation for it, they are from disciplines other than geomechanics directly; rather, the co-chairs prefer disciplines that benefit from geomechanics in order to ensure we maximize communication, learnings and other benefits from the workshop and in general.

Other events planned for next year include: the Second Basin & Petroleum Systems Modelling Workshop, the Third Student & Young Professionals Forum, the Second Borehole Geology Workshop, the Fourth Exploration Workshop and of course we cannot forget the celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary of the EAGE Middle East Office.

Full details of these events, and all activities in the Middle East can be found on our website and the LinkedIn Group – EAGE Middle East.

Trivia answer b. Pyrolysis, the application of extreme heat without the presence of oxygen, produces a chemical change in the rock that forces oil out.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE

Great competition ends an eventful year

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hat a way to end the year! From 7-9 December the EAGE Middle East team were at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman running the Second EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals and in the process facilitating no less than three competitions namely, the Best Poster, the Geo-Quiz and the Geo-Creativity Prize.

The Young Professional winner was Adnan Alghannam (Saudi Aramco) for his interesting case study ‘Multi-well fracture analysis based on borehole resistivity image and core: a case study from Western Saudi Arabia.’ Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to Rik Brooymans (CGG), Ameera Mustafa (Saudi Aramco) and Ahmed Murad (UAEU) for being such excellent judges!

Best Poster competition Some 30 abstracts on technical geoscience topics were submitted for the first round of the Best Poster competition. After round two where the candidates were asked to convert their text into a sample poster in PDF format, there were just seven posters left. Covering the whole spectrum of geosciences, the posters were produced by students and young professionals representing a wide array of institutions and companies, including Saudi Aramco, the University of Szeged, KAUST and the host, Sultan Qaboos University.

The finalists were each given five minutes to present their poster to a panel of judges; every competitor did an excellent job in making the technical analysis accessible and understandable to the wider audience. In the end, the most difficult job fell to the judges, who were tasked with choosing a winner in both the Student and Young Professional categories.

The Student winner was Umair bin Waheed (KAUST) for his well-presented poster entitled

The Geo-Quiz The EAGE Geo-Quiz is the best way to put your geoscience knowledge and skills to the test and EAGE Middle East gave student members two opportunities to compete this year! The first was held at GEO, Bahrain in March and the second at the EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals where 13 teams of three competed in the quiz at the Sultan Qaboos University Auditorium.

The hosts, Khaled Balushi and Ahmed Murad, from the United Arab Emirates University kept

‘Efficient fast sweeping based traveltime solutions of the acoustic TI Eikonal Equation’.

everyone entertained with their ad-hoc jokes and witty banter.

EAGE is a truly multidisciplinary association and this is emphasized in the Geo-Quiz A Team, winners of the Geo-Quiz.

EAGE is a truly multi-disciplinary association and this is emphasized in the Geo-Quiz. The quiz consists of several rounds with the level of the questions becoming more difficult along the way. The fantastic prize for the winning team is always full travel funding to the forthcoming EAGE Conference & Exhibition; this time round being held on 1-4 June in Madrid, Spain. The Forum’s winning team will then have an opportunity to participate in the global EAGE Geo-Quiz and compete against students from all over the world! Our winners were Junaid Ahmed Khan (SQU) and Ali Aldawood (KAUST). Congratulations to them! We’ll see you in Madrid!

The Geo-Creativity Prize The four finalists came to Sultan Qaboos University armed to defend the geoscientific ideas which they had ‘created’. All four were very persuasive giving the judges an extremely hard time choosing the winner. In the end it was Yunlai Yang (Saudi Aramco) who managed to earn those extra points and win the €2500 prize. Way to go Yunlai!

So there you have it: a fantastic group of EAGE competition winners and a very interactive Forum of Students and Young Professionals!

Fort Al Jalali, Muscat.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

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EAGE UPDATE

EAGE Student Lecture Tour Middle East 2015

Good geology = sound business

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AGE is happy to introduce a brand new Student Lecture Tour with the topic ‘Digital Geology’ focusing on the theme ‘Flight Simulator for Petroleum Engineers’. The tour, presented by Hon. Prof. Dr Michael Poppelreiter and sponsored by Shell, will travel to universities throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2015.

Dr Poppelreiter’s role at Shell is related to energy resources stored in geological layers. And the process of finding and developing the energy with maximum benefit to society and minimum impact to the environment is, in his words, his passion. Decisions related to this challenge require well educated engineers and a big part of his role is to train engineers in the industry and at the university level.

the reservoir bodies. Scenarios are repeated to approximate optimized results with respect to hydrocarbon production and project economics.

With an emphasis on ‘simulation’ this lecture promises to shine a spotlight on the energy industry that may initially appear complex to students. The lecture will not only provide an overview of the journey of finding, developing and producing energy from the subsurface, it will also engage students in an interactive serious game with videos and team decisions. At the end a team that works best in managing its budget, works well together and makes sound business decisions based on the exercises, will be awarded a technical excellence award.

Michael Poppelreiter’s original presentation of an EAGE SLT will be

Dr Poppelreiter says, ‘Good geology is the fundament for sound business decisions! The understanding of the reservoir is an iterative process. It requires teamwork.’

The objective ‘Digital Geology’ is to develop the fundamental skills of Petroleum Engineers in geological modelling and its application to support business decisions. It allows engineers to iteratively utilize models to construct development plans, tailor-made to the architecture of

on a more interactive scale promising students a profitable experience if they ask questions as they would in a workshop. Hopefully this will lead to a closer look at the fundaments of exploring the subsurface from the basin-wide perspective down to the individual sand grains in a reservoir.

The Digital Geology Student Lecture Tour will kick off in Q3 of 2015.

Universities interested in hosting the lecture should contact EAGE Middle East office middle_eage@eage.org

Why the student and young professional forum makes a difference Junaid Ahmed Khanan, MSc student in petroleum geoscience at Sultan Qaboos

learn, the more fulfilled I feel. I do not learn solely to apply my knowledge in a practical set-

University, Oman reflects on the recent Second EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals.

Learning gives me a world of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. The more I

ting; instead, it is the quest for knowledge and the challenge of learning that motivates me.

EAGE is one of the best platform for young professionals and graduates where they can express themselves, their ideas and to get familiar about the advancement and problems that oil industry is facing and how academia bridges those gaps. My experience at the EAGE was magnificent and I was able to understand the current issues/problems in the Middle East oil industry and how they are tackled. Besides, it has improved my nontechnical abilities like resume preparation and interview skills which are the two key factors for young graduates and professionals which they usually do lack.

Last but not the least, winning the EAGE

Plenty of food for thought.

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Students at the Geo-Creativity Prize dinner.

Geo-Quiz competition was amazing and unforgettable, I have no words to describe those epic moments. We did register at the eleventh hour as the ‘A Team’. Moreover, it helped me a lot to recall some basics. Looking forward to some more exciting competitions in Madrid, Spain.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE

EAGE welcomes Student Chapter from Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, led by the first female president in the region

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tudents from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) were participants in the first EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals held in Abu Dhabi. They ended up winning the best poster competition and that success inspired SQU students to start their own EAGE Student Chapter at the university in addition to the existing SEG Student Chapter. The EAGE members have majors in geology and geophysics.

Elections took place for office holders in the new chapter which lead to Marwa Mohammed Alkhayari, a fourth year geophysics student, becoming the first female president of an EAGE student chapter in the Middle East!

Alkhayari said: ‘I am so honored to be the first female president of an EAGE student chapter in the Middle East. I was so inspired by EAGE former president Gladys Gonzalez as she was the first female president of EAGE in over 50 years of the organization, and she was responsible for many great achievements. I am planning to follow in the footsteps of Gladys and inspire other young female students to take the step up and lead!’

The aim of having the EAGE student chapter at SQU is to develop young student’s awareness of the opportunities in geoscience and related disciplines and reduce the gap between academia and industry.

The most recent event organized by the student chapter in cooperation with Geo Group, the earth science department students’ group, was the Second EAGE Forum for Students and Young Professionals, which was held in SQU (1-9 December 2014). This proved a great op-

SQU students and Bjorn Wygrala hosting the Basin Petroleum Systems SLT in 2014.

SQU Student Chapter. Left to right: Asma Al-Abri - Public Relations, Esraa Al-Hinai - Secretary, Marwa Mohammed Alkhayari - President, Dr Hesham El-Kaliouby, Adil Al-Kuwaili - Vice President.

portunity for students to interact with young professionals and key note speakers from the industry.

The event started with a field trip to discover one of Oman’s geological wonders, ophiolites.

This trip was organized in cooperation with the Geological Society of Oman (GSO). The forum’s activities covered many sessions and panel discussions under the theme ‘Empowering young talents’. In addition the forum included best poster and the Geo-Quiz competitions, which added excitement and enthusiasm among students. Adil Alkuwaili, a fifth year geology student and vice president of the EAGE chapter, took part in the Geo-Quiz in an undergraduate team. He said: ‘The competition was so much fun and had a variety of questions about geology, geophysics and general geoscience knowledge. It was my first time in such a competition and we were very happy to have come third behind two teams of graduates. We hope to do better in the upcoming EAGE competitions such as the online Geo-Quiz.’

Dr Hesham El-Kaliouby, the faculty advisor of the SQU chapter and a member of the steering

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

and organizing committee for the forum said: ‘The experience that our students gained from the organization and participation in the different activities of the forum is priceless. I am sure

I am planning to follow in the footsteps of Gladys and inspire other young female students to take the step up and lead! that SQU students will be able to achieve more through the EAGE Student Chapter, which will enable them to participate and compete with their peers on the regional and international levels. The student lecture tours will also expose them to industry and academic pioneers from all over the world.’

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EAGE UPDATE

Complex questions explored in latest education tour!

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Art of Science lecture is proving a hit

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n intriguing geoscience topic will be subject of the 10th EAGE Education Tour (EET 10) being presented by Prof. Tariq Alkhalifah, professor of geophysics in the physical sciences and engineering division at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Starting in Abu Dhabi on 29 March he will be discussing Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) and asking the question - ‘Where are the anisotropic parameters hiding?’

The course will begin by introducing the fundamentals of FWI starting from its basic definition and carrying on to the model update issues and providing analysis of its probable success in converging to a plausible model. The course hopes to cover the many challenges faced in applying FWI on seismic data, and propose solutions to these challenges. Geophysicists, mathematicians and physicists working on problems related to

AGE’s sponsorship of The Art of Science Tour is paying off with enthusiastic attendance in Europe and the Middle East.

The touring lecture is provided by Prof. Roel Snieder, W. M. Keck distinguished professor of basic exploration science in the Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines. It offers a fresh approach to academic planning, problem solving and personal development, with a focus on teaching attendees practical skills needed for a successful research career. Topics include how to turn challenges into opportunities and how to tap into our creativity in order to move forward with ideas and technology.

The tour is being offered at very moderate rates for professionals. It has already enjoyed a successful leg in Europe and in

seismic imaging of the Earth and building the necessary velocity models to do so, are encouraged to register for the event which is now open on the EAGE website.

Last year’s education tours began with EET 8 topic on Seismic Fracture Characterization by Enru Liu which enjoyed worldwide success including visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi with up to 50 attendees registering for the event. Feedback was very positive praised for focusing on practical applications using extensive field data examples.

the last quarter of 2014 touched down in the Middle East. Prof.

Snieder presented at well-attended d sessions at the German University of Technology and Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, in the last quarter of 2014. More dates confirmed include the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain in late February 2015. For full details please contact our Middle East office.

First EAGE Workshop on Well Injectivity & Productivity in Carbonates (WIPIC) Stay connected with your reservoirs!

30 March - 1 April 2015 – Doha, Qatar Join us in Doha, Qatar for the inaugural Workshop on Well Injectivity and Productivity in Carbonates to discuss the latest ideas and innovations relating to well performance in carbonates and field applications.

Presentations and discussions will be on the following: 1. Formation Damage Prevention and Control 2. Condensate Banking 3. Matrix and Fracture Stimulation 4. Conformance 5. Water Injection 6. CO2 /Acid Gas Injection 7. Connection to the Reservoir A short course is also available entitled: Acidizing Fluids: Past & Present. Course instructor Dr. Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din is a professor and holder of the John Edgar Holt Endowed Chair at Texas A&M University in Petroleum Engineering.

For more information and to register, visit the event website.

www.eage.org

Register Now! WIPC15-V3H.indd 1

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11-12-14 10:54

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE

First class programme and short course in prospect at borehole geophysics workshop in Athens

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n opening address from Misfir AzZahrani, general exploration manager of Saudi Aramco, and a keynote talk from Professor Guus Berkhout of Delft University of Technology will be two of the highlights at the forthcoming Third EAGE Workshop on Borehole Geophysics being held on 19-22 April in Athens, Greece.

The programme includes technical presentations over three days, loosely grouped into the following sessions: Acquisition and DAS, Monitoring and Time-Lapse, Reservoir Characterization, Innovative Processing, 3D VSP, Integration,

Speakers will range from geophysicists and other geoscientists to academics and mathematicians. and ‘Closing the Loop’ which will aim to examine the impact of borehole seismic programmes on the economics of oilfield exploration.

The technical committee says that the final programme reflects a very strong field of submissions with many interesting and daring papers and posters to choose from. Speakers will range from geophysicists and other geoscientists

Athens amphitheatre: Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

to academics and mathematicians, presenting a wide range of case studies, applications and technological advances.

As in previous workshops, each session will be followed by a panel discussion, providing a forum for lively questions and debate on wider issues related to this technology. Active participation is encouraged in order to explore how operators, contractors and academics can work together to advance borehole geophysics, in particular 3D VSP, by overcoming the challenges of using downhole instrumentation to determine parameters that can be applied with confidence to the wider reservoir.

data, with an in-depth look at 3D VSP in particular, examining the processing route, parameter selection, imaging techniques and limitations.

At the workshop there will also be a small exhibition area where companies can display/ demonstrate their borehole geophysics related technologies (hardware, software, videos, posters, etc).

The social programme is always an important part of any such workshop, allowing participants to network with other delegates. In such a historic city as Athens, a half-day programme of sight-seeing of some of the magnificent heritage is being offered for all to enjoy, along with the

The EAGE is offering an optional short course to complement the workshop, held over one and a half days prior to the main event. It will be presented by Jacques Blanco, ex-Total geophysical and borehole seismic advisor, now head of PhyDeis Consultant which specializes in borehole seismic and microseismic training for oil industry and civil engineering applications.

The course will study the derivation of parameters for reservoir characterization from VSP

icebreaker reception and workshop dinner.

EAGE would like to thank the sponsors for supporting this event: Shell, Schlumberger, Saudi Aramco, Baker Hughes, Weatherford, Halliburton and Avalon Sciences Ltd. Registration for the workshop and short course is open via the EAGE website. By registering before 28 February you can benefit from the early-bird fee. For further details on the event please contact the EAGE Middle East office.

Acropolis, Athens.

1-4 November 2015 – Dubai, UAE

Third EAGE Workshop on Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Calibration Challenges EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

Call for Papers deadline: 30 April 2015 www.eage.org

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EAGE UPDATE

Rock Physics workshop in Istanbul open for business!

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he importance of rock physics in modern geoscience applications for the oil industry is reflected in the upcoming Third EAGE Workshop on Rock Physics, set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 15-18 November 2015.

The event follows previous successful workshops in Dubai in 2012 and Oman in 2014. With the theme ‘From rocks to basin - applying rock physics in prospect evaluation and reservoir characterization’, delegates can look forward to more

The Technical Committee is spearheaded by Dr Aiman Bakhorji (Saudi Aramco) and Dr Per Avseth (Tullow Oil) and has representations from various national and international oil companies, service companies and academia.

Abstracts of 2-4 pages in length are being accepted on the following topics with a deadline for submission of 30 April 2015: • Exploration: The role of rock physics in prospect generation

sea floor data’, the course is suitable for those involved in the subsurface characterisation of deep water slope channel reservoirs, including geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists and reservoir engineers.

The short course focuses on the range of deepwater slope channels in nature, and goes through the facies and facies associations that define them. The objectives of the course include (i) synthesising what we understand about these fea-

insightful discussions on the application of rock physics during exploration and production, for prospect evaluation and reservoir characterization.

The workshop will also address how rock physics can improve the link between geophysical measurements and geological processes at various scales. The workshop will place the emphasis on rock physics applications at various scales, between disciplines, and at different stages during a field’s life cycle.

• Production: The role of rock physics in reservoir development and characterization • Recent advances in experimental and digital rock physics • Data Scaling: Integrating data from different scales and types • Integration of rock physics with basin modeling and seismic imaging • Rock physics and QI applied to unconvention alone • Carbonate rock physics For more information and to submit abstracts, please visit the event website at www.eage.org/ event/rock-physics-2015.

A one-day short course is also on offer from Prof Bryan Cronin, an expert on deep-water slope channel reservoirs.

Entitled ‘Deep-water slope channel complexes – defining ranges of reservoir geometry, quality and connectivity using outcrop, well, seismic and

tures using a range of examples from West Africa, the Caribbean, North Africa subsurface; outcrops from California and eastern and southern Turkey; and examples collected from the sea floor in the Mediterranean area; (ii) the show synthetic seismic derived from outcrop by designing wavelets of different frequency, and by discussing what is resolved on seismic and how to ascribe reservoir quality and geometry to seismic interpretation.

The course will be led by Prof Bryan T. Cronin, a petroleum geologist recognised for his expertise in deep water exploration and production.

He has been involved for many years in research, including supervision of PhD students and running research consortia. He has developed a suite of classroom and field-based courses, including university Masters programme modules, which he delivers through major training organisations, such as Petroskills and Nautilus, universities, and his own company.

Spectacular view of Istanbul and the Hagia Sofia.

Time to sign up for EAGE membership benefits!

Wondering why you should join the EAGE? Here are just a few reasons.

As a member you will receive the EAGE flagship magazine First Break every month, filled with technical articles, special topics, industry news, reports on EAGE past and upcoming events and more. In addition, you can choose one online subscription to one of EAGE’s scientific journals (Geophysical Prospecting, Near Surface Geophysics, Geociencias Aplicadas Latinoamericanas, Petroleum Geoscience or Basin Research) and receive free access to EarthDoc, the EAGE online geoscience database with more than 55,000 scientific papers, which you can search by author, topic, keyword, etc. All this is included in your membership fee. In addition, EAGE offers a wide variety of workshops on a broad range of topics, such as Seismic Imaging, Reservoirs

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in Deep Carbonate Formations and Fractured Reservoirs. Workshops have limited attendance and provide an excellent opportunity for interactive discussions about a specialized topic.EAGE members always register at discounted rates, both for the workshops and for the larger events worldwide. EAGE’s Annual Conference & Exhibition attracts some 8000 geoscientists and engineers from all over the world. From 1-4 June, Madrid (Spain) will host this event. For those looking for education opportunities, EAGE has a lot to offer and, being a member, you will also benefit from reduced prices for registration. Joining EAGE is easy and a growing number of geoscientists and engineers take advantage of the benefits offered. So, why not go to the EAGE website at www.eage.org and find out how to sign up or contact the EAGE Head Office at eage@eage.org?

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

EAGE UPDATE/ INDUSTRY NEWS

NEOS completes airborne phase of Lebanon survey project

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EOS GeoSolutions, with local partner Petroserv, has completed airborne acquisition operations on its neoBASIN regional geoscience project in Lebanon. The survey covering 6000 km2, including the onshore northern half of the country and the transition zone (TZ) along the Mediterranean coastline, was designed to map regional prospectivity. The programme involved integrating legacy well and 2D seismic data with other newly acquired airborne geophysical datasets, including magnetic, electromagnetic, radiometric, gravity and hyperspectral data.

national oil and gas companies have showed a great deal of interest in the eastern Mediterranean region, including Lebanon. We expect that these new datasets will be very useful to oil and gas companies that have investments in, or may be considering investing in, hydrocarbon exploration in Lebanon. The planned integration of legacy well and some 2D seismic data along with the newly acquired geophysical datasets should help us to better understand the link between onshore and offshore systems in the eastern Mediterranean, providing new promise for the entire region.’

Arthur Nazarian, Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, said: ‘Members of the biggest inter-

Following an estimated six month period of processing and interpretation, the measure-

Polarcus chooses new CEO

ments and interpretive products will be made available for licensing and delivery to interested parties in the second quarter of 2015.

IPTC event is gearing up for Doha in December

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reparations are underway for the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) taking place on 6–9 December 2015 at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar. This will be the ninth staging of the event which attracts increasing industry interest every year.

IPTC rotates between Asia Pacific and the Middle East. The conference programme and associated industry activities address technol-

Rod Starr, CEO of Polarcus.

A senior executive from TGS is to take over the helm at Polarcus, the Dubaibased marine seismic company. Polarcus has chosen Rod Starr, most recently TGS senior vice president, Western Hemisphere to be the company’s new CEO as successor to Rod Ronningen who is retiring. Ronningen was expected to remain in office until Starr takes up his appointment early this year.

NEOS Lebanon.

Delegates arrive for the 2014 show.

Passing the IPTC flag from the 8th IPTC Host to the 9th IPTC Host.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

ogy and relevant industry issues that challenge industry professionals and management around the world. It is a collaborative effort between the AAPG, EAGE, SEG, and SPE. Regional oil ministers, industry leaders and governmental representatives are expected to discuss and share their views on timely industry topics and trends, exchange expertise and experience, present state-of-the-art technology and innovation, and stimulate further research of technical and business activities. In addition, awards and recognition will be given for organisations’ efforts in technical and business contributions to the industry. There will also be a range of integrated social activities to encourage networking and off-line discussion.

The knowledge, capabilities and strengths of the participating countries and the sponsoring societies’ global membership, over the spectrum of multi-disciplinary technologies, will be central to the success of the conference and the corresponding exhibition.

The 7th IPTC, held on 19-22 January 2014 in Doha, was the most successful IPTC in the region, with a total of 5274 attendees from 850 companies and 71 countries. For more information about this event, or to register, please visit http://www.iptcnet.org/2015/doha.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

RWE Dea continues to build capacity in Egypt

BP and Dana Gas lead return to Egypt

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ritish oil major BP plans to invest more than $12 billion in Egypt over the next five years, and to double its gas supplies to the local market in the next decade, according to Hesham Mekawi country manager of BP Egypt speaking recently at an energy conference in Alexandria.

Mekawi is reported to have said: ‘BP is committed to unlock Egypt’s oil and gas potential and gradually double its gas supply during this decade. This will be achieved by injecting more than $12 billion in the next five years.’

The bullish statement follows a recent commitment by the Egyptian government to repay its estimated $4.9 billion debt to foreign oil and gas companies accumulated during three years of instability in the country. The move is widely interpreted as a bid to restore confidence in exploration and production investment by the international oil and gas industry. Early recipients of money owing have been BG, paid $350 million leaving $920 million outstanding, and Dana Gas of Abu Dhabi paid $60 million, said to be 28% of overdue receivables.

In November BP Egypt was awarded two exploration blocks as a result of the 2013 EGAS bid round. BP and its partners plan to invest a total of $240 million in the blocks over different phases.

Block 3 (North El Mataria) is BP’s first entry into the onshore nile delta. It is located in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta cone, approximately 57 km to the west of Port Said. BP will operate the block with 50% equity and Dana Gas will hold the remaining 50% working interest.

Block 8 (Karawan Offshore) is located in the Mediterranean Sea, in the northeastern part

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of Egypt’s economic waters. The block lies at approximately 220 km to the NE and 170 km

WE Dea has doubled its oil and gas production in Egypt underlining that it considers North Africa a strategic core for the company, where it has been one of the leading foreign investors for 30 years.

Maximilian Fellner, general manager of

to the northwestt of Alexandria and Port Said cities respectively. BP will have 50% equity and the block will be operated by ENI which holds the remaining 50%.

The programme will include 3D seismic and three exploration wells in each of the onshore and offshore blocks in phases over 6-8 years.

Dana Gas, the Middle East’s major regional private sector natural gas company was awarded the North El Salhiya (Block 1) as well as an interest in the El Mataria (Block 3) with BP. The company will operate Block 1 on a 100% basis. Dana Gas Egypt will participate in the Block 3 Concession Area on a 50% basis with BP as partner and operator.

In addition, Dana Gas has a 100% working interest in the North El Arish (Block 6) concession area, offshore the eastern Nile Delta.

Multiple play types have been identified within the acreage and plans for the first exploration phase include seismic acquisition and the

RWE Dea Egypt, said recently in Alexandria: ‘We recently doubled our overall production in the country through getting our onshore gas project Disouq on stream. We are delighted about these success stories and will continue on this track, as we see further potential in the region.’

Dea has plans for additional exploration in the Gulf of Suez. At the East Ras Budran Offshore concession, the company plans to acquire seismic and drill an exploration well. The work programme for its two new offshore concessions will include seismic reprocessing and two exploration wells at the East Ras Fanar Offshore and one well at the Northwest El Amal concessions.

An important growth project for RWE Dea in Egypt is the Disouq onshore gas development in the Nile Delta. Dea achieved first gas last year and added a central treatment plant to production last summer. For

drilling of one exploration well.

Dana Gas is among the most active oil and gas companies and is the sixth largest gas producer in Egypt. The Company has invested around US$2 billion in Egypt to date, making it the GCC’s largest investor in the oil and gas sector in the country.

2015, the company expects further production increases from Disouq up to the capacity of approximately 200 million stan-

BP’s Hesham Mekawi.

dard cubic feet gas per day.

OMV hopes to expand Yemen output

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ustrian energy group OMV is wanting to boost its oil output from Yemen by half if conditions allow, a senior executive has told Reuters.

Erwin Kroell, senior vice president for the Middle East and Caspian, said plans to raise production to 30,000 b/d from 20,000 on average hinged on putting in place security measures to protect its assets and people.

OMV operates in Yemen, Pakistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and the United Arab Emirates.

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Left: Tarek El Molla, CEO, EGPC, Sherif Ismail, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Maximilian Fellner, general manager, RWE Dea Egypt.

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

INDUSTRY NEWS

Iraqi workforce oil and gas industry training programme underway

hell and oil and gas training standards body OPITO have begun a safety programme for

the necessary skills and training to safely utilise Iraq’s hydrocarbon resources and provide qualifications needed for Iraqis to access jobs in the country’s energy sector.

As one of the largest international companies in Iraq, Shell has invested in a new training centre in Majnoon (near Basrah) and worked closely with OPITO to customise the training standard relating to H2S for the Iraqi workforce.

Hans Nijkamp, Shell Iraq vice president and country chairman, said: ‘One of the biggest risks in producing oil and gas, particularly sour gas, is the presence of H2S. To reduce that risk

15,000 in the Iraqi workforce providing a training centre and improved standards.

Up to 15,000 Iraqi oil and gas workers will be trained in how to deal safely with the potential hazards of hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

Shell and OPITO, have joined forces to ensure workers are trained to the globally recognised H2S standard. The corrosive and hazardous gas, also known as sour gas, H2S occurs in the production of oil and gas fields which have a high content of this gas in their reservoirs.

This is the first industry-led training programme to be rolled out across Iraq since OPITO signed an agreement with the Ministry of Oil to help develop the country’s local workforce with

we, along with our Majnoon project partners Petronas and Missan Oil Company have committed to training Iraqis in the safe handling of this hazardous gas. Our training centre in Majnoon is now up and running and is the first OPITO-approved centre in Iraq. This is a major step in our journey towards building a safe Iraqi workforce that is accredited to international standards.’

David Doig, group chief executive of OPITO, said, ‘Shell has shown real leadership in the development and roll-out of this training standard and must be recognised and commended for investing time and financial resources in its delivery which will ultimately save lives.’

David Doig, CEO of OPITO.

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Kurdistan oil producer reaches stable production rate

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ulf Keystone Petroleum has reported that the existing Shaikan production facilities (PF1 and PF-2) in Kurdistan are now producing from seven wells. The Shaikan-8 well was expected to come online in January 2015. Total daily production has been gradually increasing since early December 2014, reaching the company’s 40,000 gross b/d of oil target on 27 December. On 29 December, a record Vibrator trucks on the move. number of 354 trucks were loaded at PF-1 and PF-2 with nearly 58,000 gross barrels of Shaikan crude sent by truck to the Turkish coast for further export sale. On 24 December, the company spudded Shaikan-11, an additional producer.

John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone’s CEO, said, ‘2014 was not without its challenges for the Kurdistan Region and we are proud of what has been achieved against this backdrop, in particular a nearly 300% increase in Shaikan production and export sales since January 2014. Our immediate focus is to ensure a stable daily production rate of 40,000 gross b/d of oil, which is a base for future production growth, whilst maintaining a regular payment cycle for Shaikan export oil sales by truck and to finalise a pipeline access solution for Shaikan.’

EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015

Dolphin chosen for Oman survey

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asirah Oil has commissioned a 3D seismic survey in Block 50, offshore Oman being undertaken by Dolphin Geophysical with its vessel Artemis Arctic. The survey begun in November was scheduled to finish within approximately 45 days following mobilisation. Block 50 is located on the east coast of Oman, next to onshore Block 4 (Ghunaim contract area) and is just north of Block 52 operated by Circle Oil. Like most of Oman’s offshore acreage, Block 50 is largely unexplored. Although previous operators have acquired over 4500 km2 of seismic, the quality is variable and typically poor where shallow ophiolite layers occur. These layers are a feature of the geology off the coast of Oman. The previous operator, Hunt Oil Company, was awarded the block in 2001. It carried out a number of geological surveys, including a high resolution 2D seismic survey, in an attempt to identify a prospective drilling location. To date, there are eight identified prospects in the concession.

Hans Lidgren, chairman of Masirah, said: ‘The data collected will help increase our understanding of the geology in the area and provide more information for the use of Rex Virtual Drilling to select prospects for our planned multi-well exploration drilling programme in 2015 and 2016.’

Dan Brostrom, executive chairman of Rex International Holding, said: ‘Given that Block 50 Oman covers a large area of close to 17,0002, information from the seismic survey will add value to the extended well testing and multi-well campaign targeted to be carried out in the block in 2015 and 2016.’

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Lagia takes step forward

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acOil Holdings, through its subsidiary Mena International Petroleum, has begun field development operations at its 100% owned Lagia oil field in Sinai, onshore Egypt.

Mena has contracted Schlumberger Egypt to conduct an initial phase of development, which includes the hydraulic stimulation of the Lagia 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 wells, specifically targeting the intersected productive Nukhul geological formation.

The company anticipates total daily production of approximately 350 b/d of oil, provided the completion of operations at each of the wells is successful. In addition to these hydraulic stimulation operations, a thermal recovery process is being planned for the first half of 2015, which should further enhance oil production and recovery of the reserves from the field.

Lagia field location.

SacOil is preparing and planning a second development phase by June 2015, which includes the drilling of up to five additional wells.

Kuwait Energy well scores second Block 9 hit in Iraq

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uwait Energy (70% interest and operator) with partner Dragon Oil (30%) has made its second oil discovery at Block 9, Iraq.

The find was revealed at the consortium’s second target, the Yamama formation at 4000 m, in exploration well Faihaa-1, in Sara Akbar, CEO, Kuwait Energy Northern Basra, Iraq.

Preliminary tests of the Faihaa-1 Yamama formation resulted in oil flow rates of circa 5000 and 8000 b/d of 35 API crude on 32”/64” and 64”/64” chokes respectively.

The consortium will conduct more detailed testing on Yamama towards the end of the year. Sara Akbar, CEO of Kuwait Energy, said: ‘This is the second discovery in the first well drilled in Block 9, so we are delighted to have accomplished additional progress. We are confident that Block 9 has strong exploration potential.’

EAGE Middle East Event Calendar March 2015 30 March-1 April 2015 EAGE • First EAGE Workshop on Well Injectivity & Productivity in Carbonates Doha, Qatar | www.eage.org

April 2015 19-22 April 2015 EAGE • Third EAGE Workshop on Borehole Geophysics

September 2015

2-5 November EAGE • First East Africa Petroleum Geoscience Forum

6-9 September 2015 SPE/EAGE • Geosteering & Well Placement Workshop

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | www.eage.org

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

8-11 November 2015 EAGE • Third Workshop on Iraq

October 2015 4-7 October 2015 EAGE/AAPG • Third Workshop on Tight Reservoirs in the Middle East Abu Dhabi, UAE | www.eage.org

Athens, Greece | www.eage.org

27-29 April 2015 AAPG/EAGE • Hydrocarbon Seals Workshop

11-14 October 2015 EAGE • Workshop on Business Intelligence for Big Data

1-4 June 2015 EAGE • Madrid 2015 - 77th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2015 Madrid, Spain | www.eage.org

15-18 November 2015 EAGE • Workshop on Broadband Seismic Abu Dhabi, UAE | www.eage.org

15-18 November 2015 EAGE • Third Workshop on Rock Physics

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

Bahrain | www.eage.org

June 2015

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

25-28 October 2015 EAGE • Workshop on Evaluation & Drilling of Carbonate Reservoirs

Istanbul, Turkey | www.eage.org

Muscat, Oman | www.eage.org

6-9 2015 EAGE • Second Workshop on High Performance Computing for Upstream

November 2015 1-4 November 2015 EAGE • Third Workshop on Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

December 2015

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

Dubai, UAE | www.eage.org

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EAGE NEWSLETTER MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 1 2015