February 2012 Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 61 • No. 2 • February 2012

S U S C N O F ECISIO ON

1 0 00

900

2 00 2

10 0

Why spend valuable time searching for data when you have important decisions to make?

Let TGS focus on the data. With worldwide well data experience and a dedicated customer support team, TGS provides high quality data in the formats you need. Email WellData@tgsnopec.com to learn more about TGSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; well data library that includes production data, directional surveys and the largest online collection of well logs.

80 70 0 60 0 0 50 4 0 0 300

NO A DAT

3 0 40 0 0 50 60 0 0 70 8 0 00

Learn more at www.tgsnopec.com/welldata

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS Features 6 Lead Story: Reflecting on Resources: "3-D Seismic Symposium Set for March 2nd, 2012!"

12 Colorado Geological Survey Announces New Denver Basin Publication 12 The Mineral and Energy Economy in Colorado – Legislative Reception

28 RMAG & DAPL GeoLand Ski Day

Departments 4 RMAG December Part 2 Board of Directors Meeting 10 President's Column

13 Digging for PayDirt

18 Luncheon Program

24 Call for Papers to the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section – AAPG

20 In the Pipeline 20 New Members 25 Advertisers Index 25 Calendar of Events COVER PHOTO

Association News

Red/brown Jurassic Entrada Sandstone in Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, overlain by green Jurassic Curtis Formation. In this location, these are marginal marine sediments. Photo by Peter J. Varney.

4 Mark Your Calendars! 4 18th Annual 3-D Seismic Symposium 16 CALL FOR PAPERS: The Mountain Geologist 22 The Outcrop Needs YOU!

Volume 61 • No. 2 • February 2012 OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

RMAG December Part 2 Board of Directors Meeting By Kimberley Alanis, Secretary (Kimberley.Alanis@qepres.com) As previously described by our outgoing secretary, Heather LaReau, the Board of Directors met for the annual joint meeting on December 9 th , 2011 at the Marriott Hotel. After the 2011 Board members were excused, part two of the meeting took place. I have now started my journey as the 2012 RMAG Secretary. We cannot thank the 2011 BOD enough for their time, effort, and the dedication they demonstrated over this past year. We truly appreciate the smooth transition for this upcoming year. Part two of the meeting consisted of a quick run through of the proposed 2012 budget. There are several great events planned and great ideas lying ahead. By the time you read this, I hope you enjoyed the “Source Rocks 101” short course instructed by Nick Harris. In early January you should have received an email reminding you to sign up for the 3-D Seismic Symposium “Reflection on Resources” scheduled for March 2, 2012. If not, please update your email information on the new and improved RMAG website. Thanks again to Josh and Laura for the time and effort they put into revamping the site. My apologies for the shortness of this update, Heather’s last column captured the December meeting’s highlights very well. I will try my best to follow in her footsteps; she is a tough act to follow. The January Board of Director’s meeting was held on Wednesday, January 11 at the University Building conference room on the 11th floor. The February meeting will be held February 8th at the same location.

Mark Your Calendars RMAG and DAPL Present: GEOLAND Ski Day Friday March 9th, 2012

More information will be posted on the website at www.rmag.org in the next month!

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

OUTCROP

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street • Suite 1125 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2012 Officers and Board of Directors Co-Editors Kristine Peterson k.peterson@laramidegeo.com Holly Sell hsell@nobleenergyinc.com Catherine Campbell Catherine.e.campbell@gmail.com

President – Pete Varney pete.varney@alumni.mines.edu

Treasurer – Larry Rasmussen larryr@whiting.com

President-Elect – Debra Higley-Feldman higley@usgs.gov

Treasurer Elect – Mike Kozimko mkozimko@yatespetroleum.com

Counselor (1 Year) – Mark D. Sonnenfeld sonnenfeld@whiting.com 1/2 Page 1/3 Page 1/6 Page Counselor (2 Year) – John Ladd 2nd Vice-President – Greg Anderson Vertical Vertical john.ladd@fmr.com ganderson@samson.com

1st Vice-President – Paul Lillis Page Full plillis@usgs.gov 2/3 Page

Secretary – Kimberly Alanis Kimberley.alanis@qepres.com

Horizontal

OUTCROP ADVERTISING RATES

Design/Production Debbie Downs debradowns@att.net Wednesday Noon Luncheon Reservations RMAG Office: 303.573.8621 Josh Robbins, ext. 2 Fax: 303-628-0546 RMAGdenver@aol.com www.rmag.org

Advertising Rates for Black and White Ads Size

Cost Per Insertion

1 Time

2 Times (each)

$330

$310

$285

$270

2/3 Page

$220

$200

$185

1/2 Page

$175

$165

$155

$145

1/3 Page

$165

$125

$115

$100

1/6 Page

$ 75

$ 60

$ 55

$ 50

Prof Card

$ 17

$ 14

$ 12

Advertising Rates for Four Color Ads Cost Per Insertion

1 Time

HELPFUL HINTS – Both black and white and color art will be accepted. If you are submitting digital files, please save in the PC format. Minimum resolution for jpg, tif, pdf or eps files is 300 dpi. Simple line art and photographs provide helpful illustration. Borders are recommended on large copy. An advertising agreement will be sent to you.

OUTCROP

12 Times (each)

Full Page

Size

PROFESSIONAL CARDS Will be actual size.

6 Times (each)

2 Times (each)

6 Times (each)

12 Times (each)

Full Page

$550

$520

$485

$470

2/3 Page

$355

$335

$320

$305

1/2 Page

$275

$265

$255

$245

1/3 Page

$235

$210

$185

$170

1/6 Page

$110

$ 95

$ 90

$ 85

Prof Card

$ 37

$ 34

$ 32

The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street, Suite 1125 • Denver, CO 80202

www.rmag.org

LEAD STORY Preview: 18th Annual 3-D Seismic Symposium, Friday, March 2nd, 2012, Downtown Marriott Hotel, Denver, Colorado

"Reflecting on Resources:" 3-D Seismic Symposium Set for March 2nd, 2012! By M. Pursell The 18th Annual 3-D Seismic Symposium, jointly sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) and the Denver Geophysical Society (DGS), will be held Friday, March 2nd, 2012 at the Marriott City Center in Denver, Colorado. This year’s theme is “Reflecting on Resources,” and the meeting will be co-chaired by Jim Thorson and Dave Scolman. The 2012 Symposium has an impressive total of 12 presentations, with a very strong concentration on case histories in resource plays – many exhibiting very large-scale 3-D surveys. These case histories will showcase Rocky Mountain projects, emphasizing the Niobrara, Bakken, and Mancos, along with other analog plays from throughout the US (Fayetteville, Haynesville, Woodford, Marcellus, and Eagle Ford). Attendees to this year’s Symposium will be witness to the most up-to-date concepts and workflows in our industry, as over half of the presentations have not been shown anywhere else publically. Ever y presentation will FOR SUCCESS involve 3-D seismic data, and IN THE FIELD— will highlight the important ro l e 3 - D s e i s m i c p l ay s STAY AHEAD OF these significant resource projects. Registration is now open through either PETERSON RMAG or DGS, or via the ENERGY 3-D Symposium website MANAGEMENT INC. (www.3dseismicsymposium. com).

This year’s lunchtime Keynote Speaker will be Steven G. Natali, Senior Vice President of Exploration for WPX Energy (formally known as Williams Production). Steve’s talk is entitled “A Multi-TCF Gas Discovery, Mancos Shale Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico.” For decades, operators had been aware that the Cretaceous-aged Mancos Shale formation exhibited strong gas shows during drilling along the northern margin of the San Juan Basin; however vertical tests had yielded sub-economic results. During 2008, Williams drilled four vertical “science” wells within the Rosa Unit. These science wells involved gathering information from specialized logs, cores, and DFIT’s. Results were sufficiently encouraging that 45 vertical Dakota/Mancos/ Mesaverde co-mingled wells were drilled the following year, and a large 3-D survey was undertaken that involved shooting on both land and water over the western portion of the Unit. During 2010, two horizontal wells were drilled to test separate Innovative – zones within the Mancos yet practical – formation, resulting in what solutions in petroleum appears to be a multi-TCF engineering and wellsite supervision discovery. Microseismicity since 1989. was recorded using a nearby vertical well for the entire 24 Loveland: 970-669-7411 frac stages performed in the Denver: 303-297-1201 two wellbores. During that petersonenergy.com same year, four additional

The 2012 Symposium has an impressive total of 12 presentations, with a very strong concentration on case histories in resource plays – many exhibiting very large-scale 3-D surveys.

THE CURVE.

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

Lead Story

Mancos “science” wells were drilled. In 2011, a second, adjoining large 3-D survey was conducted over the eastern portion of the Rosa Unit. A purpose-built rig is being constructed and is scheduled to arrive in August of 2012, where, as part of a special winter-range study being conducted with the Bureau of Land Management, it will immediately embark upon year-round, multi-well pad drilling within the Rosa Unit. Steve’s presentation will demonstrate the series of events that took place on this unconventional resource discovery, and will also highlight the interactive nature of multiple disciplines coming together for the success of an exploration team. Three of the presentations will emphasize the Niobrara Formation of NE Colorado and SE Wyoming. Eric Gardner of Esenjay Petroleum Corporation will discuss “A Multidisciplinary Evaluation of the Niobrara Formation.” Eric’s case study is from Weld and Morgan Counties, Colorado, in the D-J Basin. Esenjay Petroleum, along with its partners, utilized a combination of the then-largest proprietary 3-D seismic dataset in Colorado (250 square miles) and subsurface data to evaluate the potential of the Niobrara. 3-D seismic data were used to define the structure and faulting in the reservoir. In addition to direct mapping and amplitude analysis, the seismic data was also analyzed via pre-stack inversion to understand variation in the brittleness of the Niobrara formation. Combining these data with subsurface data, such as resistivity mapping from log data, yielded Niobrara “sweet spots” for evaluation with horizontal wells. Another of the Niobrara presentations will be delivered by Galen Treadgold of Global Geophysical. Galen’s talk is entitled “Niobrara Fracture Prospecting through Integrated Structural and Azimuth Seismic Interpretation,

Silo Field Area, Wyoming,” and his team’s work involves the analysis of a 750 square mile, full-azimuth 3-D survey. Variable results in this unconventional oil play have caused operators to look hard at geophysical technologies for better understanding of risk and the highlighting of sweet spots. As fracturing is a major factor influencing well performance and ultimate recovery of Niobrara oil, this case study unfolds numerous geologic factors that are responsible for fracturing, and illustrates how a detailed 3-D structural interpretation and azimuthal anisotropy analysis offer critical insight in high-grading well locations. A third Niobrara talk will come from PDC Energy’s Brad Bacon, “Case History – Using Seismic Data to determine Niobrara Horizontal Potential.” Brad’s discussion will focus on two 3-D surveys on the fringe of Wattenberg Field, D-J Basin, Weld County, Colorado, and his group’s work involves the integration of both horizontal and vertical wells, microseismic, azimuthal variances, inversion for rock properties, and 4-D seismic comparisons. Conclusions from this project’s efforts include geohazard identification, greater than anticipated faulting, fracture detection, and a comparison of the seismically-generated rock properties to horizontal well results. The Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin will be featured in two of the 2012 presentations. “Integration of Well Data with Surface Seismic in the Bakken” will be given by John Young of WesternGeco. He will be showing the latest 3-D seismic data processing technology, including tight integration with borehole data upfront and throughout the process. Integration is the enabler for advanced imaging techniques, which are the only effective way to correct for overburden heterogeneities that mask subtle seismic attributes at reservoir levels. With the overburden effects removed, advanced seismic attributes such as azimuthal traveltimes and amplitudes, can be used more reliably in the identification of “sweet spots” for lateral well planning. A second Bakken presentation will be given by Enerplus’ Elaine Honsberger, entitled “Geophysical Insights into the Bakken: Secrets from a Sleeping Giant.” Elaine will share Enerplus’s observations from Montana’s Elm Coulee Bakken Field,

YOUR AD HERE (Professional Card Ad Size)

Only $144.00 per year OUTCROP

Continued on page 8 »

www.rmag.org

Lead Story

where they have a 48 square mile 3-D survey to compare with the results of over 100 producing horizontal wells within the outline. The mapping of deeper Winnipeg faults appears to have an important impact on subtle structural features within the Bakken, along with the all-important EUR and OOIP numbers. Correct processing of the seismic data is highly impactful for mapping these features. Lessons learned at Elm Coulee in the Bakken may well have implications for predicting EUR and OOIP values in lesser developed Bakken pools in both Montana and North Dakota. Two of the day’s case histories will involve the Appalachian Basin’s Marcellus play. Joel Starr of EQT Production in Pittsburg, PA will be discussing geomechanics in his talk, “Closure Stress Gradient Estimation of the Marcellus Shale from Seismic Data.” Joel will review what closure stress is, why it is important in a play like the Marcellus, and how it can be estimated with seismic data prior to drilling by deriving Poisson’s Ratio. He will make the case that in the Appalachian Basin, estimating Poisson’s ratio is sufficient to understand the changes in the stress gradient of the Marcellus shale relative to the surrounding layers both ver tically and laterally. The second Marcellus presentation, t i t l e d “A s s e s s m e n t o f a Marcellus Prospect using Seismic, Microseismic, and Completions Data,” will be an integrated reservoir characterization study and comes from Scott Singleton of Rock Solid Vol. 60, No. 12

Continued from page 7

Images. Much attention has recently been focused on modifying the traditional conventional geophysical reservoir characterization workflow

Two of the day’s case histories will involve the Appalachian Basin’s Marcellus play. Joel Starr of EQT Production in Pittsburg, PA will be discussing geomechanics in his talk, “Closure Stress Gradient Estimation of the Marcellus Shale from Seismic Data.” Joel will review what closure stress is, why it is important in a play like the Marcellus, and how it can be estimated with seismic data prior to drilling by deriving Poisson’s Ratio. in order to provide outputs that are of use to integrated asset teams in unconventional plays. Geophysicists have consolidated their efforts in four primary areas: prediction of 8

anisotropy from full-azimuth data, prediction of rock properties along the Vfast azimuth, prediction of the three principal stresses, and fracture characterization. Petrophysics and rock physics are linked to geophysics early in the workflow, enabling in-situ rock properties to be tied to the seismic response. Then, these data are integrated with engineering data such as completions data, production data, and microseismic. The result is a fully integrated suite of deliverables that enables the entire asset team to make informed, intelligent decisions on the best course of action in prospect development. 3-D reservoir characterization m et h o d s a r e t h e fo c u s o f a p r e s e n t a t i o n by G a b i n o Castillo, Hampson Russell – CGGVeritas, entitled “Seismic Reservoir Characterization in Resource Shale Plays: Sweet Spot Discrimination and Optimization of Horizontal Well Placement.” Gabino’s talk will cover the Haynesville Shale of Louisiana, and discuss geohazards in addition to advances in pre-stack data analysis for determining and predicting lithology, rock strength, and stress fields in the reservoir section. While drilling the sweet spots is a main target of his work, Gabino will go the additional step of calibrating differential horizontal stress to field observations, yielding stress field predictions such as fracture initiation pressure and closure pressure, valuable during the completion stage of the fracture stimulation process. The reliability February 2012

Lead Story

OUTCROP

through co-rendered multi-attributes, and pre stack impedance inversion – all for the purpose of deriving important geologic and engineering parameters from the 3-D data. Re g i s t r a t i o n i s n o w o p e n through either RMAG or DGS, or via the 3-D Symposium website (www.3dseismicsymposium.com). This program has sold out in the past, so make sure to register early and take advantage of the early registration discount. Several of this year’s scheduled speakers have won the “Best Presentation Award” in past 3-D Symposiums, as voted on by the attendees, and this year’s slate of presentations looks to be highly informative and well-worthwhile. If you are interested in providing corporate sponsorship for this event, please contact sponsorship director Jim Folcik at Jim_Folcik@eogresources. com for more information on corporate sponsorship programs.

CONTACTÊUS

Energy will present “Understanding and Predicting Fayetteville Shale Gas Production Through Integrated Seismic-to-Simulation Reservoir Characterization Workflow.” John will demonstrate a reservoir model that is the product of integrating all well logs, petrophysical analysis, image data, cores, stimulations, production data, microseismic and 3-D seismic data, history matching the production profiles from multiple wells to understand the key production drivers. A dual-porosity simulation model was developed, with key production drivers being items such as matrix quality, natural fractures, and net gas porosity. The model is then available for use in predicting production performance and drilling locations. This presentation has been previously given at the 2011 SPE Meeting, and demonstrates an important synergy between 3-D seismic and engineering data. Work from the University of Oklahoma will be presented in a talk by Nabanita Gupta and Kurt Marfurt entitled “Calibrating Multi-scale Information for the Characterization of a Gas Shale.” The reservoir of focus for this talk is the Devonian-Mississippian Woodford Shale of Oklahoma, an emerging gas shale play. Despite the low vertical resolution of the seismic data compared to the centimeterscale vertical heterogeneity of gasshales, seismic analyses integrated with core and well-logs allows one to perform systematic reservoir characterization of such plays. Nabanita will discuss numerous seismic attributes and specialized volumes, including cur vature, coherency, reflector rotation with respect to vector normal, stratal slices

of these estimates has been addressed by incorporating triaxial core measurements. Also provided are relative production estimates by combining geomechanical and stress properties to estimate porosity, shale and carbonate content, and water saturation. Sweet spots are also the objective with Murray Roth of Transform Software, and his South Texas presentation entitled “Sweetspot Mapping in the Eagle Ford with Multi-Volume Seismic Analysis.” Seismic data are essential for understanding detailed geologic constraints in the play, including fault locations, fracture trends and orientation, and rock fracturing characteristics. Murray will show how new seismic fault attributes are used to identify the major fault trends that have affected production in certain historic wells. Seismic curvature and azimuthal seismic analysis, for anisotropy modeling, are combined to map natural fracture trends and density – which are thought to aid well performance. Elastic inversion is used to create derivative volumes of Young’s Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio and rigidity; to aid in the understanding of the rock response to hydraulic fracturing. Sweet spot trends can be mapped by combining the most useful seismic attributes in an integrated multi-variate statistical analysis, and this is taken a step further by including the engineering and regional geologic trends that contribute to well performance variation. This form of integrated multi-variate statistics reveals regional and detailed sweet spot trends, as well as indicators of optimal engineering parameters in the Eagle Ford play. John Jeffers of Southwestern

www.rmag.org

President’s Column By Pete Varney

Energy Units and Equivalents When I heard the USGS news estimating that there are approximately four billion barrels of technically recoverable oil in the Bakken in the Williston Basin, I wondered just how much energy that represents - that led to looking up energy unit equivalents. In the simplest terms, if the Bakken were the only energy source we use in the US, and of course it isn’t, four billion barrels would supply our needs for 200 days. Impressive. This is based on a daily consumption of 20 million barrels oil equivalent (see the AGI figures in Earth Magazine). Hmmmmm . . . what would it take to produce that much energy with other fuel sources such as coal? Bear with me as I lay the groundwork here – and let me point out that this discussion is strictly about energy content, not about how we use the products. The basic unit of energy used in many places is the BTU or British Thermal Unit. So what is a BTU? It is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Ironic, isn’t it, that the Brits have gone metric but we haven’t. Still the BTU is a common unit of energy in the upstream petroleum industry. In engineering terms, 1 BTU = 1,055 joules. One Joule in the MKS (meter-kilogram-second) system is equal to the force of one Newton acting through one meter. We’re starting to see a relationship here between energy and

work and work is what it’s all about. After all, one Watt represents one Joule of energy per second (about a thousandth of a BTU per second). Now, one cubic foot of an average dry natural gas contains 1,000 BTUs energy value. In the power industry, you may hear the term “therm” and a therm is 100,000 BTUs; it is the amount of energy yielded by burning 100 cubic feet of natural gas. The power industry is far more concerned with how many cubic feet it is selling you than the energy content of the gas! A barrel of average crude oil, has the energy equivalent of 5,800 cubic feet of dry natural gas, or 5,800,000 BTUs. Now we’re starting to get somewhere. Doing the simple math we see that the Bakken’s four billion barrels of crude represents 23.2 quadrillion BTUs. A pound of the average bituminous coal yields 10,000 BTUs per pound so the equivalent amount of coal is 2.32 trillion pounds or 1.16 billion tons. The average coal unit train of bituminous carries 10,000 tons of coal so it would take 116,000 unit trains to haul that much coal. Very approximately, one unit train carries sufficient coal to power a 750 MWe (megawatt electric) power plant for one day. This figure comes from averaging various sources including Xcel Energy and the University of Wyoming. One MWe will power between 600 and 1,000 homes – the average seems to be about 750.

The power industry is far more concerned with how many cubic feet it is selling you than the energy content of the gas! A barrel of average crude oil, has the energy equivalent of 5,800 cubic feet of dry natural gas, or 5,800,000 BTUs.

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

President's Column

different, and to an extent, exclusive approximate and dependent upon uses. While crude oil has great value the energy quality of the starting when refined into fuels, lubricants materials. There is much room for and petrochemical feedstocks, coal error. Still, I think we can conclude is mostly used for heat generation that the total energy content of the – it would be difficult to fly a plane Bakken Formation is roughly equal to using coal. From a strictly heat energy the energy content of one year’s coal standpoint coal may be the backup consumption. energy source of the future, in spite of I’ll start to talk about EROI and its well known disadvantages, unless other energy sources next time. other sources come into play. Neil H. Whitehead, III This entire Consulting Geologist discussion uses PhD CPG-AIPG PG WY averages: average petroleum BTUs, average dry gas Rocky Mountain Basins BTUs and average Wellsite to Petroleum Systems ArcGIS coal BTUs. Clearly 303-679-8573 fax 303-679-8574 neil3@q.com t h e c a l c u l a te d Conifer, CO 80433-9610 31634 Black Widow Way results are

Therefore, a 750 MWe power plant will supply about 500,000 homes with electricity while consuming 10,000 tons of coal per day. Incidentally, this amount of coal equates to about 200 MMCF/D. The estimated US coal consumption for 2012, according to the Energy Information Administration, is approximately 950 million tons – the amount that could be transported on 95,000 unit trains, or 260 trains per day. This represents about 19 quadrillion BTUs. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the energy in the Bakken is a little more than that yielded by one year’s total coal consumption. That’s an impressive figure that implies, if it is realized, that use of Bakken oil can reduce the amount of coal used. Of course, coal and oil have

Reflecting on Resources Key Note Speaker

Steve Natali, WPX Energy A Multi-TCF Gas Discovery, Mancos Shale Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico

Also Highlighting Bakken: Structural Influence and Well-Seismic Integration � Niobrara: Wattenberg, Silo, and more � Woodford: Use of Curvature to Highlight Subtle Fault Blocks � Fayetteville: Seismic Reservoir Characterization � Haynesville: Sweet Spot Discrimination � Eagle Ford : Statistics to Predict Production � Marcellus: Geomechanics and Microseismic �

Friday, March 2, 2012 DOWNTOWN MARRIOT T CITY CENTER HOTEL DENVER, COLORADO R E G I S T R A T I O N I S O P E N A T:

www.3dseismicsymposium.com

Sponsored by Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists & Denver Geophysical Society OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

Colorado Geological Survey Announces New Denver Basin Publication

The Mineral and Energy Economy in Colorado – Legislative Reception February 21, 2012 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. University Club 1673 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado Contact: American Institute of Petroleum Geologists www.aipgcolorado.com Larry Cerrillo: 303-674-6484 Vol. 60, No. 12

SYSTEMS

Logs Since 1971

www.mjlogs.com

6 MILLION LOGS

a poster showing bedrock geology of the Denver Basin, stratigraphic column, cross section, and facies distribution from late Cretaceous through Eocene time (donate one to your child’s school). Illustrations include block diagrams and the wonderful DMNS oil paintings showing evolution of landforms and landscapes through time. All in living color! A hard copy report accompanies the three plates. Striking detail is provided by .pdfs of each map and cross section. The accompanying DVD contains shape files, .pdfs of the maps, .kmz files for Google Earth, and Excel files of tops. To order this publication by Marieke Dechesne, Bob Raynolds, Peter Barkmann, and Kirk Johnson, visit http://geosurveystore.state. co.us/p-1165-bedrock-geologystructure-and-isopach-thicknessmaps-of-the-upper-cretaceousto-paleogene-strata-betweengreeley-and-colorado-springs-colorado.aspx, or call 303-8662611, option 0.

Colorado Geological Survey’s new publication, “Denver basin geologic maps: bedrock geology, structure, and isopach maps of the upper Cretaceous to Paleogene strata between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado” contains data and maps that could be of interest to folks in the oil and gas industry. The report includes structure maps of Top Niobrara, Pierre Ash, Fox Hills, Laramie, and D1. Isopach maps include Top Niobrara to Pierre Ash, Top Pierre Ash to Top Fox Hills, Laramie Formation, and D1; as well as three, east-west basin cross sections . Also included are three fandistribution maps. The centerpiece is

ERED

EGIST DEPTH R

INTER

ADS

NLO W O D T

SEARCH AND

TH FILTER BY DEP

RCH A E S LINE

th u e l S Log re a w t f So

OWN THE LOG

CLUB WEB WEB CATALSOITE GUE

1-800-310-6451 February 2012

Digging for PayDirt By Ann Preistman

A very large amount of useful information is available on the internet and beyond, but learning how to drill down to the most search-specific information in a timely manner can become a quagmire. As former publisher of “Unconventional Natural Gas Report”, current editor of Hart Energy’s UGcenter. com and a reference librarian at Arapahoe Community College, I am constantly searching for and evaluating information. Granted, my first tool is usually the internet but it is only one of many in my tool kit. Search Engines Google has become such a prominent search engine that it can now be considered a verb, to “google” a person, for example, is to search for all the information you can find about a particular person. However, as I tell our students in research classes, don’t rely on only one search engine. There are many others available such as Yahoo, Bing, Ask, Yippy, etc. For sciences there is a particularly good search engine called Scirus. This is a scientific research tool that searches journal content, scientists’ webpages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information. While helping a student recently find a particular article about youth and body building I tried my trick of putting the title in quotes into google hoping to find the article free, hidden somewhere in Google’s vast domain. No luck, but doing the same search in Scirus we found the full text article at no charge. Most people know to put phrases in quotes when searching but in conjunction with that you can quickly perform Boolean searches in Google by using the +, -, or (..OR..). You can also use the ~ to search synonyms. One of the most important search tips for students is being able to limit a Google search to specific domains by putting in all search terms then adding site: .gov or .edu for example, limiting the search to government or educational sites. You can also see links to any site by adding link: before the web address. Or you can find related sites by using related:URL or even limit the search to certain file formats by using filetype:pdf or removing OUTCROP

file types by using –filetype:pdf. For general searching elements I tell my research students to come up with as many keywords to describe their topic as they can. Start general, use subject terms to get more specific and utilize Boolean searching to its fullest capacity. Google is always changing and updating its options. Now you can actually limit your search to the most recent by clicking on past year and then limiting to most recent first. The more option has other convenient ways to limit your searching. Other Google options include news and images. News alerts can be easily set up and sorted by date. In addition to locating great images, sometimes images can be good pathway to back track into excellent websites. Google books and scholar can be useful for the public who do not have access to other databases. For students, however, databases with full text peer-reviewed articles that include citation information are more useful than Google. I have used googledocs but found problems sharing an excel file-- there was a lengthy process for Continued on page 14 »

www.rmag.org

Digging for PayDirt Continued from page 13

adding links, and once the document was downloaded all the links were lost. Now I use Dropbox and so far it works like a charm. Petroleum Industry Resources Information specific to the petroleum industry includes free information from state geologic surveys, oil and gas commissions and industry organizations. There is a wealth of unique information on company websites, both from operators and suppliers. Newspapers, especially, can provide otherwise hard-to-find information, especially on private companies. Finally, there are some excellent fee databases and websites that provide valuable information that would otherwise take you hours or days to find or develop on your own. When working on a new feature such as the Mississippi Lime or the Tuscaloosa Shale I find that state agencies have the most reliable data. However, when comparing plays, or plays that fall into more than one state, looking at a more comprehensive database like IHS makes sense. I don’t have access to the expensive production database which is an awesome resource But there is an option to look at the US database for a reasonable monthly fee. Within this database there are an incredible number of search options. You can search completions, spuds and permits by date. Searches can be limited by operator, field, basin, state, county, etc. You can even limit by hole direction, a popular request at present. The production part of the database has similar abilities including producing zone, active

producer, type of producer, etc. Any full content will cost more, but for getting general counts I find this very useful. For breaking news, alerts can be set up with Google and Yahoo, for example. Rigzone also has searchable news archives that can be very handy. Subscription services like Hart Energy’s UGcenter.com, Oil and Gas Investor.com, and Platts, to

when I prepare bibliographies I have to do more digging. A good starting point is the AAPG library, where I go to research tools and the payfor-view database. Since I am just preparing a bibliography and not actually downloading the articles there is no cost. I can word search in the title and get some good results. Then it’s a matter of cutting, pasting, and typing. I also go to SPE OnePetro where I can search the same way as in AAPG. Not to be overlooked is the GeoRef Preview database. The complete database is not available for free, but many of the more current articles are listed here. I also do the same sort of searching on the USGS and DOE/ EIA websites. You can also search the internet and add bibliography or references to your search and frequently get some good data. Finally, when I find a good article I look at the references at the end and include appropriate ones in my bibliography. Baker Hughes, Smith International and Rigdata all provide excellent rig counts in various forms. Brokers and investment companies cover many of the major operators and service companies and publish in-depth research within the industry. Some provide good news releases and detailed reports to clients, sometimes even to the public in general. Tr a n s c r i p t s f ro m i nv e s t o r presentations with question-andanswer sessi ons can provi de some great data. Seeking Alpha is an excellent site to find these transcripts. Pictures can be worth a thousand words. At GTI I belonged to a group

Not to be overlooked is the GeoRef Preview database. The complete database is not available for free, but many of the more current articles are listed here.

Vol. 60, No. 12

name some of the best, do a great job sifting through news releases to bring subscribers timely and appropriate news. Company websites provide a wealth of information. In the UGcenter. com Databank, for example, links are provided to company websites, most current quarterly report, annual report and investor presentations. These areas can provide valuable insight into a company’s activities. Looking at news tabs can give you good history of the company. Many companies, especially service providers, also give access to articles and papers written by or about the company. Without direct access to the more expensive databases like Petroleum Abstracts and GeoRef, 14

February 2012

Digging for PayDirt

Libraries Most of my searching is done on the internet but I am a librarian and you should not overlook the importance of libraries for research. Government libraries like the EPA and USGS maintain collections of their works as well as other industry publications and are available to the public. Academic libraries like the Colorado School of Mines and Auraria have large geologic and engineering collections and access to databases like GeoRef. While not available to the public off campus, you can go to the library in person and access their data.

OUTCROP

Finally, there are public libraries. Large public libraries like Denver Public, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County and others have subscriptions to databases like EBSCOHost that can be accessed from home once you have a library card. The larger the library the more databases it will have, and once you have a card at one it is a simple matter to show your Denver Public card and get an additional sticker for another library system. You can do an Interlibrary Loan for any book worldwide from a public library. Additionally, many belong to a system called Prospector where you can get books from other Colorado and Wyoming libraries quickly and directly from your own computer. This means you can go into Prospector from any computer through your local library and have a book sent to the participating library of your choice. If you want a book from Colorado School of Mines, for instance, you can have it sent to your local public library such as Columbine. Corporate libraries in Denver within the petroleum industry are practically non-existent. Houston still has many libraries in main corporate headquarters, however. Utililze the expertise of those librarians if you

are fortunate enough to have one. In Denver, we have Denver Earth Resource Library downtown with a growing inventory of books in addition to all the logs. Last time I used them they also had a subscription to IHS. Well worth the price of admission! Publications There are a wealth of industry publications depending on your area of interest. More publishers are going to online only. Hart Energy, for example, still publishes hard copies of E&P, Oil and Gas Investor, A&D Watch and a new Midstream magazine. But online it publishes many reports and articles that are accessed online only. The UGcenter. com is an online resource only and most of its articles, databases and features are only available on the website. Oil and Gas Journal now comes out only once a month. American Oil and Gas Reporter is an excellent resource for $80 a year that heavily covers independents and unconventional resources. SPE publications still come out once a month. I used to subscribe to International Journal of Coal Geology

called Society of Competitive Intelligence Professional (SCIP). The group consisted of a few librarians, lots of MBAs and ex-CIA people through which I gleaned some great searching techniques. Pictures can tell you a lot about what a company is doing. Pictures of rigs, equipment, time of year, place can provide interesting insights. Images are a good reason to look at pdfs where articles will have all the associated graphics and page numbers. Question–and-answer sessions are another important source for unpublished data.

Continued on page 16 »

www.rmag.org

Digging for PayDirt Continued from page 15

Basin you want to be sure to check the Railroad Commission and the Permian Basin associations and local newspapers. Finally don’t neglect the obvious. Attend local, regional and national meetings and conventions. Pick up the phone or email a colleague instead of spinning your wheels on the internet. A colleague at Hart needed current information on the Woodford

shale. Rather than spending hours searching the internet I emailed Brian Cardott and the Oklahoma Geologic Survey asking for suggestions and he was back to me quickly with data and a link to a presentation he had recently given at an industry function. This approach saved lots of time and quickly provided the needed information.

which was substantially discounted as an AAPG DEG member. AAPG publishes the Explorer and Bulletin which are invaluable to geologists. Numerous other publications exist frequently associated with industry groups. Our own Outcrop has excellent articles on various energy and petroleum topics. So do most other professional organizations. So, if you’re interested in the Permian

CALL FOR PAPERS: THE MOUNTAIN GEOLOGIST

ATTENTION Geologists, Earth Science Professors and Graduate Students Publish your Paper in The Mountain Geologist!

The Mountain Geologist is RMAG’s peer-reviewed, quarterly journal. It focuses on the geology of the Rocky Mountain area of the United States and related topics from outside the Rocky Mountain area. We accept manuscripts from almost every subdiscipline in the geosciences, from authors in academia and industry. Share your ideas, experience and wisdom! The Mountain Geologist circulates to over 2200 members and about 200 university libraries and industrial associates. It has been published by RMAG since 1964. Please email manuscripts or suitability questions to Joyce Trygstad Nelson at jtpetr@aol.com or Mel Klinger mel.klinger@fidelityepco.com . Manuscripts must be written in accordance with The Mountain Geologist Authors Style Guide, available online at www.rmag.org.

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

Spring PTTC Workshops Pervasive Tight Gas Reservoirs: Classroom and Core Workshop Thursday-Friday, March 8-9, 2011 USGS Core Facility, Lakewood, CO Fee: $450, includes food at breaks Instructor: Larry Meckel and John Kuhla

Class will combine classroom learning with hands on work with core. The first day will be spent discussing the geology of different deposition environments and learning to recognize their log signatures. The last day will be spent looking at examples from the Rocky Mountain basins. This 2-day course at the Denver USGS Core Facility will address some of the basic concepts and tools we use to recognize, map, and evaluate these pervasive tight gas reservoir systems. These resource plays have been around a long time (therefore lots of good data), are still being aggressively developed (downsized), and are the focus of new exploration (one very new play may well become the largest gas field in the U.S.). So even though gas prices are depressed, these plays have not gone away and are still very much on the industry’s radar screen. The instructors have over 70 years of combined experience in these plays. They will address concepts, useful techniques, and problem areas on the first day via lectures and use the second day to look at a variety of outstanding cores from fields in four Rocky Mountain basins.

Low Resistivity, Low Contrast Pay

Monday-Tuesday, March 12-13, 2012, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Billings Petroleum Club, Crowne Plaza Hotel Billings Montana Fee: $450 MGS members, $475 non-members, includes food at breaks, and class notes Instructor: John T. Kulha, Petrophysical/Petroleum Engineering Consultant

This course will provide a proven methodology to identify and evaluate low-resistivity, low-contrast (LRLC) pays as seen in modern wells or as potential bypassed pays in old wells. World-wide examples from productive LRLC reservoirs are presented. The following aspects of LRLC pays will be covered: The first half of the workshop concentrates on general concepts and methodology to evaluate low-resistivity, lowcontrast (LRLC) pays. The second half of the course is focused on examples. Participants are encouraged to bring non-proprietary examples that can be discussed in this session.

GeoGraphix Training: An Overview and Refresher Course Friday, March 23, 2012, 8:30 am – 5 pm, Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall Rm. 201 Fee: $250, includes food at breaks, workbook, and PDH certificate. Instructor: Fred Poland, Littleton, CO

This full-day hands-on computer training course is designed for the person who has had some past experience with GeoGraphix and would like to get some basic training in the functionality of the newest version. It may also serve as a demo for those considering the purchase of GeoGraphix. GESxplorer and PRIZM modules will be utilized. New users will acquire tips and tricks to create projects, maps and cross sections, employ zone manager, perform multi-well log analysis, and more

Class Descriptions and Register Online: www.pttcrockies.org For more information, contact Mary Carr, 303.273.3107, mcarr@mines.edu

OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

Luncheon Program â&#x20AC;&#x201C; February 15th

Are Shales Really that Dull? Shining Light into Dark Places and the Effects of Opening Pandora's Box. By Joe H.S. Macquaker,Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Canada, February 15, 2012

Fine-grained sedimentary rocks are currently the subjects of a great deal of research. In spite being very common they are poorly known, relative to other sedimentary rock types.

Fine-grained sedimentary rocks are currently the subjects of a great deal of research. In spite being very common they are poorly known, relative to other sedimentary rock types. Most geologists consider them to be the product of deposition in low energy environments, and if they are source rocks, below anoxic bottom waters. Recent petrographic studies of marine mudstones have shown that they are typically organized into very thin, sharp based beds and commonly contain a wide variety of micro-sedimentary structures including: gutter casts, compacted ripples, triplet fabrics, organo-minerallic aggregates, aggregate grains and diminutive burrows. The presence of these fabrics forces a radical reappraisal of the conditions under which they were deposited and the processes responsible for organic carbon enrichment of the sediment. Using micro textural data derived from classic fine-grained successions e.g. Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Mancos Shale, Whitby Mudstone Formation and Marcellus Shale, the sedimentological processes responsible for mudstone deposition in these units will be reviewed. The presence of a wide diversity of micofabrics suggest that prior to being sedimented the components of the mudstones were: a) delivered to the seafloor as organo-

Luncheon Reservations And Information Luncheons will be held at the Marriott City Center at California and 17th St. Please check the event listing in the lobby for the room. People gather at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at 12:00 noon, and the speaker presentation begins at about 12:20 p.m. The price of the luncheon is $30.00. Checks should be made payable to RMAG. No reservation is required for the talk only and the cost is $5.00. Please make your reservation prior to 10:30 a.m. on the Monday before the luncheon. Please Note: If you make a reservation and do not attend the luncheon, you will be billed for the luncheon. Cancellations are not guaranteed after 10:30 a.m. the Monday before the talk. You may send someone in your stead.

Your attendance is welcomed and encouraged. Bring a guest or new member! Vol. 60, No. 12

CALL 303-573-8621 February 2012

Luncheon Programs minerallic aggregates and b) then dispersed both in bedload and as fluid mud by processes such as wave enhanced sediment gravity flows and geostrophic flows, prior to c) being burrowed by diminutive organisms that were living close to the sediment water interface. These data suggest that mudstones, and source rocks in particular, were deposited in much more dynamic conditions than most researchers have assumed, and that the deep water, predominantly low energy, anoxic model that is typically the default setting for interpreting their origin needs to be revisited. They also demonstrate that these rocks contain a great deal of useful, but largely unrecognized stratigraphic information, and that they reward careful study.

Âť

These data suggest that mudstones, and source rocks in particular, were deposited in much more dynamic conditions than most researchers have assumed, and that the deep water, predominantly low energy, anoxic model that is typically the default setting for interpreting their origin needs to be revisited.

www.aapg.org/longbeach2012 It all adds up to one blockbuster event! 11 short courses 19 field trips 400+ oral presentations 700+ poster presentations 200+ exhibitors

OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

New Members

Welcome to New Active Members... Carrie Cazes Carrie is a Geologist at the Great Western Oil and Gas Company located in Denver, CO.

Steve Kerschbaum Steve is a Geophysicist for LMKR GeoGraphix located in Denver, CO.

Blake Greene Blake is currently employed at Basic Energy Service Company located in Brighton, CO.

Carrie Steed Carrie is currently employed at Petroleum Field Services located in Denver, CO.

Murray Grigg Murray is the CEO of Kerogen Exploration located in Houston, TX.

Shannon Osterhout Shannon is a Geologist at Pioneer Natural Resources located in Denver, CO.

Jeromy McChesney Jeromy is a Geoscience Technician at Liberty Resources located in Denver, CO.

Stephen Martin Stephen is currently employed at Baker Hughes located in Denver, CO.

Richard Olson Richard is a Technical Analyst for Geographix located in Westminster, CO.

In the Pipeline February 14, 2012 Desk and Derrick Luncheon. For reservations, please contact RSVP@deskandderrick.org.

February 22, 2012 Oilfield Christian Fellowship Luncheon. To RSVP call Barb Burrell at 303-675-2602 or e-mail OCFDenverChapter@pxd.com.

February 15, 2012 RMAG Luncheon. AAPG Distinquished Lecturer, Joe H.S. Macquaker. “Are shales really that dull? Shining light into dark places and the effects of opening Pandora's Box.” Please note, time 4:00 P.M. with social hour afterward.

February 28, 2012 RMS-SEPM Luncheon. Speaker David Pyles. “Quantitative Relationships Between Sinuosity and Symmetry in Deepwater Channels.” For reservations call 303-572-3550 or go to Luncheons@rmssepm.org.

February 21, 2012 DWLS Luncheon. For reservations, call Jennifer Bartell at 303-770-4235.

March 8-9, 2012 PTTC Short Course. “Pervasive Tight Gas Reservoirs.” Course will be held at CSM and the USGS Core Facility. Visit www.pttc.org.

February 22-24, 2012 NAPE Expo. Houston, TX.

If you have any events that you would like to post in this column, please submit via email to Holly Sell at hsell@nobleenergyinc.com or to the RMAG office at rmagdenver@aol.com for consideration.

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

/FVSB+FU

NeuraLaserColor

Neuralog Printing Solutions Reliable Log Printing

/FVSBMPH QSPWJEFT QVSQPTF CVJMU XFMM MPH QSJOUJOH TPMVUJPOT 4FUUJOH UIF TUBOEBSE GPS SFMJBCJMJUZ BOE FÃ³DJFODZ JO UIF JOEVTUSZ BVUPNBUJDBMMZ MPBE QSJOU UPQ PG GPSN DVU BOE TUBDL FWFSZ MPH *ODMVEFE /FVSB7JFX1& QSPWJEFT WJFXJOH FEJUJOH BOE QSJOUJOH PG JOEVTUSZ TUBOEBSE MPH GPSNBUT " EFNP XJMM TIPX ZPV XIZ DPNQBOJFT BMM PWFS UIF XPSME IBWF DIPTFO /FVSBMPH t "VUPNBUFE QBQFS IBOEMJOH t 5PQ PG GPSN MPH QSJOUT t /FVSB7JFX1& JODMVEFE t 0OF ZFBS XBSSBOUZ JODMVEFE t 6OTVSQBTTFE TVQQPSU

www.Neuralog.com

Âª /FVSBMPH t XXX OFVSBMPH DPN t t

OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

The Outcrop Needs YOU! We need articles for the Outcrop. Have you attended a great lecture or read an interesting new geology or energy book? Have you attended a class or gone on a field trip that would interest the membership? Have you learned a new technique or found some great public domain software? Share your research so we can grow together. We are looking for articles about the new water laws, basin modeling on the “cheap,” new geologic trails or programs, legislative concerns, new technology. Please submit your ideas or articles and photos to: Josh Robbins Kristine Peterson Cat Campbell Holly Sell

staff@rmag.org k.peterson@laramidegeo.com Catherine.e.campbell@gmail.com HSell@nobleenergyinc.com

Please be sure to include a phone number and make sure our emails are white listed. We have had a few submissions that we wished to run but we could not reach the submitters by email and had no other contact information.

YOUR AD HERE

North America’s Next Big Light Oil Resource Play

(Professional Card Ad Size)

Only $144.00 per year

Sanish/Three Forks Canadian Discovery’s Three Forks Project confirms the excellent development potential of this impressive unconventional reservoir.

5 oil play types ranging from unconventional resource plays to more conventional subcrop plays are identified. Contact Cheryl Wright to Subscribe 403.269.3644 | info@canadiandiscovery.com

www.canadiandiscovery.com

Saskatchewan

Bakken Studies

Manitoba

For Independents and Small Companies

STUDY AREA

Montana North Dakota

Wyoming

• •

South Dakota

Jack Bowler – Bowler Petrophysics, Inc. 303 860 1641 www.jlog.biz jack@bowler-petrophysics.com

Canadian Discovery Ltd. Vol. 60, No. 12

JLog® Petrophysical Software Consulting and Training

February 2012

UPCOMING

EDUCATION SCHEDULE Last Chance January 20, 2012 2:00 p.m., CST

E-Symposium: Eagle Ford Shale Prospecting with 3D Seismic Data within a Tectonic and Depositional System Framework. Online

February 13-17, 2012 Earlybird discount expires January 9th!

Winter Education Conference Houston, Texas

Short Courses Basic Well Log Analysis Austin, Texas

March 26-30, 2012

Practical Salt Tectonics Austin, Texas

March 28-30, 2012

April 21-22, 2012

Shale Gas Reservoir Assessment Long Beach, CA (with AAPG Annual Convention)

Field Seminars March 28-29, 2012

Field Safety Course for Field Trip Leaders Houston, Texas Deep-Water Siliciclastic Reservoirs Northern California

April 27-May 2, 2012

Clastic Reservoir Facies and Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis of Alluvial-Plain, Shoreface, Deltaic, and Shelf Depositional Systems Utah

April 28-May 4, 2012

E-Symposia February 9, 2012 2:00 p.m., CST

Seismic Reservoir Characterization of U.S. Shales: An Update Online

Registration and Information: 7ROO IUHH 8 6 DQG &DQDGD RU Â&#x2021; )D[ Â&#x2021; HPDLO HGXFDWH#DDSJ RUJ 'RZQORDG D UHJLVWUDWLRQ IRUP DW KWWS ZZZ DDSJ RUJ HGXFDWLRQ LQGH[ FIP

OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

RMAG & DAPL GEOLAND SKI DAY Mark Your Calendars for Friday, March 9th!

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

Advertisers Index AAPG........................... 19, 23, 24

Innovative GeoTech....................9

Peterson Energy.........................6

Applied Geophysics................ 24

MJ Systems............................. 12

RMAG/DGS............................. 11

Banko Petroleum.................... 19

Mazzullo Energy Corp................4

Rockware................................. 27

Bowler Petrophysics............... 22

Neuralog.................................. 21

TGS..............................................2

Canadian Discovery................ 22

PTTC..........................................17

Vista GeoScience.................... 15

I.H.S.......................................... 26

Pangean Resources................ 15

Whitehead, Neil H., III............. 11

February 2012

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

RMAG 16 17 Luncheon Speaker: Joe H.S. Macquaker Oilfield 22 Christian 23 24 Fellowship Luncheon NAPE Expo, Houston TX

Desk & Derrick Luncheon

DWLS Luncheon

RMAG/SEPM Luncheon

OUTCROP

www.rmag.org

Build reservoir analyses. Watch your potential soar. IHS PETRA® provides a unique solution to integration, analysis and manipulation of geological, geophysical, petrophysical and engineering information. With easy data loading and a powerful and ﬂexible database, you can both effectively manage projects and quickly visualize results using interactive mapping, cross sections, log plots, cross plots and more—all within a single system. Superior technical support and proven integration of customer enhancements make PETRA the highest-ranked1 geological interpretation tool in the E&P industry for both reliability and accuracy and ease of use. Energy information, reﬁned. 1

Welling & Company Geological & Geophysical Software Study, 2009

Directional Well Module

3D Visualization Module

ihs.com/petra-rmag

Vol. 60, No. 12

February 2012

Not Just Software. . . RockWare. For Over 28 Years.

RockWorksÂ®

LogPlotâ&#x201E;¢

MARSÂ®

PetraSimâ&#x201E;¢

Downhole Data Management, Analysis and Visualization

Powerful, Flexible, Easy-to-Use Borehole Log Software

s 3TREAMLINED WELL MANAGER INCLUDES $EVIATED SURVEY DATA ,ITHOLOGY 3TRATIGRAPHY 0ERMEABILITY POROSITY ETC /RIENTED FRACTURES AND MORE s )NTERACTIVELY PICK FORMATION TOPS FROM RASTER E LOGS s 'ENERATE WELL LOGS CROSS SECTIONS FENCE DIAGRAMS AND STRATIGRAPHY MODELS s $ E G STRUCTURE ISOPACHS AND $ POROSITY PERMEABILITY CONTOURING AND VOLUMETRICS s &ULL RANGE AND TOWNSHIP SUPPORT

s $OZENS OF TEMPLATES AVAILABLE OR DESIGN YOUR OWN IN THE DRAWING STYLE LOG DESIGNER WINDOW

Data Processing for Airborne, Terrestrial and Mobile LiDAR Datasets

A Preprocessor and Postprocessor for TOUGH2, T2VOC, TMVOC, TOUGHREACT and TOUGH-FX/HYDRATE

$3,000

$699

s 4ABBED DATA SHEETS s )MPORT %XPORT DATA FROM ,!3 %XCEL 2OCK7ORKS s 0AGINATED AND CONTINUOUS LOGS AT ANY VERTICAL SCALE s %XPORT TO A VARIETY OF FORMATS s &REE VIEWER CAN BE DISTRIBUTED TO CLIENTS

s BIT SUPPORT FOR ALL 7INDOWS OPERATING SYSTEMS s #APABLE OF LOADING ,I$!2 ,!3 IMAGERY 2'" AND HYPERSPECTRAL AND ')3 VECTORS s 3UPPORTS 7-3 IMAGERY INCLUDING "ING -APS s "ATCH GENERATE $%-S AND ELEVATION CONTOURS s !UTOMATED AND MANUAL ,I$!2 l LTERING TOOLS s !LLOWS MULTI CORE PROCESSING FOR MORE EFl CIENT USE OF 0# HARDWARE s $ COORDINATE TRANSFORMATION SUPPORT FOR ,!3 l LES HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL

$4,995

s -ODEL MULTI COMPONENT m UID m OW HEAT TRANSFER AND REACTIVE TRANSPORT PROCESSES s 3ATURATED AND UNSATURATED CONDITIONS s &RACTURED AND POROUS MEDIA s -ESH GENERATION PARAMETER DEl NITION AND DISPLAY OF RESULTS s .OW SUPPORTS 4/5'( -0 PARALLEL VERSION OF THE 4/5'( SIMULATOR s !PPLICATIONS INCLUDE GEOTHERMAL STUDIES CARBON SEQUESTRATION CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT MODELING VADOSE ZONE HYDROLOGY AND MORE

Call for pricing

Free trials for most of our products available at www.rockware.com MapInfo ProfessionalÂ®

Â&#x2021; 27 RockWare.com

www.rmag.org

RMAG & DAPL GEOLAND SKI DAY Mark Your Calendars for Friday, March 9th!

Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 910 16th Street, Suite 1125 Denver, CO 80202