Student Chapter & IBA - coordinated by David Contreras
Active Dutch Student Chapters
Amsterdam SCs fieldtrip to eastern Netherlands and Germany
Cameron Heins and Karlien Meulenaars AAPG-SPE SC Amsterdam
The group of International students and Mark
Geluk in front of an outcrop of Bentheim
Sandstone near Bentheim in GermanyIn order to continue the corporation between the three AAPG student chapters from Amsterdam, Lisbon and Aberdeen we organized an excursion to one of Holland’s most interesting petroleum projects; the Schoonebeek oilfield and its outcropping formations across the border in Germany. The mixed group existed of students from Aberdeen, Lisbon, Delft, Utrecht and Amsterdam guided by Mark Geluk, a regional geologist from Shell.
To obtain an overview of the whole system we started the first day with a visit to the NAM in Assen, where we saw the cores of the excellent reservoir quality Bentheim sandstones, had lunch with young professionals and were given a lecture on the interesting current and past development of the oilfield by Daan den Hartog Jager. After that we drove through both the Dutch and German part of Schoonebeek to take a closer look at the wells and steam injectors.
We spent the night just across the border in Germany where during dinner and some drinks the mixed group of students got to know each other better.
The second day the group did what geologists do best: looking at rocks. First we examined the shales of the Wealden source rock which charges the overlying Bentheim sandstones. After that differences in thickness, amount of sequences and cementation between the observed Schoonebeek cores and the outcrops in Bentheim were addressed. Immediately the difference between the geologists from Amsterdam and Utrecht and petroleum engineers from Delft showed when the geologists tried to determine the sorting and grain size by licking the rock and the Delft students the permeability by blowing the rock.
Henk Duyverman discussing the
reservoir capacity of the Muschelkalk in
the Winterswijk Quarry.During the last stop the Muschelkalk, reservoir rock of e.g. the Coevorden and de Wijk fields, was observed in the Winterswijk quarry. This location is also considered to be a fossil heaven (by those with good eyes and loads of patience) and one lucky Scotsman managed to find footprints of a pre-Dino species. Henk Duyverman, an experienced guide to excursions in this part of the Netherlands, was so kind to lead us through the quarry.
The following quotes show the positive feedback we received from the international students:
‘Once again students from the Aberdeen chapter were delighted to be invited to a multi-chapter fieldtrip. We felt the idea of first examining the petroleum system of the Lower Saxony Basin from core, seismic and well data, before going out to examine the source rock and reservoir units in outcrop, was a novel approach and one that worked very well! This fieldtrip also expanded our knowledge of oilfield production, by considering the planning of infill wells and visiting the Schoonebeek oilfield drilling locations, pipelines and pumping stations.
The Winterswijk quarry was an exceptional place to visit, not only to examine the aspects of the Triassic Petroleum system in the Netherlands, but also to spend timing exploring for and finding dinosaur fossils!
In addition to the geology, we are very grateful for our generous hosts, for taking the time and effort to organize this wonderful trip. The opportunity to meet other geology students from across Europe is a great experience. The accommodation was great, the food was superb and the Dutch hospitality is second to none!’
Adam Mc Arthur – PhD Student, Aberdeen University
‘About the fieldtrip I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was a great chance to learn about petroleum geology and to see it in the field!
The visit to NAM’s office was one of my favorite stops. Mostly the lab when we had the chance to see the core samples and discuss them. The lunch was also a learning opportunity, and a great chance to know about the carrier of some petroleum geologists. The following stops on the Schoonebeek redevelopment zone allowed us to have a global view of what’s being done and what has been done until today.
The quarry visits where really interesting, mostly because those field examples really allowed us to have a more realistic and accurate view of the oil field as it is. I think the lunch discussion was really important was a way to “digest” all the information!
At the end, but not the least, the group of people with different backgrounds and in different stages of their carrier was also a positive part of this excursion as a way to understand how we should direct our own future.’
Ana Freitas Morna, BSc Student, University of Lisbon
The two days were ended by dinner in a Lebanese restaurant in Amsterdam and although it was only two days, a lot of new contacts were made and much new knowledge was obtained! For this we would very much like to thank the SPE NL for sponsoring us and also our two other sponsors: Shell and Schlumberger! Being such a success we hope mixed student chapter excursions will become a tradition in the future!
Kind regards,