On 18 June 2015 the SPE Thailand Section joined up with SEAPEX and AAPG to host a technical meeting in Bangkok. 

First Talk

Max Podolyak, Senergy, presented the first talk on “Challenges with Clays in Sample preparation, testing and analysis.” 

Abstract

Authigenic clay minerals have an effect on the intrinsic properties of petroleum rocks (porosity, permeability, electrical properties, rock strength, etc). These effects far outweigh the percentage volume distribution which clay minerals occupy in the reservoir pore system. This presentation provides results of field studies from the North Malay Basin which clearly show that if the clay morphology within the pore network is altered in any way during core and plug preparation or during testing in the lab, or on contact with water in the reservoir, then the impact on core petrophysical properties and rock strength can be very significant. This presentation illustrates that it is essential to understand the type, amount, distribution and morphology of clays before embarking on design, planning and execution of petrophysical, reservoir engineering and geomechanical testing projects.

Bio 

Max Podolyak is a Senior Core Analysis Advisor in Senergy’s Asia Pacific headquarters located in Kuala Lumpur. He graduated with a degree in engineering geology and rock physics fromMoscow State University, Russia. Currently Max is enrolled in the Master’s degree programme in Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. Max has eight years of practical and consultancy experience in Core Analysis. He started his career working with RESLABin the UK (currently Weatherford Labs) as a special core analyst and was involved in the planning and operations of a number of major petrophysical and reservoir engineering core studies. He joined LR Senergy in 2012 as a Senior Engineer, where he regionally provides consultancy services, technical support and training to operating companies on a range of core analysis issues. Amongst others these include design, management and interpretation of core test studies, as well as integration of core analysis data with engineering software platforms.

Second Talk

Andrew L. Baker, Schlumberger, then presented the second talk on “Integrated Reservoir Characterization of a Carbonate without the benefit of Core Data.”

Abstract

Central Luconia Province is one of the world’s largest carbonate complexes, with over 200 known Miocene build-ups, created by coral reef structures growing on horst blocks. Most build-ups are gas reservoirs, but also include some oil fields. Traps are stratigraphic, as porous carbonates are encased in sealing shales. The main method used to model properties in Miocene carbonate patch reefs is a direct porosity modeling using Acoustic Impedance as a secondary variable. The lack of long cored sections in this block is the main reason for the absence of facies integration in the static model. Another challenge is the limited number of wells per patch reef, which makes the understanding of lateral facies variation very limited.

The main challenge to model these reservoirs is to characterize the distribution of the multi-scale heterogeneities, where hydraulic properties are not necessarily directly related to porosity. Accurate rock typing and porosity determination are key components for establishing porosity – permeability relationships based on rock type. The study area is located in Central Luconia Province, offshore Sarawak. The discovery well proved several hundred meters of gas column down to the gas-water contact within a Cycle IV carbonate patch reef. A complete set of logs was acquired, although no cores were available for facies identification and calibration. This case study presents a methodology to populate facies and porosity in 3D through a holistic approach to data integration and using conceptual models from field analogues.

Bio

Andy Baker holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, USA. He joined Exxon in 1990 as a petroleum engineer, working carbonate fields in the Permian Basin. He joined Schlumberger in 1997 as a petroleum engineer and has worked globally as a petro-technical expert in numerous locations. He is currently the Schlumberger technical sales/project manager for PTS GPE ASA. He is a career-long member of the Society of Petroleum Engineering. He holds a US patent in heavy oil sampling and has published 21 technical papers and journals.