Month: February 2017

Reservoir Modeling Workshop – from seismic to simulation

The workshop was divided into three main parts, where each professional taught his area of expertise to a class of 20 students from different countries studying in Leoben in different Master- and Bachelor programs, such as Petroleum Engineering and Geology.

Mr. Haghighi giving an introduction into Petrel (Photo Credit: Thomas Herzog)
Mr. Haghighi giving an introduction into Petrel (Photo Credit: Thomas Herzog)

On the first one and a half days, Mr. Maziar Haghighi got us a perfect start with the software solution Petrel, even to those who had no idea about it. After the start was done and people got comfortable with the software, he showed us, how to import predefined time (PSTM) and depth (PSDM) domain seismic volumes and how to convert within these two using a velocity model. Setting up new Petrel projects, defining seismic horizons, mapping and adjusting the wells using different gridding algorithms were the overall goals in this time with Mr. Haghighi.

Working further on the project, coming to the static geomodeling part of the workshop, Mr. Keyvan Osivandi, Geologist at OMV, taught us, how to correlate log data with the model. We created the body via fault and horizon modeling and filled it via porosity, permeability and saturation modeling followed to volumetric calculations.

When the static part of the project was done, dynamic simulation was the topic of Mr. Nicolas Legrand. We did the initialization of the reservoir to get it to dynamic equilibrium at the start of production using initial pressure and saturation data. After the initialization process, a history match with existing data was necessary to get a good reservoir model for forecasting further processes. Based on the forecast, we could make a decision if a workover in an existing well or if an infill would be more beneficial in the field.

Working hard and having fun doing it (Photo Credit: Thomas Herzog)
Working hard and having fun doing it (Photo Credit: Thomas Herzog)

Summarized, the workshop gave us a really good start in working with the Software Petrel and renewed or even created much reservoir knowledge for students in different study programs. It was a pleasure to work with professionals from OMV who really know what they are talking about.

We would like to thank the ÖGEW for their help, without them this event would never have been possible!

Darcy Spady Visits Montanuniversitaet Leoben

At first, Mr. Spady got to see our Department of Petroleum Engineering, which he was quite impressed by. Not only was he impressed by the applied research Prof. Hofstätter and his team took the time to introduce him to, but also by our new building and the facilities in general. We also had the pleasure to show him the downstream applications of our beloved petroleum in the Department of Polymer Science, and especially, their lab facilities.

Department tour: Sepp Steinlechner, Ines Smaoui, Darcy Spady, Florian Gamperl, Prof. Herbert Hofstätter, Georg Ripperger (from left to right) in the Production Engineering Master Class
Department tour: Sepp Steinlechner, Ines Smaoui, Darcy Spady, Florian Gamperl, Prof. Herbert Hofstätter, Georg Ripperger (from left to right) in the Production Engineering Master Class

In the evening, Mr. Spady gave a motivational presentation to an audience of about 50 students. He started talking about his personal career which he says is an “example of what not to do”. However – and that is the huge motivating message behind this talk – it also shows that anything is possible, if you are willing to take chance and move out of your comfort zone. For example, he was based in an area with enormous shale layers in a time when “shale was considered garbage. It was something you’d speed up your logging tool”. Yet, he developed some kind of expertise in this area, which was then helpful for his further career.

With shale gas being a very controversial topic, this was an excellent opportunity to move to another subject Mr. Spady is very enthusiastic about, community involvement. Again, he gave an example from his personal career, where he had to drill a well on a university campus, in the middle of a city. Despite public concerns, he and his crew managed to drill the well, and even reduced the public resistance to a minimum by getting them involved, allowing them on site, and explaining what is going on. Darcy Spady says that regaining the public trust is the key to continuing our work in densely populated areas. This may not be the case for many areas of the world, but it sure is an important factor in Central Europe!

As the President Elect of SPE, our organization also had to be mentioned. Showing interest in SPE is something very rewarding. Mr. Spady especially encouraged us to write papers, and go on conferences with them. He also mentioned that we should not be afraid of being made fun of with our research work: If it makes it through the selection process, the paper has to be good! And Mr. Darcy Spady also specifically said that the level of teaching and research is very high at our university, another big encouragement to start spreading our knowledge!

Thomas Gundacker of BP during his presentation
Thomas Gundacker of BP during his presentation

The visit of Darcy Spady coincided with the traditional visit of Thomas Gundacker, a Leoben graduate working with BP. He also gave a brief talk about the world energy outlook, the role of oil and gas in the future. He also pointed out that BP is hiring students for internships and for permanent work despite the crisis. For more, visit www.bp.com/leoben

The evening was concluded with a dinner at Mensa, to which both Mr. Gundacker and Mr. Spady were invited.

We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in organizing the program, especially Prof. Hofstätter and the team at the DPE for taking the time to show our guest around, and of course, a big “Thank You!” to Mr. Gundacker and Mr. Spady for visiting Leoben. We hope you enjoyed your stay just as much as we did.