The reservoir engineering profession runs on spreadsheets, and the profession is poorly served by them. Studies of spreadsheet error rates in technical and financial work consistently find that a large proportion of models in active use contain at least one material error. Reservoir engineering workbooks are particularly exposed because they combine unit-sensitive physical calculations, correlations with limited validity ranges, iterative solutions that may not converge, and long production datasets that arrive in inconsistent formats.

What distinguishes a sound engineering workbook is not sophistication but structure. Inputs are collected in one place and entered once. Units are declared and converted in a single controlled block. Correlations carry a flag that fires when they are used outside the data range from which they were derived. Iterative solutions report their convergence status. Regressions show their residuals. Results are cross-checked against an independent method before they are reported. None of this is difficult, but it has to be deliberate, and it is rarely taught.

This course teaches it, using reservoir engineering as the working material throughout. The outcome is not a set of finished spreadsheets handed to participants but the technique to build their own, and the judgement to recognise when a model they have inherited cannot be trusted.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Structure engineering workbooks with controlled inputs, separated calculation layers and consistent unit handling
• Apply lookup, logical, array and interpolation techniques to build flexible property and data sheets
• Solve implicit reservoir engineering equations using goal seeking, controlled iteration and convergence checking
• Fit correlations and models to field data using linear and non-linear regression with proper residual analysis
• Prepare, validate and analyse large production and pressure datasets without corrupting the record
• Apply constrained optimisation to fit material balance and aquifer parameters to observed history
• Perform statistical analysis and basic uncertainty simulation on reservoir parameters
• Construct diagnostic and technical charts that support interpretation and stand up in a technical review
• Apply formula auditing, error trapping, independent verification and documentation standards to every model

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Raise the standard of the spreadsheet models on which reserves and investment decisions depend
• Establish a consistent modelling convention that lets engineers share and inherit each other’s work
• Cut the time spent rebuilding models that cannot be understood or trusted
• Shorten technical review cycles by making calculations transparent and auditable
• Reduce the risk of undetected calculation errors reaching reports and submissions
• Build an internal library of verified, reusable reservoir engineering workbooks

Participants will:

• Work considerably faster in the environment where most of their technical work already takes place
• Produce models that colleagues and auditors can follow without a walkthrough
• Identify errors in inherited spreadsheets before those errors affect a decision
• Handle regression, optimisation and large production datasets with confidence
• Present technical results in charts that are correctly constructed and clearly read
• Build a personal set of verified workbooks with lasting professional value

• Reservoir engineers with working experience of the standard calculation methods
• Production and petroleum engineers who build their own forecasting models
• Petrophysicists and geoscientists producing inputs for reservoir calculations
• Reserves and technical evaluation specialists preparing auditable work
• Simulation engineers handling pre- and post-processing of large datasets
• Engineers who have inherited legacy spreadsheets and need to validate them
• Technical supervisors responsible for reviewing and approving spreadsheet-based work

Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.

Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.