Operational biostratigraphy is the clearest case of stratigraphic work changing a decision, and it has requirements that non-operational work does not. A result needed to confirm a casing point has to be available within hours, from cuttings, with caving present, and often from a limited sample. That constrains what can be asked: identifying a well established regional marker top is achievable, while a detailed zonation is not. Specifying operational biostratigraphy means defining in advance which specific tops matter, what decision each supports, and what turnaround is required.

Sequence stratigraphy predicts facies away from wells, which is its main exploration value. Within a systems tract, facies are distributed in a known relative pattern: lowstand deposits are basinward and may include the best reservoir sands in a deepwater setting, transgressive deposits are thin and may include the condensed intervals that form seals, highstand deposits prograde and include shelf and deltaic reservoirs. Placing a well result in that framework allows prediction of what should be present at a different structural or geographic position, and it is often the only prediction available in a frontier area.

Flooding surfaces are the most useful correlation datums and often the most important barriers. A maximum flooding surface forms across a basin in a geologically short time, so it correlates reliably; it is also typically a mudstone, often with a condensed and sometimes cemented character, so it baffles or blocks vertical flow. This dual role means identifying flooding surfaces in a reservoir section simultaneously gives the layering framework and the barrier distribution, and it is why reservoir layering should follow stratigraphic surfaces rather than lithological boundaries.

Finally, communication determines whether the work is used. A stratigraphic framework presented as a zonation table and a set of correlated well sections is technically complete and will often not change anything. The same work presented as a statement of what should be present in a given undrilled location, what the barrier distribution implies for sweep, or which casing point depth is now expected, is used. The applied skill is as much about stating the decision consequence as about establishing the framework.

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

• Specify operational biostratigraphy programmes against defined drilling decisions
• Interpret real-time biostratigraphic results and apply them to operational calls
• Construct sequence stratigraphic frameworks from well and seismic data
• Predict source, reservoir and seal distribution within a sequence framework
• Apply systems tract based facies prediction to undrilled areas
• Identify and risk stratigraphic traps and their seal requirements
• Correlate parasequences and define reservoir layering on stratigraphic surfaces
• Assess flooding surfaces and condensed intervals as barriers
• Integrate stratigraphic work into exploration and development workflows
• Communicate stratigraphic results in terms of their decision consequences

Organisations sending participants to this training will:

• Improve operational decision making during drilling through better stratigraphic support
• Reduce casing, coring and target depth errors
• Improve reservoir and seal prediction in undrilled areas
• Identify and risk stratigraphic traps more effectively
• Improve reservoir layering and barrier representation in models
• Ensure stratigraphic work is timed and framed to influence decisions

Participants will:

• Specify and use operational biostratigraphy effectively
• Build and apply sequence stratigraphic frameworks
• Predict facies and reservoir presence away from well control
• Define reservoir layering on stratigraphically meaningful surfaces
• Assess barrier distribution and its sweep consequences
• Present stratigraphic work so that it changes decisions

• Operations and wellsite geologists
• Exploration geoscientists working on play and prospect evaluation
• Reservoir geologists building stratigraphic frameworks
• Stratigraphers and biostratigraphers working in operational support
• Reservoir modellers defining model layering
• Well planning and drilling geology staff
• Geoscience team leaders coordinating stratigraphic 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.