An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Fractured Basement Reservoirs
Exploring and Producing From Fractured Basement
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 3,500
Starting From
29 Mar 2027
Home Geology and Geoscience Fractured Basement Reservoirs
Fractured Basement Reservoirs
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Fractured Basement Reservoirs - GG-BASE-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GG-BASE-PEA27 | 29 Mar - 02 Apr 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours Per Day |
Online |
USD |
3500 |
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Fractured Basement Reservoirs
This training covers fractured basement reservoirs. It works through basement rock types and their behaviour, weathering and the formation of basement reservoir quality, fracture systems and their origin, stress controls on fracture conductivity, charge and trap configurations, exploration methods for basement targets, well design and testing, production behaviour and the assessment of basement plays.
Description
Basement reservoirs produce from crystalline or metamorphic rock that has no primary porosity worth the name. All the storage and all the permeability come from fractures and from weathering, which means the conventional reservoir description workflow does not apply. Several major fields produce from basement, notably in Vietnam, Yemen, Venezuela and China, and the plays have a reputation for being unpredictable that reflects the difficulty of characterising them rather than any inherent randomness.
This training covers these reservoirs and how to assess them. Basement rock types and their behaviour are established first, covering granites, metamorphic rocks and volcanics and their differing responses to fracturing and weathering. Weathering and the formation of basement reservoir quality follow, covering the weathering profile, its depth and the porosity it creates. Fracture systems and their origin are then developed, covering cooling, unloading, tectonic and hydrothermal fracturing and the distinction between them. Stress controls on fracture conductivity follow. Charge and trap configurations are then addressed, since basement reservoirs are charged from adjacent or overlying source rocks in specific geometries. Exploration methods for basement targets follow. Well design and testing are then developed. Production behaviour is addressed. The training closes with play assessment.
Basement reservoir quality is concentrated in the weathering profile and in fault zones, not distributed through the rock. A weathered granite develops a profile of several tens to a few hundred metres with clay-altered, fractured and partly disaggregated rock providing both porosity and permeability, grading downwards into fresh rock. Beneath that, the permeability is confined to fracture corridors associated with faults. The productive volume is therefore a shell over the basement high plus a set of linear zones, which is a very different geometry from a layered reservoir and requires a different drilling strategy.
Charge requires a specific geometry and it is the main play risk. Basement rock contains no source material, so the hydrocarbon must come from an adjacent or overlying sedimentary section, usually a syn-rift lacustrine or marine source in the basin flanking the basement high. The charge path requires juxtaposition of the mature source against the fractured basement, commonly across a bounding fault. Where that juxtaposition exists, the play can work spectacularly; where the basement high stands above the mature source interval, the play does not work regardless of the fracture quality.
Fracture conductivity in basement depends on the present-day stress, as it does elsewhere, and basement is where the effect is starkest. Because there is no matrix contribution, a fracture set held closed by high normal stress contributes nothing, and a well that intersects many such fractures will not produce. The productive fractures are those critically stressed for shear in the current stress field, which means the stress orientation determines which fracture sets to target and therefore the optimal well trajectory. Drilling perpendicular to the dominant conductive set is the basic requirement.
Finally, well test behaviour in basement is distinctive and informative. Tests commonly show very high initial permeability-thickness from the fracture network, with a dual porosity signature where weathered or microfractured rock provides storage, and in some cases boundary effects indicating a limited fracture system. A high initial rate followed by rapid pressure decline indicates a conductive but small-volume fracture network; sustained rates indicate connection to a larger system. Interpreting these early tests correctly is what distinguishes a commercial basement discovery from a disappointing one, and the interpretation has to be done before the development is committed.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Identify basement rock types and their fracturing and weathering behaviour
- Interpret weathering profiles and their reservoir contribution
- Classify fracture systems by origin and assess their distribution
- Assess fracture conductivity from the present-day stress field
- Evaluate charge configurations and access for basement plays
- Apply exploration methods appropriate to basement targets
- Design wells and trajectories to intersect conductive fractures
- Specify and interpret well tests in basement reservoirs
- Interpret production behaviour in fractured basement
- Assess and risk basement exploration plays
The training works on data from producing and failed basement plays. Participants interpret weathering profiles and fracture data from core and image logs, assess charge configurations from basin cross sections, and design well trajectories against stress and fracture orientation data. Well test and production data are interpreted and compared against the eventual field performance.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Assess basement plays on the parameters that control them
- Evaluate charge access as the primary play risk
- Target wells at conductive fracture orientations
- Interpret basement well tests correctly
- Avoid committing to basement developments on inadequate evidence
- Recognise basement potential in existing acreage
Participants will:
- Characterise basement reservoir quality
- Assess fracture systems and their conductivity
- Evaluate charge configurations
- Design basement well trajectories
- Interpret basement well tests
- Risk basement exploration plays
- Exploration geoscientists with basement targets
- Structural geologists and fracture specialists
- Petrophysicists evaluating basement intervals
- Reservoir engineers in basement developments
- Development geologists in fractured reservoirs
- Well planners targeting basement
- Technical staff assessing basement plays
Module 1 - Basement Rock Types
- Granitic and granodioritic basement
- Metamorphic basement: gneiss and schist
- Volcanic and volcaniclastic basement
- Mineralogy and its weathering response
- Mechanical properties of basement rock
- Brittle and ductile behaviour
- Foliation and anisotropy in metamorphic rock
- Primary porosity and its negligible role
- Basement in rift and cratonic settings
- Global basement producing fields
- Rock type controls on reservoir development
Module 2 - Weathering and Alteration
- Weathering profile development
- Saprolite and its properties
- Clay alteration products
- Disaggregation and grain release
- Profile depth and its controls
- Palaeoclimate controls on weathering
- Exposure duration and profile maturity
- Porosity in weathered basement
- Permeability in weathered basement
- Hydrothermal alteration
- Alteration along fault zones
- Mapping the weathering profile
Module 3 - Fracture Systems
- Cooling joints in igneous rock
- Unloading and exhumation fractures
- Tectonic fracture sets
- Fault related fracture damage zones
- Fracture corridors and their width
- Hydrothermal veins and their fill
- Fracture mineralisation and its timing
- Fracture intensity distribution
- Fracture characterisation from image logs
- Core observation of basement fractures
- Fracture sets and their relative age
- Distinguishing conductive from sealed sets
Module 4 - Stress and Conductivity
- Stress field determination in basement
- Stress magnitudes and orientation
- Normal and shear stress on fracture planes
- Critically stressed fracture analysis
- Shear displacement and aperture
- Mineralisation and propping
- Depth effects on conductivity
- Stress rotation near faults
- Conductive set identification
- Comparison against production logging
- Implications for well orientation
- Conductivity change with depletion
Module 5 - Charge and Trap
- Source rocks adjacent to basement
- Syn-rift lacustrine sources
- Marine source juxtaposition
- Charge across bounding faults
- Vertical migration into basement highs
- Timing of charge against fracture development
- Trap configuration of basement highs
- Seal provided by overlying sediments
- Lateral seal in fault bounded blocks
- Column height and spill
- Charge access as the principal risk
- Assessing charge geometry
Module 6 - Exploration Methods
- Seismic imaging of basement
- Top basement mapping
- Imaging within basement and its limits
- Fracture detection from seismic
- Azimuthal anisotropy for fracture orientation
- Gravity and magnetic methods
- Basement composition from potential fields
- Lineament mapping from satellite data
- Field analogues and outcrop study
- Play mapping for basement targets
- Prospect definition in basement
- Risking basement prospects
Module 7 - Well Design and Testing
- Trajectory orientation for fracture intersection
- Horizontal and high angle wells
- Depth of penetration into basement
- Drilling problems in basement
- Losses in fractured basement
- Open hole against cased completions
- Formation evaluation in basement
- Logging programmes for basement
- Image logs and their value
- Well test design
- Dual porosity test signatures
- Boundary effects and system size
Module 8 - Production and Play Assessment
- Production behaviour in basement reservoirs
- High initial rates and decline
- Pressure support and aquifer connection
- Water production and its onset
- Well interference in fracture systems
- Recovery factors in basement fields
- Volume estimation in fractured basement
- Uncertainty in basement in-place volumes
- Development concept options
- Infill and sidetrack strategies
- Lessons from producing basement fields
- Screening basement opportunities
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
All course bookings made through PEA are strictly non-refundable. By registering for a course, you acknowledge and accept that all fees are payable in full and are not subject to refund under any circumstances, including changes in personal or professional commitments or partial attendance.
PEA reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to course content, trainers, or schedules where necessary, without entitling delegates to a refund. Comprehensive details of each course — including objectives, target audience, and content — are clearly outlined before enrolment, and it is the responsibility of the delegate to ensure the course's suitability prior to booking.
For any inquiries related to cancellations or bookings, please contact our support team, who will be happy to assist you.
