An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Igneous & Volcanic Rocks in Petroleum Systems
Volcanics, Intrusions and Their Reservoirs
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 3,500
Starting From
01 Feb 2027
Home Geology and Geoscience Igneous & Volcanic Rocks in Petroleum Systems
Igneous & Volcanic Rocks in Petroleum Systems
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Igneous & Volcanic Rocks in Petroleum Systems - GG-IGN-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GG-IGN-PEA27 | 01 - 05 Feb 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours Per Day |
Online |
USD |
3500 |
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Igneous & Volcanic Rocks in Petroleum Systems
Description
Igneous rocks are present in a large number of petroleum basins and are commonly treated as an obstacle rather than as part of the geology. They are more than that. Volcanic rocks and volcaniclastic deposits form reservoirs in several producing provinces, intrusions provide seals and trap geometry in others, and sills have both destroyed and created source rock maturity depending on their timing and thickness. Where igneous rocks are present, they affect imaging, drilling, log evaluation and reservoir prediction, and a basin assessment that ignores them is incomplete.
This training covers these rocks from identification through to operational consequence. Igneous rock types and their classification are established first, with emphasis on recognition in cuttings and core, which is where most subsurface igneous rock is encountered. Volcanic facies follow, covering lava flow types and their internal structure, pyroclastic deposits, hyaloclastite and subaqueous volcanism, and volcaniclastic sedimentary deposits and their reservoir potential. Intrusions are then developed: sill and dyke geometry, emplacement mechanisms, contact relationships and the thermal aureole, together with the effect of intrusion on source rock maturation and on reservoir quality. Volcanic and intrusive reservoirs are covered, including weathered and fractured basement, altered volcanics and volcaniclastic reservoirs, with their porosity systems and their characterisation. Seismic imaging is addressed, including the velocity and imaging problems caused by high velocity igneous layers and the methods used to image beneath them. Log evaluation follows. The training closes with drilling, completion and operational problems.
Sill intrusion has a double effect on source rocks that depends entirely on timing and geometry. A sill emplaced into an immature source rock creates a contact aureole in which maturation is accelerated locally, generating hydrocarbons that may charge nearby traps, and the aureole can extend to roughly the thickness of the sill on either side. A sill emplaced into an already mature or overmature section adds nothing. A thick sill complex can overmature a substantial part of the section and destroy the charge. Assessing this requires the intrusion age, the sill thickness distribution and the burial history together.
Volcanic reservoirs have porosity systems unlike sedimentary reservoirs. Primary porosity occurs as vesicles, cooling fracture networks, flow top breccia and autobreccia, and interclast porosity in hyaloclastite. Secondary porosity is created by alteration and dissolution of unstable glass and minerals, and destroyed by zeolite, clay and silica precipitation. The result is extreme heterogeneity, high porosity intervals that may be poorly connected, and a near-complete disconnection between porosity and permeability. Characterisation depends on core, image logs and well tests rather than on log interpretation.
Imaging beneath basalt and other high velocity igneous layers is a known exploration constraint. A basalt sequence reflects and scatters most of the incident energy, attenuates what passes through, and generates strong multiples and converted waves. The consequence is poor or absent imaging of the section beneath, which may contain the prospective interval. Long offset acquisition, low frequency sources and specialised processing improve the result; the practical point for a geologist is that sub-basalt structural interpretation carries far larger uncertainty than a map implies.
Finally, drilling through igneous rock creates specific problems. Hard, abrasive, fractured and sometimes vuggy intervals give low penetration rates, high bit wear, torque and vibration problems, severe mud losses into fracture systems and vesicular zones, and wellbore instability at altered contacts. Drilling a sill complex of unknown thickness distribution is a substantial source of cost and schedule uncertainty, and the ability to predict igneous presence and thickness from seismic has direct operational value.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Classify igneous rocks and identify them in core and cuttings
- Interpret volcanic facies including lava flows, pyroclastic and hyaloclastite deposits
- Characterise volcaniclastic sedimentary deposits and their reservoir potential
- Interpret sill and dyke geometry, emplacement and contact relationships
- Assess the effect of intrusions on source rock maturation and charge
- Evaluate volcanic, volcaniclastic and fractured basement reservoirs
- Characterise porosity systems in igneous reservoirs and their alteration controls
- Assess the seismic imaging consequences of igneous bodies and sub-basalt imaging options
- Evaluate igneous intervals from log data and recognise the limitations
- Anticipate the drilling, completion and operational problems igneous rocks present
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Assess charge correctly in basins containing intrusions
- Recognise igneous reservoir potential where it exists
- Reduce drilling cost and schedule overruns in igneous intervals
- Assess sub-basalt prospect uncertainty honestly
- Improve log evaluation and characterisation in igneous sections
- Build capability for basins where igneous rocks are a material factor
Participants will:
- Identify and interpret igneous rocks in subsurface data
- Assess intrusion effects on source rock maturation
- Evaluate volcanic and basement reservoir potential
- Recognise seismic imaging limitations caused by igneous bodies
- Anticipate operational problems in igneous intervals
- Build capability in a commonly neglected area of petroleum geology
- Exploration geologists working in volcanic and intruded basins
- Operations and wellsite geologists drilling igneous sections
- Geophysicists interpreting basins with igneous bodies
- Reservoir geologists working on volcanic or basement reservoirs
- Petrophysicists evaluating igneous and altered intervals
- Drilling engineers and well planners facing igneous intervals
- Geoscientists entering frontier basins with volcanic sections
Module 1 - Igneous Rocks and Their Classification
- Magma generation and composition
- Intrusive and extrusive classification
- Composition: ultramafic, mafic, intermediate, felsic
- Texture and crystallinity
- Common igneous rock types in petroleum basins
- Mineral identification in igneous rocks
- Identification in cuttings and its difficulties
- Core description of igneous intervals
- Thin section petrography and geochemical identification
- Metamorphic rocks and basement lithologies in outline
- Alteration products and their recognition
Module 2 - Volcanic Facies and Deposits
- Volcanic edifice types and their settings
- Lava flow types: pahoehoe, aa, blocky
- Flow internal structure: flow top, core, flow base
- Columnar jointing and cooling fractures
- Vesicles and their distribution within flows
- Autobrecciation and flow breccias
- Pyroclastic deposits: fall, flow and surge
- Welded and non-welded ignimbrites
- Tuff and ash deposits and their correlation value
- Hyaloclastite and subaqueous volcanism
- Pillow lavas and peperites
- Volcanic facies architecture and mapping
Module 3 - Volcaniclastic Sedimentary Deposits
- Volcaniclastic classification and terminology
- Primary against reworked volcaniclastic deposits
- Lahar and debris flow deposits
- Fluvial reworking of volcanic material
- Volcaniclastic turbidites
- Glass alteration and its products
- Zeolite formation and porosity occlusion
- Clay alteration and its reservoir effect
- Volcaniclastic reservoir quality and its controls
- Distinguishing volcaniclastic from siliciclastic deposits
- Volcaniclastic reservoir examples
Module 4 - Intrusions and Their Geometry
- Sill, dyke and laccolith geometry
- Emplacement mechanisms and host rock response
- Sill complexes and their architecture
- Saucer-shaped sills and their recognition
- Transgressive sills and climbing geometries
- Dyke swarms and their orientation
- Hydrothermal vent complexes
- Forced folds above intrusions
- Contact relationships and chilled margins
- Host rock deformation and brecciation
- Intrusion age determination
- Mapping intrusions on seismic data
Module 5 - Thermal Effects and Petroleum Systems
- Thermal aureole development and extent
- Aureole width against sill thickness
- Local maturation of immature source rock
- Overmaturation and charge destruction
- Timing of intrusion relative to burial
- Hydrocarbon generation from contact metamorphism
- Gas generation and expulsion from aureoles
- Vitrinite reflectance anomalies around intrusions
- Basin modelling with intrusive heat input
- Effect of intrusions on reservoir quality
- Hydrothermal alteration and mineral precipitation
- Intrusions as seals and trap elements
Module 6 - Igneous and Basement Reservoirs
- Igneous reservoir types and their global occurrence
- Weathered and fractured basement reservoirs
- Fractured granite reservoir examples
- Altered volcanic reservoirs
- Vesicular and flow top reservoir intervals
- Hyaloclastite reservoirs
- Volcaniclastic reservoirs
- Porosity types in igneous reservoirs
- Alteration as a porosity creating and destroying process
- Fracture networks and their flow contribution
- Porosity permeability behaviour and its unpredictability
- Characterisation and development of igneous reservoirs
Module 7 - Seismic Imaging and Log Evaluation
- Acoustic properties of igneous rocks
- Seismic expression of sills and lava flows
- Energy scattering and transmission loss
- Multiple generation and its effect
- Sub-basalt imaging problems
- Long offset and low frequency acquisition
- Processing approaches for sub-basalt imaging
- Velocity modelling with igneous layers
- Depth conversion uncertainty
- Log response in igneous lithologies
- Porosity and lithology determination in igneous rocks
- Image logs and fracture evaluation in igneous intervals
Module 8 - Drilling and Operational Considerations
- Predicting igneous presence and thickness before drilling
- Penetration rate and bit selection
- Bit wear, torque and vibration problems
- Mud losses into fractures and vesicular zones
- Wellbore stability at altered contacts
- Casing design implications
- Cementing across igneous intervals
- Formation evaluation programme in igneous sections
- Coring decisions in igneous intervals
- Completion and stimulation of igneous reservoirs
- Cost and schedule contingency for igneous drilling
- Lessons from wells drilled through igneous sections
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.
