An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Reservoir Geology & Characterization
Describing Reservoirs for Field Development
Secure your spot now!
Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 3,000
Starting From
29 Nov 2027
Home Geology and Geoscience Reservoir Geology & Characterization
Reservoir Geology & Characterization
Have Questions ?
Reservoir Geology & Characterization - GG-RGC-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GG-RGC-PEA27 | 29 Nov - 03 Dec 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours Per Day |
Online |
USD |
3000 |
Need this for a group? We deliver the same course in-house — face-to-face at your location or online — tailored to your assets and team level. Contact info@peassociations.com
Boost your team's skills and your budget! Enjoy group discounts for collaborative learning. Send an inquiry to info@peassociations.com.
Reservoir Geology & Characterization
This training covers reservoir geology and characterisation. It works through reservoir data types and their integration, stratigraphic framework and correlation, facies analysis and architecture, petrophysical rock typing, reservoir quality and its distribution, heterogeneity at every scale, barriers and connectivity, dynamic data integration, and the delivery of a characterisation that supports development decisions.
Description
Reservoir characterisation converts the data from a field into a description of the rock that engineers can use to forecast production. It is not geology for its own sake: the output is a set of properties, surfaces, rock types and connectivity statements that feed a model and ultimately a development plan. The discipline lies in knowing which geological features actually affect flow, characterising those properly, and not spending effort on detail that the dynamic behaviour is insensitive to.
This training covers the full characterisation workflow. Data types are established first, covering cores, logs, seismic, well tests and production data, what each resolves and the scale gaps between them. The stratigraphic framework follows, covering correlation, layering and the surfaces that define flow units. Facies analysis and architecture are then developed, covering depositional interpretation, body geometry, dimensions and stacking, and the scale at which architecture controls flow. Petrophysical rock typing follows, covering the definition of rock types, their relationship to facies, and the pore scale basis of permeability and capillary behaviour. Reservoir quality distribution is then addressed, covering depositional and diagenetic controls and their prediction away from wells. Heterogeneity is developed systematically across scales from lamination to field. Barriers and connectivity follow. Dynamic data integration is then covered as the constraint that tests the characterisation. The training closes with delivery into modelling and development decisions.
Characterise what controls flow, not what is interesting. A reservoir contains heterogeneity at every scale from lamination to field, and only some of it affects production. A thin continuous shale that prevents vertical sweep matters enormously; a facies distinction that produces no permeability contrast matters not at all. The judgement about which features to characterise and which to average is the core skill, and it comes from understanding how the reservoir will be produced, which means talking to the engineers before the geological work is designed.
Rock types are the bridge between geology and flow. A facies scheme describes depositional origin; a rock type scheme groups rock by flow behaviour, defined by pore throat size distribution, capillary pressure character and the porosity permeability relationship within the group. The two are related but not identical, and reconciling them, establishing which facies map to which rock types and where they do not, is what allows a geological model to be populated with properties that behave correctly.
The scale gap between data types is the central practical problem. Core measures millimetres to centimetres, logs measure tens of centimetres to metres, well tests measure tens to hundreds of metres, and seismic resolves tens of metres vertically over the whole field. Properties measured at one scale do not transfer directly to another: core permeability averaged arithmetically will not reproduce well test permeability. Understanding and handling that gap through appropriate upscaling is required at every step.
Finally, dynamic data is the test. A characterisation that does not reproduce the well test permeability, the observed pressure communication and the production behaviour is wrong regardless of how carefully the geology was described. Checking against the dynamic data before the characterisation is handed over, rather than discovering the conflict during history matching, is both cheaper and more likely to produce a correct geological explanation rather than a numerical adjustment.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Integrate core, log, seismic and dynamic data and handle the scale differences
- Construct stratigraphic frameworks and define flow units
- Interpret facies and architecture at the scale that controls flow
- Define petrophysical rock types and reconcile them with geological facies
- Assess reservoir quality distribution and its depositional and diagenetic controls
- Characterise heterogeneity systematically across scales
- Identify barriers and baffles and assess connectivity
- Upscale properties appropriately between measurement scales
- Test the characterisation against dynamic data
- Deliver a characterisation that supports modelling and development decisions
The training works on an integrated field data set through the full characterisation workflow. Participants correlate and define flow units, describe and interpret core, build rock typing schemes and test them against capillary pressure and permeability data, and map reservoir quality. The resulting characterisation is tested against well test and production data, and discrepancies are resolved geologically. The output is delivered as a specification for a static model.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Characterise the features that actually control flow
- Improve rock typing and property prediction
- Reduce history matching effort through earlier dynamic testing
- Improve connectivity and barrier representation
- Deliver characterisations that modellers and engineers can use
- Build core capability for development geoscience
Participants will:
- Characterise reservoirs systematically and efficiently
- Define and defend rock typing schemes
- Handle scale differences between data types
- Test characterisations against dynamic evidence
- Deliver outputs that engineers can use
- Build the central capability of development geoscience
- Reservoir geologists and development geoscientists
- Reservoir modellers
- Petrophysicists working on rock typing
- Reservoir engineers requiring geological understanding
- Operations geologists moving into development roles
- Technical staff reviewing reservoir characterisations
- Graduate geoscientists entering development work
Module 1 - Data Types and Scales
- Core data and what it resolves
- Routine and special core analysis
- Log data and tool resolution
- Borehole image logs
- Seismic data and its resolution
- Well test data and its volume of investigation
- Production and pressure data
- Scale of each measurement
- The scale gap and its consequences
- Data integration principles
- Data quality control before characterisation
- Planning data acquisition for characterisation
Module 2 - Stratigraphic Framework
- Correlation methods and datums
- Surfaces with time significance
- Flooding surfaces and sequence boundaries
- Zone and layer definition
- Flow unit definition and its basis
- Layering choices and their consequences
- Correlation uncertainty and alternatives
- Framework in different depositional settings
- Seismic constraints on the framework
- Framework as the model skeleton
- Revising the framework with new wells
Module 3 - Facies and Architecture
- Core description and facies schemes
- Facies scheme design for reservoir purposes
- Depositional environment interpretation
- Sand body geometry and dimensions
- Architectural element analysis
- Stacking patterns and amalgamation
- Scale of architecture controlling flow
- Analogue data for dimensions
- Facies prediction away from wells
- Seismic constraints on architecture
- Architecture and its flow consequences
- Translating architecture into model inputs
Module 4 - Rock Typing
- Rock type concept and purpose
- Pore throat size distribution
- Capillary pressure measurement and use
- Petrophysical rock typing methods
- Flow zone indicator approaches
- Winland and Pittman methods
- Rock typing in carbonates and clastics
- Geological facies against rock types
- Reconciling the two schemes
- Number of rock types and practicality
- Rock type prediction from logs
- Validating a rock typing scheme
Module 5 - Reservoir Quality Distribution
- Depositional control on reservoir quality
- Grain size, sorting and texture effects
- Detrital clay distribution
- Diagenetic modification of quality
- Compaction and cementation effects
- Quality variation by facies
- Quality variation with depth
- Quality trends across a field
- Porosity permeability relationships by rock type
- Predicting quality away from well control
- Mapping reservoir quality
- Quality uncertainty and its expression
Module 6 - Heterogeneity Across Scales
- Heterogeneity scale classification
- Lamination and bedding scale
- Bed and bedset scale
- Architectural element scale
- Flow unit and zone scale
- Field and compartment scale
- Which scales affect which processes
- Permeability anisotropy by scale
- Measuring heterogeneity
- Representing heterogeneity in models
- Averaging and when it is acceptable
- Scale dependent upscaling
Module 7 - Barriers and Connectivity
- Barrier types in reservoirs
- Depositional barriers and their continuity
- Diagenetic and cemented barriers
- Structural barriers and faults
- Barrier continuity assessment
- Baffles against barriers
- Vertical against lateral connectivity
- Connectivity measurement and testing
- Net to gross and connectivity relationships
- Compartmentalisation evidence
- Barrier representation in models
- Connectivity consequences for development
Module 8 - Dynamic Integration and Delivery
- Well test permeability against log and core
- Reconciling permeability across scales
- Pressure communication evidence
- Production behaviour as architectural evidence
- Water and gas breakthrough interpretation
- Production logging and flow profiles
- Tracer data and flow paths
- Testing the characterisation against dynamics
- Resolving discrepancies geologically
- Specifying model inputs from the characterisation
- Handover to modelling and engineering
- Updating characterisation through field life
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.
