Core data is the only direct measurement of reservoir rock properties available to an engineer. Everything else, from log interpretation to saturation modeling to simulation input, depends on how well that core data was acquired, measured and interpreted. Poor quality core data, or good data used incorrectly, carries errors straight through into in-place volumes and recovery forecasts.


This workshop covers routine core analysis (RCAL) and special core analysis (SCAL) from the wellsite through to application in reservoir studies. It begins with coring methods, core handling and preservation, and the effect of each stage on measured properties. It then moves into routine measurements, porosity, permeability, grain density and fluid saturation, including how these are corrected to reservoir conditions and how core data is calibrated against log-derived properties.


The second part addresses special core analysis. Participants work through wettability and its measurement, capillary pressure data and its use in saturation-height modeling and free water level determination, relative permeability measurement methods and curve fitting using Corey and other correlations, and electrical rock properties including the determination of Archie parameters from core. Rock compressibility and its role in material balance and simulation is also covered.


Throughout the workshop the focus is on quality control: recognising unreliable measurements, understanding laboratory procedures well enough to challenge a report, and selecting representative data for rock typing and reservoir modeling. The workshop is delivered at an advanced level and is intended for reservoir engineers, petrophysicists and geoscientists who use core data in their work.

Workshop Objectives

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


Describe coring methods, core handling and preservation practices, and explain how each affects measured rock properties


Interpret routine core analysis measurements including porosity, permeability, grain density and saturation, and apply the necessary corrections to reservoir conditions


Quality-control laboratory reports and identify measurements that are unreliable or unrepresentative


Calibrate core-derived properties against log data for reservoir characterisation


Explain wettability, its measurement methods, and its influence on capillary pressure and relative permeability behaviour


Apply capillary pressure data to saturation-height modeling, free water level determination and rock typing


Interpret relative permeability measurements and fit the data using Corey and related correlations


Determine Archie parameters from electrical measurements on core samples and assess their reliability


Evaluate rock compressibility and apply it correctly in material balance and simulation studies


Select representative core data sets for use in reservoir modeling and recovery studies

About the Presenter

Eng. Hesham Mokhtar Ali


Senior Reservoir Engineer | Certified Instructor | MSc, Cairo University


Hesham Mokhtar Ali is a reservoir engineer with over 14 years of experience across operating, service and training organisations. He is currently with Kuwait Energy in subsurface development planning, working on the Yamama, Zubair and Mishrif reservoirs in the Faihaa field, Block 9, Iraq, where his responsibilities cover field development planning, reserves classification and auditing under SPE-PRMS, reservoir simulation and production forecasting. He previously spent six years as Reservoir Engineering Team Leader at General Petroleum Company in Egypt, managing Western Desert and Gulf of Suez assets.


His technical background covers material balance and decline curve analysis, pressure and rate transient analysis, integrated production modeling, waterflood management and full-field dynamic modeling. He holds an MSc in Reservoir Engineering and a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from Cairo University, and has published with SPE on permeability estimation, formation evaluation and carbonate rock typing.


Since 2020 he has delivered reservoir engineering and simulation training to Repsol, ADNOC Group, Kuwait Oil Company, OMV, SLB, Halliburton, Sonatrach, Gazprom Neft, Petroleum Development Oman and Pakistan Petroleum. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Register Now

By registering for this webcast, you are sharing your registration information with PEA and acknowledged that you have read and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. By submitting your personal information, you are agreeing that PEA may contact you via the details provided.

View More

Premium Workshop
For PEA Members Only
icon
Material Balance Modeling
November 28, 2026 - November 29, 2026
Material Balance Modeling

Material balance is one of the most direct methods available to a reservoir engineer for estimating hydrocarbons in place, identifying the drive mechanism and forecasting reservoir performance. It requires far less data than a full numerical model, and when it is set up correctly it produces results that can be defended in technical reviews and reserve audits.This workshop covers the complete material balance workflow as it is applied on producing assets. It begins by placing the reservoir within the integrated production system, then moves through data preparation and quality control, tank model construction, drive mechanism identification, and the use of analytical and graphical diagnostic tools. Participants work through the classical diagnostic plots, including Dake and Campbell, and learn how to read what each plot indicates about depletion, gas cap expansion and water influx.The second part of the workshop addresses history matching using both analytical and graphical techniques, determination of STOIIP, aquifer identification and sizing, and running prediction cases to generate production forecasts and recovery estimates. Results are compared against volumetric and simulation-based estimates so that participants understand where material balance is reliable and where a numerical model becomes necessary.The workshop is delivered at an advanced level and is intended for engineers who already work with production and pressure data and want a structured, repeatable method for in-place volumes, drive mechanism evaluation and performance prediction.