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| 2002 |
| PTTC
Review of Fractured Reservoir Issues & FRAC
FRAC
research is discussed in a recent review of fractured reservoir
research efforts sponsored by DOE. The fracture
report can be found on the Petroleum Technology
Tranfer Council (PTTC) website. |
| Predicting
Permeability Enhancement |
| Jon
Olson presented research on predicting fracture attributes and
incorporating results in fluid flow simulation at the Dallas
OilRock SPE rock mechanics symposium. Slides are posted on the
ftp site, and an account of the research can be found in the
February
2001 and August
2002 eJournal and on the FTP site. |
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An
important development of the modeling research is the
incorporation of emergent threshold as a modifier of
aperture and length distributions.
The
accompanying image shows recent scanned CL and SEI measurements
of c-axis emergent threshold (etc)
from producing sandstone in the Piceance Basin. 11/06/02 |
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In
the image, pink and light blue areas are grains, dark blue is
quartz
cement (including cement in fractures) and black areas are porosity. |
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| Student
field research projects are currently underway in the Rockies
and elsewhere. Most of these studies are also linked to subsurface
core and/or seismic data sets and studies. For more information
on opportunities for students contact Randy Marrett in the Department
of Geological Sciences or Jon Olson in the Department
of Petroleum and Geosystems Eengineering. To right,
Steve Laubach on recent FRAC field work in western Wyoming. |
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| Ecopetrol
Fractured Carbonates
Field Trip
Guided by Leonel Gomez, Alberto Ortiz and a party of scientists
from Ecopetrol recently examined fracture patterns in the
field area of northeast Mexico.
More
information on the field trip and a collection of images and
data from the trip is being provided through the "Northeast
Mexico Field Study" folder on the new case studies portal.
The
image shows the field party in northeastern Mexico. 11/06/02 |
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More
images from field trip. |
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| October
Student Presentations
Chris Hare recently presented "Analysis of fracture
clustering using the continuous wavelet transform: An example
from the Marble Falls Limestone" at the Department of
Geological Sciences.
Patricia
Montoya presented "Characterization of a Sandstone
Fractured Reservoir: From Core to 3-D Seismic Analysis"
at the Institute of Geophysics. 11/06/02 |
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Crosscutting
fractures showing crack-seal texture, Jurassic
sandstone, NE Mexico. Scanned CL image, Rob Reed.
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At
GCAGS Astrid Makowitz presented "Quantitative
measurements of brittle deformation with burial
compaction, Frio Formation, Gulf of Mexico Basin",
John Hooker presented "Origin of faults
and extension fractures in Cretaceous carbonates,
NE Mexico", and Peggy Rijken presented
"Natural fracture characterization of the Travis
Peak Formation, East Texas: Application of new rock
testing and modeling methods." All of the presentations
were excellent. John Hooker also co-chaired the
GCAGS session with Steve Laubach. |
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| At
the Department of Geological Sciences, Barbara Tillotson,
one of Bob Goldhammer's MS students, recently presented "Bed
and facies scale selectivity of late-stage dolomitization:
Lower Ordovician El Paso Group, Franklin Mountains, west Texas",
an interesting study of dolomite formation, localization,
and fracturing. We intend to arrange a FRAC field trip to
this field area soon in conjunction with our ongoing studies
of fractures in subsurface Bighorn, Ellenburger, Knox, and
Trenton/Black River reservoirs.
Leonel
Gomez will present "Fractures galore in the Sierra
Madre Oriental, Mexico" at the Department of Geological
Sciences Hard Rock seminar on November 27. 11/06/02 |
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New
Case Studies Portal Expected to Open November 2002
The new, completely revamped case studies portal of the FRAC web site
is expected to be online this month. A review of how the new portal
will work will be posted on the eJournal. 11/06/02 |
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Fractures
and Karst Reservoirs
Fractured and karsted reservoirs will be the topic of
a new study partly supported by the Department of Energy
titled "Reviving abandoned
reservoirs with high-pressure air injection: Application
in a fractured and karsted dolomite reservoir."
Bob Loucks, along with Julia Gale and Steve
Ruppel, will be leading the effort on this project,
which is an outgrowth of our ongoing studies in West Texas
fractured dolomites. This project is a good opportunity
to leverage FRAC effort on important issues in carbonate
fracture prediction, delineation, and fracture-related
fluid-flow modeling. This study also is a link to |
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other ongoing fractured carbonate studies led by Randy Marrett,
Bob Goldhammer, and Jon Olson. A synopsis will
appear shortly on the eJournal. Contact Julia
Gale for more information. 08/30/02 |
|
Student
and ex-Student Event
The
annual FRAC Student and TexasEXs Event and Picnic is tentatively
scheduled for Saturday, September 28, at Muleshoe Bend,
Texas. Members are welcome.
See Kitty Milliken,
Jon Olson,
or the Calendar (on the private side) for |
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Not
the location of the picnic. |
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directions to the location and for more information. (Bureau
alumni
page) 08/22/02
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Department
of Geological Sciences Seminar
Christopher Hare, UT-DoGS MS Candidate "Analysis of fracture
clustering using the continuous wavelet transform: An example from
the Marble Falls Limestone"
4 p.m., October 24, 2002. |
| PTTC
to Sponsor GCAGS Technical Session
The
Texas
Region PTTC will sponsor "Faults, Fractures,
and Seals," a GCAGS 2002 Convention Technical Session
chaired by Stephen E. Laubach and
Amgad Younes (Shell) scheduled for Thursday, October 31, from
1:00 to 5:00 p.m., in room 8AB of the Austin Convention Center.
The GCAGS 2002 Registration Booklet, containing details of
this session and of the entire meeting, is posted on the convention's
Website at http://www.beg.utexas.edu/gcags2002.
08/14/02 |
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| Montoya
wins Best Student Presentation Award
Patricia Montoya received a best-student-speaker award from the
Department of Geological Sciences for "Characterization of
a fractured sandstone reservoir from core to 3D seismic analysis,
Tacata Field, Eastern Maturin Basin, Venezuela." Congratulations
Patricia on winning this very competitive award. The study, which
is described further in the Reports section of the site, included
successful calibration of seismic-based fracture characterization
methods using microanalysis methods and scaling. Patricia's committee:
Drs. William Fisher, Randall Marrett, and Robert Tatham. Rene Manceda
from Repsol and several researchers from PDVSA have contributed
to this study. 07/10/02
Results
from Montoya's study
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Laubach
Joins Graduate Studies Committee
In May, Steve Laubach was appointed to the Graduate Studies
Committee of The University of Texas at Austin. 07/10/02 |
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| Linda
Bonnell and Rob Lander from Geocosm
will be teaching a short course at the GCAGS entitled: Reservoir
Quality Prediction: From Deep Water to Tight Gas Sandstones.
Click
here for more information. 07/10/02 |
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Successful
Defense
Yuan
Qiu successfully defended her dissertation "Natural
fracture characterization and modeling." Dr. Jon
Olson directed the research. Yuan's dissertation advanced
our capability for numerically modeling large fracture
populations and the mechanical interaction that affects
fracture's propagation and termination. Copies of this
work are available on the FTP site. |
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| With her
Ph.D. from the Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering,
Yuan is scheduled to take a position with Shell in The Netherlands.
Congratulations Yuan. 07/10/02 |
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| June
Fractured Sandstone Workshop and Field Trip |
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| Fractured
sandstones of the Rockies are the focus of a June
FRAC field trip and workshop. The field trip will
start in Kemmerer, Wyoming on the morning of June 21. The workshop
will be held at Snow King in Jackson, Wyoming, on June 22. Please
see What's New on the Members' side of this site for
logistics and agenda. Contact Steve
Laubach for information. |
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| May
17 Fractures in Carbonate Rocks Work Session |
| On
the afternoon of Friday, May 17,
FRAC will host a work session on fractures in carbonate rocks
at the Bureau of Economic Geology. Members are welcome.
Note that this is a working session. Emphasis is on discussion,
which will be lively. If you are interested in attending please
contact Steve
Laubach.
Jerry
Lucia will present a review of fracture attributes in
carbonate rocks from a wide range of settings. This will be
followed by a synopsis by Rob Lander of recent progress
in modeling possibly applicable to fractured carbonates. During
the following discussion, several other informal presentations
will be made from ongoing observational and modeling studies. |
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| Dolomite
Bridges in Fractured Ellenburger CL
image scan by
Leonel Gomez |
|
In addition to Lucia and Lander, participants will include Randy
Marrett, Jon Olson, Bob Goldhammer, Bob Loucks, Kitty Milliken,
Larry Lake, Charlie Kerans, Steve Ruppel, Julia Gale, Rob Reed,
Scott Tinker, Linda Bonnell, Faustino Monroy, Leonel Gomez,
and Steve Laubach. Following
the work session, there will be a discussion chaired by Bob
Goldhammer on structural, diagenetic, and stratigraphic
initiatives under the new John A. and Katherine G. Jackson
School of Geosciences. |
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| Ortega
Successfully Defends Dissertation |
 |
In
April, Orlando Ortega successfully defended his dissertation
"Fracture-Size Scaling and Stratigraphic Controls on
Fracture Intensity." Congratulations Orlando, on an
excellent defense. Dr. Ortega has accepted a position with
Shell. |
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FRAC
Research at 2002 AAPG Houston
The
Fracture Research and Application Consortium will be represented
at the 2002 AAPG Convention in Houston. Follow this
link to a partial listing of FRAC presentations and
activities. Please contact Steve
Laubach for more information. 02/04/02
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| Visiting
Scientists Linda Bonnell and Rob Lander have a
new paper in AAPG Bulletin. "Anomalously
high porosity and permeability in deeply buried sandstone reservoirs:
origin and predictability", by Sal Bloch, Robert
H. Lander, and Linda Bonnell, 2002, AAPG Bulletin, v. 86, no.
2, p. 301-328, shows how anomalously high values of porosity
and permeability in sandstone can successfully be predicted.
Linda and Rob are working with the Fracture Research and
Application Consortium to apply sandstone diagenesis modeling
to the problem of fracture development. 02/04/02 |
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| Leonel
Gomez, Graduate Research Assistant in the Bureau's
Fracture Research and Application Consortium and doctoral
aspirant in the Department of Geological Sciences, presented
an invited talk Thursday, January 17, 2002 to members
of Ecopetrol's research division
in Bucaramanga, Colombia, with a live TV link to Ecopetrol
offices in Bogotá and in other cities. The presentation
described multidisciplinary empirical and modeling studies
for characterization of fractured reservoirs. The title
of the talk was “Estudios
Empíricos |
 |
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|
y de
Modelamiento en la Caracterización de Reservorios Fracturados
: un enfoque multidisciplinario.” 01/10/02 |
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