May 2003

Workshop attendees were eager to learn more about the Ellenburger, Yates, and Clear Fork formations at the workshop core and poster session. On May 29, 2003, at the Center for Energy and Economic Diversification in Midland, more than 75 people attended the New Methods for Locating and Recovering Remaining Hydrocarbons in the Permian Basin workshop, sponsored by the Bureau of Economic Geology, PTTC Texas Region, and University Lands West Texas Operations. This one-day symposium emphasized recent advances in the reservoir geology, geophysics, engineering, and resource analysis of Permian Basin oil and gas resources. The symposium focused on reservoir characterization issues in Ellenburger and Clear Fork reservoirs and also included the results of recent studies of unconventional gas resources in the Yates Formation. Steve Ruppel [PowerPoint presentation] organized the workshop and gave presentations along with fellow Bureau researchers Deanna Combs, Rebecca Jones [PowerPoint presentation], Julia Gale, Jeff Kane [PowerPoint presentation], Eugene Kim, Bob Loucks, Jerry Lucia [PowerPoint presentation], Fred Wang, and Hongliu Zeng [PowerPoint presentation]. 06/02/03

On May 26, 2003, the geoscience community suffered a great loss. Dr. Robert K. Goldhammer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, died when the vehicle he was riding in overturned. [Eulogy by Dr. Mark Cloos] [Obituary] [Geology Foundation Memorial] 05/28/03

The Bureau hosted a PTTC working lunch on Thursday, May 22, for Texas Region PTTC Producer Advisory Group members and invited guests from the Texas General Land Office and the Railroad Commission of Texas. Included was an overview of energy research programs at the Bureau of Economic Geology by Bureau researchers. 05/22/03

Mark H. Holtz has been chosen by the West Texas Geological Society to receive its Distinguished Service Award. Mark traveled to Midland on Thursday, May 22, 2003, to receive the award at a banquet held at the Petroleum Club of Midland. 05/22/03

Ghazi Al-Eid (left) and Raid Al-Dakhil (right) of Aramco The carbonate reservoirs Reservoir Characterization Research Laboratory (RCRL) held a workshop May 19–20, 2003 for two Aramco geologists, Ghazi Al-Eid and Raid Al-Dakhil. This workshop focused on rock-fabric descriptions and the relationshipbetween rock fabrics, petrophysical properties, and wireline log response. F. Jerry Lucia and Charles Kerans hosted the event. 05/28/03

Bureau Director Scott Tinker (right) presents Bill Galloway with the Bureau's First Annual Alumnus Award at the Jackson School Reception at the 2003 AAPG Annual Convention in Salt Lake City. Bill Galloway received the First Annual Bureau of Economic Geology Alumnus of the Year award at the Jackson School Reception at the AAPG convention in Salt Lake City on May 12. Currently holding the Morgan Davis Centennial Chair in Petroleum Geology in the Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, Bill was a Research Scientist at the Bureau from 1975 through 1987. During Bill's tenure at the Bureau he was involved in a wide range of studies that included the geologic framework of the Gulf Coast Frio Formation and uranium and hydrogeology in South Texas. Bill is senior author of 17 Bureau publications, including the enormously popular 1983 Atlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs that is still selling copies today. Bill is one of the lead scientists on the industry-funded Gulf Basin Depositional Synthesis Project, a collaborative project between the Department and the Institute for Geophysics. 05/16/03

Bureau Senior Research Scientist Dr. Stephen Laubach has been named a Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Distinguished Lecturer for 2003–2004. The title of his presentation is "Fractures in Reservoirs: Prediction, Characterization, and Incorporation in Fluid-Flow Simulation." This invitation recognizes the efforts of the Fracture Research and Application Consortium, particularly the work of Jon Olson, Randy Marrett, Larry Lake, and Jim Jennings. To date, lectures are scheduled for southern China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Oklahoma, West Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico City. 05/15/03

May 11–14, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) held its 2003 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Many Bureau researchers were in attendance presenting papers and posters. Click here for a list of titles with abstracts. 05/09/03 The Jackson School booth received many visitors in Salt Lake City.

"Optimization of CO2 Sequestered as a Residual Phase in Brine-Saturated Formations" is the title of the presentation that Bureau researcher Mark H. Holtz made during the Second Annual Conference on Carbon Sequestration at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, May 5–8, 2003. [Abstract] 05/07/03

Bureau researchers Paul Murray and Sergey Fomel were in Houston May 5–6 to attend and present papers at the 2003 Offshore Technology Conference. The title of Paul's paper was "Interpreting Multicomponent SeismicData in the Gulf of Mexico for Shallow Sedimentary Properties: Methodology and Case History." [PDF] Sergey presented "Multicomponent Seismic Data Registration for Subsurface Characterization in the Shallow Gulf of Mexico." [PDF] 05/07/03

Charlie Kerans presents RCRL material to managers from ExxonMobil. Monday, May 5, 2003, several Bureau researchers met with Anne Reeckmann, Vice President, and managers from ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Houston, to discuss ongoing Bureau research programs. Among the projects reviewed were: Multicomponent Seismic, Salt Tectonics, Carbonate Research, Integrated Basin Analysis, Deepwater Clastics, Fractures, and Fluid-Rock-Seismic-Technology (FRST). 05/06/03 Charlie Kerans discusses research with Jim Anderson, Project manager of Reservoir Characterization, and Anne Reeckmann, Vice President of Geosciences.

The May meeting of the Austin Geological Society was held on Monday, May 5, 2003, at the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology. Kevin J. Spencer, P.G., R.W. Harden and Associates, Inc., and, Joseph W. (Bill) Norris, P.E., NRS Consulting Engineers, presented "The Development of an Alternative Water Supply for the Lower Rio Grande Valley." [Abstract] 05/05/03

The Bureau's weekly Technical Seminar took a different form on Friday, May 2. Four Bureau researchers presented 3-D visualizations of their projects. Titles were "Maracaibo Reservoir Characterization;" "Geotubes in Galveston and Brazoria County;" "Big Bend;" and "Ogalalla and Edwards Aquifers." 04/29/03