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Andrew Chen works with Shell Canada on various light tight oil and liquids-rich tight reservoir projects, including business development, exploration drilling, and asset maturation activities. He has more than 20 years professional industry experience at BP, AJM Deloitte, and Schlumberger, and as an international consultant. Chen earned BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering from East China Petroleum Institute and a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Manitoba, Canada.
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Table 1Petrophysics Data Domains and Subsurface Collaborations Category Mud Logging/Drilling Data Type and Source Pore pressure predictions; gas or oil shows during drilling; drilling-mud and cuttings analysis Mechnical logs (calipers); electric logs (laterlog, induction, spontaneous potential, resistivity); natural-radiation logs (simple and spectral gamma rays); artificial-radiation logs (density and neutron); acoustic logs (sonic); image logs (dipmeter, micro-image resistivity); special logs (NMR); temperature log Mineralogy, lithology; hydrocarbon shows, porosity, permeability; SCAL (wettability, capillary, core flooding) Ownership Wellsite geologists/ reservoir engineers
Primarily petrophysicists
Formation testing for pressure stratigraphical profile; fluid type validation and sampling; drillstem or production test
Reservoir engineers
Cased-Hole Logging
Production logging (pressure, spinner, densimeter); formation evaluation logs (neutron, acoustic, Production/reservoir cased-hole resistivity); casing/wellbore integrity engineers logs (bond logs, temperature, ultrasonic)
core analysis (SCAL) offers details of capillary pressure behavior, wettability patterns, favorable/unfavorable production drive mechanisms, and laboratory-based recovery efficiency assessment under conceivable development options. Even with the static nature of log interpretations and the lack of in-situ reservoir conditions in laboratory work, all the petrophysicists work is accepted by reservoir and production engineers, who turn to focus on the dynamic or flow nature of formations. A flow test is designed and carried out to observe the wells flow capability and formation productivity index. Flow and pressure buildup data are analyzed. Good interpretations mean that the data from the flow test are explainable by the petrophysical view on pay thickness, average porosity, hydrocarbon saturation, reservoir container setup, and other descriptions. Well testing is sometimes performed to detect the minimum connected drainable hydrocarbon volumes, if STOIIP/IGIP cannot be determined, in order to pass certain business hurdles. Such exercises require a tremendous integrated effort both from geoscientists and from engineers to reconcile and explain the volume differences betweena seismic container and a hydraulically drainablecompartment. In order to optimize the development options of an established asset, the reservoir engineer builds
counts. This is where the petrophysics discipline meets the formation evaluation discipline. Addressing the producibility of part of or the whole reservoir and evaluating recovery efficiency ultimately provide values for the recovery factor and productionoutput. The petrophysicist provides qualitative descriptions of pay potential from log and core analysis. Routine core analysis identifies goodquality porosity, porosity types, permeability statistics, and possible natural fractures. Special
Ronald Pagan is petrophysics discipline leader at Shell Americas and manager of Shell Canadas Early Maturation team. Over a more than 30-year career at Shell, he assumed various petroleum engineering roles in New Orleans, Oman, Canada, and the UK. Before his current roles, he was Shell Canada petrophysical technical chief (1997 to 2007). Pagan earned a BS in geology from Edinburgh University and an MS in petroleum engineering from Heriot-Watt University.
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a reservoir simulator with the petrophysicists entire data package, to forecast the number of wells to be drilled within the reservoir and their estimated production performance. The production output forecast, checked against the project economics and investment matrix, goes into development planning and reservebooking.
Another note is that, since the 1990s, the practice of petrophysics has been democratized because it was desired that most subsurface team members geologists, geophysicists, and reservoir engineersbecome petrophysics generalists. Cased-hole petrophysical experts are few and far between in the entire industry worldwide. This is creating a great opportunity for young petrophysics practitioners weighing their specialization interests before choosing career paths. To be a petrophysicist, the most important thing in college is to have a solid yet broad understanding of major science and physics principles and concepts, because there will be plenty of opportunities to learn how to put these principles and concepts into use. In 2011, Shell Americas recruited professionals with a background in medical/hospital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to work as petrophysicists on difficult unconventional reservoirs. If today you are studying the Higgs boson, chances are that the particle physics background you have will allow you to better understand how neutron and hydrogen particles work in different logging environments. It is highly recommended that you, as a young petrophysicist in the industry, find a mentor from among
the most experienced experts in your company. Many distinguished petrophysicists from the last two generations are still actively engaged in consulting, training, and sharing their experience through the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts, SPE, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, academic communities, and private companies. Oilfield service companies invent logging equipment hardware and provide data-acquisition services. A convenient roadmap is to start a career with one of the oilfield service companies and move on to oil companies afterward. Such a stay can get you up to speed and set you quickly on the road to becoming very knowledgeable. Operators then give you the opportunity to see the big picture and apply your skill set. Since 2000, our industry has begun to explore and extract hydrocarbons in basins with distinct and extreme challenges: deepwater presalt, ultratight rock, thin-bed, coalseam, and gas hydrates. Activities in these plays have already led many professionals to rethink decades-old concepts, such as pay thickness or net pay. Revolutions in petrophysics interpretation and formation evaluation are anticipatedduring the next wave of industry transformation. TWA
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An example of the application of MBTI in ones career can be shared from a strategic planning consultant whose MBTI type is ENFP. ENFP indicates that her favorite function is extraverted intuition, and her supporting function is introverted feeling. For years she has worked with business executives and their leadership teams in strategic planning. She is skilled at developing lasting relationships which helped hersecure contracts and employment. Helping teams worktogether to examine possibilities and plans (extraverted intuition) was quite satisfying for her.
Later in her career, she moved toward coaching and enjoyed the meaningful interaction and development of individuals in their leadership journeys (introvertedfeeling). As an extraverted intuitive with introverted feeling, she is good at generating new ideas for problem-solving and not only has strong understanding of her own personal values but is fairly adept at tracking the motivations and values ofothers. Strategic planning often attracts persons with preferences for intuitive thinking (NTs). While the tough business arena did always energize
her, coaching was a relief to the objective, logical thinking requiredin strategic planning. Because the arena of coaching, which includes human advising and support, typically attractsENFPs, she was able to satisfythe intuitive side of her whichcraves novelty and doing thingsthat are new and different. Using MBTI typing in the same way, you can pursue a fulfilling career.Understanding yourpreferences will serve as a valuable guide when applied to careerchoices and personal interactions in the workplace. TWA
Vol. 9 // No. 2 // 2013
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