About this Workshop

Abstract

The objective of this workshop is to highlight the challenges and best practices in sub-salt exploration with special emphasis on Middle East deep water plays.  What technology advances have been made in recent years that could reduce exploration and drilling cost and risk?  What data is needed and do we have enough data to enable a better approach to exploration? Experiences from different operating and service companies will be presented that will benefit the attendees so they become more informed after the workshop.

The recent hydrocarbon discoveries in the deepwater offshore Brazil and Angola have inspired the oil industry globally to increase their exploration activities in such challenging environments. In the Middle East, sub-salt exploration in the deepwater of the Nile Delta has been active since 1995. New areas such as the East Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea also hold significant potential for oil and gas accumulations below a thick layer of salt in deep water. Major challenges related to exploration and drilling are facing the industry especially after the recent incident in the deepwater of Gulf of Mexico. Exploration teams and geoscientists are faced with obtaining reliable imaging of the sub-surface below a thick layer of salt. Basin modelling and analysis are also critical to prove the presence of a petroleum system in such unexplored areas. Understanding the tectonic frame work and developing geological depositional model that could explain the depositional history of sedimentary sequences are critical in sub-salt exploration plays. Recent advances in geophysical acquisition, processing and interpretation technologies such as gravity, electromagnetic and wide azimuth seismic data have proven extremely valuable in reducing risk in evaluating sub-salt exploration. Drilling is also faced with well integrity challenges imposing tremendous concerns to operators where drilling cost is extremely high. Dynamic pressure management and drilling fluids play key role in such environment. Formation evaluation while drilling is critical in providing real-time information needed in making decisions.

Who Should Attend

• Production Engineers
• Well Stimulation Engineers
• Reservoir Engineers
• Geologists
• Chemists
• Geophysicists
• Petrophysicists

Visa Information

SPE Middle East, North Africa and India will assist in providing a visa invitation letter, upon request in writing, to confirmed registrants after receiving full payment of registration fees. Visa invitation letters take five days to issue from the date of request and it is the delegate's responsibility to obtain their own visa. SPE cannot issue the visa nor can we guarantee it will be obtained.

 

Workshop Guidelines

Format

Three (3) days of informal discussions prompted by selected keynote presentations and discussions. Workshops maximise the exchange of ideas among attendees and presenters through brief technical presentations followed by extended Q&A periods. Focused topics attract an informed audience eager to discuss issues critical to advancing both technology and best practices. The majority of the presentations are in the form of case studies, highlighting engineering achievements and lessons learnt. In order to stimulate frank discussion, no proceedings are published and the press is not invited to attend.

Documentation

• Proceedings will not be published; therefore, formal papers and handouts are not expected from speakers.
• Work in progress, new ideas and interesting projects are sought.
• Professionally-prepared visual aids are not required; handwritten view graphs are entirely acceptable.
• Note-taking by participants is encouraged.

Attendance

Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Steering Committee encourages attendance from those who can contribute to the workshop most effectively either in discussions or with posters. A mix of attendees in terms of geographic origin, companies and disciplines will be encouraged.

Workshop Deliverables

• The Steering Committee will appoint a “scribe” to record the discussions and to produce the full workshop report for SPE.
• This report will be circulated to all attendees as the workshop deliverable within 4–6 weeks following the workshop. The copyright of the report is with SPE.
• PowerPoint presentation materials will be posted on a specific SPE URL address after the workshop Provision of the materials by the speakers will signify their permission for SPE to do so.

Commercialism

In keeping with ATW objectives and the SPE mission, commercialism in posters or presentations will not be permitted. Company logos must be limited to the title slide and used only to indicate the affiliation of the presenter and others involved in the work.

Attendance Certificate

All attendees will receive an attendance certificate attesting to their participation in the workshop. This certificate will be provided in exchange for a completed Workshop Questionnaire.

Continuing Education Units

Attendees at this workshop qualify for SPE Continuing Education Units (CEU) at the rate of 0.1 CEU per hour of the workshop.