Monday 1st December
Session 1: Stratigraphic Architecture and Depositional Characteristics of Clastic Systems
The Arabian Plate hosts one of the world’s most prolific petroleum province, namely the Arabian Gulf–Mesopotamian Basin, whereclastic sediments play a major role in the production of hydrocarbon. The deposition of these clastic systems spans the whole geologic time from the Precambrian to present, including various environments such as fluvial, glacial, lacustrine, aeolian, deltaic, shallow to deep marine, and mixed carbonate-clastic systems. Revealing the importance of these environments in reservoir exploration and development can not be a reality without a robust stratigraphic and sedimentological understanding. Namely, through establishing sequence stratigraphic framework, outcrop and subsurface core facies characterization and correlation in time and space (facies extension and thicknesses). This is ultimately to produce depositional facies models that can be utilized in sweet spots mapping in reservoir exploration and development campaigns.
Session 2: Regional and Sub-Regional Structural Controls on the Sedimentation of Clastic Systems: An implication for Play Concept
Developing play concepts and generating new ideas requires a robust understanding of regional and sub-regional structural controls which play an important role in shaping sediment routing systems, depositional environments, and the distribution of sedimentary facies across the basin. These controls also influence critical factors associated with prospect and play assessments such as reservoir development, trap formation, seal integrity and migration pathways. Understanding regional and sub-regional structural controls is essential for developing local and regional models, accurately characterising hydrocarbon plays and consequently help guide exploration strategies and reduce geological play risks. This session aims to provide insights into these structural controls, offering case studies and examples that illustrate how they can inform and shape new play concepts.
Tuesday 2nd December
Session 3: Integrated Clastic Reservoir Studies
Comprehensive, multidisciplinary studies are essential to unravel the complex interplay of geological, geophysical, geochemical, and engineering factors that influence reservoir quality and performance in clastic systems. This session will provide in-depth understanding required to optimize the exploration, development, and management of clastic reservoirs in the Arabian Plate. The objective of this session is to enhance the understanding of the geological and geophysical factors controlling reservoir quality and productivity, in addition to showcasing the latest cutting-edge technologies and methodologies in integrated reservoir studies. This session is aimed at acting as a platform for sharing successful case studies and best practices in clastic reservoirs and foster collaboration between multidisciplinary petrotechnical domains, such as petrography, reservoir quality assessment, structural geology, geomechanics, geophysics, geochemistry, petrophysics, and reservoir and basin modeling.
Session 4: Carbon Capture and Storage in Clastic Depositional SystemsÂ
One of the applications of geoscience technology in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). Clastic systems, with their diverse sedimentary environments and reservoir characteristics, hold significant potential for long-term COâ‚‚ storage. Understanding the dynamics of clastic depositional systems through the characterization the clastic reservoir architecture, evaluation of rock storage capacity and the assessment of seal integrity is critical to address effective carbon containment and environmental safety which contribute to development of reliable and sustainable CCS solutions. The session aims to highlight the role of advanced geophysical and geological techniques in identifying suitable storage sites and assessing their performance to provide a deeper understanding of how clastic systems can be leveraged for effective carbon injection and storage
Wednesday 3rd December
Session 5: The Application and Management of Digital Transformation in Clastic ReservoirsÂ
In the last few years, the oil and gas industry has made rapid development and implementation of digitalization technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) in geoscience applications. This workshop will set up the industry standards for a wide range of clastic reservoir topics investigating the role of AI and ML. These topics cover data processing & analysis; data integration and business applications. This will help improve our understanding of processes, unlock the potential in clastic reservoirs data, mitigate the risks associated with the exploration and economic development of our clastic reservoirs, and ultimately re-shape the energy sector. Specifically, it will show that we have the technical strength to contribute to the significant advances in digitalization in clastic reservoirs with the support of the technology in hand.
Session 6: Emerging topics and in Clastic Reservoir Exploration and Production
Relevance of Sand Injectites to Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production – Sand injectites, formed by the intrusion of fluidised sand into host (usually finer grained) strata, are significant in hydrocarbon exploration and production. Sand injectites, often found in deep-water clastics, offer excellent reservoir properties due to their excellent porosity, permeability and vertical and lateral connectivity. Their irregular geometry forms intrusive and stratigraphic traps, where sand extrusion occurs. During production, sand injectites support high flow rates and have excellent hydrocarbon recovery factors, their connectivity facilitating water or gas injection. To optimize development, their non-stratiform geometry requires enlightened well design and placement with rigorous seismic interpretation and incorporation of outcrop analogue data. Sand injectites are increasingly recognized as valuable E&P targets, contributing to exploration success and optimized production strategies, with prominent roles in extending the life of mature basins.
Mineral Exploration in Clastic Depositional Systems – Historically, the exploration for mineral occurrences targeting the sedimentary cover has been solely commissioned by the mining industry, though rarely communicated across both industries. Thus, the clastic sedimentology experts in the oil gas industry can bridge this gap, enhance the workflows and approaches that are adapted by the mining industry. The addressed approaches can act as a road map for surface and subsurface data collection and analysis. For example, gravity and magnetic mapping of the sedimentary cover at depths of 200 and 500 meters (minable depths), with the reference to the basement, can help in tracing the mineral accumulation along Wadis down dip in the sedimentary cover knowing the mineral types and locations in the nearby shield. As a result, these Wadis are controlled by the deep-seated structural elements that can reappear along the drainage systems in the subsurface, impacting sediment transport and deposition.Â
Additionally, the interpretation of unconformities can act as best geological settings to deliver the weathered minerals from the shield to the catchment areas through rivers, deltas and beach sands. Therefore, mapping of these sandstone facies along with the interpreted geochemical data is optimum.