Fundamentals of oil and gas exploration and production (E&P)

Why do this course with the EI?

Expand your knowledge and identify new technologies and new commercial opportunities to benefit you and your organisation.

Accrue valuable CPD points to aid career development.

Day one – Exploration prior to drilling
• Resources and reserves: future of exploration and production
• Basin analysis and modelling to locate prospective play trends
• Sub-surface characteristics of petroleum systems
• Reconnaissance with magnetic and gravity surveys
• Other Remote sensing techniques and geochemical surveys
• Seismic methods to define prospect location and geometry
• Advantages of 3D and 4D seismic technologies
• Direct hydrocarbon indications from seismic attribute data
• Micro-seismic technologies for shale gas
• 4C seismic exploits shear waves to extract detail
• Seismic visualisation and 3D immersive environments
• Controlled-source electromagnetic and magnetotelluric surveys
• Integrated reservoir modelling, simulation and software options
• Reservoir drive mechanisms and production decline profiles

Day two – Exploration and development drilling
• Drilling techniques, equipment and types of wells drilled
• Types of onshore and offshore drilling rig and well designs
• Mud systems, pressure control and blow-out preventers (BOPs)
• Well bore casing, tubing and expandable tubulars
• Deviated and horizontal drilling
• Drill bits, geo-steering and bio-steering
• Side-tracking wells and under-balanced drilling
• Coiled tubing and multi-lateral drilling
• Deep-water drilling and sub-sea well technologies
• Well trajectory planning and measurement while drilling (MWD)
• Wireline logging and formation testing
• Roles of contractors, suppliers and materials procurement
• Incentivised drilling contracts and alliances to share risk
• Shale gas and coal-bed methane exploitation
• Unconventional oil sand and bitumen exploitation

Day three – Field development and production
• Development options, field cycle costs and performance standards
• Licensing, unitisation and fiscal constraints
• Processing well fluids to deliver sales quality oil and gas
• Issues specific to gas fields and natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensates
• Development facilities and strategies for onshore fields
• Fixed platform options for shallow water offshore fields
• Floating facilities: tension leg platforms (TLP) and spar platforms
• Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) Facilities
• Integrated sub-sea production infrastructure and technologies
• Subsea separation, compression and pumping advances
• High pressure / high temperature field developments
• Asset integrity issues for aging offshore assets
• Case studies and videos from North Sea, West Africa and Gulf of Mexico
• Project managing field developments
• Artificial lift, pumping options and well completions
• Stimulating well production: fracture stimulation, acid and chemical washing
• Flowlines, pipelines and flow assurance
• Reservoir pressure maintenance and secondary recovery
• Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques
• Safety and environmental issues
• Decommissioning issues and technologies