c ntact - wyoming geological association · 2020-01-09 · wyoming geological association january...

Wyoming Geological Association January 2020

Publication of the

Wyoming Geological Association Established 1943

UPCOMING WGA LUNCHEONS* AND OTHER EVENTS Unless otherwise noted, lunch is served at 11:15 AM, with presentations at 12 noon.

Lunches are $15.25. Clarion Inn at Platte River, 123 West E Street, Casper, WY 82601 Meeting dates, speakers, topics, and venues are subject to change. Check http://www.wyogeo.org/

*RESERVATIONS ARE MANDATORY: [email protected] or (307) 237-0027 RSVP required by the prior Wednesday.

Please have your email added to the courtesy luncheon reminder list. WGA Office hours: Thursdays 9:30-11:30.

President’s Message

It’s difficult to believe that it is my second time on rotation as President of the Wyoming Geological Association – it is a role that I embrace with great honor. As the State of the Or-ganization meeting in October, 2019 illustrated it is a position that most of you have held at least once in the past and for that we thank you.

Volunteerism in both civic and scientific areas have been in steady decline across the Unit-ed States and it is also with great humility and utmost respect that I would like to welcome so many new board members. It is my intention to assist as these capable, hardworking, and amazing board members in any way that I can.

Membership has also been on a steady decline with individuals question the purpose of be-longing to associations and societies. To those members that have attended despite chang-es in venue, pricing, methodologies, and a seemingly consistent flux of change I would thank you, we all thank you – without a determined and consistent membership there would be no purpose for the things we do.

This year the WGA will see and experience things that will enhance your professional acu-men. To the board, members, and everyone involved I want to say thank you and I look for-ward to the new decade and the ways in which we will grow and adapt.

Sincerely

Mike Bingle-Davis—President

C NTACT

mailto:[email protected]

Wyoming Geological Association January 2020 2

President

Mike Bingle-Davis

Past President

Melanie Peterson

President Elect

Emily Sundell

1st Vice President

Open

2nd Vice President

Amy Freye

Treasurer

Nicole Coleman

Office Administrator

Brianna McFarland

Editors

Nick Jones and Alex Kienzle


January 10th

Dr. Foster Sawyer – Associate Professor

Geology and Geological Engineering

South Dakota School of Mines

Dr. Sawyer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Furman University, a Master of Science de-gree in Geology from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T), and a Doctorate in Geologi-cal Engineering from SDSM&T. He worked as a geologist and ground water hydrologist for the South Dakota Geological Survey for over twenty years, during which time he coauthored the Geologic Map of South Dakota along with many other geological and hydrological reports and maps.

Doctor Sawyer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology & Geological Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology where he has been integrally involved in developing curricula related to petroleum exploration and production. At SDSM&T he currently teaches petroleum geology, petroleum production, and he recently developed and currently teaches one of the few petroleum field camps in the nation. He also has secured three multi-million dollar software donations to facilitate petroleum related re-search and teaching at SDSM&T.

Dr. Sawyer has participated in two research expeditions to Antarctica which resulted in discovery of a new Antarctic dinosaur and a juvenile marine reptile fossil that is the best fossil skeleton known from the conti-nent of Antarctica. He has participated in three expeditions to Mongolia and currently teaches a field geology course in Turkey each summer. He also recently served as the national President of the American Institute of Professional Geologists.


Petroleum curricula, research, and activities at the South Dakota

School of Mines & Technology

J. Foster Sawyer, Ph.D.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota

January 10, 2020

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T) is working to improve and develop petrole-

um-related curricula, research opportunities, and professional opportunities for undergraduate and graduate

students. Recent advances have included the addition of a Petroleum Field Camp, development of Petrole-

um Systems Minor and Graduate Certificate programs, initiation of the Energy Resources Initiative, and

significant petroleum-related software acquisitions. Petroleum Geology, Petroleum Drilling and Production

Engineering, Geophysics, and Well Logging courses currently are offered and are required for select pro-

gram tracks. Petroleum-related software platforms hosted by the Department of Geology & Geological En-

gineering at SDSM&T include Petrel, ECLIPSE, PIPESIM, TechLog, Jewel Suite, Petra, and Neuralog,

along with more general mapping applications such as ArcMap.

The Energy Resources Initiative (ERI) was recently founded to stimulate and sponsor energy-related re-

search and activity and to build interaction and collaborative research with private industry. Included within

ERI’s purview are petroleum, natural gas, geothermal, and a broad range of topics that fall within the over-

arching theme of “energy and environment”. Petroleum-related research supported by the ERI and by facul-

ty at SDSM&T has focused on fine-grained reservoirs such as the Niobrara Formation and Pierre Shale in

western South Dakota and the Powder River Basin, as well as more traditional sandstone and carbonate res-

ervoirs in both the Powder River and Williston basins. The ERI also has organized and sponsored several

recent New Horizons Energy conferences at SDSM&T.

Recent petroleum-related student research projects at SDSM&T have included topics such as fault seal

analysis for structurally complex areas, evaluation of vitrinite reflectance within organic-rich black shales,

using Rare Earth Elements for fingerprinting and tracking oil migration patterns, detailed facies interpreta-tion from 3D seismic data, as well as more traditional mapping, modeling, and correlation techniques in-

volving well log, seismic, and other data. The Department of Geology & Geological Engineering also hosts

Student Chapters of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Petroleum Engi-neers which garnered national recognition in both 2018 and 2019. Students in petroleum-related curricular

tracks at SDSM&T also are strongly encouraged to participate in internships offered by private industry

through companies which have included Anadarko, Occidental, Chesapeake, QEP, Whiting, Halliburton, and many others.


January 17th

Monte Hoffman – Manager

Monty Hoffman received his BS in Geology from Northern Arizona University in 1975 and his MS in Geology from the University of Wyoming in 1977. From 1977 to 1990, he worked for Chevron as a geologist and geophysicist in the Rockies and the Mid Continent areas. Since 1990, he has been a manager and a geologist with Safford Ex-ploration, Inc. For the last 20 years, Monty has focused on understanding fluid flow in oil and gas reservoirs.

Reservoirs That are Not in Equilibrium

Have you ever drilled into a hydrocarbon reservoir and gotten great shows, excellent looking logs and maybe even a test that recovered all hydrocarbons, only to complete the well for a high water cut or even all water? You probably drilled into a reservoir that was not in equilibrium. Even though it looked like a conventional reservoir, it was damaged by standard drilling and completion practices. After damage, it had very different flow characteristics and the completion was not a commercial success. Un-derstanding how non-equilibrium reservoirs form, stay in non-equilibrium, and how they are damaged is important in recognizing them and understanding how to work with them.


Reservoirs That are Not in Equilibrium—Continued

Almost all of the drilling, completion, and production operations performed on oil and gas reservoirs are done with the unrecognized assumption that the reservoirs are in equilibrium when production starts. Additionally, almost all of the reservoir evaluation and modeling techniques that are used also assume equilibrium at the start of produc-tion.

Hydrocarbon reservoirs are in equilibrium between energy, fluid saturations, and inter-facial tension after hydrocarbons are emplaced. After emplacement, uplift and erosion lower the pressure and temperature and thus the energy in the reservoir. The hydrocar-bon reservoir is no longer in equilibrium. The response to this is a capillary injection pressure below equilibrium at every point in the column. Restoring equilibrium requires a higher water saturation at every point in the column. The water density is higher than the hydrocarbon density so water is unable to move upwards into the hydrocarbon col-umn to restore equilibrium. The hydrocarbon reservoir stays in non-equilibrium.

If any water-based fluids are introduced into the reservoir by drilling, completion, or production, the part of the reservoir contacted by the water will retain the water to re-turn to equilibrium. This causes relative permeability damage to the reservoir which changes the fluids that are produced as well as the flow rates to the well bore. Remov-ing the water requires returning that part of the reservoir to non-equilibrium, so once the damage is done it is difficult to remove.


January 24th

Dr. Tim Considine – Professor of Economics

School of Energy Resources

University of Wyoming

Energy and Climate—A Realistic Outlook


Thursday January 9, 2020

The Central Wyoming Section of SME (Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration) would like to invite any interested WGA members to our January 9, 2020 meeting. The program will be presented by:

Brenda Schladweiler, of BKS Environmental Associates, Gilllette, WY who will be speaking on:

“NEW GENERATION COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS: INNOVATION AT THE DRY FORK STATION, GILLETTE, WYOMING”

We will also be presenting College Scholarships to local recipients

Best Western Ramkota - TETONS Room 5:30 pm: Social Hour 6:30 pm: Dinner (Plated Choice) 7:15 pm: Business & Program

More information is available by replying to, or sending an RSVP to: [email protected]

RSVP deadline is Wednesday January 8, 2020

Thanks!

Cal VanHolland

Secretary

SME, Central Wyoming Section




April 16 & 17, 2020

The National Association of State Boards of Geologist (ASBOG) will be holding its spring Council of Ex-

aminers (COE) in Cheyenne, WY on April 16-17, 2020. The COE consists of two days reviewing the pre-

vious and subsequent ASBOG exams used for qualifying geologists for professional registration. The

COE is conducted by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) made up of geologists from the various State

Boards. As part of the new procedures implemented by the ASBOG executive, selected SMEs regis-

tered in the region where the COE is being held have been included as part of the COE process.

The requirement for applying to be a SME to the COE are:

Registered/Professional Geologist in good standing from a State using the ASBOG exams for regis-

tration

Having passed the ASBOG (or equivalent state) exam(s) previously

Working as a professional geologist in industry, academia, or government

Agree to the terms and conditions as set forth by ASBOG for being a SME

Able to attend the COE knowing that your travel expenses will not be reimbursed

The COE is a key component of expanding and maintaining a relevant and defensible examination for

applicants. Due to the strict exam review process performed for each administration and the task

analysis performed every 5 years, ASBOG has developed one of the fairest and most applicable exams

for licensure of geologists. SMEs play a critical role in ensuring that the COE has sufficient professional

experience to perform this process and give fair weight to all aspects of geology.

The COE is structured as a two stage process and have parallel sessions (fundamentals and profession-

al). During the first day, instructions are provided by the psychometrician and then the participants

“take” the exam that was given during the past administration. In the afternoon, participants review

each of the questions as a group with input from the psychometrician indicating how the questions

performed on the exam. Based on this review, questions are accepted or may be double keyed and/or

removed. Generally only questions that have not been used, or used infrequently, in the past are iden-

tified as being of concern when they are ambiguous to the group and/or they have not performed well

within the administration. During the second day the process is repeated, but for the exam that will be

given at the next scheduled administration.

If you are interested to be part of this process, please provide your credentials and information to AS-BOG for consideration. This information can be emailed to: Deana Sneyd < [email protected] >.



Depositional Systems

Credit Mike Norton derived from PePeEfe


WGA on Public and Social Media

The WGA is actively seeking your photos showcasing aspects of geology and interests to WGA members and participants—your photos may be showcased in the newsletter, luncheons, events and even on the WGA Public and Social Media. Photos submitted should include the photographer’s name and a brief de-scription of the photo. To submit a photo please email them to [email protected].

https://wyogeo.org/

Or check out the WGA on-

Facebook and LinkedIn

Photographer—Jacob Thacker, Paleozoic Section— Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming.

2019 AAPG-RMS Field trip led by Gus Gustason


Photographer—Connie Hawkins, Waltman Outcop.


Photographer—Connie Hawkins, Castle Gardens.

Wyoming Geological Association January 2020


CONTACT

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

15th of each preceding month

All ads must be prepaid.

Send ad and payment to

WGA, PO Box 545,

Casper WY 82602

[email protected]

Paleontological Resources

Brent Breithaupt 307 775-6052

RMS-AAPG

Julia Lemaster 307 266-3199

Lyn George 307 265-6338

Scholarships

Kent Sundell 307 268-2498

Social media

Mike and Marron Bingle-Davis

SPE Liaison

Dave Chase 307 261-7685

U.W. Liaison

Phil Nickerson 307 752-2473

Library & Mudlogs

Arnold Woods 307 237-0027

CONTACT ADVERTISING RATES

Full Page 7.5 x 9.5 $100/month

$1000/year

1/2 Page 7.5 x 4.5 $50/month

$500/year

1/4 Page 3.5 x 4.5 $25/month

$250/year

Business Card 3.5 x 2 $10/month

$100/year

Various Sizes $3.50 per column inch, per month ($10 minimum)

Advertising space is also available in the membership directory and the annual field

conference guidebook. Discounts are available for advertising in all three publications.

2019 WGA OFFICERS

President

Mike Bingle-Davis

Past President

Melanie Peterson

President-Elect

Emily Sundell

1st Vice President

open

2nd Vice President

Amy Freye

Secretary/Treasurer

Nicole Coleman

Editors

Nick Jones & Alex Kienzle

AAPG Delegates

Melanie Peterson 307 266-3199

Office Administrator,

Advertising & Membership

Brianna McFarland 307 237-0027

[email protected]

Continuing Education

Ralph Specht 307 237-7891

[email protected]

Field Conference

Contact WGA for information

Geowives

Joanie Dunlap 307 267-7431

Historical

Open

Wyoming Geological Association, 2018

P.O. Box 545 • Casper, WY 82602 • (307) 237.0027 • Fax (307) 234.4048

WGA COMMITTEES


c ntact - wyoming geological association · 2020-01-09 · wyoming geological association january...

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