Undergraduate Course: Hydrocarbons and Geophysical Exploration (EASC10093)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Earth Science |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Hydrocarbon resources fuel the entire Western-World lifestyle, yet the easily located resources are rapidly depleting, those remaining are in complex and difficult of access settings. Prospecting requires a high degree of understanding of both geological and geophysical aspects of basin exploration, and particularly the interplay between these two disciplines.
This course aims to bridge the gap between geology and geophysics, helping to produce geology graduates with a working knowledge of exploration geophysics, and geophysics graduates with some geological knowledge as applied to the hydrocarbon industry, where many will be employed. The course covers the application of geophysical techniques to exploration and other subsurface problems;and the basic principles of petroleum geology, petroleum geochemistry, subsurface fluids & wireline logging in 11 lectures and accompanying practicals. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Basic geological training |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
12/01/2015 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
68 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Geophysical exploration and interpretation.
2. Petroleum geology and geological carbon storage.
3. Enhance specialist knowledge and understanding, including a range of established techniques and research methodologies.
4. Interpret, use and evaluate a wide range of specialist data. |
Assessment Information
Written Exam: 50%, Course Work: 50 %, Practical Exam: 0%.
There are two assessed practicals, both of which have a two-hour duration with a hand-in thirty minutes after the class ends. Paper hand-in only.
The exam is essay-style questions (i.e. a short question requiring a long answer), with a choice of two from five questions. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
How are hydrocarbons generated in the subsurface to form the accumulations we exploit to fuel our society? Is conventional oil running out and are there alternative fossil fuels (and should we be using them?) How do we find oil and gas using exploration geophysical techniques? Will Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) allow continued use of fossil fuels? These questions form the background to the applied problem of finding sufficient resources to fuel the Western World lifestyle, and the long term sustainability of that society. |
| Syllabus |
Conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources; origin of oil and gas; petroleum geochemistry; seismic attribute analysis; source rocks; maturation and migration; plays, traps and field volumes; drilling and wireline logs; introduction to North Sea plays. |
| Transferable skills |
Practical classes encourage data analysis and synthesis of a wide range of geoscience topics |
| Reading list |
Recommended Textbooks (*, **, *** indicate relative usefulness)
Consider buying:
*** Selley, R.C., 1998. Elements of Petroleum Geology, 2nd ed. Academic Press.
** Gluyas JG (2004) Petroleum Geoscience. Blackwell. ISBN 0632 03767 9. Good for flow and integration of geology and geophysics applied to hydrocarbon exploration and production.
** Kearey, Brooks and Hill (2003) An Introduction to Geophysical Exploration. Blackwell. ISBN 0 632 04929 4. Good for seismic reflection, magnetics & gravity, wirleline logs.
Also refer to:
Hunt, J. M. 1996 Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology, 2nd edition, Freeman & Co, New York..Rider M 1996 The geological interpretation of well logs, 2nd ed. Whittles Publishing, Caithness. ISBN 1 870325 36 2 .
Glennie, K.W., 1998 Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of the North Sea. 4th ed. Blackwell Science (digital version is available through the Library)
North, F.K., 1985. Petroleum Geology. Allen and Unwin (out of print). |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Lectures and lab sessions |
| Keywords | Hydrocarbons; Geophysical exploration |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mark Wilkinson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5943
Email: Mark.Wilkinson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ken O'Neill
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: koneill3@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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