The 2010 GCAGS Short Course program is designed to accommodate the needs of geoscientists ranging from students seeking fundamental technical and management skills as they enter the profession, to experienced professionals seeking the latest cutting edge concepts available in the industry.  The world demand for energy is always expanding and this program attempts to provide the attendee with tools and concepts to explore and develop, both conventional and unconventional reservoirs in a responsible manner.

In selected courses, a limited number of discounted, student registrations are available on a first-come, first-serve basis for full time geology students with a current student ID.

Short Courses 1 through 8 are offered Pre-Convention, and the Ethics Courses 9 and 10 are conveniently offered during the Lunch and Breakfast hours on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Please observe the following guidelines in registering for short courses:

• Short Courses are reserved on a first come, first serve basis, and registration must be accompanied by payment in full.  Short course enrollment is limited, so register early.
• Courses will be canceled if under subscribed. In order for us to better anticipate the number of attendees, and avoid the premature cancellation of a course, you are strongly encouraged to register by August 15, 2010.
• If a course sells out, a waiting list will automatically be generated. You will be contacted if space becomes available.
• Before making non-refundable airline or hotel reservations, make sure that your selected course(s) will take place, and that your space is confirmed.
• Students:  If the discounted student space is sold out, your name will automatically be placed on the waiting list.  Alternately, you may also assure yourself a seat by registering at full price.

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Short Course #1 — Critical Elements of Gas Shale Evaluation 

Saturday, October 9, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  Randall S. “Randy” Miller (Core Laboratories)
Tuition:  $150 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 80 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to geologists, geophysicists, paleontologists, petrophysicists, stratigraphers, reservoir engineers, exploration managers, and strategic decision makers who are considering operations in gas shale plays.

Summary:  Many E & P companies are either actively involved in developing gas shale reservoirs or are exploring for new potential gas shale reservoirs.  This short-course will highlight the key parameters and data relationships that are critical for identifying productive gas shales.  These include reservoir geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, petrophysical properties, gas adsorption, geomechanical properties, fluid compatibility, and stimulation design and reservoir simulation.  In addition, core-log integration techniques for gas shale petrophysical log models will be presented along with gas-in-place calculations and estimates of ultimate recovery.  Case histories of different gas shale plays will be utilized to demonstrate the critical elements of Gas Shale Evaluation.

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Short Course #2 — Understanding Heterogeneity in U.S. Gas Shale Plays 

Sunday, October 10, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructors:  Rick Lewis (Schlumberger) and Richard Salter (Schlumberger)
Tuition:  $150 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 80 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to geologists, geophysicists, paleontologists, petrophysicists, stratigraphers, reservoir engineers, exploration managers, and strategic decision makers who are considering operations in gas shale plays. 

Summary:  Although a number of shale plays have now been in production for several years there are still many unknowns in the understanding of reservoir heterogeneity and the establishment of best practices for exploiting each individual play.  This course will cover an overview of our current understanding of a number of key shale plays and take the attendee through the process of examining and upscaling different data types including core, logs, and seismic.  The integration of these different measurements will then be utilized to demonstrate planning a successful well and taking single well success to an optimized full field completion.

Course components will include:  (1) Current status of the key shale plays to be discussed, including summary reviews of Haynesville, Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Barnett, Woodford, Fayetteville, and what makes each a unique challenge; (2) Core analysis from the various shale plays; (3) Petrophysical log evaluation—definition of reservoir viability and quality; (4) Geomechanical log evaluation—picking the lateral landing point; (5) The role of surface seismic in pre-well planning, hazard avoidance, and well placement; (6) Surface seismic reservoir characterization—quantitative assessment     of reservoir potential, stress orientation, and fracture networks;    (7) Bringing it all together—planning the optimum location and orientation for the borehole; (8) Measurements along the lateral—how important are they for a successful well?; (9) Designing the stimulation; (10) Micro-seismic monitoring during stimulation; (11) Production logging—understanding hydrocarbon contribution from the lateral and the correlation with stress profiles and lateral heterogeneity; (12) Production forecasting from reservoir simulation—the importance of understanding the way in which the fracture network influences production; and (13) From single well success to optimized full field development.

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Short Course #3 — Geology & Geophysics Applied in Industry  

Saturday, October 9, 2010
8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  Fred W. Schroeder (ExxonMobil Retired)
Tuition:  Professional, $80 per person, and Full-Time Students, $40 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 55 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to geology students, graduate students, and working geologists who desire a fundamental understanding of the uses of seismic and subsurface data as applied in industry. 

Summary:  This course is designed to provide attendees with insight into how geology and geophysics are applied within our industry.  Through a combination of short lectures and hands-on, paper exercises, we will look at:

•  The Focus of Industry
•  The Basics of Prospecting
•  Structural Analysis Using Seismic Data
•  Stratigraphic Analysis Using Seismic Data
•  Well-Seismic Ties
•  Mapping a Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator (DHI)

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Short Course #4 — Multicomponent Seismic Stratigraphy & Technology for Evaluating Fracture Systems of Unconventional Reservoirs

Sunday, October 10, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  Bob A. Hardage (Bureau of Economic Geology) 
Tuition:  $150 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 50 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, exploration managers, and strategic decision makers who are searching for new tools and evaluation methods to assess fracture systems in unconventional reservoirs.  

Summary:  Multicomponent seismic technology is an emerging science that is becoming the business driver for many oil and gas ventures.  In this class, we will examine P and S wavefield illumination concepts, unified P and S interpretations, and multicomponent data applications and case histories.  Class topics will include:

•  Vector Seismic Sources
•  Vector Seismic Sensors
•  P and S Reflectivities
•  Multicomponent Imaging Principles
•  Fracture Physics and Multicomponent Applications
•  Depth Registration of P and S Images
•  Integrated P and S Interpretation
•  Multicomponent Case Histories

Course notes will be provided.  All lecture material is presented as digital PowerPoint graphics that are provided to attendees.  Applications to shale gas and unconventional reservoirs will be stressed.  Lecture topics will not be mathematical in nature.  Simple graphics will be used to explain basic physics issues when necessary.

 

Important fracture information is shown in above diagrams. What are the key seismic attributes, and what is the fracture interpretation?

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Short Course #5 — Basic Log Analysis 

Saturday afternoon, October 9, 2010
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  Tom Fett (Consulting Petrophysicist, San Antonio, Texas)
Tuition:  $65 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 50 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to new geologists and engineers, graduate students, geophysicists, oil and gas investors, and non-technical managers who seek a fundamental understanding of log analysis and the information derived from logging tools.  

Summary:  This half-day short course is essentially Log Analysis 101.  It is intended to be a free wheeling “black board” style discussion of the basics of practical log analysis.  It will follow the evolution of petrophysics from the perspective of the acquisition of the parameters needed to understand reservoirs and their ability to store & produce fluids (mainly oil & gas).  The discussions will be designed so that new geoscientists can follow and understand the topics.  Small digressions into more advanced examples will give them exposure to some of the complexities and nuances of the “art” of log analysis.  More experienced geoscientists looking for a refresher course should find these topics of special interest.

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Short Course #6 — Advanced Log Analysis of Shale Gas and Tight Gas Reservoirs

Sunday, October 10, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Coordinator:  Tom Fett (Consulting Petrophysicist, San Antonio, Texas)
Instructors:  Representatives of all four major service companies (Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Weatherford) will present their newest technologies, including NML, LWD, Testing, Shale (Mudstone) Evaluations, and other topics.
Tuition:  $80 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 55 persons

Who should attend?  This short course will be of interest to geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, exploration managers, and strategic decision makers who seek to keep up with the latest logging technologies available in the industry, and want to understand the latest methods to use those technologies to evaluate and analyze tight and unconventional reservoirs.

Summary:  Advanced log analysis tools and techniques will be presented by experts in the newer developments.  While service company experts will be presenting these new tools & techniques; they will be encouraged to approach the course from an application, rather than a “sales” perspective.  The latest approaches to the evaluation of non-conventional reservoirs such as shales and tight reservoirs will be featured.

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Short Course #7 — Carbon Sequestration:  Storage of CO2 in Geologic Formations

Sunday, October 10, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructors:  Sue Hovorka, Becky Smyth, Katherine Romanak, and Ramón Treviño (Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin), Steven Bryant and Jon Olson (Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, The University of Texas at  Austin), Hilary Olson (Institute for Geophysics, The University of Texas at Austin), and Sandia Technologies Personnel (Houston, Texas).
Tuition:  Professional, $80 per person, and Full-Time Students, $40 per person (includes course notes and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 55 persons
Underwritten by: STORE (Sequestration Training, Outreach, Research and Education) Alliance with funding from DOE-NETL.

Who should attend?  This introductory level short course will be of interest to geologists, engineers, petrophysicists, exploration managers, and strategic decision makers, as well as undergraduate/graduate students in geology, who wish to understand better the current status of carbon sequestration technology.  Results from current U.S. sequestration field projects will be integrated into the curriculum.

Summary:  This short course will cover the following topics:

•  Introduction to CO2 Sequestration
•  Project Development,
•  Modes of Storage of CO2 in Subsurface Formations
•  CO2 Injection and Well Compliance
•  Groundwater Issues
•  Monitoring Mechanisms
•  Project/Risk Assessment
•  Offshore Storage Capabilities – New Research at the Gulf Coast Carbon Center

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Short Course #8 — Geoscience Career Fundamentals for Students  

Sunday, October 10, 2010
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructors:  Ethics—Steven Scarpino (BP Director) and J. Cary Barton (Barton, East & Caldwell, LLP); Project Management—John Farrelly (BP Director of Appraisal, Western Hemisphere) and Bill Napier (Fairwinds International); and Career Management—Richard Fox (BP Chief Geoscience Authority, NAG) and Frank Wantland (Wantland & Associates)
Tuition:  $20 per person (includes course notes, lunch, and refreshments)
Enrollment:  Maximum 86 persons

Who should attend?  This short course is designed for undergraduate/graduate geoscience students and working geoscientists in the early stages of their careers who desire to develop enhanced skills for preparing and working in a professional team environment.

Summary:  This course will help attendees develop the professional, ethical, and interpersonal relationship skills necessary to succeed in the timely completion of their academic degree and assist as they navigate through their professional career.

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Short Course #9 — Ethics for Lunch

Monday, October 11, 2010
Noon to 1:00 pm
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  J. Cary Barton (Barton, East & Caldwell, LLP)
Tuition:  $40 per person (includes box lunch)
Enrollment:  Maximum 50 persons

Who should attend?  This short course is for professional geologists, geophysicists, and engineers who seek to satisfy their ethics requirement for State Certification.

Summary:  Ethics for Lunch and Ethics for Breakfast are identical courses that will evaluate various moral, ethical, and legal situations that arise in the practice of geoscience and engineering.  The class will discuss the proper courses of action for the geoscientists or engineer to follow in order to maintain the appropriate standards of professional conduct.

"The Division of Professional Affairs (DPA) of the AAPG is pleased be a supporter of the two seminars, “ Ethics for Breakfast and Ethics for Lunch”. The DPA is the oldest AAPG Division and is the community within AAPG that focuses on the professional practice of energy resource geoscience, upholds the AAPG code of Ethics provides continuing education and certifies the credentials of geoscientists."

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Short Course #10 — Ethics for Breakfast

Tuesday, October 12, 2010
7:00 am to 8:00 am
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Instructor:  J. Cary Barton (Barton, East & Caldwell, LLP)
Tuition:  $40 per person (includes continental breakfast)
Enrollment:  Maximum 50 persons

Who should attend?  This short course is for professional geologists, geophysicists, and engineers who seek to satisfy their ethics requirement for State Certification.

Summary:  Ethics for Lunch and Ethics for Breakfast are identical courses that will evaluate various moral, ethical, and legal situations that arise in the practice of geoscience and engineering.  The class will discuss the proper courses of action for the geoscientists or engineer to follow in order to maintain the appropriate standards of professional conduct.

"The Division of Professional Affairs (DPA) of the AAPG is pleased be a supporter of the two seminars, “ Ethics for Breakfast and Ethics for Lunch”. The DPA is the oldest AAPG Division and is the community within AAPG that focuses on the professional practice of energy resource geoscience, upholds the AAPG code of Ethics provides continuing education and certifies the credentials of geoscientists."