RPS today announced the launch of their 2023 Nautilus Training Alliance (NTA) Program. The diverse portfolio, offered at all experience levels, covers the entire breadth and depth of the Energy mix.

The2023 program is designed to:

• expand the field program to build on the increasing demand for field courses seen in 2022
• continue a commitment to support the drive to low carbon energy solutions
• re-introduce classroom courses in US and Europe
• provide a balanced blend of virtual, field and classroom instructor-led courses 

From Sub-Seismic Faults to Rift Basins: Exploration, Appraisal, and Production Insights (Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

• Location: Gulf of Corinth, Greece
• Date:  2 - 6 Oct. 2023

Business impact: The Gulf of Corinth is one of the best exposed rift basins globally and provides an exceptional setting in which to understand the impact of structural geology on reservoir distribution, effectiveness, and compartmentalisation.

This course integrates field observations from the active rift system in the Gulf of Corinth directly with subsurface understanding and uncertainty across exploration, appraisal, and production workflows. Central to this is a consideration of the spatial and temporal evolution of normal faults and associated sedimentary systems, and how this is critical across the range of sub-seismic, reservoir, basin, and regional scales.

Although the course is field based, it will draw heavily on sub-surface geophysical examples to unravel the 4D evolution of rift basins and provide insights into reservoir structural geology.

Submarine Fan Architecture from the Upper Slope to the Distal Basin Floor: Implications for Reservoir Distribution and Development (Southwestern Karoo Basin, South Africa)

• Location: Southwestern Karoo Basin, South Africa
• Date:  16 - 20 Oct. 2023

Business impact: Using world-class outcrops of submarine fan deposits representing upper slope to distal basin floor settings, participants will make multi-scale observations by integrating well-log and core data across a wide range of deep-water depositional environments. This field course visits areas of world-class 3D exposures where minimal vegetation and variable outcrop orientation enable study of virtually all areas of multiple submarine fan systems, from upper slope to distal basin-floor settings. Therefore, the depositional architecture of seismic-scale submarine fans can be placed within a 3D framework, providing the links between sedimentary processes and facies distributions of deep-water systems, their stratigraphic evolution, and resultant reservoir implications.

A central theme of the course will be an exploration of the links between sedimentological processes and facies distributions within the seismic-scale depositional architecture of these submarine fans. The outcrops have been the focus of two decades of research and as such, the concepts presented are cutting-edge, and the scale of the systems visited means learnings can be exportable.

The course reviews cutting-edge concepts on the sedimentary processes and stratigraphic evolution of fan systems down-system and through time, from confined net-bypass sediment transport to unconfined net-deposition, and their effects on reservoir architecture, and stacking patterns. Recognition criteria for channel-fills, levee/overbank deposits, channel-lobe transition zones, lobes, and clastic injectites will be provided. Furthermore, the detailed mapping of these systems reveals the influence of subtle and evolving seabed topography on submarine fan evolution, a critical aspect worth discussing.

Mechanical Stratigraphy, Stress, and Geomechanics (West Texas, USA)

• Location: West Texas, USA
• Date:  23 - 27 Oct. 2023

Business Impact: We will explore the importance and application of stress and geomechanical analyses to energy exploration and production in both conventional and unconventional reservoirs, with emphasis on the importance of mechanical stratigraphy and stress states on processes such as natural deformation and hydraulic fracturing.

This course will appraise participants of key concepts in geomechanics, and explore the importance and application of stress and geomechanical analyses to energy exploration and production. It will examine applications such as stress estimation and hydraulic fracturing and will develop the skill sets necessary for planning and evaluating a geomechanics study. 

Reservoir Modelling and the Application of Outcrop Analogues (Utah, USA)

• Location: Utah, USA
• Date:  2 - 6 Oct. 2023

Business Impact: Application of the learnings of this course will empower participants to incorporate analogue information and build better static reservoir models.

In clastic reservoirs, the facies architecture is typically the most important control on the distribution of reservoir properties. Robust reservoir modelling depends upon the ability to visualise and capture the distribution of the architectural elements. This is based upon a conceptual model which is commonly derived from studies of outcrops and modern analogues. During this mixed classroom/field course we will explore a range of clastic depositional environments, understand the depositional processes and how it impacts the resultant architectural elements. We will consider the importance of stratigraphic reservoir zonation and explores different facies modelling strategies for different depositional environments. A key aspect will be understanding the sedimentological heterogeneities that impact flow and the different scales at which they occur.

The course will use outcrop analogues from eastern Utah to describe workflows for better, facies-based reservoir modelling and illustrate why this matters with subsurface case studies. The course will visit classic outcrop sections, many of which have well logs and cores behind the cliffs allowing us to close the gap between outcrop and subsurface data. The concepts will be illustrated with reservoir models built from the outcrops. Virtual outcrops will also be available to enhance the understanding and integrate modern analogues.

Understanding Faults and Fault Rupture – Applications to Fluid Trapping, Pressure Containment, and Induced Seismicity for Hydrocarbons and CCS (Utah, USA)

• Location: Utah, USA
• Date:  16 - 20 Oct. 2023

Business Impact. This course provides an analysis-level treatment of fault geometry, characterization of trap effectiveness, and assessment of rupture hazard with application to hydrocarbon exploration, reservoir development and management, fluid pressure containment analysis for CCS, and induced seismicity hazard assessment.  

Faults occur in all subsurface reservoirs and are critical elements for the entrapment of fluids and fluid pressure at geologic and anthropogenic timescales. Faults are easily made to rupture associated with subsurface operations and therefore pose containment risk. Evaluation of trap and containment effectiveness and hazard assessment begins with an understanding of fault evolution and 3-D geometry. Understanding the ability of faults to trap fluids and pressure begins with a static characterization of fault permeability architecture. Fault containment hazard assessment requires transition to the dynamic realm with consideration of in situ stress and geomechanical behavior.

The course is outcrop and classroom based. The Moab fault system and surrounding geology provide exceptional examples of trap-scale structures with fault zone characteristics that vary depending on offset and juxtaposed rock type, which are documented to have both sealed and leaked over geologic time in patterns that are clearly expressed. Reframing these outcrops to subsurface application is immensely valuable in understanding static and dynamic fault behavior.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: RPS Energy   l   KeyFacts Energy news: Training