Exercises in Sequence Stratigraphy

The modules below are tied to lectures, movies and exercises accessible from this website for professional, academic and educational purposes. The objective of the modules is to provide hands-on experience working with well log, seismic and outcrop data, which can lead to mature interpretations of the sedimentary sections.

Introduction

Earth scientists that assess subsurface reservoirs and explore for hydrocarbons in carbonate and/or clastic environments use a sequence stratigraphic framework of layers, that, coupled to their character and origin, is at the heart of reservoir modeling. The identification of the appropriate layering geometry is crucial to the construction of 3D exploration models and static reservoir model reservoir models. An understanding of depositional systems is critical in application of sequence stratigraphy. This is because the resulting stratigraphic grid becomes the template for distribution of clastic and/or carbonate facies, their diagenetic alterations, their associated petrophysical properties, and final input for engineering models for flow simulation. Poor clastic and/or carbonate models are often the result of misunderstanding of the rules and terminology of sequence stratigraphy as well as the principles and workflows for building stochastic models.

These exercises can aid in building reservoir and exploration models and lend clarification to the rules of sequence stratigraphy for clastic and/or carbonate settings. This site, with its exercises, lectures, and descriptive text, can be used to retrieve critical reservoir information for professionals while teaching principles of sequence stratigraphy based reservoir characterization to students.

Five key concepts to review

• Introduction to Sequence Stratigraphy: the critical stratigraphic surfaces used in sequence stratigraphy with their relationship to the exercises briefly outlined.

• Basics: Introduction to sequence stratigraphy with a Real Time lecture describing the ideal ‘sequence' of Vail et al 1977 and its associated terminology.

• Clastic Sequence Hierarchies : uses a movie to show the clastic sedimentary response to changing sea level and rates of sedimentation focusing on the hierachies of geometry found in clastic sequences.

• Mixed Carbonate & Clastic Basin: a movie of the fill of a sided sedimentary basin with carbonate and clastic sediment reviewed.

• Carbonate Sequence Hierarchies: examines the hierarchy of scales expressed by carbonate strata and provides movies that track the fill of basins and shelves by carbonate sediment

Exercise topics

• Chronostratigraphy
• Outcrop sequence stratigraphy
• Well log interpretation
• Seismic sequence stratigraphy
• Hydrocarbon exploration

Note: The images and solutions page provides high resolution images for printing as well as importing into electronic media that include PC, Notebook, Tablet, or Pad. Using Power Point drawing tools in the electronic media is an effective and easy way to handle the objectives of exercises and a means for collective viewing of results in class. Click on red box for more details.