Undergraduate Course: Hydrocarbons and Geophysical Exploration (EASC10093)
Course Outline
School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
Summary | 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.
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Course description |
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.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students should have a basic understanding of Geology, as provided by a course such as Introduction to the Geological Record (EASC08017). |
Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Basic geological training. |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
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 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam: 50%, Course Work: 50 %, Practical Exam: 0%.
There are 2 assessed practicals, both of 2 hours duration with a hand-in 30 minutes after the class ends. Paper hand-in only.
The exam is essay-style questions (i.e. short questions [which may have sub-questions] requiring a relatively long answer), a choice of 2 from 5 questions.
Both assessed practicals are handed in on the day of the class, deadline is 30 minutes after the class ends. |
Feedback |
Staff and demonstrators are available throughout the practical classes. They will provide feedback both on the current practical, and on any previous practical work. The solutions to all the practicals are placed on LEARN, so that students can self-assess their performance. There are 2 assessed practicals, which are marked with feedback on each individual piece of work. In addition, there is an oral feedback session for each assessed practical, when collective feedback on the performance of the entire class in provided. |
Exam Information |
Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 1:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Geophysical exploration and interpretation.
- Petroleum geology and geological carbon storage.
- Enhance specialist knowledge and understanding, including a range of established techniques and research methodologies.
- Interpret, use and evaluate a wide range of specialist data.
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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).
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Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Practical classes encourage data analysis and synthesis of a wide range of geoscience topics |
Special Arrangements |
None |
Additional Class Delivery Information |
Lectures Wednesdays at 9:00-9:50, Weeks 1-11.
Laboratory sessions on Wednesdays at 10:00-12:00, Weeks 1-11.
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Keywords | Hydrocarbons; Geophysical exploration |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Mark Wilkinson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5943
Email: Mark.Wilkinson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Casey Hollway
Tel: (0131 6)50 8510
Email: Casey.Hollway@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2015 The University of Edinburgh - 2 September 2015 3:49 am
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