Winter 99/00 - Petroleum Engineering | The University of Oklahoma

OU Discovery
School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering
PGE in Tulsa: A Growing Presence
T
he University of
Oklahoma now owns
and operates the industry’s
leading rock
physics lab originally
developed at Amoco’s
research center in
Tulsa. The Integrated
Core Characterization Center, or IC» , is
available to industry for R&D projects
and rock property measurements.
The laboratory is capable of making
a vast number of routine measurements.
The greatest advantage is the capability
to set up experiments and measurements
that meet the needs of geoscientist/engineers
in addressing a multitude
of E&P industry problems in a
cost-effective manner. While the centerpiece
of IC» has been to understand
the seismic response of rocks and fluids
and seismic relationships with petrophysical
parameters, data can also be
generated for reservoir quality evaluation,
seismic characterization, petrophysical
evaluation, and reservoir
mechanical/chemical stability evaluation.
Experimental Rock Physics
Consortium
The University of Oklahoma has
made it possible for industry to access
the former Rock Physics Laboratory
capabilities as a pure technical service.
The recent addition of two new faculty
members, Chandra Rai and Carl
Sondergeld, makes the expertise of
these two research scientists available
for special research projects.
Rai and Sondergeld have combined
experience of 36 years in solving rock
physics problems and developing
methods for exploration and exploitation
of hydrocarbons. They developed
the Amoco Rock Physics Laboratory,
Keith Millheim, Eberly Family Chair and director, OU School of Petroleum and
Geological Engineering, accepts the plaques commemorating BP-Amoco’s
donation of the Drilling Mechanics Laboratory and the Integrated Core
Characterization Center to the University of Oklahoma. From left to right, Jeff
Harwell, associate executive dean of the OU College of Engineering; Millheim;
Jeff Johnson, Manager, Geoscience, BP Amoco, and Ken Lackey, president,
University of Oklahoma at Tulsa. The markers were presented at a reception in
Tulsa on Aug. 17, 1999.
the highly automated mobile core
characterization facility (GEM) and the
preeminent Amoco Rock Properties
Database. Between them, they hold
more than 15 patents. They also
developed a highly integrated rock
physics modeling software system.
The University of Oklahoma is
planning to form the “Experimental
Rock Physics” consortium and is
seeking industry feedback on topics
that will provide the greatest impact to
businesses. Possible topics include
quantification of anisotropy, characterization
of unconsolidated materials,
attenuation, NMR response, correlation
between static and dynamic moduli,
AVO and attribute expression of rock
physics, nonlinear behavior of sediments,
rock physics modeling software,
and creation of a rock physics database.
For more information or to provide
feedback on these topics, send your
name, the name of your company, and
your e-mail address to either of the
following: crai@ou.edu or
csondergeld@ou.edu, or call
918-660-3917.
For additional information about IC»
or to obtain a price list, contact:
Bruce Spears
Research Associate
Integrated Core
Characterization Center
4502 E. 41 st Street
Tulsa, OK 74135-2500
918-660-4245 bspears @ou.edu
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