SPE

SPE 20752
Reservoir Management Training: An Integrated Approach
A,Satter,
Texaco Inc.
SPE Member
z

Copyright

19S0, Society of Petroleum

This paper was prepared for presentation

Engineers

Inc.

at lhe 651h Annual Technicai Conference

and Exhibition of the Sociely of Petroleum Enginaara heid m Now Orleans, LA, Saplember

This papar was aelecled for presantalion by an SPE Program Committee following review of Information conlainad
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Sociaty of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by Ihe
any poaltion of the Society of Patrolaum Enginaers, ita otficers, or membare. Papers presented at SPE meetings are
of Petroleum Enginaara. Permission to copy la realrictad to an abstract of not mcfe than 300 words. Illustration may nol
of where and by whom the papar is presenled, Wrila Publications Manager, SPE, P.0, Sok 833S36, Richardam,

U. S. petroleum reserves are dwindling, and

fewer significantdiscoverieshave been made
However, technological
in recent ~;ars.
all areas of petroleum
advances
exploration and exploitation, along with
rapidly increasing computing power, are
providing the tools to better manage
reservoirs to maximize economic recov=ry of
hydrocarbons. Sound reservoir management
praotices are of paramount importancein the
petroleum industry. Innovativemanagers and
trained personnel are needed to carry out
the functions <hat the reservoirmanagement
setting,
process
planning,
monitoring, and evaluating)
imPlementinJ,gOa
This paper deals with an
requires,
multi-disciplinary, highintegrated,
technology approach to reservoir management
training. It will focus on training needs,
candidates and their disciplines, course
aontentst methods, duration, source of
instructors,and the benefits to be gained.
It is derived from almof; two decades od
experience
comprehensive
Texacols
reservoir management training,

with most things, there is bad news as

well as good news, The bad news is U. S.
petroleum reservesare dwindling (Figure1),
and fewer significantdiscoverieshave been
made in recent years, The good news is
technolctgicaladvances in all areas of
petroleum exploration and exploitation,
along with rapidly increasing aomputing
power, are providing the tools to better
manage reservoirs to maximize eaonomic
reaovery of hydrocarbons. Sound reserwoir

As

References and figures at end of pap=

23-26,

1SS0.

In an abelracl submlllad by the author(a). Conlenta of lie paper,

author(s). The material, aa preeentad, does not necessarily raflect
subject to publication raview by Editorial Committees of Ihe Society
be copied. The abelract ahwld contain ccmplcuous acknowledgrrmnt
TX 760S34S36.
Telex, 7S0SS9 SPEDAL.

management practices are of paramount

importance to our domestic energy future.
Better management will go a long way to
reverse the declining reserves trend.
Innovative managers and trained personnel
are needed to carry out the functionsof the
reservoir management process.
These
functions are goal setting~ planning,
implementing, monitoring, and evaluating.
training
This
paper
discusses
and
professional development using state-ofthe-art concepts, techniques, and computer
software to manage reservoirs.
It iS
derived from almost two decades of Texacos
experience in formal reservoir management
training. The talk will focus on:
~
What is reservoir management?
~
is reservoir management training
Why
needed?
What should the trainingprogram offer?

3
4,

Who needs this training?

5.

Who should train?

6.
~

8.
~,

What would be learned/experienced?

How should the training be conducted?
What would be the benefits?
An example of an on-going reservoir
management training program.

A thorough understanding of the teahnical

aspects of the reservoirmanagement process
is a prerequisiteto developing a reservoir

RESERVOIR MANAGEMENTTRAINING: AN INTEGRATEDAPPROACH

management training program. The value of

the team concept, and interaction between
engineers, development geologists, and
geophysicists for successful reservoir
management needs to be also recognized.
Reservoir management has been defined
recent y by Robertson, Vigginsz, and
Basically, sound reservoir
Thakuri.
management practice relies on the utilization of available resources (human, technological, and financial) to maximize
profits from a reservoir by optimizing
recovery while minimizing capital investments and operatingexpenses (Figure2). We
are managing reservoirs every day, and it
can be as easy as pie. However, what we
really need to do is to examine the quality
of the pie. In managing reservoirs,we have
to make certain choices. Either we let it
happen, or we can make it happen. We can
just pray ~it~~trate some profit from a
careful planning and
reservoir
exploitation, or alternately, we can still
pray, even harder, but also do our part to
look into recovery beyond primary, and
maximize profits from the same reservoir
through sound reservoir management.

SPE ;0752

boundaries of their disciplines, communu;;

.
cate, cooperate, and work as a team.
100% commitment to the tean and the project
are vital.
OFFThe program should offer:
1,

Integrated, multi-disciplinary,hightechnology training.

2.

Identical training for engineers,

geologists, and geophysicists,leading
to a common overall knowledge of the
reservoir management f#ctions, and
together
reservoir
working
management projects.

3.

Multi-disciplinary courses, problem

session~, and workshops, relevant to
the reservoir management process.

4*

The opportunity to learn state-of-theart concepts, and techniques and to

gain hands-on experience with high
technology computer software.

5*

The environment for the trainees to

learn their companys technologicalas
well as human resources, fostering
valuable communication between the
technology source and operating unit
staff members.

Reservoir management is not synonymouswith

reservoir engineering and/or reservoir
Success
requires
geology.
lnultidisciplinary, int~gratedteam efforts. The
players are everybodywhcihas anythingto do
with reservoir operation: managers, geologists, geophysicists,and engineers,as well
as research and development, service,
environmental, land, and legal personnel.
Too many people are involved to name them
all.

YllKL~
Ideally, everybody who is involved or will
be involved in the various technicalaspects
of reservoir management need this special
Practically, to be cost
training.
effective,highly motivated individualswith
3-5 years of professional experience and
with leadershippotential are the desirable
candidates for this training. Experienced
professionals can also benefit from the
advanced sessions of this program, assisting
them to update and enhance their capabilities. The class should include a mix of
exploitation geologists/geophysicists and
production/ reservoir engineers.

The Crisman Institute for Petroleum Reservoir Management at Texas A&M University
recently published a manual for petroleum
reservoir manag~ment proposing an integrated approach. The panel talks given by
Wiggins on llAn Approach to Reservoir
Management!!,
Journel on Geostatisticsfor
Reservoir Characterizationto,
Razae on Data
Acquisition and Analysisttt Thakur7 on
l~~mplemenkatiO!l Of
Reservoir Management
Programl~,and Stiles on ~lReservoir
Management in Means San Andres Unit!!provide indepth discussions of many aspects of che
reservoir management process.

~ULD

Professionals with diverse, unique backgrounds and expertise are the ideal
instructors to conduct the training. It
should be ensured that the instructors
possess good teaching skills. In aase of an
in-housetrainingprogram, aonpanypersonnel
should be chosen to teach the trainees.
This way, the traineee would have aacess to
their own company experts for consultation
even after the completion of their training.
However, some outside industry expexts and
university professors should be also
utilized to teach for cross-pollination.

While technologicaladvanoes and increasing

power
computer
are
providing
the
better
opportunities
for
reservoir
management, they also create the problem of
having to train personnel in advanoed
technology and computer skills so that the
various functions of sound reservoir
management can be effectively carried out.
All personnel involved in one or more
aspects of reservoir management should have
a clear understanding of the rese~oir
management prooess. Apart from technioal
training, they need to learn how to aross
370

m
SPE 20752

A.

Sngineers, geologists, and geophysicists,

mought to a common location from the
tarious organizations of their company,
flould learn
together state-of-the-art
Zoncepts,techniques, and computer software
.vsedin modern, efficient management of oil
and gas reservoirs. They should be taught
developmentgeology and geophysics, formaLion evaluation, production and reservoir
mgineering, enhanced oil recovery, reser/oir simulation, economic evaluation, and
associatedcomputer techniques. The method
af training would be formal classroom
lectures, problem sessions, and workshops
Leadingto a working knowledgeof the latest
computer hardware and proven software
packages.
En the final phase of the training program,
teams of engineers, geologists, and geophysicists would work on reservoir managernentprojects utilizing the skills acquired
in the previous training sessions. Upon
returningto their organizations,they would
be
better prepared to tackle reservoir
management projects and would continue to
enhance their capabilities through on-thejob assignments.
ww SHOULD ~G
BE COND~f!
Ideally, the training should be conducted
in-house so that the trainees would learn
the company resources, both human and
technological, and be familiar with the
company ways of managing reservoirs and
doing business. Alternately, a training
~~d~
could be designed to include formal
short courses, and on-the-job
Formal
assignments within the company.
instruction in short courses could be
obtained from universities, professional
societies, and consultants.
The in-house training could be given all at
one time over a period of months. Alternately, it could be offered in several
sessions, each a month or more in duration?
with several month intervals between the
During these intervals, the
sessions.
trainees would be assigned to on-going
under
the
supervision of
projects
experienced reservoir managers.
Additionally, universities may consider
developing a graduate level reservoir
xnanagementtraining program utilizing their
from
geology,
petroleum
resources
engineering, applied mathematics, and
oomputer saienaes departments.
BE ~
mumu!a9-

Many tangib;;o;ndtih.tangible
benefits aan be
suggested resemoir
obtainad
management training program:
1.

Furthering professionaldevelopmentof
employees

StiW3r

company
of
technological

2.

utilization
Better
resources, human and
tools

3.

Ensuring sound reservoir management

through trained personnel

4*

Improvingcompany reserves,profits and

net assets through sound reservoir
management

5.

Enhancing employee motivation and job

satisfaction.
LE OF AN ON GOING

~
Texaco has been conducting reservoir
management training programs for their
The
employees for almost two decades.
company initiatedthis training in the early
1970!s for engineers and geologists with 3
to 5 years of experience. Training was
offered once a year~ starting in September;
9 months for engineers and 4 months for
geologists. Much of the training involved
in-house and outside classes and seminarson
applications,
reservoir
computer
engineering, formation evaluation, and
reservoir simulation. When there were no
scheduled activities, the trainees had the
opportunity to work on real life problems,
they
learned in the
applying what
classrooms.
This training program was made more formal
and structured in 1981. It consisted of
classroom instruction,problem sessions,and
hands-on training in computersoftwarepackages. All trainees took common courses in
geology
development
and
computer,
geophysics, reservoir engineering and
resones determination. The engineerswere
offered additional courses in advanced
enhanced
oil
engineering,
reservoir
recovery,reeervoirsimulation,and economic
evaluation. They spent the last four months
of their 9-month training period on simulation projects assigned by their home
offices. The geologists and geophysicists
received additionaltraining in computerized
mapping and had the last two months of their
4-month training period to work on assigned
projects. This format of the program was
well received by both domestic and foreign
divisions, although the students were not
available to their home organizationsfor an
extended period of time.
The 19801s rWiWW2ir
management training is
now restructured and shortened to meet the
training needs of the 1990~s (TableI). The
integrated, multi-disciplinary,high technology training is being offered
in four
sessions, each varying from 4 to 7 weeks,
with several months intervals between the
sessions. The sahool is designed to include
mix of development geologists and
~eophysiaists along with production and
Prerequisites for
reservoir engineers.
attendance inaludebasia geology coursee for
the engineers, basia reservoir ngineering

RESERVOIR MANAGEMENTTRAINING: AN INTEGRATEDAPPROACH

SPE 20752
.

for the geologists and geophysicists, and

for all attendees, basic log analysis and
PCs and mainframe
(computer literacy on
(computers. An identicalcourse schedule for
all the students has been developed to
;provide a common knowledge of reservoir
In addition to
management functions.
1
1
attending the courses, students will work
together in teams on reservoir management
projects in the final session.
1
i
I
The author acknowledges almost two decades
(
of contributionsof the students, teachers,
and managers to the developmentof Texacos
reservoir managexnenttraining program. The
(
company permission to publish this paper is
highly appreciated.
1
,

1.

Robertson, J. D.: llRe~enoir Management Using 3D Seismic Data, JPT (July

1989).

2*

Wiggins, M. L.: A Manual for Petroleum Reservoir Management,The Crisman

Institute for Petroleum Reservoir
Dept.
of
Petroleum
Management,
Engineering, Texas AkH University,
College Station, Texas, May 1989.

3.

Thakur, G. C.: ~~ReservoirManagement

- A SynergifiticApproach!,SPE Paper
20138, SPE Permian Basin Oil & Gas
Recovery Conferszce, March 8-9, 1990,
Midland, Texas.

4.

Wigginst M. L., and Startzman, R. A.:

llAnApproach TO Reservoir Managementtt
SPE Paper 20747, Reservoir Management
Panel Discussion, SPE 65th Ann. Tech.
Conf. & Exb., Sept. 23-26, 1990, New
Orleans, La.

5.

ltGeoStatiStiCS for
Journel, A. G.:
Reeervoir Characterization~t,
SPE Paper
20750, Reservoir Management Panel Discussion, SPE 65th Ann. Tech. Conf. &
Exb., Sept. 23-26, 1990, New Orleans,
La*

6.

Data Acquisition and

Raza, S. H.:
Analyaisfl,SPE Paper 20749, Reservoir
Management Panel Discussion, SPE 65th
Ann. Tech. Conf. & Exb., Sept. 23-26,
1990, New Orleans, La.

7,

llImplementatiOnOf
Thakur, G. C.:
Reservoir Management Program!!, SPE
Paper 20748, ReservoirManagementPanel
Discussion, SPE 65th Ann. Tech. Conf.
& Exb., Sept. 23-26, 1990, New Orleans,
La.

8.

Reservoir Management
Stiles, L. H.:
in the Means San Andres Unitlt,SPE
Paper 20751, ReservoirManagementPanel
Discussion, SPE 65th Ann. Tech, Conf.
& Exb., Sept. 23-26, 1990, New Orleans,
La*
872

,.-,

SPE Z07~2
TABLE

1.

EXAMPLE

RESERVOIR

SESSION
Introduction

NO.

Methods

Models

Advanced

Log Analysis

Well

Log Analysis

Computer-Assisted

Cross-Sections

Geostatistics

Computer-Assisted

Mapping

Reservoir

Pressure

NO.

Analysis

Transient

Analysis

Methods

4 days
No.

3 - 20 I)ays

- 5 days
- 5 days

Reservoir

Workshop

- 2 days

Optini.zati.on - 5 days

Econoni.c Evaluation

Field

Data

- 2 days

SESSION

Geological

2 - 25 Days

- 7 days

and Historical

Systems

EOR Recovery

- 5 days

Engi.neeri.ng - 5 days

Testing

Production

- 5 days

- 5 days
SESSION

Core

- 4 days

- 5 days

Cornputer-Assi.sted

Special

1 - 25 Days

Of Depositi~ nal Environments

- 4 days

Production

PROGRAM

in Explorat.ion/Exploi.fcation/Production

Geostatistics

Advanced

TRAINING

- 1/2 day

Geophysical
- 1/2 day
Geological

MANAGEMENT

Modeling

- 3 days

Reservoir Modeling - 7 days (2 weekends)

SESSION

No.

Reservoir

Sirnuliation w 10 days

Reservoir

Developxnent

Reservoir

Management

Planning
Projects

4 - 35 Days

- 2 iiays
- 23 days

373

1.,:
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SW tZo75i?. .. .

~,

Wtty Need Reservoir Management Training?

TschnologloalAdvances

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1975

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1985

1995
FIO. 1-Impflwta

/
Computing Power

01 rwcrwir

nnM@omMt

Wd tmtrllm.

What is Reservoir
Management?
Profits

Maximize Profits

(l

w
Capital Invastmants

Make Choices
- Let It Happen

ProductIon
Rate

PQ, 2-Rcwvolr

- Make It Happen

mWM@WMnt ddhllk.n

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