Seismic section

South African Petroleum Studies Programme

(SAPSP)
Introduction
In recent years, oil and gas have been produced from the offshore areas of South Africa. New
oil and gas fields will come on stream in the next few years.Although Africa is still largely underexplored, countries to the north of South Africa are presently proving up huge reserves. If the
burgeoning African oil and gas industry is not to be dominated by a few multinational
companies, it is vital that local expertise in exploration and production be developed.
The South African Petroleum Studies Programme has been launched in the Western Cape in
response to the needs of the South African oil and gas industry. This programme may
additionally provide educational opportunities for national and private petroleum companies
from the rest ofAfrica.
The Programme has been jointly designed and developed by the Universities of Cape Town,
Stellenbosch and The Western Cape, and is funded by , the Central Energy Fund, Energy
Africa and the Upstream Training Trust.
The Programme
The primary objective of the programme is to produce graduates capable of entering the
upstream oil industry with a firm basic education in the Petroleum Geosciences. The
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programme is offered at Honours level (4 year) as a study option within the Honours degree
in Geology. Additional compulsory modules must be followed to satisfy the requirements of the
B.Sc. (Honours) degree.

South African Petroleum Studies Programme

The Honours programme is presented in English and runs from February to November. The
petroleum studies option is presently divided into five components. During 2002 an M.Sc.
programme will initiate at the University of Western Cape, later to be followed by the other two
universities. Course modules of the M.Sc. programme will be an extension of the Honours
programme, with focus on completing a thesis within approximately a year.
Contents and Format
The Petroleum Studies Programme is divided into five compulsorymodules:
Module 1:Sedimentary basin delineation andHydrocarbon occurrence

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Basin delineation - sedimentary & tectonic basin development. Concepts of

sequence stratigraphy. Sedimentary depositional environments (clastics).
Geological description of cores.
Hydrocarbon formation - maturation, migration and trapping of hydrocarbons.
Composition & physical properties of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon exploration
offshore SouthAfrica. Field excursion (practical work).

Module 2: Applied Geophysics I: introduction to geophysical methods and

seismology

Introduction to exploration geophysics - acoustic waves, reflection seismology

(acquisition, processing & interpretation), 3D & 4D seismics. Gravitational, magnetic,
electrical and radiometric surveys and methods. Three day practical in seismostratigraphic interpretation.

Module 3 : Prospect Appraisal and Field Development stage I : petrophysical

concepts, coring and production geology

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Fundamentals of Petrophysics - porosity / permeability, capillary pressure, wetting &

relative permeability. Overview of common logging tools & basic log-interpretation.
Coring - recovery, geological description, routine & special core analysis. Integration
of all analysis. Composite-log displays.
Production geology -log correlation, maps, volumetric calculations, computer
applications. Significance of fractures and reservoir heterogeneities.

Module 4 : Prospect appraisal and field development stage II : Elaborating a static

reservoir model. Introduction to Reservoir Engineering, dynamic simulation and
Petroleum Economics.

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The Static reservoir model - overview of up-to-date reservoir modelling techniques

and software packages. Up-scaling and assignment of static and dynamic data.
Introduction to Reservoir engineering - reservoir fluid properties, phase-diagrams.
Well testing & test analysis, material balance, multiphase flow. Production
forecasting, dynamic reservoir simulation & field development planning.
Introduction to Petroleum Economics - project cashflows, discounted cashflows,
profitability indicators (NPV, EMV)., sensitivity analysis. Project ranking and
screening.

Geological (sedimentary model)

South African Petroleum Studies Programme

Module 5 : Applied Geophysics II : Seismic processing techniques and seismic

attribute analysis. Reservoir seismology

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Acquisition & Processing - signal theory, field acquisition, seismic processing,

velocities, migration.
Seismic interpretation - 3D data sets, amplitudes, rock physics and seismic lithology,
borehole seismology, shear waves. Attribute analysis. Practical work on a computerworkstation.

Modules 2 & 5 are taught at the University of Cape Town, Module 1 at the University of
Stellenbosch and Modules 3 & 4 at the University of The Western Cape. Students will travel
between the universities. Each module is approximately 15 lecture hours + 6x3-hours
practical.
Research work in the form of a mini-thesis is an integral part of the programme and students
will be required to complete a series of group and individual projects.
NOTE:
Students who wish to complete the Petroleum Studies Programme components without
registering for a full-time Honours degree, may do so in consultation with the Programme coordinators. In addition, the programme can be adapted for companies, to be presented as inhouse training modules.

Static reservoir model

Future M.Sc. program :

For 2003 it is aimed to implement an M.Sc. program at one or several of the three universities.
In addition to the modules of the Honours program, the M.Sc. will focus on computer-based
static reservoir modelling (employing RMS), Field Monitoring and Reservoir Management.
Most of the time will be dedicated to thesiswriting.
Optional modules to be introduced during 2003 and later:
! Drilling and Production techniques
! Dynamic reservoir simulation
! Hydrocarbon geology of SouthernAfrica

Well-pressure derivative

South African Petroleum Studies Programme

STAFF PROFILES
The course is presently taught by four staff members :
George C Smith (University of Cape Town) has a Masters degree in Geology from the
University of Cambridge. He has been employed in the oil industry as a geophysicist and
manager for 29 years, five years internationally and 24 years with the SouthAfrican national oil
exploration and production company, Soekor E&P. He was exploration manager for nine
years. He is theAfrican co-ordinator for the GlobalAffairs Committee of the SEG.

H De Ville Wickens (University of Stellenbosch) has a Doctorate in Geology from the

University of Port Elizabeth. He has 11 years field mapping experience with the Geological
Survey of South Africa, 10 years as a petroleum sedimentologist with Soekor E&P, and several
years consulting on deep-water and deltaic deposits for the international petroleum industry.
He joined the University of Stellenbosch in 1999

Robbert F X Rutten (University of the Western Cape) has a Masters degree in geology from
the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). He has 18 years international experience in The
Netherlands, U.K. , Denmark, Oman, Mozambique and Russia. He worked as staff- and
consulting geologist in production oriented environments. His experience embraces
production geology, well-site geology, sedimentology of carbonates and siliciclastics, reservoir
geology and instruction of these disciplines.

Ruud Winkel (University of the Western Cape) has a Masters degree in Physics from the
university of Amsterdam. He has 34 years international experience in Shell-operated
companies in Nigeria, Oman, Brunei, The Netherlands and The UK in various capacities, but
mostly as a reservoir engineer. He also was E & P manager for 2 years of a small independent
company. In 1998 Ruud joined Soekor E & P as Chief Reservoir Engineer emphasizing on
training and development of young reservoir engineers.

Requirements for Registering

In order to register for the Petroleum Studies Programme it is necessary to register for the
Honours degree in Geology at one of the universities: Cape Town, Stellenbosch or The
Western Cape. Prospective applicants should have the following qualifications:

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a three-year Bachelor of Science (BScB.Sc.) undergraduate degree or the

equivalent
geology at third-year level
for international candidates, a study permit from the SouthAfrican Department of
Home affairs is essential

Studentswishing to register for a post-graduate degree focusing on Petroleum Studies, should

have an Honours degree in Geology, or an equivalent 4-year qualification. Students who wish
to complete the Petroleum Studies Programme components, without registering for a Full-time
Honours degree, may do so in consultation with the Programme co-ordinators. Masters and
Doctorate degrees are self-study by thesis, and are supervised by staff of any of the three
universities.

Dynamic reservoir simulation

How to Register
Students wanting to register for the Petroleum Studies Programme should apply directly to the
Department of Geological Sciences at any of the three universities: Cape Town, Stellenbosch,
or the Western Cape. The department will then process the applications with the relevant
university. Students may be registered at any of the universities in order to qualify for the
Petroleum Studies Programme.
Applications should be made before August of the year preceding the intended study.
Application forms for graduate studies usually can be downloaded from the central websites of
the university of your choice.

South African Petroleum Studies Programme

SouthAfrican Petroleum Studies Programme Fees

The tuition fees for an Honours degree in Geology vary, depending on the university at which a
student is registered. Fees for South African and SADC students are ZAR12 000,00. Fees for
foreign candidates can be obtained on request.
Accommodation in a self-catering residence costs approximately R13 000,00 for a year. Exact
costs are obtainable annually from each university.
Limited funding for South African students may be available through the National Research
Foundation (NRF) and the Upstream Training Trust. Certain South African companies also
offer student bursaries. University departments can inform students about contacting potential
sponsors.

Production profile

Drilling platform