OEER & OETR Events Page

 

 

Past Events

Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) 8th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop

May 26-29, 2009 - Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia

BoFEP, in partnership with the OEER Association, is hosting its 8th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop on May 26-29, 2009 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The theme of this workshop is "Resource Development and its Implications in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine". Topics will include:

• Tidal power/environmental implications;
• Fisheries, coastal and offshore;
• Aquaculture;
• Mining, coastal and land-based;
• Resource development and systainability of coastal communities;
• Oil and gas;
• Watershed issues;
• Cross-border issues;
• Impacts on coastal wildlife;
• Environmental monitoring and indicators; and
• First Nations and community-based programs.

For more information or to register, visit www.bofep.org/workshop2009.

 

Workshop on Hydrodynamic Modeling in the Bay of Fundy

April 15-16, 2009 - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

Nova Scotia Energy Research & Development Forum 2008

 

Central Atlantic Conjugate Margins Conference - August 2008

  

American Association of Petroleum Geologists Distinguished Lecture Tour:

"Geologic Considerations on Successful Deepwater Exploration and Field Development"

Michael H. Gardner
Montana State University; Bozeman, Montana

Dalhousie University, Department of Earth Sciences

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 5:30 for 6:00 p.m.
Milligan Room, 8th Floor Biology-Earth Sciences Wing, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University

Food and refreshments will be available in the Milligan Room before the seminar.

For further information contact the Department of Earth Sciences at 902-494-2358.

Biography:

Michael H. Gardner

Michael H. Gardner is an Associate Professor at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana and a geological advisor to Marathon Oil Company. He received his B.A. in Geology from the University of Colorado and his Ph.D. from the Colorado School of Mines. Refined through outcrop studies conducted since 1983, his applied research focuses on outcrop characterization of sedimentary architecture by integrating "old-school" field methods with three-dimensional, geospatial visualization technology. Mike teaches and leads the Slope and Basin Consortium at Montana State University, where his current research focuses on developing, testing and verifying geological rules for deep-water reservoir prediction through the Geological Analogs and Information Archive (GAIA) project.

Abstract:

All sedimentary basins share a common fossil fuel extraction history characterized by the development of progressively deeper and/or more complicated hydrocarbon reservoirs over time. Economic thresholds based on high production rates and large reservoir volumes suggest that the maturation of offshore deepwater basins may follow a somewhat different path. High production rates are required to overcome the increased time between an offshore discovery and first production. High operating costs require field developments with fewer wells and emphasize seismic-based determination of reservoir volume. These economic requirements are fundamentally geologic in origin, but they also reflect the additional consideration of ocean bathymetry and subsurface drilling depth as key drivers on high extraction costs.

Reservoir distributions in onshore structural basins reflect the incomplete and fragmented record of depositional systems amalgamated from many sedimentary basins, which are often unrelated to the present basin configuration. Onshore reservoir quality generally decreases with increased age and depth. By contrast, deepwater reservoir distributions and types record contemporaneous deposition and ocean basin evolution. This produces a family of reservoir types, genetically related by a common depositional system and basin history. Because the genetic thread is preserved in the more complete deepwater record, predictive geologic rules may be successfully applied.

The need for high production rates and reservoir volumes drives the economics of deepwater field developments in offshore basins. This elevates the importance of the reservoir as a key geologic factor. Reservoir quality reflects the sedimentary architecture of the depositional system. Important controls include the distributions and types of deepwater reservoirs often reflect the present ocean basin bathymetry of the offshore basin. Depositional outbuilding of the continental margin generates predictable patterns of syn-sedimentary deformation and sedimentation within offshore-thinning sediment prisms. Submarine channel fairways represent long-lived sediment transmission sites and form sand-prone regions within these sediment wedges. The close linkages between basin evolution, sedimentation, and fluid migration require multidisciplinary teams to successfully integrate information currently partitioned into different geoscience sub-disciplines. Successful integration should aid the development of predictive geologic rules that exploit the more complete stratigraphic record and close linkage between structural deformation and sedimentation. The paradigm shift required to successfully adapt to these geologic conditions remains a significant challenge.