Summer schools

Twenty-six early career scientists representing 14 nationalities joined the 7th ECORD Summer School: Downhole-Logging for IODP Science on 22 - 28 July, 2023. This was the first summer school back in person after the last two online iterations. As in the previous years, the European Petrophysics Consortium (EPC) organised the course and the University of Leicester hosted it.

A number of distinguished guest lectures, including Yohei Hamada (JAMSTEC), Philippe Pezard (University of Montpellier), Hanno Kinkel (ESSAC) presented insightful talks ranging from logging-while-drilling (LWD) aboard the Chikyū, to using downhole logging for Investigating salt water intrusions in coastal aquifers. University of Leicester’s Emeritus Professor Mike Lovell returned to teach the participants the basic principles of petrophysics in new and engaging ways (the now customary learning about permeability through Tim Tam Slams).

In addition to the lectures, the summer school offered an assortment of fun exercises and group projects in which the students could test and present their newly gained petrophysical knowledge. One of the main highlights was the poster session, where participants presented their own research projects, and the breadth of topics and discussion was amazing to see; everyone learnt a lot.

Fifteen early career scientists representing 12 nationalities joined the 6th ECORD Summer School: Downhole-Logging for IODP Science online on 4 - 8 July, 2022. As in the previous years, the European Petrophysics Consortium (EPC) organised the course and the University of Leicester hosted it.

A number of distinguished guest lectures, including Yoshinori Sanada (JAMSTEC), Philippe Pezard (University of Montpellier), Angela Slagle and Gilles Guerin (both Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) presented insightful talks ranging from logging-while-drilling (LWD) to using downhole logging for Investigating salt water intrusions in coastal aquifers. Peter Fitch from University College London and University of Leicester’s Mike Lovell returned to teach the participants the basic principles of petrophysics in new and engaging ways (learning about permeability through Tim Tam Slams is not only educational but also delicious!).

In addition to the lectures, the summer school offered an assortment of fun exercises and group projects in which the students could test and present their newly gained petrophysical knowledge.

The highlight of this year’s summer school was undoubtedly the video conference with Gilles Guerin who was calling in directly from the scientific drill ship JOIDES Resolution in the midst of Expedition 393: South Atlantic Transect. The students were able to get a unique glimpse of offshore life which prompted a wave (pun intended) of enthusiastic questions about IODP and how to join expeditions in Angela’s subsequent information session about the organization.

What is petrophysics and downhole logging?

Petrophysics is the study of the physical (and chemical) properties of rocks and their interactions with fluids. Petrophysical data acquisition operates principally by sending tools below the seafloor. In the borehole, logging tools measure a range of properties, capturing continuous data under in situ conditions.

Capturing the in situ information, relevant to the formation and the fluid it contains, is important for generating and ground-truthing geological models. Well log data provide a resolution at the 0.1-100 metre scale and are widely used to link core through physical properties measured on the core itself to seismic profiles.

There is a petrophysics skills shortage within IODP and within the geoscience industry. The Summer School aimed to address this through the provision of accessible and affordable training to geoscientists who wished to understand more about petrophysics in order to make greater use of downhole log and physical property data in their research.

The key aim of the Summer School was to equip course attendees with a working knowledge of downhole logging and core physical properties data. This meant developing the skills to assess data quality and usability in any given geological interpretation/setting and an understanding of how to analyse the data to enhance their research.

The schedule

The 5-day Summer School (13 to the 17 September 2021) encompassed 30 hours of CPD-accredited training in petrophysics. The school offered synchronous as well as asynchronous online sessions to facilitate participation from a wide range of time zones every day. The school included a mixture of interactive lectures, workshops and practicals exploring different aspects of scientific downhole logging within IODP and beyond.

Instructors/speakers

• University of Leicester
  • Sarah Davies
  • Erwan Le Ber
  • Katharina Hochmuth
  • Laurence Phillpot
  • Kieran Blacker
  • Catherine Russell
• University of Montpellier
  • Johanna Lofi
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
  • Gilles Guerin
  • Angela Slagle
• JAMSTEC/Mare3
  • Yoshi Sanada
• Imperial College London
  • Peter Fitch
• Schlumberger
  • Rudi Mathers
• BP (UK)
  • Sam Matthews
• Weatherford
  • Darren Chaney

Scholarships/bursaries

• 5 participants were funded by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) - 4 scholarships and 1 research grant
• 10 participants were funded by the United States Science Support Program (USSSP) - 10 travel bursaries

Blogs

• IODP blog

Instructors/speakers

• University of Leicester
  • Sarah Davies
  • Erwan Le Ber
  • Sally Morgan (organiser)
  • Laurence Phillpot
  • Tim Pritchard
  • Tom Harvey
  • Catherine Russell
  • Kieran Blacker
• University of Montpellier
  • Johanna Lofi
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
  • Gilles Guerin
  • Angela Slagle
• Imperial College London
  • Peter Fitch
• Schlumberger
  • Rudi Mathers
  • Jessica Keeble
• BP (UK)
  • Sam Matthews
• Total E&P
  • Louise Anderson

Scholarships/bursaries

• 1 participant was funded by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD)
• 10 participants were funded by the United States Science Support Program (USSSP)

Sponsors/in-kind contributors

• European Petrophysics Consortium
• European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling
• London Petrophysical Society
• UK International Ocean Discovery Program
• Weatherford
• BGS
• Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society

Instructors/speakers

• University of Leicester
  • Sarah Davies
  • Jenny Inwood
  • Erwan Le Ber
  • Mike Lovell
  • Sally Morgan (organiser)
  • Laurence Phillpot
  • Tim Pritchard
• University of Montpellier
  • Johanna Lofi
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
  • Gilles Guerin
  • Angela Slagle
• JAMSTEC
  • Yoshinori Sanada
• Imperial College London
  • Peter Fitch
  • Rebecca Bell
• Schlumberger
  • Rudi Mathers
• BP (UK)
  • Sam Matthews
• ALS Petrophysics
  • Ingrid Paola Tello Guererro

Scholarships/bursaries

• 5 participants were funded by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD)
• 9 participants were funded by the United States Science Support Program (USSSP)
• 2 participants were funded by the UK International Ocean Discovery Program (UK IODP)

Sponsors/contributors

• European Petrophysics Consortium
• European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling
• London Petrophysical Society
• UK International Ocean Discovery Program
• US Science Support Program
• Weatherford
• Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society

Blogs

• Petrophysics Summer School UKIODP
• Back to (Petrophysics) School

Structure

This 1st ECORD Summer School in Petrophysics focused on the application of downhole logging and core physical properties data to scientific questions, with case studies from each of the IODP Science Plan themes. The workshop consisted of lectures, discussion groups, and practical exercises on the different elements and data types used in petrophysical analysis. In addition, basic training in industry-standard software packages, including Schlumberger’s Techlog, formed a core part of the summer school. Sessions within the summer school fell into one of three categories:

• those which explain and describe the principles behind petrophysical measurements;
• those which demonstrate the methods by which petrophysical measurements are acquired;
• and those which reveal the ways in which petrophysical data can be used in the pursuit of scientific objectives through integration and interpretation.

An off-site excursion centred on downhole logging activities, including the development, testing, calibration and deployment of downhole logging tools was included. In addition, practical exercises including demonstrations of physical properties data acquisition, by way of multi-sensor core loggers. Integration of these core physical properties data and use of them to calibrate the in situ measurements will form a key component of the workshop.

Tutors/speakers

The European Petrophysics Consortium comprising:

• Leicester University (UK)
  • Sarah Davies
  • Jenny Inwood
  • Erwan Le Ber
  • Laurence Phillpot
  • Sally Morgan
• CNRS Montpellier (France)
  • Johanna Lofi
• RWTH Aachen (Germany)
  • Annick Fehr
• Aberdeen University (UK)
  • Sophie Harland
• BP (UK)
  • Sam Matthews
• Geotek Ltd. (UK)
  • Briony Shreeve
• Imperial College London (UK)
  • Peter Fitch
• JAMSTEC (Japan)
  • Yoshi Sanada
• JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (USA)
  • Trevor Williams
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (USA)
  • Gilles Guerin
  • Angela Slagle
• Schlumberger (UK)
  • Rudi Mathers
• Total E&P (UK)
  • Louise Anderson
• Weatherford (UK)
  • Terry Mayor

Scholarships

• ECORD awarded 3 Scholarships to Petrophysics Summer School participants.
• USSSP awarded 10 US-based scientists travel awards to support their attendance at the Petrophysics Summer School.

Sponsors

• European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling
• Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society
• UK International Ocean Discovery Program
• Marine Studies Group
• London Petrophysical Society

In-kind contributions

• Schlumberger
• Weatherford
• British Geological Survey
• European Petrophysics Consortium
• US Science Support Program