| |  | | | | Photograph by Barchfield Photography | SEG/EAGE Distinguished Instructor Short Course a Hit on Friday By Jenny Kucera Seventy-five participants attended Friday's course on Geophysics Under Stress: Geomechanical Applications of Seismic and Borehole Acoustic Waves, presented by Colin Sayers of Schlumberger. The integrated nature of this course was ideal for individuals from all subsurface disciplines including geophysics, geomechanics, rock physics, petrophysics, geology, geomodeling, drilling engineering, reservoir engineering, and petroleum engineering. The day-long course started with an overview of the subject matter to be covered, including sediment compaction and the state of stress in the Earth, pore pressure, stress sensitivity of sandstones, wellbore stability and wave velocities near a borehole, reservoir geomechanics and 4D seismic monitoring, fractured reservoirs, and the seismic anisotropy of shales. "As a practicing geophysicist working on fractured plays, I found the sessions on the anisotropy of shales most helpful. The instructor shared powerful examples of seismic monitoring and the practical aspects of wellbore stability. The day was packed with lots of material," said Sandy Crawford of ConocoPhillips Canada. The objective of the course is to provide an overview of the sensitivity of elastic waves in the Earth to the in-situ stress, pore pressure, and anisotropy of the rock fabric resulting from the depositional and stress history of the rock, and to introduce some of the applications of this sensitivity. Friday's course provided the basis for applying geophysics and rock physics solutions to geomechanical challenges in exploration, drilling, and production. A variety of applications and real data examples were presented with particular emphasis placed on the rock physics basis underlying the use of geophysical data for solving geomechanical problems. "It's interesting, that the presentation of this course is different in different locations. In some, participants will ask more questions, making the lecture more of a lively debate," Sayers said. "In other locations, they have fewer questions and just absorb the information being presented." Colin Sayers is the 2010 SEG/EAGE DISC instructor. A prominent geophysicist, he serves as a scientific advisor in the Schlumberger geomechanics group, and consults with clients in the areas of rock physics, geophysics, pore pressure prediction, wellbore stability analysis, reservoir geomechanics, and the properties of fractured reservoirs. Click here for event photos Order Geophysics Under Stress: Geomechanical Applications of Seismic and Borehole Acoustic Waves online from the SEG Book Mart Read an interview with Colin Sayers Related Annual Meeting News: | 
