Research Project:
Predictive modelling of sandstone reservoir quality in the Scotian Basin
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper
Professor Emerita, Department of Geology, Saint Mary’s University
Chris Sangster
M.Sc. student, Department of Geology, Saint Mary’s University
Project Timeline:
May 2016 – December 31, 2018
Thanks to research modeling reservoirs in the Scotian Basin, oil and gas developers are better able to predict the quality of undrilled frontier basins.
“Exploration geologists with major oil companies are interested in where the sand in reservoir rocks comes from: Was there a large and plentiful source of sand from granites, which supply coarse sand grains that make good reservoirs?” says Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper, one of the project’s principal investigators. “I and my students used minor minerals present in samples of sandstones in the offshore exploration wells to figure out where the sands came from.”
Dr. Pe-Piper adds, “Predictive modelling is an important tool in geoscience, and its capabilities have improved rapidly as computing power has advanced over the past few decades. We all know that modelling is widely used to provide remarkably good weather forecasts. Modelling will become equally important in geology and it is important for tomorrow’s geological specialists to have this skill.”