

A five-day classroom course where lecture material including case-studies and recommended workflows are backed up by a comprehensive suite of exercises designed to show how to use Petrel for velocity analysis and depth conversion to maximum effect.
Depth conversion is approached as part of the geological-geophysical interpretation process, which starts during seismic time interpretation and ends with maps for STOIIP/GIIP calculations and well planning. Tips and techniques in data QC, practical velocity modelling methods, and recognition of geological and geophysical pitfalls are emphasised. Attendees will learn how to optimally use their velocity data, see how greater control on the velocity model can be achieved by incorporating geological understanding, and appreciate the importance of their choice of method for tying maps to wells. Petrel’s use of velocity is explained, and it will be shown how to perform depth conversion and sensitivity analysis efficiently. A wide range of experience will be catered for in the course which is biased towards worked examples. Attendees will leave with the skills necessary to independently undertake depth conversions, assess sensitivity and quantify depth uncertainty.
Attendees will learn to
Interested? Book this course today
Geologists, Geophysicists, and Technical Support staff engaged in producing depth maps from seismic interpretations with Petrel software, as well as technical management and other subsurface professionals involved in evaluating and using depth mapping results.
Oil companies, service companies who are interested in running the course in-house should contact Alan Atkinson, the course creator and presenter. Individuals may also contact Rockflow to enquire about possibilities for participating in a course.
A basic understanding of geology, structural interpretation and the seismic method is required. The lectures are suitable for attendees with a wide range of experience, but some exposure to mapping and seismic interpretation is required to gain full value from the Course.
The Course can be undertaken by those who have no Petrel experience, but it is better if students have at least been on an introductory Petrel course and/or have had hands-on project experience. Those with limited seismic interpretation experience, no depth conversion experience and no Petrel experience will find the course demanding.
Alan has over thirty five years of exploration, field development, and production geoscience experience with operators in West Africa, South Asia and the North Sea.
Specialising in the application of high end geophysics to structural and stratigraphic seismic interpretation, his areas of expertise are reservoir characterisation (using pre-stack inversion, AVO analysis) and velocity modelling (pre-stack depth migration and depth conversion).
He started his career working the North Sea with Phillips Petroleum and Amerada Hess in London, and subsequently moved to CNR International, working Angola and Côte d’Ivoire. He then moved to Cairn Energy, living and working in India, and becoming Chief Geophysicist during their successful Rajasthan campaign. Here, he supervised several significant seismic acquisition and processing programmes, and managed a geophysical studies team undertaking, amongst other projects, AVO modelling work and pioneering 4D studies on India’s largest onshore fields. He is now a partner in Rockflow Resources Ltd, a specialist technical and management consultancy serving the international petroleum industry, primarily advising on reserve evaluations for a variety of clients worldwide and providing services as an Expert Witness in oil and gas disputes. He is also an honorary lecturer at Imperial College London.
Alan devised the ‘Depth Conversion Methods & Pitfalls’ course in 2009 and ‘Depth Conversion Methods & Petrel Workflows’ two years later. The courses have been delivered around 60 times to audiences across the world. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society, and an active member of SEG, EAGE and PESGB.
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