COURSE OVERVIEW:

This course provides an in-depth and practical understanding of special coring operations and core analysis, with particular emphasis on core description and the evaluation of reservoir properties for integrated reservoir studies. Participants will follow the complete workflow from planning and executing coring operations in the well, through handling and preservation at the rig site, to detailed laboratory measurements, geological description, and integration of results with logs and reservoir models.

The course covers conventional and sidewall coring methods, core plugs and whole core handling, preservation techniques, and the design of routine and special core analysis programs to support petrophysical evaluation, reservoir engineering, and development decisions. Detailed attention is given to sedimentological and petrological core description, facies analysis, fracture characterization, and core to log integration, together with the interpretation of key routine and special core analysis results such as porosity, permeability, fluid saturations, capillary pressure, relative permeability, wettability, and electrical properties.

Practical examples and case studies illustrate common operational issues (core recovery, core damage, contamination), data quality concerns (representativity, scaling, uncertainty), and the impact of core data on volumetrics, flow simulation, and field development planning. By the end of the course, participants will be able to design and supervise coring and core analysis programs, critically review laboratory reports, and effectively use core data in multidisciplinary reservoir characterization and evaluation.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After completion of the course, the participants will be able to:

• Explain the role of coring and core analysis in reservoir characterization, petrophysics, and reservoir engineering.
• Distinguish between conventional coring, sidewall coring, and rotary sidewall coring and select appropriate methods for different reservoir and operational conditions.
• Plan coring intervals and coring programs based on geological, petrophysical, and reservoir engineering objectives.
• Describe best practices for core handling, labeling, preservation, and transport to maintain core quality and representativity.
• Identify common sources of core damage and disturbance and assess their impact on measured properties.
• Explain the scope and objectives of routine core analysis, including porosity, permeability, fluid saturation, grain density, and related standard measurements.
• Explain the scope and objectives of special core analysis (SCAL), including relative permeability, capillary pressure, wettability, and electrical properties.
• Design appropriate routine and special core analysis programs to support specific reservoir issues such as transition zones, waterflood behavior, and enhanced recovery screening.
• Perform and document systematic geological and sedimentological core descriptions, including lithology, textures, structures, and depositional facies.
• Recognise and describe fractures, vugs, and other heterogeneities in core and understand their implications for flow behavior.
• Integrate core descriptions with wireline logs, image logs, and thin section data to build consistent facies and petrophysical models.
• Interpret key core analysis results and translate them into inputs for petrophysical evaluation and reservoir simulation (rock types, saturation functions, relative permeability curves).
• Evaluate data quality, uncertainty, and scaling issues in core data and communicate their impact on reservoir studies and development decisions.
• Review and critique core proposals, core analysis contracts, and laboratory reports to ensure technical adequacy and value for money.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

• Reservoir engineers and reservoir engineering technologists