Show functions and qualifications of the oil geologist by hugh A stewart steward the term geology in its original meaning covers almost every science which deals with a study of the earth in the present day colloquial sense geology covers most of its scientific phases and in addition any number of other phases depending upon the interests of the men using the term to any one in the oil industry it has briefly one meaning the location of oil pools As a result anyone interested in the technical location of oil pools acquires the name oil geologist it has always been a matter of interest to the writer to determine what a given man might mean when he speaks of geology and of the oil geologist his meaning is is governed by his own knowledge of the subject and by such contacts as he may have had with oil geologists in this paper is set forth the writers opinion of the functions or of an oil geologist and what should be expected of him the oil geologist is primarily one who assembles geological data and uses it in the search for and development of oil fields pie he may be a geologist in the true sense with a wide knowledge of the science or he may be an all engineer with a limited knowledge of scientific geology although trained in the application of the essentials in oil finding geophysicist is taking his place the search for oil has become so intensive that the old je e of thumb methods and strict adherence to the theory have become merged into a mass of specializations zat ions the work today calls for the best efforts of the paleontologist both macroscopic and microscopic in making exact correlations these correlations are made both for the purpose of defining structure and for proving definitely the position of a given horizon it uses the who combines the results of the work done by the paleontologists together with the data collected directly in the field for carr carrying y ing t definite correlations horn from one area to another by means of outcrops and well logs the study of sedimentation enters into the work of geologist the texas company denver in colorado school of mines magazine the in interpreting and predicting the transition of sediments from one type in a given section to another type of rock in another area in addition there is rapidly growing up a new branch of the work namely geophysics which so far has been chiefly successful in the hunt for salt domes but which is gaining ground in the study of other types of structure as our fund of knowledge increases the geophysical work is highly specialized and the average man in in the field can not expect to become proficient in its operation though he should know the fundamentals of it what we are primarily concerned with is the oil geologist that is the man in the field hunting for prospective oil fields it been long since a man was considered a good geologist if lie he could map a bed or a series of dips which would outline a dome then by an estimate ot of greater or less precision figure the probable depth to a given oil sand As a matter of fact this type of oil geology is little more advanced than is the simple traverse around a plot of ground in ordinary field survey today the industry expects from its geologists not only the mechanical ability to make a geologic t survey thereby determining tile the presence or absence of suitable traps but also the geologist must evaluate with reasonable accuracy the variation in the type and thickness of the formations mat ions the probable presence or absence of a given formation in the series and the probability of finding oil in 1 the prospective horizons within reach of the drill at a given prospect if oil is discovered he must understand the probable conditions under which the accumulation exists and the facts controlling its distribution and pro luction with the further probable presence or absence of producing sands in the section three classes of geologists not counting the specialists the work of the practical tica oil geologist falls in three general classes in the first fi class comes the type of man competent to do original ln ill aaion in areas where previous geological work has not been done or where the work done was so general as to be of little specific value second those men capable of doing work in the better known areas where problems ot 0 have been studied and where the general geology is better understood third those men doing detailed work in older developed areas especially where the cle detailed tailed work is intimately associated with a subsurface study based on oil the results of wells drilled aside from the men who go into the specialized work the younger men inen gradually gravitate into some one of the three groups 1 sted asted each class of work has its individual requirements in training and development of the three the one requiring the broadest knowledge of geology is of course the man working in the new area such a man must work out his own strati raphy study the problems from a regional as well as from a local standpoint decide on the probable presence or absence of oil producing formations and the position of possible reservoir horizons he must evaluate such structures as he finds for the probable presence of oil in them and must decide particularly whether such probable accumulations would be of commercial value under tinder the existing state of cultural development of the area this man mail must be a geologist in a broad sense but he must also be an engineer competent to appraise the probable value ovalue of his prospects not alone as to the probable presence of 01 oil but as to its actual value under the existing 6 conditions this mans field work need not be in such exacting detail if he has the approximate shape and size of the structures together with the probable depths to prospective horizons with the exact location of the prospects in relation to the geography of the district this mans work calls for a knowledge of such a wide range of geologic subjects that he should truly be a geologist but in addition he should have that flair for potential oil that is only developed by a keen insight into the problems and an appreciation of all facts entering into them perseverance needed in known areas the geologist working in the better known areas as for example our continental united states has many advantages the formations in general have been mapped to a greater or less degree the has been at least partially worked out and usually the field conditions condition are easier than for a man working under the first class mentioned on the other hand the man mail in this class is called upon for much greater detail he is expected to map with a small limit of error to make correlations of reasonable exactness and to appraise each prospect for its regional as well nell as local importance in this work the geologist must take into account the local and regional tectonics so that lie he can understand the probable habit of the structures in the area the relations of faults and their effects upon the structures and upon the oil accumulations accumulation he must know his in sufficient detail as to estimate the drilling depths within small limits and the probable presence or absence of given formations either through thickening thinning or erosion at an unconformity to do all this he must be sufficient of a geologist to see and appreciate the details of faulting and folding and of the trends and he must also be able to visualize these in their relation to the prospects he considers moreover he should be able to project these ideas into the areas where outcrops are masked by cover and from his knowledge of the specialized lines of investigation vesti gation be able to decide whether or not study with seismograph balance magnetometer or formation drilling would be worth while these methods are expensive so lie he must be able to localize the area in which such search is to be made this man as well as the man doing work under the first class must be temperamentally self reliant and at the same time able to win the cooperation of his assistants and of those natives in the areas in which he works he must be persevering and not easily discouraged because he frequently will work under tinder conditions of great personal discomfort let alone hazard and he will walk many a weary mile before he finds a prospect worth detailing the man mail in the third type of work that is the detailing of developed areas has perhaps the easiest work of all living conditions are settled and the men have the comforts of home or at least a good substitute inasmuch as they are working in great detail with regard to small areas area s only their general knowledge and training need not be very extensive on the other hand they must be fiends for detail and have such a personality as will assist them in the accumulation of the necessary information to carry on their work there will be a certain amount of mapping which will be carried to the finest detail but the main reliance will probably be on oil information obtained from well logs and well samples much of this must be obtained from others working in the same area and on the same problem the men must by cooperation be able to obtain this information yet not disclose the ideas they may get from it he must be able to analyze the information obtained and sort it out in order to obtain the few bits of value froni from the vast fund of miscellaneous else he will be swamped in the detail this man mail must have an intimate knowledge of well drilling and practical operations in order to properly evaluate at much of the information he receives in which respect his requirement differs materially from the man working under tinder the first two classes oil geology and engineering the above outline divides geological work roughly into the three major classes with the principal requirements for each honesty integrity faithfulness and conscientiousness are understood Flox however ever all these nien men have one one thing in common they are all searching for oil and they are all endeavoring to apply the geological information to the finding of an oil field in this respect oil geology is properly application of science we need the scientist in searching out the abstract problems and each should be alert to add new bits of information to the science but in the practical application the engineering factor is the more important the geologic ic mind takes the fund of geologic information obtained analyzes it and reaches a conclusion as to the geologic geo analysis and examines it front from the engineers standpoint to decide the practical value of the prospect and of the oil field once it is discovered therefore rhe from the standpoint of the industry the man who is both b geologist 6 and engineer b who can call analyze the geologic factors and by their evaluation reach a sound engineering conclusion is the man to be desired the practical application of geology entails the knowledge of the fundamental facts of engineering folds and faults are the result of stresses the visualization or Pic picturing hiring of either is an application of our old friend descriptive geometry migration and accumulation are the result of some mechanical force the problems of production are almost purely mechanical if we consider the action of gas g as or water pressure as a mechanical force therefore in the writers opinion the oil geologist most desired is the man with a sound education in the fundamentals dament als of engineering together with his training in geology which must cover not only the absolute science with reasonable completeness but also the problems of and structure as he finds them in the field given a sufficient cent geologic knowledge to properly understand the geologic factors entering into a given problem the engineering training will furnish the basis for a proper practical evaluation of it |