16 Dr. Jack Pashin Professor; Devon Chair of Basin Research; Sedimentary Geology; Coalbed Methane; Shale Gas; CO2 Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery, Structural Geology, Basin Analysis This was a very busy year with a broad range of academic and project activities, as well as my duties as Interim Head of the Boone Pickens School of Geology, which began last August. In Spring 2017 I taught Advanced Structural Geology, in which the class explored a spectrum of extensional, compressional, and strike-‐slip structures in sedimentary basins. Key topics in the class include structural balance, structural geometry, fold- ‐fault kinematics, and seismic interpretation. In the Fall Jim Puckette and I co- ‐taught Sequence Stratigraphy, in which students learned about depositional sequences, stratal architecture, and depositional cyclicity. The course included core and well log labs directed at stratigraphic and sediment-‐ ologic interpretation and the many ways depositional sequences and cycles can be expressed A DOE-‐sponsored CO2-‐enhanced oil recovery program in the Anadarko Basin is approaching completion that deploys unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring of oilfield operations. My group is in the midst of a major DOE project on geological characterization and CO2 storage potential of the eastern Gulf of Mexico shelf, and Ph.D. candidate Jenny Meng and Master’s candidates Avinash Chandra and Paul Charboneau have performed a range of reservoir characterization tasks that have greatly advanced knowledge of this underexplored region. And a new award is in negotiation that will continue this research on offshore formations through 2021. A project focused on drilling three geological characterization wells at a power plant in Mississippi that is facilitating CO2-‐ enhanced oil recovery and saline formation storage technology. M.S. students Conn Wethington, Stone Urban, and Sam Martin are conducting a broad range of geological analyses under this project, and the formations we are analyzing have average porosity of 30% and permeability as high as 16 Darcies at depths approaching 6,000 ft. Mercy Achang (Ph.D. candidate) is performing a critical analysis on using crushed rock samples to determine permeability in shale that is providing insight on basic analytical procedures, the utility of moisture equilibration of samples, and the use of nuclear magnetic resonance to identify changes in pore architecture induced by crushing across a range of particle sizes. Three students completed Master’s theses on a range of topics in 2017. Zak Ward studied the sedimentology and petrology of the Cline-‐Wolfcamp interval in the Midland Basin and provided new insight on depositional architecture and cyclicity. Danielle Martin characterized the large concretionary carbonate masses at the McAlister Quarry in the Criner Hills of southern Oklahoma, and demonstrated that these masses have a diagenetic history that spans the geologic evolution of the region. And Bradley Jackson analyzed the heavy oil accumulation in Gilbertown Field in southwest Alabama, and found a large volume of untapped oil using a range of techniques for the analysis of low- ‐ resistivity, low- ‐contrast formations con- ‐ taining glauconite. This was an exceptionally busy year for service activities, which include a range of committee activities in various geological organizations. I am a member of the U.S. delegation to an ISO committee that is developing standards for CO2-‐enhanced oil recovery, as well as a National Academies of Science panel that is analyzing future directions for the USGS Energy Resources Program. I attended a coalbed methane symposium at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, China and have developed a research partnership on unconventional coal and shale reservoirs with the China University of Mining and Technology. Of course, feel free to stop by and say hello next time you are in town, and please don’t hesitate to call or e-‐mail. Dr. Jim Puckette Associate Professor; Geoscience Education Chair; Petroleum Geology The year 2017 was a satisfying one in that the AAPG Memoir 116, Mississippian Reservoirs of the Midcontinent, came closer to completion. In addition, several students completed their theses, graduated and became working professional geoscientists. Students defending theses in 2017 included Cory Godwin, whose Ph.D. research was mentored by the late Darwin Boardman. Cory used lithostratigraphy and conodont biostratigraphy to correlate strata of the upper Boone Group and the Mayes Group in the southwestern Ozarks of Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. This research clarified Mississippian stratigraphy and was the source of two papers for AAPG Memoir 116. Cory now works for the AAPG in Tulsa. Tim Janousek completed his thesis on the conodont biostratigraphy of the “Wolfcamp D,” Midland basin, a proprietary study that resolved Permo-‐Carboniferous strat- ‐ igraphy. Tim returned to Missouri to work and chase conodonts. John Hunt’s thesis followed the paleontology theme as he established conodont biostratigraphy for middle Osagean to upper Chesterian strata, north-‐ central Oklahoma and provided a foundation for future research to resolve Mississippian stratigraphy. John now works for Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City. Garret Powell examined and quantified the impacts of hydrocarbon-‐linked diagenesis on the topographic expression of the Rush Springs Sandstone and Cloud Chief
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