NARG future/proposed Research
PhD opportunities:
Basin Studies and Petroleum Geoscience Group The Basin Studies and Petroleum Geoscience Group at the University of Manchester is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, with over 20 PhD research students, 9 research assistants and 8 academic staff. Students have access to unrivalled modern workstation facilities, running industry-standard software, along with dedicated digital outcrop equipment and a full suite of world-class research laboratories within the School. Research projects in the Group are supported by over 15 international oil companies, government organisations and research councils. Our Petroleum Industry PhD (PIP) Programme is a well established and integrated PhD research programme offering students advanced training from our Petroleum Geoscience MSc modules in their first year, along with a structured programme of dedicated courses in applied research techniques, and internships in the second and third years. This research programme will provide the skills necessary for subsequent employment within the petroleum industry or for postdoctoral research.
For further information contact Michael Atherton (Michael Atherton@manchester.ac.uk) Applications can be made online at: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/howtoapply/ Applications should include a covering letter summarising the applicants geological expertise and their suitability for the project and at least two academic referees.
1) Controls on facies development, reservoir quality and distribution of the Nubian (Sarir/Messak) sandstones: Libya Supervisors: Prof. Jonathan Redfern, Prof Rob Gawthorpe and Dr Andrew Gardiner
Applications are invited from graduate with at least a good upper second class BSc Hons degree in geoscience (or equivalent), for a fully-funded, three-year PhD. The term “Nubian Sandstone” is used in North Africa for a thick package of clastic dominated sediments spanning an interval from the Palaeozoic in Egypt to Early Cretaceous in Libya. In Libya these sandstones are also locally called the Sarir and Messak sandstone and are significant reservoir targets with major fields such as the Sarir Field (5 billion barrels recoverable), Messla (3 billion barrels recoverable). Future hydrocarbon exploration will involve drilling deep within the grabens and also exploring for increasingly subtle traps, which requires a better understanding of the complex sedimentology and stratigraphy of this interval. Despite a limited number of field-based studies that have been carried out by oil companies, little is published and the regional distribution and controlling factors which effect facies and reservoir quality is still poorly understood. This project will focus on the evolution of the Lower Cretaceous clastics in the Sirte Basin, Libya, the sedimentology and reservoir characteristics’ and aims to:
The research project will utilise extensive subsurface data provided by the sponsoring oil companies of the North Africa Research Group, a database that will include: core, wireline logs and seismic. The project will involve fieldwork on outcrop analogues in Libya (Northern Murzuk basin Messak Formation) and possibly Egypt, underpinned by the establishment of a new digital outcrop facility at Manchester University, using LIDAR and DGPS field equipment linked to DEM, GIS and reservoir modelling software in state-of-the-art laboratories. The student will develop both outcrop and subsurface sedimentological skills, including seismic workstation experience making the project appropriate for both an academic or oil industry career.
Supervisors: Professors Rob Gawthorpe and Jonathan Redfern Applications are invited from UK/EU and Indian nationals, with at least a good upper second class BSc Hons degree in geoscience (or equivalent), for a fully-funded, three-year PhD project to examine the structural evolution and tectono-sedimentary development of the Barmer Basin, Rajasthan Rift, India. The aim of the study is to document the 4D structural and sedimentary evolution of the rift focusing on: i) the structural style and evolution of the border and intra-rift fault zones, ii) the kinematics of the rift, and iii) the syn-rift depositional environments and the controls on their evolution. Seismic and well data, supplemented by outcrop studies, will form the basis for this integrated, tectono-sedimentary study. Structural mapping of key stratal surfaces and major faults will be the first phase of interpretation, allowing assessment of rift kinematics and the role of fault segment growth, interaction and linkage in the evolution of the rift. The structural evolution will then form a template for reconstructing the depositional environments of the rift using a combination of well and seismic attributes. A major objective will be assessment of the structural style during the rift initiation stage where the sand-prone Fatehgarh Formation provides a major reservoir target. Our work on other rift basins around the world suggest the rift initiation structural style is markedly different to the later rift climax stage and that the differences play a major role in controlling sediment transport routes and depositional systems. The project will benefit from being part of a strong group of researchers specifically working on structural, sedimentary and geomorphic studies of rift basins around the world, and from close interaction with Cairn India. 
To apply for any PhD applicants must apply through the Main University site (link). For further information, contact us by Email. |
