In this course, trap and seal analyses are discussed together as they are closely linked – after all, without a seal, there is no trap. Doing a good job in identifying valid potential traps requires creativity and resourcefulness in addition to an excellent understanding of what may constitute a trap and where potential spill- and leak-points may be. Otherwise, it is not possible to make meaningful predictions of the most likely column length and its uncertainty, and the HC volumes that may be present in an undrilled prospect. In mature basins and in basins with sub-optimal seismic data quality, where the more obvious traps have already been drilled, the search may be for alternative traps such as stratigraphic, deeper and/or basement traps.

1. TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT
SEAL ANALYSIS
Conducted by your Expert Course Director:
Your course leader joined Shell in 1979 as an exploration geologist, and had worked in several locations around the world such
as Netherlands, Gabon, USA, Australia, Argentina, and Malaysia in technical and management positions. During the last 10
years of his career, he was responsible for the quality assurance of Shell’s exploration prospects in many parts of the world
and for upgrading and replenishing Shell’s global exploration portfolio. He has worked closely with many teams on
various exciting discoveries in a range of geological settings.

2. TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT SEAL ANALYSIS
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About This Course
Two recent comprehensive look-back studies concluded that the absence of Trap and/or Seal are the main causes for
exploration wells to be dry. Clearly, Trap and Seal analysis is a very important part of prospect evaluation. Furthermore,
in the large majority of cases, the Trap Volume uncertainty is the main factor controlling the uncertainty range of oil or
gas volumes that may be discovered in a successful exploration well.
In this course, trap and seal analyses are discussed together as they are closely linked – after all, without a seal, there is
no trap. Doing a good job in identifying valid potential traps requires creativity and resourcefulness in addition to an
excellent understanding of what may constitute a trap and where potential spill- and leak-points may be. Otherwise, it
is not possible to make meaningful predictions of the most likely column length and its uncertainty, and the HC volumes
that may be present in an undrilled prospect. In mature basins and in basins with sub-optimal seismic data quality,
where the more obvious traps have already been drilled, the search may be for alternative traps such as stratigraphic,
deeper and/or basement traps.
Trap and seal analyses are discussed in this course from a pragmatic explorer’s point of view, based on the extensive
experience of the instructor and on published case histories. Top seal and fault seal will both be addressed. The
theoretical aspects of sealing that have been developed over the years will be explained, and traps and seals will be
illustrated with a large variety of trap types from different basin settings.
Advice and practical guidelines will be given to help explorers in their day-to-day work.
In this 5-day course, the main aspects that need to be considered for trap and seal analysis will be discussed,
including:
• Understanding and identifying spill- and potential leak-points of traps
• Theoretical aspects of seals and sealing capacity
• The effectiveness of Top and Fault seals
• Methods to assess the sealing potential of seals
• The calculation of Shale Gouge Ratio and Clay Smear as well as the construction of Allen (juxtaposition) plots
which will be explained and illustrated with several exercises
• Trap identification and analysis in a variety of extensional and in compressional settings
• Analysis and risking of stratigraphic traps
• Unusual traps such as basement traps
• Sealing mechanisms and reasons of seal failure: permeability seals and hydraulic seals
• Dealing with traps with multiple reservoir-seal pairs (in different basin settings)
• Differential leakage of gas versus oil and its role on gas-oil mix in traps
• How to treat trap and seal risks and uncertainty in a technically sound (and pragmatic) way in probabilistic risk
and volume analysis tools; also for multiple reservoir-seal pair prospects
Examples of traps and sealing efficiency from around the world will be given throughout the various modules.
Learning, Methods and Tools
At the end of the course, participants will understand the critical elements of hydrocarbon raps and how they affect the
trap risk and volume of trapped hydrocarbons. This should enable participants to focus on realistic traps and in
technically sound and realistic pre-drill estimates of prospect volumes. It should also result in a more focused search for
alternative trap types (e.g. deeper, stratigraphic and unusual) in mature basins.
Each topic will be introduced by a lecture, and learning will be re-enforced by practical exercises and discussions. Hand-
out materials in paper and/or electronic format will also be provided.
Who Should Attend
This course has been designed as an advanced module of the Prospect Maturation course by the same course leader,
but can also be seen as a stand-alone course where the relevant messages of the Prospect Maturation course will be
briefly summarised in an introductory module. The course is designed for explorers with at least several years of
experience in exploration; both geologists and seismic interpreters as well as their supervisors / team leaders.

3. TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT SEAL ANALYSIS
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5-DAY COURSE OUTLINE
DAY 1
1. Introduction and the basics
▪ Summary of the main relevant learnings from the Prospect Maturation course (dependency of trap types on
the basin type and deformation history; importance of recognising the spill- and leak-points of traps), followed
by a brief introduction of what will be discussed in this course.
2. Trap styles and distributions
▪ Typical basin development and deformation histories will be discussed of different basin types as a basis for
understanding what type of traps may occur, and the setting (location within the basin) where these may
occur.
▪ Illustrated with examples of trap densities and field sizes in different basin settings, and of variations of these
parameters within basins.
3. Control on depth of water contacts in worldwide examples
• Recapitulation of how HC-water contacts are normally controlled by spill- and/or leak-points, followed by 1 or
2 exercises where participants need to propose considered uncertainty distributions for HC column length.
4. Prospect identification from seismic sections and maps (exercises)
• Short presentation followed by exercises on conceptual cross-sections and ‘real’ maps and seismic lines on
identification of potential prospective zones and leads. The data to be used for these exercises will come from
different basin types, including deltas, rift basins, passive margins and deep water foldbelts.
DAY 2
Recap of Day 1
1. Sealing lithologies
• Different sealing lithologies and their effectiveness will be discussed, from perfect seals like salt to rather poor
silty or marly seals, with examples from different basins. Also unusual seals (e.g. basalt) will be presented. The
role of sealing on trapped hydrocarbons (oil vs gas, column length) will also be emphasised.
2. Seal theory
• The theory of capillary entry pressure; Rate of leakage from theoretical considerations; Tools and methods to
determine seal capacity; hydraulic seal failure; column length versus sealing capacity
3. Top seals
• The main geological controls on the effectiveness of top seals will be presented, and how this affects the HC
column lengths that can be retained by top seals.
4. Faults and fault mapping
• Typical characteristics of faults are presented, which should help their interpretation, especially in areas with
limited or poor quality seismic data. The construction of Allen juxtaposition plots will be explained with several
exercises.
DAY 3
Recap of Day 2
1. Fault seals
• Different fault seal mechanisms will be discussed: Juxtaposition, Shale Gouge, Clay Smear, Cataclasis and
Diagenesis. Industry practices and formulas will be presented and their application and validity will be a topic
for discussion. Examples of top and fault seals in different basins, trap types and sealing lithologies: rift basins,
deltas, deep water settings, carbonate provinces will be explored; effects of seal thickness and the role of
faults and fractures will also be discussed.
2. Differential retention of gas and oil
• The role of seals play on the gas-oil mix in traps will be discussed.
3. Stratigraphic traps
• Trapping geometries and aspects of sealing for stratigraphic traps; where stratigraphic traps can reasonably
be expected to occur, and where they are highly unlikely. Examples will be given from different basin settings
and depositional environments.
4. Unusual traps
• Basement traps, Volcanics, Hydrodynamic traps will be examined.

4. TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT SEAL ANALYSIS
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DAY 4
Recap of Day 3
1. Traps in Rift basins
• Examples of conventional traps in the syn-rift and post-rift: simple horsts and tilted fault blocks as well as
flower structures and anticlinal traps in inversion structures.
• Examples of stratigraphic traps.
• Examples where deeper traps have been successfully explored for deeper syn-rift and pre-rift.
2. Traps in Delta settings
• Typical traps related to growth faulting, and the role and effectiveness of clay smear in these settings;
overpressures in deltas and their effect on traps and sealing capacity will be explored. The role and
effectiveness of intra-formational seals in deltas will be discussed.
• Traps deltaic sediments in progradational coastlines (without growth faults) will be examined.
3. Traps in Deep Water fold-belts
• Typical structural style, stressing the importance of understanding reservoir presence and/or absence over
pre-kinematic and syn-kinematic antclines; Potential for reservoir presence in out-of-sequence anticlines will
be explained.
4. Traps in Fold Belts
• The structural style in fold belts and interpretation challenges of exploring there will be discussed, and
examples of oil and gas fields from several foldbelts (Rocky Mountains, Andes, Appennines, etc) will be given.
5. Traps in Deep Water passive margin settings
• The trapping mechanisms and setting of turbidite traps like Jubilee will be looked at.
• Traps in mini-basins such as in the Gulf of Mexico will be examined.
DAY 5
Recap of Day 4
1. Traps and Seals in salt basins
• The significant progress that has been made recently in the understanding of how traps form in salt basins will
be illustrated with examples from the Gulf of Mexico, The African and South American passive margins, the
NW European Southern Permian Basin, and from compressional foldbelts where salt is present.
2. Traps in carbonate settings
• Traps in shallow water carbonate platform settings (such as the Middle East); traps in reef settings (such as
Central Luconia); the role of thief-beds; control of HC-water contacts in reefs will be discussed.
3. Risk and volume analysis of traps and seals
• Dependencies for prospects with more than 1 reservoir-seal pair; what are the consequences of a proven seal
for a deeper reservoir on the chances for the shallower reservoirs.
• Guidelines and examples of prospects with different trap and seal risk profiles; Rules of thumb for trap and
seal risking - related to trap type, seal lithology, depth of burial, pressure regime, degree of faulting / fracturing
and data availability.
• Simple and pragmatic guidelines for deciding ore-drill uncertainty ranges of column-length (and area) and
most likely column length.
• For several basin types, pragmatic rules of thumb will be presented on how to assess the likelihood of the
presence of effective seals and their roles on the distribution of oil and gas.
4. Course summary and close-out
About your Expert Course Trainer:
Your expert course leader has a PhD in Geology from the University of Utrecht. He joined Shell in 1979 as an exploration
geologist, and worked in several locations around the world such as Netherlands, Gabon, USA, Australia, Argentina, and
Malaysia in technical and management positions. During the last 10 years of his career, he was responsible for the quality
assurance of Shell’s exploration prospects in many parts of the world and for upgrading and replenishing Shell’s global
exploration portfolio. During this period, he had also developed extensive expertise in Prospect Risk and Volume
assessments for which he ran successful internal training programmes. Following his retirement from Shell in 2010, he
took on a position as part-time professor at the University of Amsterdam and also serves as a consultant exploration
advisor for various E&P companies.

5. TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT SEAL ANALYSIS
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What Past Participants Have Said About His Previous Training Courses
“Good course with a lot of examples / case studies presented and also new insights
on the trap and sealing mechanisms in different basin settings” –
Geologist, Petroleum Brunei
Excellent course with vast experience from the training leader. Broad knowledge!” –
Geophysicist, Brunei National Petroleum Company
“Excellent instructor. Course material makes assessment for trap and seal more
meaningful.” – Geoscientist, Petronas
“Dr Jan impresses yet again. Great instructor, highly enthusiastic, and keeps things
interesting” – Geoscientist , PETRONAS Carigali
“Dr Jan gives very clear explanation and an excellent presentation. A very vibrant
teacher” - Geologist, ROC Oil (Sarawak)
“Excellent course especially working exercises help us in the practical application” –
Geophysicist, Bridgeport Energy
“Great real life examples providing me with new prospect ideas” –
Staff Geologist , Beach Energy

6. Conduct this training course in-house for more effective savings!
Call us at +65 6741 9927 or email to info@asiaedge.net. For more information, visit us at www.petroedgeasia.net
TRAP, TOP - AND FAULT SEAL ANALYSIS
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