Gipskeuper quarry near Iphofen,

Germany, March 2007

Education & Research

Education:

In October 2005 I started studying Geology at the University of Tübingen, Germany. I early put my focus on Applied Sedimentology and Ore deposit studies. Therefore, besides basic geology and mineralogy lectures, I took advanced courses in Petroleum Geology and Exploration Geology. The latter was offered by the geology department of Knauf Gips KG in Iphofen near Würzburg.

During my time in Tübingen I was employed as student assistant for Prof. Frisch, Prof. Pfretzschner and Dr.Kaliwoda.

As an important part of my geology studies I have participated in several field trips and mapping courses to Spain, Switzerland, Southern and Western Germany.

Later on, I decided that I wanted to continue my studies abroad preferably in the UK.  Since 10/2007 I have been studying at Imperial College London (Royal School of Mines) where I have graduated in 2009.

Title of my MSci project: “Subsurface Correlation and reservoir architecture, Almond Sandstone Play, Wyoming, USA“.

This project aims to apply correlation guidelines developed from high-quality outcrop analogues (fieldwork in Wyoming, summer 2008) to a subsurface dataset from a transgressive reservoir trend (Almond Sandstone).

 

Research:

Recent research went into the geology and basin evolution of the Siberian Platform and the Russian Far East.

The resource potential of East Siberia and the Far East was long underestimated, mainly because of the lack of infrastructure and governmental grants, until the early 1950s when Soviet geologists discovered oil and gas fields on the Nepa-Botuoba Arch (Markovo Field, 1958) in the Lake Baikal area. In the following decades more studies have been carried out leading to a greater understanding of the Siberian Platform and its resource potential. The 1960s and 1970s also led to major coal (South Yakutian Coal Basin), diamonds (Mirny, Vilyuy area) and precious metal (Baikalides) discoveries.

But not only the Siberian Platform became interesting in its natural resource potential. The geologically complex and still poorly understood Verkhoyansk Range and the Kolyma Mountains are now known for several types of ore mineralizations (Pb, Zn, Au, U, etc.). The Kolyma Region has been mined since the 1950s.

My research in the Eastern Former Soviet Union focuses on the resource potential (mainly hydrocarbons) of the Siberian Platform and the Far East (Verkhoyansk-Chukotka Folded Region).

This includes:

· Literature search (Russian & English), collection and data (outcrop and wireline) interpretation using different software packages.

· Construction of Gross Depositional Environment (GDE) Maps for the Precambrian (Riphean-Vendian), Lower Palaeozoic (Cambrian-Ordovician) and Late Palaeozoic (Carboniferous).

· Drawing Play-Cross Sections highlighting basin evolution, lithostratigraphy, structures, oil windows and petroleum prospectivity.

Field visits to the South Yakutian Coal Basin (Neryungri, Aldan area) are planned for 2011 or 2012.

The Siberian Platform yields several petroleum systems of different geological ages: Precambrian-Cambrian (Baykit Arch, Angara-Lena Terrace, Nepa-Botuoba Arch, Lena-Vilyuy Basin), Devonian, Permian-Triassic (Lena-Vilyuy Basin) Mesozoic and Tertiary (Sakhalin, not on the Siberian Platform).

The Precambrian-Cambrian petroleum system is of particular interest to me. Sourced from Riphean (~1000-650Ma) and Vendian organic-rich black shales in the Baikal-Patom folded region, oil and gas accumulated in Vendian and Cambrian clastic and carbonate rocks sealed by Lower-Middle Cambrian massive evaporites that developed in a laterally extensive evaporitic lagoon on the southern and central part of the Siberian Platform.

In terms of petroleum exploration, it is essential to understand the distribution of source rock, reservoir and seal facies that led to the known hydrocarbon accumulations. Therefore, palaeogeographic, structural and tectonic information is of great value to reconstruct the basin history and to provide ideas which areas to take into consideration.

To further evaluate the potential of East Siberia and the Far East, more research and data acquisition has to be invested in the region. This will be expected in the future when this part of Russia gets more attention from industry.

For further information, please see:

· Kontorovich, A.E., Surkov, V.S. and Trofimuk, A.A, eds. 1981. Oil and gas geology of the Siberian craton (Geologiya nefti I gaza Sibirskoy platformy). Moscow, Nedra. 552 p.

 

· Meyerhoff, A.A. 1983. Energy Resources of Soviet Arctic and Subarctic Regions. Cold Regions Science and Technology. Elsevier. pp. 89-166.