An intensive professional development training course on
Tight, Shale, and Unconventional Oil & Gas Resources
Technologies, Reservoir Behavior, and Commercial Development Strategies
Why Choose Tight, Shale, and Unconventional Oil & Gas Resources Training Course?
The development of tight, shale, and unconventional oil and gas resources has fundamentally transformed the global upstream energy industry. As conventional reservoirs mature and decline, unconventional resources have become a critical component of global hydrocarbon supply, enabled by advancements in subsurface characterization, horizontal drilling, and hydraulic fracturing technologies. These resources now play a strategic role in enhancing energy security and sustaining long-term upstream growth.
Tight and shale reservoirs differ significantly from conventional systems due to their ultra-low permeability, complex pore structures, and strong geomechanical controls. Hydrocarbons are often stored within the source rock itself, requiring engineered stimulation to achieve commercial production. As a result, successful unconventional development demands an integrated, multidisciplinary approach that aligns geology, reservoir engineering, drilling, completions, and production optimization.
This training course provides a comprehensive and practical understanding of tight oil, shale oil, shale gas, and other unconventional resources across the upstream lifecycle. Participants will explore reservoir characteristics, drilling and completion technologies, hydraulic fracturing principles, production behavior, and economic considerations that govern successful unconventional projects. The course bridges technical fundamentals with real-world development strategies, equipping participants with the knowledge required to evaluate, plan, and support unconventional oil and gas developments effectively.
What are the Goals?
By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the characteristics of tight, shale, and unconventional reservoirs
- Differentiate between conventional and unconventional resource systems
- Evaluate geological and petrophysical properties of shale and tight formations
- Apply modern drilling and completion technologies used in unconventional plays
- Understand hydraulic fracturing design and execution principles
- Analyze production behavior and decline trends in unconventional wells
- Assess economic, operational, and environmental challenges
- Support strategic decision-making for unconventional resource development
Who is this Training Course for?
This training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:
- Petroleum, reservoir, drilling, and production engineers
- Geologists and geophysicists
- Unconventional resource specialists
- Asset development and planning engineers
- Oil & gas project managers and technical supervisors
- Energy professionals involved in upstream decision-making
- Technical professionals transitioning from conventional to unconventional assets
How will this Training Course be Presented?
This training course will utilise a variety of proven adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension and retention of the information presented. This includes an interactive mixture of lecture-led learning & group discussions.
The Course Content
- Overview of global unconventional oil & gas resources
- Definitions: tight oil, shale oil, shale gas, coalbed methane, heavy oil
- Comparison between conventional and unconventional reservoirs
- Geological framework of shale and tight formations
- Source rock properties and hydrocarbon generation
- Reservoir quality challenges in unconventional plays
- Global case studies: North America, Middle East, and emerging basins
- Petrophysical properties of shale and tight reservoirs
- Porosity, permeability, and nano-scale pore systems
- Natural fractures and geomechanical considerations
- Rock mechanics and stress regimes
- Core analysis, well logs, and seismic applications
- Reservoir modeling for unconventional systems
- Uncertainty and risk assessment in unconventional reservoirs
- Horizontal drilling fundamentals and well design
- Well placement and landing zone optimization
- Drilling challenges in tight and shale formations
- Completion strategies for unconventional wells
- Multistage hydraulic fracturing concepts
- Fracture fluids, proppants, and pumping schedules
- Operational risks and mitigation strategies
- Fundamentals of hydraulic fracturing mechanics
- Fracture geometry, propagation, and containment
- Stimulation design optimization
- Flowback and early-time production behavior
- Production forecasting and decline curve analysis
- Artificial lift applications in unconventional wells
- Enhanced recovery concepts for shale and tight reservoirs
- Economics of unconventional oil & gas projects
- Cost drivers and break-even analysis
- Development planning and full-field optimization
- Environmental and water management considerations
- Regulatory and HSE challenges
- Digital technologies and data analytics in unconventional plays
- Future trends and emerging technologies in unconventional resources
- Course wrap-up, discussions, and practical insights
Certificate and Accreditation
- AZTech Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course
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