The Basin Research Energy Section is the oil, gas, and coal research section of the LGS, and it performs research into the nature and occurrence of oil, gas, and coal both in Louisiana and around the world. The BRES disseminates its research and technical information widely, especially to the independent oil and gas producers of Louisiana, thereby enabling more economically efficient exploration and production operations. The Basin Research Energy Section was formerly the LSU Basin Research Institute, which was established in 1984 and which was merged into the Louisiana Geological Survey in 2000.
Basin Research Energy Section
Staff
Reed J. Bourgeois
,
Computer Analyst 2
Reed Bourgeois obtained a B.S. from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana in 1985. Reed provides computer assistance to the research staff with their projects and is also responsible for the acquisition, upkeep, and maintenance of LGS computer hardware and software. Reed started at LSU in 1991.
Brian J. Harder
,
Research Associate 5
Brian holds both a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University, and A.A.S. in chemical Technology, from Alfred State College, and is a member of SPE. Before joining LSU in 1987, he worked for Gearhart Industries as an engineer in Oklahoma, North Texas, North Louisiana and Mississippi. Harder's areas of expertise include petroleum engineerng, well logging, petroleum economics, the development of oil and gas databases, oil and gas atlas preparation, regulatory studies, and oil and gas operations in wetland areas of south Louisiana.
Recent Publications:
- Harder, Brian J., Chacko J. John, Reed J. Bourgeois, 2007, The Eco-Rig Concept: Converting Decommissioned Offshore Platforms for Energy Production: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 57 (in press)
- Miller, Byron, Chacko J. John, Brian Harder, and Reed Bourgeois, 2004, The University Oil and Gas Field; Hydrocarbons, Reservoirs, and Future Potential; American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention Abstracts Volume, v. 13, p. A97.
- Miller, Byron, Richard P. McCulloh, Chacko J. John, Brian Harder, and Reed Bourgeois, 2002, Occurrence and Structural Control of Hydrocarbon Production Associated with the Baton Rouge Fault Zone, Louisiana; American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention Program Book, v.11, p. A123.
Marty Horn
,
Assistant Professor of Research
Marty Horn joined the Louisiana Geological Survey as an assistant professor of research in January 2007. He had previously been employed at LSU since 2002 as an instructor in the LSU Department of Geology and Geophysics, where he also served as the field camp director.
Horn earned a B.S. in Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma in 1982, an M.S. in Geology at the Arizona State University in 1986, and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences – Geology at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996. After graduation he taught courses in Mineralogy, Petrology, Volcanology, and Field Geology at UTA as an adjunct professor.
While at UTA Horn also worked as a geologist for Snyder Oil Company, where he primarily focused on the Hosston and Cotton Valley trends of north Louisiana. At the LGS he has returned to full-time research on north Louisiana oil and gas reserves.
Bobby Jones
,
Research Associate 5 (part-time)
Bobby holds a B.S. from Louisiana State University, worked for the LGS from 1948 to 1960 (reaching the rank of Geologist III) and is retired from his position as chief geologist of the Louisiana Office of Mineral Resources. Bobby rejoined the LGS in 1997. His fields of expertise are subsurface petroleum exploration and geology, land management of oil and gas exploration and development, regulatory operations of oil and gas operations.
Recent Publications:
- C.J. John, B.L. Jones, B.J. Harder, R.J. Bourgeois and M.B. Miller, 2004, New Field Discoveries in Chandeleur Sound, Offshore Louisiana: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 54, San Antonio, Texas, p. 267-278.
- C.J. John, B.L. Jones, B.J. Harder, R.J. Bourgeois and M.B. Miller, 2003, Field Studies in the Chandeleur Sound Area, Offshore Louisiana (State Waters): Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 53, p. 53, p. 351-362.
- B.L. Jones, C.J. John and B.J. Harder, 1986, Chronostratigraphics Cross Sections: Louisiana Offshore Water Areas: Louisiana Geological Survey Publication CS-1-96, 25p.
Warren Schulingkamp
,
Research Associate 4
Warren Schulingkamp joined the Louisiana Geological Survey as Research Associate in February 2007. He earned a B. S. in Geology from Louisiana State University, an M. S. degree in Geology from Utah State University, and also attended the University of Wyoming. He was employed by Marathon Oil Company for over 12 years, attaining the position of Advanced Geologist. His experience is in the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast (both onshore and offshore), and in the Denver, Powder River, and Wind River Basins of the Rocky Mountain region. Schulingkamp will be working on various oil and gas projects for the LGS.
Basin Research Energy Section
Projects
Project: Atlas of Oil and Gas Fields in Offshore State Waters of Louisiana (Volume III: Main Pass Area)
Principal Investigator (PI): Bobby Jones; Co-PI's: Chacko John, Brian Harder, Warren Schulingkamp, Reed Bourgeois
Approximately one hundred oil and gas fields lie within the offshore state waters of Louisiana. The periodic bidding on oil and gas leases within this area by petroleum companies makes it an area of prime concern to the state Office of Mineral Resources (OMR), yet publicly available information on fields in this area is fragmentary and not easily accessible. In the past, useful characterizations of fields representative of particular areas in Louisiana have been published by the regional geological societies. These titles served the important function of making available compendia of essential information on the fields, usually by geologists who had worked on them; but they covered only a sampling of fields and were not systematic coverage of the fields in an area. Additionally, they were published at various times between 1960 and 1989, so for many of the fields covered the information is no longer current. Consultation with district geologists at OMR has made it clear that there is a timely need for systematic coverage of areas with fields in the state's offshore waters, and that they would find a compendium of available information on fields in areas of the state offshore a useful product. The present atlas series addresses this need. The LGS anticipates this project to be a continuing work in which similar treatment would be applied to additional areas in subsequent years.
Project: Basin Analysis and Petroleum System Characterization and Modeling, Interior Salt Basins, Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico
PI: Marty Horn
This project funded by DOE is a subcontract from the University of Alabama and is a joint project between the Center for Energy Studies (CES) and LGS. Two of the most important oil and gas provinces in North America are being analyzed by employing state-of-the-art geologic-geophysical, geochemical, and computing methods to investigate petroleum-rich formations within their petroleum systems. The CES-LGS portion of this research will concentrate primarily on the North Louisiana Interior Salt Basin. Information from the research is expected to provide and advanced approach for targeting geologic "traps" where oil and natural gas may have collected, primarily below 15,000 feet or well below the depth of most current ongoing exploration efforts.
Project: Coalbed Methane
PI: Warren Schulingkamp
Coalbed methane (CBM) is also known as coalbed natural gas (CBNG) as well as coalseam natural gas (CSNG). Initial research in CBM was begun over ten years ago by John Echols and has been carried on since 2000 in association with Peter Warwick of the USGS. The LGS, ULL and USGS have an ongoing research project in north central Louisiana to assess CBM potential in the state, and have jointly worked on some of the first CBM assessment wells in the state.
Project: Geologic Review
PI: John E. Johnston III
Geologic Review is an ongoing program created by the Louisiana Geological Survey in 1982 which provides regulatory technical assistance to the Coastal Management Division (CMD) of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and to three districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Oil and gas permit applications made to these two agencies which involve environmental impact to wetlands or other environmentally sensitive areas have their geology, engineering, lease, site-specific, and economic data reviewed and evaluated by the LGS to determine if there is a less-damaging feasible alternative available. Such alternatives may involve such concepts as reducing the size of ring levees and slips, reducing the length of board roads and canals, the use of directional drilling, and the use of alternate and less-damaging access routes which still allowed the well to be drilled while avoiding or minimizing any environmental damage involved. Geologic Review has been proven to significantly reduce the amount of impact from oil and gas operations. A report on the success of this program will be presented to the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies in October.
Project: National Coal Resource Data System
PI: John E. Johnston III
The LGS has been investigating coal in Louisiana since before World War II. Continually since 1982, the LGS has been working in cooperation with the USGS on National Coal Resource Data System projects. LGS NCRDS work traditionally focused on surface mining operations, but in recent years the coal-oriented focus of the LGS has shifted to coal bed natural gas resources. Much of that recent focus has been on the Big and Russell Coal Beds of the Louisiana Coal Bed Methane Basin (CELCOM), which includes all or portions of Winn, Franklin, LaSalle, Catahoula, Richland, Caldwell and Grant parishes (counties) of Louisiana, and which is part of a larger Tertiary Coal Bed Methane Basin which covers portions of seven southeastern states. Current LGS NCRDS work is focused on the Big and Russell Coal Beds, two thick and reasonably contiguous coal beds with significant potential for future coal bed methane/natural gas production, with well logs being analyzed for point source data, structural and stratigraphic maps being compiled from the point source data, and resource estimates being prepared.
