Geological Field Training & Short Courses

SwRI’s geoscientists conduct training courses and seminars to provide geoscientists and engineers with critical insights into hydrocarbon reservoir character and performance.  Our expertise includes:

• Regional tectonics including contractional, extensional, and strike-slip systems
• Quantitative analysis of rock deformation, including fracture analysis
• Geometric and kinematic folding and faulting processes
• Stress and geomechanical analysis

Field seminars include:

• Extensional and transtensional tectonics and normal faulting field seminar, western Basin and Range (Nevada and California)
• Structural styles, mechanical stratigraphy, and reservoir-scale deformation (South Central and West Texas)
• Anatomy of a seismic-scale normal fault (Central Texas)
• Stress and geomechanical analyses (West Texas)
• Mechanical stratigraphy and natural deformation in the Permian Basin (West Texas)

Specialty Training and Courses

Contact SwRI to discuss a customized training course or workshop at your preferred location.

Course Instructors

• Dr. David A. Ferrill is a structural geologist with international research experience in contractional, extensional, and strike-slip tectonic regimes, and oil and gas exploration and production experience. He has conducted research on geometric and kinematic folding and faulting processes, curvature of mountain belts, regional tectonics, hydrocarbon trap integrity, reservoir and aquifer characterization, interpretation of tectonic stress and rock deformation mechanisms.
• Dr. Kevin Smart is a structural geologist with extensive expertise in computational solid mechanics.  His experience spans structural geology and geomechanics, nonlinear finite element analysis, field mapping, strain and microstructural analyses, and geologic fracture analysis.  His work includes geomechanical modeling to predict fracture distributions, analyzing the effect of complex stress fields on borehole stability, and simulating hydraulic fracturing in mechanically stratified geologic systems, as well as analyzing the thermal effects on stress state evolution in underground engineered structures.
• Dr. Alan Morris is a structural geologist with expertise in quantitative analysis of rock deformation at large and small scales.  He has experience validating structural interpretations for the petroleum industry in a variety of tectonic settings (including fold thrust belts, strike-slip margins, and extensional sedimentary basins) and he is currently investigating methods for estimating in situ stress states from geological data and understanding and predicting induced seismicity.