Laboratories / Research Institutes

Institute for Reservoir Characterization

Director of the Institute is Dr. Roger Slatt who has had a 14 year career in the oil and gas industry with Cities Service Co. and ARCO/ARCO International, focused on various aspects of reservoir characterization globally. He also has had a 17-year career in academia, including Head of the School of Geology and Geological Engineering at Colorado School of Mines (1992-2000), Director of the School of Geology and Geophysics at University of Oklahoma (2000-2005), and Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (1995-2000).

Senior Advisor in the Institute is Dr. Daniel O'Meara, formerly a Shell and British Petroleum engineer, noted for his expertise in integrated petroleum engineering and geology, principally through software development such as Geo2Flow. These individuals, and other affiliates to the Institute such as Dr. Shankar Mitra (structure and tectonics), Dr. Younane Abousleiman (geomechanics), and Dr. Paul Philp (petroleum geochemistry), are all internationally recognized for their interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of reservoir characterization. Geophysicists, geologists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists collaborate with university personnel and facilities to develop and test reservoir characterization tools and methods.

Inter-disciplinary courses on applied reservoir characterization, as well as collaborative or consortium research programs, are available through the Institute to industry professionals globally.

Shell Crustal Imaging Facility (SCIF)

The Shell Crustal Imaging Facility is a major School of Geology and Geophysics resource for teaching and for graduate student and academic staff research computing. Dr. Roger Young is SCIF's director. The computing lab comprises a subnet of 5 Sun Ultra I and II and two Sun Blade 1000 Unix workstations served by a Sun Enterprise 450 server with more than 1 Terabyte storage. An HP 650c color plotter and a black and white laser printer, a DLT tape library, and four 8 mm tape drives are among the peripheral devices available in SCIF. Also networked with SCIF is a visualization lab containing a mini-cave, an SGI workstation and a large digitizing table. Major software grants from Landmark, Schlumberger-GeoQuest, Hampson-Russell, Parallel Geoscience Corp. and GX Technologies provide an unusually comprehensive selection of the latest industry-standard software for raytrace and finite-difference modeling, 2- and 3-D seismic and radar processing, and 2D and 3-D interpretation and visualization for both seismic and ground-penetrating radar data. Gocad is available in the visualization lab.

The affiliated 3-D Alumni Teaching Lab is equipped with 7 dual-headed PC workstations running Windows 2000. PC applications for teaching exploration and reservoir seismology courses are Seismic Processing Workshop from Parallel Geoscience Corp and the complete Kingdom suite for 3-D interpretation and visualization and incorporation of well-logs.

SCIF is managed by Ms. Jan Dodson who has extensive experience in seismic data analysis, interpretation and processing. Dr. Tim Kwiatkowski is SCIF's system administrator. While Tim is skilled in a wide variety of hardware and software, it is his talent for translating scientific concepts into mathematical models for computer implementation that is a major asset for students and researchers alike.

Texaco X-Ray Laboratory

The Texaco X-Ray Laboratory contains an automated Rigaku X-ray diffractometer for the determination of phase compositions and crystallite orientations in geological samples, an automated Rigaku X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for the quantitative determination of major and trace elemental abundances in geological samples, and a Kevex energy dispersive system for qualitative assessment of element abundances.

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory

The INAA laboratory contains gamma-ray spectrometers for the determination of rare-earth element and other trace element abundances in neutron-activated geological materials.

Heat Flow Laboratory

The heat flow laboratory in the School of Geology and Geophysics contains a divided bar, needle probe, and half-space apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity of cores and drill cuttings. Data reduction is computerized, allowing for fast sample turnaround. About 100 sample holders are available for making thermal conductivity measurements on drill cuttings and rock chips using shell technique. Portable gear for logging temperatures in boreholes down to 2000 feet depth is also available. Calibration equipment includes a Neslab/Tamson thermostatic bath and a Hart Scientific 5690 "Smart Probe" reference thermometer. The Hart 5690 is accurate to 0.005 degrees Celsius from -180 to 350 degrees Celsius traceable to NIST standards.

Electron Microprobe Laboratory

The electron microprobe laboratory is built around a fully automated Cameca SX50 microanalyzer that incorporates the latest innovations in hardware, software, and computing capabilities. The five wavelength- dispersive spectrometers and a new PGT energy-dispersive detector are integrated with all analytical and imaging functions (which include secondary electron, backscattered electron, x-ray, and cathodoluminescence). The system provides quantitative elemental microanalysis of boron to uranium; rapid qualitative analysis (B to U); digital acquisition of electron, x-ray iuntensity, and visible luminescence images; image analysis and other data processing routines. A full description of the laboratory and its functions is available at: http://research.ou.edu/Microprobe/OUEMPLhome.asp
The S. M. Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory, located in George Lynn Cross Hall, augments the electron microprobe facility with high- resolution SEM (JEOL 880) and TEM (JEOL 2000FX) electron microscopes.

Organic Geochemistry/Stable Isotope Laboratory

The organic geochemistry laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation for the isolation and analysis of organic compounds from geologic materials. The laboratory contains a Finnigan Triple Stage Quadrupole MS/MS system, an Ion Trap Detector, a Delta E isotope ratio mass spectrometer, several Varian, HP and Carlo Erba gas chromatographs equipped with nitrogen and sulphur selective detectors, CDS pyrolysis units, HPLC equipment and PYRAN pyrolysis system equipped with an INCOS 50 mass spectrometer.
Most recently the Petroleum Geochemistry group has acquired a combined gas chromatograph-isotope ratio mass spectrometer system. This system will permit the determination of the isotopic composition of individual components in very complex mixtures. In the past it was necessary to isolate compounds from the mixtures in order to obtain these values. Data obtained on the individual components will have a wide range of applications in petroleum geochemistry including oil/oil correlations, crude oil biodegradation; evaluation of source and depositional environments; reservoir geochemistry and environmental geochemical studies. Funding for this instrument was obtained through the DOE and NSF University Instrumentation programs, plus a substantial contribution from the University of Oklahoma.

Experimental Petrology Laboratory

The experimental petrology laboratory has facilities for mineral synthesis, studies of phase equilibria of heterogeneous reactions, exchange equilibria of homogeneous reactions, and annealing and reaction rates. In addition to sample preparation facilities, the experimental laboratory contains 18 externally heated reaction vessels for experimental operations to 900° C, 200 MPa.

Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry Laboratory

This facility is used to assess the compositions and physical properties of fluid inclusions through microthermometric techniques. In addition to specialized sample preparation equipment, the laboratory includes a new Linkam TH600 programmable heating/freezing stage on a Zeiss
Research Photomicroscope.

Paleomagnetics Laboratory

The shielded Paleomagnetics laboratory is used for paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic studies. Equipment includes a Sct cryogenic magnetometer with DC squids, AF and thermal demagnetizers, impulse magnetizer, field equipment, and several magnetic susceptibility systems.

Thin Section/Rock Preparation Laboratory

This is a fully equipped laboratory for the preparation of rock thin sections for petrographic and paleontologic analysis and for sample preparation for the X-Ray Laboratory. Thin section types produced include standard covered sections, double polished fluid inclusion sections, ultra thin (5 to 8 micron) sections, polished microprobe sections, oriented rain sections, and serial fossil thin sections. Equipment includes rock saws from 4 to 24 inches, two Ingram thin section machines, a Microtec Micro-Trim Automatic machine that produces up to 7 sections simultaneously, a clean room containing Buehler polishing laps, and optical equipment for viewing various stages of sample preparation.

Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory

This lab is available for the analysis of water/rock interaction under low temperature and diagenetic conditions. Facilities include mixed-flow reaction vessels for determination of mineral-water reaction kinetics and solubilities up to 3000 psi and 350oC, and a triaxial flow-through cell for determining rates of mineral dissolution and time-dependent compaction under variable conditions of constant temperature (200oC), pore pressure (15,000 psi) , confining pressure (15,000 psi) , and axial load (up to 10 tons). Analytical facilities at the Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory, available for the analysis of surface and subsurface waters, include a Perkin-Elmer Model 2380 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, a Fisher Accumet microprocessor/ion analyzer and titrameter and a Orion 720 pH/Conductivity/ISE meter with a variety of reference, specific ion, and pH electrodes, a Spectronic 21 spectrophotometer, a YSI model 31 conductivity bridge, and a YSI dissolved oxygen meter.

Structural Geology Laboratory

The digital workroom includes two dual monitor Dell PC workstations, a Sun Blade workstation, and a SGI Octane workstation. The PCs are primarily used for GIS applications, Cross section construction and 3-D modeling. The Sun Blade and SGI workstations are primarily used for seismic interpretation (Landmark and Geoquest) and 3-D visualization.

The physical modeling laboratory is equipped with controlled hydraulic and electric displacement equipment. These are employed to exert a variety of displacement boundary conditions on models made of sand, clay or plaster. Most of the experiments done in this laboratory are directed toward studies of upper crustal deformation, primarily faulting and fracturing.

Rock Deformation Facilities

Three laboratories in the school are dedicated to the characterization of deformation and measurement of rock properties of interest in structural geology: the rock deformation laboratory, the stress analysis laboratory and the models laboratory.

High Pressure Rock Deformation Laboratory - In this laboratory, experiments can be run on rock samples under confining pressures up to 3kb, pore pressures up to 3kb, and variable strain rates. In addition, fluid-flow through the specimen can be measured while the rock is under load. The pressure vessel can handle both standard axial loading and transverse piston loading for the study of layered rock folding experiments.

Poro-Mechanics Institute - A million dollar interdisciplinary laboratory shared with the Schools of Petroleum, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering - this laboratory contains a servo-controlled MTS, 600 kip load frame and pressure cell as well as an MTS 55 kip torsion testing frame. The pressure vessel for the 600 kip apparatus will take cores from Nx to 2 1/8 inch diameter.

Laurence S. Youngblood Energy Library

The current collection contains over 170,000 map sheets and approximately 92,000 catalogued volumes on the subjects of geochemistry, geology, geomorphology, geophysics, hydrology, mineralogy, paleontology, petrology, stratigraphy, structure and tectonics. The interdisciplinary nature of the earth sciences is supported by Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Engineering branch Libraries. Bizzell Memorial Library contains the biological sciences and the internationally recognized History of Science Collections.

	School of Geology and Geophysics
Prospective Undergraduates What are Geology and Geophysics? What do Geologists and Geophysicists do? Why do we need Geologists and Geophysicists? You might be a Geologist or Geophysicist if you... Why study Geology and Geophysics at OU? Scholarships Degrees Offered Areas Of Emphasis Prospective Graduate Students Areas of Emphasis Degrees Offered Admissions Assistantships and Fellowships Successful Graduates Field Trips Recruiting Current Students Student Organizations Geology Courses Geophysics Courses OU Course Catalog CEE Student Services Registration Degree Navigator Mission People Faculty Staff Students Research Areas of Emphasis Laboratories Alumni School Policies, Forms, and Archives	Laboratories / Research Institutes Institute for Reservoir Characterization Director of the Institute is Dr. Roger Slatt who has had a 14 year career in the oil and gas industry with Cities Service Co. and ARCO/ARCO International, focused on various aspects of reservoir characterization globally. He also has had a 17-year career in academia, including Head of the School of Geology and Geological Engineering at Colorado School of Mines (1992-2000), Director of the School of Geology and Geophysics at University of Oklahoma (2000-2005), and Director of the Rocky Mountain Regional Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (1995-2000). Senior Advisor in the Institute is Dr. Daniel O'Meara, formerly a Shell and British Petroleum engineer, noted for his expertise in integrated petroleum engineering and geology, principally through software development such as Geo2Flow. These individuals, and other affiliates to the Institute such as Dr. Shankar Mitra (structure and tectonics), Dr. Younane Abousleiman (geomechanics), and Dr. Paul Philp (petroleum geochemistry), are all internationally recognized for their interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of reservoir characterization. Geophysicists, geologists, engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists collaborate with university personnel and facilities to develop and test reservoir characterization tools and methods. Inter-disciplinary courses on applied reservoir characterization, as well as collaborative or consortium research programs, are available through the Institute to industry professionals globally. Shell Crustal Imaging Facility (SCIF) The Shell Crustal Imaging Facility is a major School of Geology and Geophysics resource for teaching and for graduate student and academic staff research computing. Dr. Roger Young is SCIF's director. The computing lab comprises a subnet of 5 Sun Ultra I and II and two Sun Blade 1000 Unix workstations served by a Sun Enterprise 450 server with more than 1 Terabyte storage. An HP 650c color plotter and a black and white laser printer, a DLT tape library, and four 8 mm tape drives are among the peripheral devices available in SCIF. Also networked with SCIF is a visualization lab containing a mini-cave, an SGI workstation and a large digitizing table. Major software grants from Landmark, Schlumberger-GeoQuest, Hampson-Russell, Parallel Geoscience Corp. and GX Technologies provide an unusually comprehensive selection of the latest industry-standard software for raytrace and finite-difference modeling, 2- and 3-D seismic and radar processing, and 2D and 3-D interpretation and visualization for both seismic and ground-penetrating radar data. Gocad is available in the visualization lab. The affiliated 3-D Alumni Teaching Lab is equipped with 7 dual-headed PC workstations running Windows 2000. PC applications for teaching exploration and reservoir seismology courses are Seismic Processing Workshop from Parallel Geoscience Corp and the complete Kingdom suite for 3-D interpretation and visualization and incorporation of well-logs. SCIF is managed by Ms. Jan Dodson who has extensive experience in seismic data analysis, interpretation and processing. Dr. Tim Kwiatkowski is SCIF's system administrator. While Tim is skilled in a wide variety of hardware and software, it is his talent for translating scientific concepts into mathematical models for computer implementation that is a major asset for students and researchers alike. Texaco X-Ray Laboratory The Texaco X-Ray Laboratory contains an automated Rigaku X-ray diffractometer for the determination of phase compositions and crystallite orientations in geological samples, an automated Rigaku X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for the quantitative determination of major and trace elemental abundances in geological samples, and a Kevex energy dispersive system for qualitative assessment of element abundances. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory The INAA laboratory contains gamma-ray spectrometers for the determination of rare-earth element and other trace element abundances in neutron-activated geological materials. Heat Flow Laboratory The heat flow laboratory in the School of Geology and Geophysics contains a divided bar, needle probe, and half-space apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity of cores and drill cuttings. Data reduction is computerized, allowing for fast sample turnaround. About 100 sample holders are available for making thermal conductivity measurements on drill cuttings and rock chips using shell technique. Portable gear for logging temperatures in boreholes down to 2000 feet depth is also available. Calibration equipment includes a Neslab/Tamson thermostatic bath and a Hart Scientific 5690 "Smart Probe" reference thermometer. The Hart 5690 is accurate to 0.005 degrees Celsius from -180 to 350 degrees Celsius traceable to NIST standards. Electron Microprobe Laboratory The electron microprobe laboratory is built around a fully automated Cameca SX50 microanalyzer that incorporates the latest innovations in hardware, software, and computing capabilities. The five wavelength- dispersive spectrometers and a new PGT energy-dispersive detector are integrated with all analytical and imaging functions (which include secondary electron, backscattered electron, x-ray, and cathodoluminescence). The system provides quantitative elemental microanalysis of boron to uranium; rapid qualitative analysis (B to U); digital acquisition of electron, x-ray iuntensity, and visible luminescence images; image analysis and other data processing routines. A full description of the laboratory and its functions is available at: http://research.ou.edu/Microprobe/OUEMPLhome.asp The S. M. Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory, located in George Lynn Cross Hall, augments the electron microprobe facility with high- resolution SEM (JEOL 880) and TEM (JEOL 2000FX) electron microscopes. Organic Geochemistry/Stable Isotope Laboratory The organic geochemistry laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation for the isolation and analysis of organic compounds from geologic materials. The laboratory contains a Finnigan Triple Stage Quadrupole MS/MS system, an Ion Trap Detector, a Delta E isotope ratio mass spectrometer, several Varian, HP and Carlo Erba gas chromatographs equipped with nitrogen and sulphur selective detectors, CDS pyrolysis units, HPLC equipment and PYRAN pyrolysis system equipped with an INCOS 50 mass spectrometer. Most recently the Petroleum Geochemistry group has acquired a combined gas chromatograph-isotope ratio mass spectrometer system. This system will permit the determination of the isotopic composition of individual components in very complex mixtures. In the past it was necessary to isolate compounds from the mixtures in order to obtain these values. Data obtained on the individual components will have a wide range of applications in petroleum geochemistry including oil/oil correlations, crude oil biodegradation; evaluation of source and depositional environments; reservoir geochemistry and environmental geochemical studies. Funding for this instrument was obtained through the DOE and NSF University Instrumentation programs, plus a substantial contribution from the University of Oklahoma. Experimental Petrology Laboratory The experimental petrology laboratory has facilities for mineral synthesis, studies of phase equilibria of heterogeneous reactions, exchange equilibria of homogeneous reactions, and annealing and reaction rates. In addition to sample preparation facilities, the experimental laboratory contains 18 externally heated reaction vessels for experimental operations to 900° C, 200 MPa. Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry Laboratory This facility is used to assess the compositions and physical properties of fluid inclusions through microthermometric techniques. In addition to specialized sample preparation equipment, the laboratory includes a new Linkam TH600 programmable heating/freezing stage on a Zeiss Research Photomicroscope. Paleomagnetics Laboratory The shielded Paleomagnetics laboratory is used for paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic studies. Equipment includes a Sct cryogenic magnetometer with DC squids, AF and thermal demagnetizers, impulse magnetizer, field equipment, and several magnetic susceptibility systems. Thin Section/Rock Preparation Laboratory This is a fully equipped laboratory for the preparation of rock thin sections for petrographic and paleontologic analysis and for sample preparation for the X-Ray Laboratory. Thin section types produced include standard covered sections, double polished fluid inclusion sections, ultra thin (5 to 8 micron) sections, polished microprobe sections, oriented rain sections, and serial fossil thin sections. Equipment includes rock saws from 4 to 24 inches, two Ingram thin section machines, a Microtec Micro-Trim Automatic machine that produces up to 7 sections simultaneously, a clean room containing Buehler polishing laps, and optical equipment for viewing various stages of sample preparation. Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory This lab is available for the analysis of water/rock interaction under low temperature and diagenetic conditions. Facilities include mixed-flow reaction vessels for determination of mineral-water reaction kinetics and solubilities up to 3000 psi and 350oC, and a triaxial flow-through cell for determining rates of mineral dissolution and time-dependent compaction under variable conditions of constant temperature (200oC), pore pressure (15,000 psi) , confining pressure (15,000 psi) , and axial load (up to 10 tons). Analytical facilities at the Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory, available for the analysis of surface and subsurface waters, include a Perkin-Elmer Model 2380 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, a Fisher Accumet microprocessor/ion analyzer and titrameter and a Orion 720 pH/Conductivity/ISE meter with a variety of reference, specific ion, and pH electrodes, a Spectronic 21 spectrophotometer, a YSI model 31 conductivity bridge, and a YSI dissolved oxygen meter. Structural Geology Laboratory The digital workroom includes two dual monitor Dell PC workstations, a Sun Blade workstation, and a SGI Octane workstation. The PCs are primarily used for GIS applications, Cross section construction and 3-D modeling. The Sun Blade and SGI workstations are primarily used for seismic interpretation (Landmark and Geoquest) and 3-D visualization. The physical modeling laboratory is equipped with controlled hydraulic and electric displacement equipment. These are employed to exert a variety of displacement boundary conditions on models made of sand, clay or plaster. Most of the experiments done in this laboratory are directed toward studies of upper crustal deformation, primarily faulting and fracturing. Rock Deformation Facilities Three laboratories in the school are dedicated to the characterization of deformation and measurement of rock properties of interest in structural geology: the rock deformation laboratory, the stress analysis laboratory and the models laboratory. High Pressure Rock Deformation Laboratory - In this laboratory, experiments can be run on rock samples under confining pressures up to 3kb, pore pressures up to 3kb, and variable strain rates. In addition, fluid-flow through the specimen can be measured while the rock is under load. The pressure vessel can handle both standard axial loading and transverse piston loading for the study of layered rock folding experiments. Poro-Mechanics Institute - A million dollar interdisciplinary laboratory shared with the Schools of Petroleum, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering - this laboratory contains a servo-controlled MTS, 600 kip load frame and pressure cell as well as an MTS 55 kip torsion testing frame. The pressure vessel for the 600 kip apparatus will take cores from Nx to 2 1/8 inch diameter. Laurence S. Youngblood Energy Library The current collection contains over 170,000 map sheets and approximately 92,000 catalogued volumes on the subjects of geochemistry, geology, geomorphology, geophysics, hydrology, mineralogy, paleontology, petrology, stratigraphy, structure and tectonics. The interdisciplinary nature of the earth sciences is supported by Chemistry, Math, Physics, and Engineering branch Libraries. Bizzell Memorial Library contains the biological sciences and the internationally recognized History of Science Collections.