2018 RCRL Prospective Research Directions Carbonate Reservoir Characterization Research Laboratory (RCRL) Bureau of Economic Geology The University of Texas at Austin

Research Statement Overview The RCRL group has unique expertise that addresses various research questions in carbonate shelf to basin systems and at scale of investigation from nanopores to basinal architecture Research questions and exploration and exploitation tools are developed using both subsurface datasets and outcrop analogs. We emphasize quantifying what we observe so that our research is applicable and valuable in providing predictive relationships and conceptual tools for reservoir characterization Our research-focus areas, themes, and topics have been developed out of our experience and feedback from our sponsorship During our 30 years of existence, we have found that the most valuable research was developed from feedback and collaboration with our sponsor companies

RCRL Staff Charles Kerans (PI)- Carbonates, sequence stratigraphy, carbonate reservoirs Robert Loucks (PI) - Carbonate depositional systems, pore networks, karst Xavier Janson – Carbonate stratigraphy, 3D seismic, geomodeling, geomechanics Chris Zahm – Carbonates and fracture systems, fluid flow, geomechanics F. Jerry Lucia – Carbonate reservoirs, petrophysics and rock fabrics Josh Lambert – Digital Outcrop Technician Stephaine Lane – Research Program Coordinator Associated Staff Steve Ruppel – Carbonate reservoir characterization Hongliu Zeng – Seismic imaging of carbonate systems Donnie Brookes – Geomechanic Laboratory Technician Evan Sivil – Geochemical laboratory

Interface Opportunities Annual Review Meeting (held in 3Q in Austin) 1-day Pre-meeting Core Workshop 2-day Technical Presentations (live broadcast) 3-day Post-meeting Field Trip Spring Training Week (conducted 2Q, location TBD) Rotate between field workshop, targeted core workshop, or “a la carte” short courses. Mentor Activities RCRL sponsors office visits (domestic and international) Sponsor visits to Austin Hosting Visiting Scientists for collaboration* Company-specific projects* Targeted consulting on datasets or field trips* __________________________________________ * costs in addition to the annual membership fee

2018 RCRL Research Topics Permian shelf‐to‐basin syntectonic to early post‐tectonic stratigraphy of the in the Delaware and Midland Basins Stratigraphic Architecture of Wolfcampian to Guadalupian Platforms, Delaware Basin Slope Stratal Architecture and Depositional Processes, Delaware and Midland Basins Shelf‐to‐Basin Framework and Analogs of the Midland Basin and Central Basin Platform, Fasken Ranch area 3D Fault Framework within the Northern Midland and Delaware Basins and Implications for Early Permian Synorogenic Deformation and Deposition Improved San Andres Flow‐Unit Development using Sedimentological Elements Pore Network Characterization of Wolfbone, Wolfberry and Avalon Mesozoic tectonics and impact on Mesozoic and Paleozoic sections

2018 RCRL Research Topics Gulf of Mexico Carbonate Reservoir Settings, Pore Systems, Fracture Character, and Margin Variability Regional Synthesis of Lower Cretaceous Platform Architecture around the GOM Ramp Crest to Intrashelf Basin Facies Distribution and Stratigraphic Architecture of the Fort Stockton Embayment, Maverick Basin Documentation of Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Large‐Scale Microbial Mounds and Associated Rudist Mounds Upper Cretaceous Buda and Austin Chalks Regional Study

2018 RCRL Research Topics Fractured Carbonate Reservoir Characterization in Outcrop and Subsurface Analogs Critical Stress State of Faults within the Permian Basin Finite‐element numerical modeling of early formed fractures in carbonates Laramide Tectonic Reactivation of Pre‐existing Paleozoic Structures and the Impact on Cretaceous Fault Systems Fault‐Related Fractures in Carbonate Systems 3D Multibeam Imaging Along the Leeward Margin of the Caicos Platform

2018 RCRL Research Topics Cenozoic Carbonate Platforms Systems, High‐Resolution Stratigraphy, and Structural Configuration of Shelf Margins Miocene Carbonate Platform in the Mut and Adana Basins, south Turkey Shelf to Basin Analysis of Tertiary Mixed‐Carbonate Siliciclastic Depositional Systems of Northwest Shelf, Australia 3D Multibeam Imaging Along the Leeward Margin of the Caicos Platform Fundamental Overarching Research Projects within RCRL Reservoir Properties Digital Database of GOM carbonates Origin and Petrophysics of Tight Limestone and Dolomite Reservoirs Carbonate Rock Mechanics and Acoustic Properties Research

Funding Participation in the RCRL Industrial Associates Program for 2017 is: $55,000 per year for 2017 only, or $50,000 per year for 2017 and 2018 with 2-year agreement We encourage sponsors to commit to a 2-year agreement so that we can better plan a longer-range research program and reduce the time and effort in securing agreements. Agreement is such that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) would be signed agreeing to a 2-year commitment, and payment would be due at the beginning of each year.

Data Transfer RCRL Website: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/rcrl/index.php 13+ years database of research results RCRL Website: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/rcrl/index.php Annual meeting presentations and video broadcast archive Large database and geological synthesis Google Fusion database of digital results (photos, redraft sections, gocad models, porosity and permeability data, thin sections photos) is available from the main website. Carbonate reservoir-quality database based on core-plug porosity and permeability analyses Approx. 10,000 values from the Jurassic and Cretaceous strata from the GOM. Data searchable by geographic location, formation, lithology, depth, temperature, etc. On-the-fly scattergrams for visual inspection Selected data can be transferred to an Excel sheet for further statistical analysis RCRL Student Theses

Participating 2017 RCRL Industrial Associate Sponsors

How to Participate in the RCRL Industrial Associates Program? Contact Charles Kerans (co-Principal Investigator) or Robert Loucks (co-Principal Investigator) for more information on becoming or maintaining membership within the Carbonate RCRL program: Dr. Charles Kerans, Professor and Senior Research Scientist Robert Goldhammer Chair in Carbonate Geology Department of Geological Sciences and Bureau of Economic Geology Jackson School of Geosciences Email: ckerans@jsg.utexas.edu  Office: +1 512 471 4282 Or Dr. Robert Loucks, Senior Research Scientist Bureau of Economic Geology Email: bob.loucks@beg.utexas.edu Office: +1 512 471 0366