About EMARC ::

The Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center (EMARC) is part of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder. EMARC is dedicated to educating students in petroleum geology. Established in 1988, EMARC is one of the main centers in the United States that trains graduate students in petroleum geosciences. We have state-of-the art research facilities and a complementary graduate curriculum. This web site illustrates the activities of EMARC.

Research Program ::

In 1991, we began conducting industry sponsored research consortia under the aegis of EMARC. The program goals are to:

Train students in current concepts and technology within a team-oriented environment; to provide students an early competitive advantage in their careers;

Form strategic alliances and contractural relationships with industry, government agencies, and other research funding organizations; and

Conduct high-quality, leading-edge geologic exploration and development research, applicable to the present and future needs of the petroleum industry.

EMARC has conducted several major industry wide, research consortia and projects including:

Gulf of Mexico Consortia (directed by Paul Weimer; June 1992-May 1996, June 1996-May 1999, October 1999-May 2003),

Perdido Foldbelt Consortium (a private consortium; June 1994-June 1996),

Marginal-marine Siliciclastic Reservoirs Consortium (directed by Andy Pulham; 1996-2000),

Several consortia are directed by Matt Pranter that focus on reservoir geosciences. Click Here to link to Matt Pranter's website to review his research programs, teaching, students, publications, and other information.

AVID Consortia - Analysis of Variability in Dolomites focused on the origin and distribution of petrophysical and geochemical properties in dolomite reservoirs through analysis of outcrop analogs (directed by David Budd and Matt Pranter; May 2005-April 2007, May 2007-April 2009),

and a research project focused on the structural characterization of a petroleum reservoir associated with a meteroite impact (directed by Paul Weimer; 2006-2008).

Students trained through these consortia currently work for various companies in several countries. Companies include Agip, Aspect, BP, Caltex, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Ecopetrol, El Paso, EnCana, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Noble Energy, PDVSA, PEMEX, Prima Energy, and Shell. Countries include the United States, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Venezuela, and UK.

Several former research scientists and students now hold prominent positions in academia and industry.

Andy Pulham (Research Scientist, 1995-2001) is an Industry Consultant in the Denver area.
Bruce Trudgill (Research Scientist, 1994-1999) is an Associate Professor at the Colorado School of Mines.
Tomas Villamil (PhD, 1994; Research Scientist, 1994-1996) is the Vice President of Exploration of Ecopetrol, the state oil company of Colombia.
Scott Tinker (PhD, 1996) is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and a Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
David Bowen (PhD, 2001) is an Associate Research Professor at Montana State University (Bozeman).

Several former research scientists have been Distinguished Lecturers with professional societies.

Bruce Trudgill - AAPG 2003-2004
David Bowen - AAPG 2003-2004
Andy Pulham - AAPG 2000-2001
Scott Tinker - AAPG 1996-1997, AAPG/SPE 2002-2003
Paul Weimer - AAPG 1998-1999, ESSO Australia 2001, SEG Distinguished Instructor Short Course 2004

Each fall, several petroleum companies recruit at CU. We are most grateful to these companies, and we encourage additional companies to recruit at the University of Colorado.

For students interested in studying at CU: The teaching and research programs are designed to give our students a competitive advantage early in their careers. We are most interested in mature, highly motivated students who wish to pursue careers in the industry. Please see the Geology Department Website for application materials.

Petroleum-Related Graduate Courses Offered ::

Geology 5550 Petroleum Reservoir Characterization and Modeling (Pranter)
Geology 5700 Physics, Chemistry, and Biology of Sedimentary Systems (Budd)
Geology 6060 Petroleum Geology of Turbidite Systems (Weimer)
Geology 6310 Sedimentary Petrology (Budd)
Geology 6330 Applied Sequence Stratigraphy and Basin Analysis (Weimer)
Graduate courses are also taken at the Colorado School of Mines

Previous Developments ::

In June 2001, we dedicated the Wayne T. (Dusty) and LaFawn Biddle Core Facility. This 1200 sq. ft. facility is housed in the Benson Earth Sciences Building and has cores from many reservoirs, ore deposits, and a cool storage area for unconsolidated reservoirs (e.g. northern Gulf of Mexico). We are actively building our collection of cores from different kinds of sedimentary environments. The core facility is used for petroleum and reservoir geology research and graduate courses: Sequence Stratigraphy, Reservoir Characterization, Petroleum Geology of Turbidite Systems, and Sedimentology.

In 1999, Paul Weimer was selected as the Bruce D. Benson Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology. This was the first endowed chair in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In May 1998, an entire issue of the AAPG Bulletin was dedicated to the results of our first research consortium in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Press here for more on the petroleum systems of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
In April 1996, the Baha #1 well was spudded in Alaminos Canyon 600 in the northwestern deep Gulf of Mexico. This well was drilled in 7612 feet of water; at that time, this was the world record water depth for an exploration well. The regional geology of the Perdido foldbelt and the location of the well were done by EMARC geoscientists in conjunction with the four companies who drilled the well (Shell, Texaco, Amoco, Mobil)
Press here for more on the Perdido Foldbelt Study.