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 and reservoir characterization. Established in 1988, EMARC is now 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 have always been well defined:

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 three major industry-wide, Gulf of Mexico research consortia (June 1992-May 1996, June 1996-May 1999, October 1999 to May 2003), a private consortium (Perdido Foldbelt: June 1994-June 1996), and a research consortium focusing on marginal-marine siliciclastic reservoirs (1996-2000).

Two current EMARC research consortia are focused on aspects of reservoir characterization and modeling using outcrop analogs and subsurface data. These consortia address the reservoir characteristics and connectivity of fluvial deposits (Williams Fork Consortium: 2004-present) and petrophysical heterogeneity in dolomite reservoirs (AVID Consortium: 2005-present). A separate EMARC research project focused on the use of geomorphic and sequence stratigraphic constraints in deepwater reservoir modeling (2004-2006)

The following degrees have been awarded or are in progress based on research done in these consortia: 5 PhD, 34 MS, and one BA student, all in less than 10 years. From our past three Gulf of Mexico consortia, we granted 3 PhD, 18 MS, and one BA (honors) degrees. In our past marginal-marine reservoir consortium, we granted one PhD and 7 MS degrees.

Students trained in these consortia currently work for 14 companies in 7 countries. Companies include Agip, Aspect, BP, Caltex, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Ecopetrol, EnCana, ExxonMobil, Marathon, 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 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 6330 Applied Sequence Stratigraphy and Basin Analysis
Geology 6060 Petroleum Geology of Turbidite Systems
Geology 6310 Sedimentary Petrology
Geology 5650 Carbonate Sedimentary Environments
Geology 5550 Petroleum Reservoir Characterization and Modeling
Geology 5540 Petroleum Geology
Geology 5410 Ancient Sedimentary Environments
Graduate courses are also taken at the Colorado School of Mines

Previous Developments ::

In 2006, we welcomed our new Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Shu Jiang. Shu's expertise is in sequence and seismic stratigraphy.

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.