The Ph.D Students Nicolas Boehm, Hassan al Saihati, Wesam Abu Laila and Tojo Chirakal led by Professor Frans S. Van Buchem were having their internship program in ARAMCO and  Vulcan Energy Resources in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Nicolas Boehm's work at ARAMCO involves Data analytics on surface and subsurface data from an unconventional gas and condensate field in Eastern Saudi Arabia for analyzing well performance.

Hassan was tasked with employing a Geochemical dataset, comprising X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), and the stable isotopic composition of Oxygen and Carbon. The objective was to construct a chemo stratigraphic model to understand the depositional conditions of the geological systems within the Jafurah Basin. I identified areas where the existing model was deficient, thereby providing an opportunity to offer a distinct understanding and interpretation. Utilizing the provided data, I was able to identify various chemo stratigraphic zonations that mirrored alterations in climate and depositional conditions. These zonations were identified based on fluctuations in weathering index, anoxic conditions, and TOC values. My initial efforts involved creating correlations between seven wells, which were subsequently expanded to encompass more than 20 wells within the Jafurah Basin. Ultimately, this process enabled me to correlate these zones on a regional scale, thereby gaining insights into the lateral variations within the described zones.

While  Wesam's internship focused on two parts: First, geochemical characterization of oils collected from multiple reservoirs from the upper Jurassic to the middle Cretaceous. The main objectives were to correlate oil samples from these different reservoirs decipher information about their origin (i.e., source rock lithology and depositional environment, maturity, and type of organic matter input), and highlight any possible subsurface transformations that these oils might have experienced during migration or accumulation (e.g., water washing and biodegradation). Second isotope stratigraphy of the middle Triassic carbonates. The objectives of the study were to determine stratigraphic boundaries in these carbonate rocks and, to test the importance of the carbonate sampling process and how much it could affect the results and interpretation process.

On the other hand,  Tojo Chirakal worked at Vulcan Energy Resources in Karlsruhe, Germany, during his summer internship. The company aims to establish a sustainable (carbon-neutral) lithium industry in Central Europe by extracting and processing lithium-rich brines from deep geothermal reservoirs. 

His tasks focused on the reservoir analysis of Upper Permian strata by integrating results from core analysis, the interpretation of gamma-ray and borehole image-log data sets as well as petrophysical measurements. 

Congratulations to Nicolas, Hassan, Wesam and Tojo for successfully completing their internship this year!