Megan Laracy

A typical work day is spent both engaging with other team members (geologists, engineers) and working independently on specific tasks. My main work is to use the data from the wellbores to determine how the hydrocarbons are distributed in the area we are exploring. I also aim to figure out how best to target and extract these resources. This is done through mapping, drilling wells, and collecting other types of subsurface data.

The data I study are collected in wellbores drilled deep into the earth by tools that gather physical properties about the reservoir. We measure a variety of rock properties such as radioactivity, acoustics, conductivity, material density, and mineral composition. Interpreting this data requires mixture of chemistry, physics, biology, geologic principles, math, and problem solving. I use software to interpret this data and create models to describe what is below the surface. This includes the rock types that have been drilled and what fluids are present in the wellbore (e.g. gas, oil, water). The models will also show the volume of hydrocarbons that are present and the distribution of these hydrocarbons. As more wells are drilled throughout the life of an oil field, the data from all these wellbores are added to the earlier data to continually improved the model.

Figuring out what the earth looks like below the surface is an interactive process. My team members and I work together and use creative thinking, inference, problem solving, logic, and scientific principles to describe large oil reservoirs with limited data. We also use this process to decide where future wells will be placed for exploration, development, and production.