Geology of the Netherlands

Geology of The Netherlands

Instructor: Jan de Jager; Friday 6 April 2018, 9.00 – 17.00 hrs, KIVI NIRIA building, Prinsessegracht 23, The Hague.

Outline: 

The flat surface of The Netherlands conceals a highly interesting and complex subsurface - the result of many hundreds of millions of years of geological development. After almost a century of intensive exploration for oil and gas, with many wells and seismic surveys, we now know quite a bit of the geological history. From Paleozoic times, many hundreds of million years ago, the Netherlands has travelled across the globe from the South Pole to its present location at 52° north of the equator. During this trip across climate zones also global temperatures changed with green house and ice house periods, while continents broke up at one time, causing deep fault-bounded rifts, and at other times continental collisions created high mountain belts.  All these events left their marks in the rocks that are present in our subsurface, which have allowed us to unravel this geological history of The Netherlands.

This one-day workshop will lead participants through the fundamentals of the Dutch sub-surface and its geologic history.  It will also make clear why The Netherlands is so rich in gas province, with oil fields as well. Also the potential for geothermal energy that the Dutch subsurface provides will be discussed.

The workshop will be in the form of presentations and several group exercises, and with plenty of time for discussion and questions.

Who Should Attend: 

This workshop is aimed at a broad spectrum of participants:

• Industry entrants seeking relevant knowledge within their discipline
• Non-geologists, working with exploration or production geologists
• Seasoned E&P professionals seeking to broaden their technological skills
• Staff who already have a basic understanding of geology, but who are new to the Dutch subsurface
• Seasoned E&P professionals will appreciate the workshop, as it will consistently frame the Dutch geology.
• In addition, for students this is an ideal opportunity to look into state-of-the-art industry technology with real-life examples, and to sharpen their competitive edge.

Biography: 

Jan de Jager is a geologist with almost 40 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production. From 1979 to 2010 he worked as exploration geologist with Shell, in a variety of positions in many countries across the globe.  His knowledge of the Dutch subsurface comes from two 5-year assignments in NAM. He was co-editor of the well-received book “Geology of the Netherlands” (2007). In this book he authored the chapters “Geological Development” and “Petroleum Geology”. He also wrote several other frequently referenced geological articles on the Dutch geology.

From 2010 to 2015 Jan was appointed as Professor Petroleum Geology at the VU University (Amsterdam) and later also at the University of Utrecht.  In addition, he provides courses on exploration geology for the industry, is consultant to several oil and gas companies. He is frequently invited to give presentation for industry audiences, for amateurs and for non-geologists.

Location & Time: 

KIVI office (see map) Prinsessegracht 23 (NOT: Prinsegracht) 2514 AP Den Haag  

KIVI/NIRIA office (see map) Prinsessegracht 23 (NOT: Prinsegracht) 2514 AP Den Haag 

Course hours will be from 9.00 to 17.00. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. Course location is within walking distance from Den Haag Central Station; nearby parking facilities are available as well.