Our Experts

Jim Seccombe

Vice President Geoscience Consulting

Petrophysics

Reservoir Engineering

Accomplished petrophysicist and reservoir engineer with extensive leadership experience, a technically diverse background, and a history of driving business impact. Track record of being at the forefront of new technology in the areas of: Low Salinity EOR water-flooding, coal bed methane, and tight gas sand hydraulic fracturing. Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally to improve wellbore data and document management, finding ways for delivering efficiencies to petroleum subsurface engineers and geoscientists.

Tim Bourgeois

Vice President Geoscience Consulting

Petrophysics

Pore Pressure & Frac Gradient Prediction / Detection

To date FerVID has become a trusted partner with Sage Geosystems for subsurface characterization requirements. We have worked up 2 feasibility studies along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coast. These studies included estimates of the size of the prize and also key risk factors of the geology. The risk factors are extremely important to characterize as they can have big impact on the type of well and facility installation selections. Our 500+ year experience base allows us to provide world class estimates in both size and risk spaces. Here is a link from the client for further information. Post | Feed | LinkedIn

Tim Bourgeois is leading FerVID’s efforts to bring geothermal into prime time for electrical energy production worldwide. Here are 2 examples:

1. Serving as a co-chair of the geothermal session at the SAGE 2022 Conference for the Society of Applied Geoscientists & Engineers held in Lafayette, LA in March of 2022. Here is a link for more information: SAGE Record 2022–021 Eros (sagetech.org)
2. Supported the PIVOT2022 Geothermal Conference with 2 videos in discussion of geothermal aspects and thirdly as a panelist for a session on the expansion of geothermal to sedimentary systems. This is a game changer scenario and would allow geothermal electrical production to displace all other forms potentially! Here are links for more information

Bobbi Brace

Biostratigraphy

Bobbi Brace began her career as a biostratigrapher with BHP in Houston. While with BHP she worked on a variety of biostratigraphic projects in the US GOM, Mexico GOM, and Trinidad & Tobago spanning Jurassic to Recent stratigraphic sections in a variety of geologic settings. Her primary responsibilities included providing support during well planning and real-time operations, as well as generating regional-scale and reservoir-scale interpretations for subsurface stakeholders. Bobbi has also worked as shipboard nannofossil paleontologist for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program in the Japan Sea and has co-authored articles on calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. She holds a PhD in Geoscience from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where her research included nannofossil biostratigraphy and paleoecology from the Pleistocene of the Japan Sea and the Cretaceous of North America.

Caren Harris

Petrophysicist

Caren Harris is a petrophysicist with expertise in exploration, appraisal, development, and new ventures with multiple International E&P Companies and a National Oil Company. She has experience with clastics, carbonates, conventional, and tight reservoirs. Caren can deliver timely technical results with clear financial impact as a member of multidisciplinary teams. She enjoys increasing understanding of the petrophysics discipline by teaching in-house classes and mentoring junior staff. She has been a member of the Technical Committee for the SPWLA annual convention for the past two years, holds a BA in Geology from Rice University, and a Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University.

Chris Saxon

Structural Geology

Christopher Saxon is a structural geologist and seal expert with extensive experience in both exploration and development in domestic and international postings. Dr. Saxon worked 20 years with Chevron, eventually becoming advisor geologist for Sumatra operations. He was most recently a structure and seal expert for BHP’s Subsurface Assurance Team where, in addition to his assurance duties, he developed a comprehensive hydrocarbon column capacity calculator. Dr. Saxon holds a PhD from the University of Oklahoma.

Daniel Herrera

Petroleum Systems

Experienced Geoscientist and subject matter expert in petroleum systems, multidimensional basin modeling, trap seal analysis and pore pressure prediction with over 16 years in the oil and gas industry. Daniel has been involved in regional evaluations, lead identification, prospect maturation and risking, technical assurance and well plaining decisions in many of the most prolific basins around the world. He held different technical and leadership roles within the Exploration and Well Delivery organizations during his 13-year tenure at BHP Petroleum. Most recently he led BHP’s Petroleum Systems Community of Excellence contributing to the improvement of technical capabilities across the Exploration organization. As technical leader he designed, delivered and implemented best practices, continuous improvement initiatives and companywide standards for technical assurance processes of prospect maturation and pore pressure prediction that resulted in improved technical quality and reliability of evaluations, increased process’s efficiencies and ultimately generated significant cost savings. Prior to BHP he worked as Petroleum Systems Analyst for Beicip Franlab and as a Petrophysicist for the Mexican Petroleum Institute (PEMEX research). Daniel holds a MS degree in Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering from the French Petroleum Institute (IFP) and a BS in Geophysics from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Michael Cheng

Petroleum Systems

I am a petroleum systems geologist with 20+ years of experience in exploration, appraisal, and production.  I have contributed to exploration/appraisal/production projects in numerous sedimentary basins for BHP Petroleum, Hess Corp., ExxonMobil, and Mobil as a petroleum systems subject matter expert in technical assurance, a technical network leader & mentor, and a petroleum systems analyst. My broad skills include regional geology, petroleum system analysis, and geochemistry.  With a PhD in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I have been a long-time member of the AAPG, PESGB, and HGS.  Have a good weekend!

Cheryl Mifflin

Seismic Acquisition

Seismic Imaging

Cheryl Mifflin is a Seismic Imaging Geophysicist with substantial experience imaging, technical leadership, project management, and team management. Led a team that successfully met an exploration challenge in Trinidad through seismic acquisition design and processing. Designed an innovative seismic program that will extend the life of a production GOM field. Helped develop a new seismic program for an underground coal field that substantially improved fault identification, thereby improving safety and reducing production costs. Global experience includes deepwater GOM, Trinidad&Tobago, onshore US, minerals Australia, offshore Australia, and West Africa. Holds a PhD from Rice University in Computational and Applied Mathematics. She started her career with Exxon Production Research, gained broad processing experience at ION/GXT, then developed technical leadership with BHP.

Somanath Mistra

Geophysicist

Seismic Interpretation

Seismic QI

Somanath Misra is a Geophysicist with 14 years of experience in quantitative seismic interpretation. Somanath has successfully applied quantitative interpretation (QI) methodologies in various basins in different parts of the world. His works have helped the upper management to take decisions that have proven to be highly beneficial for the company. He is considered to be a subject matter expert in QI and he has been instrumental in developing the key quantitative seismic interpretation workflows for his employers. He has helped in disseminating knowledge through short-courses, mentoring of interns and early career geoscientists. Somanath went to the University of Alberta, Canada for his Ph.D. in Geophysics.

Matt Honarpour

Reservoir Engineering

Core Acquisition, Handling and Lab Measurements

Dr. Honarpour has held several roles over the years: Principal Reservoir Engineer at BHP, Global Reservoir Engineering Advisor at Hess Corporation, and Senior Reservoir Engineering Advisor at ExxonMobil. He has extensive experience in reservoir engineering and subsurface characterization including rock-fluid properties, their modeling and integration with wireline logs and well test data for conventional sandstone reservoirs, fractured carbonates and unconventional reservoirs. He has led several projects in screening and implementation of chemical flooding, gas injection/ gravity drainage, low salinity waterflood and MEOR. He coordinated work in viscous oil, light oil, volatile oil, gas-condensate and dry gas reservoirs. He has conducted laboratory evaluation of CO2/ H2S storage in Arab formations in the Middle East carbonates, Honarpour has worked on the largest gas, gas-condensate and oil reservoirs globally. He has served as project manager of several large multidisciplinary projects. He has several years of teaching and mentoring at the University of Missouri, Rolla and Montana Tech. He has been an active member of SPE over the past 50 years and has served in leadership positions in Advanced Technology Workshops, Forums, Technical Reviews, Special Series, and SPE Professional Certification Committees.