Biostratigraphy in Production and Development Geology R.W. Jones and M.D. Simmons (Editors) Geological Society Special Publication No. 152 Geological Society of London, 1999, 318 p. ISBN 1-86239-031-2, L70/US$117

Biostratigraphy in Petroleum and Development Geology presents 16 papers that, in general, focus on the applications and impact of biostratigraphy in the search for hydrocarbons. The intent of the book is to demonstrate that biostratigraphy can make good business sense. As stated (p. 21) by S. N. J. Payne et al. ("The role and value of 'high-impact biostratigraphy' in reservoir appraisal and development"), "Biostratigraphy undertaken from a business-driven perspective rather than out of quasi-academic interest or inertia, provides the potential for high-value, high-impact, but low-cost solutions [to reservoir-scale problems]." [I have to admit, though, that this sounds like "Scientist Meets the MBA."] 

The volume results from the Petroleum Group Conference of the same title, which was held in Aberdeen in June of 1997. Industry scientists, both from major oil companies (particularly BP) and from the consulting sector, contributed most of the articles, in addition to contributions from a few academicians. Most of the articles, not surprisingly, resulted from studies of the Cretaceous and Paleogene turbidite deposits of the North Sea region, but case studies were also presented from the Euramerican Late Carboniferous, Miocene of Borneo, Miocene-Pliocene of Venezuela, Miocene of Nigeria, and Miocene of the Gulf of Mexico. 

In general, the articles are well edited, with only the occasional typo or incomplete sentence, which I did not find to be too distracting. There are full-color, pull-out charts, plus a scattering of color cartoons and diagrams, numerous black and white figures of generally very good quality, and some nice photomicrographs. Only one figure contained writing too small to see without a microscope. Use of formal stratigraphic nomenclature was a bit inconsistent, though, even within particular articles (such as "late Miocene" and "Late Miocene" in the article by C. J. van der Zwan and W. A. Brugman). Somewhat more disturbing than inconsistent substage nomenclature (which can be confusing) is incorrect stage or epoch nomenclature (such as "late" Cretaceous). Overall, production of the volume is excellent. 

The first article, contributed by BP geologists (see S. N. J. Payne et al., above), "was written to maintain the impetus of high-impact biostratigraphy, and is intended to keep geoscientists aware of the potential business impact that the many and varied strands of biostratigraphy can offer in the solution of reservoir problems" (p. 21). The article was a good introduction to the rest of the book, clearly casting out the "Old Model" of broad, and largely irrelevant, regional zonations in favor of the "New Model" emphasizing high-resolution, reservoir-scale events to be integrated with other tools of reservoir description. The shiny image of the "New Model" (at least in management's bedazzled eyes) is buffed up by the use of such power terms as "high-impact biostratigraphy" and "bio-steering." I found it annoying, though, that these terms were not clearly defined at the beginning of the book. The concept of bio-steering, and discussions of particular cases, was one of most interesting parts of the book. In essence, the direction and progress of drilling is determined on site through the use of biostratigraphy, thus maximizing penetration of the reservoir sections. A main theme throughout the volume is the importance of using any sort of biosignal or combination of bioevents to correlate among wells to squeeze out the maximum information from the fossil content.  

Most of the papers are well focused, particularly "Well-site biostratigraphy of Danish horizontal wells" (D. J. Shipp), "The Andrew Formation and 'biosteering'-different reservoirs, different approaches" (N. A. Holmes), "Biosignals from the EA Field, Nigeria" (C. J. van der Zwan and W. A. Brugman), and "Applied palaeontology: a critical stratigraphic tool in Gulf of Mexico exploration and exploitation" (B. J. O'Neill et al.). These papers clearly demonstrate the importance of biostratigraphy in the search for hydrocarbons, and they made for enjoyable and interesting reading. Several of the papers made use of the interesting work of R. W. Jones on benthic foraminiferal paleoecology, including his own contribution to the volume ("Forties Field (North Sea) revisited: a demonstration of the value of historical micropalaeontological data"). Jones' work formed the basis of the bio-steering programs employed in several of the drilling projects discussed in the volume. I cringed, though, when I saw comparisons being made to the coastal onlap charts of Haq et al. (1987). Besides the global charts being of dubious value, the general lack of high-resolution, cosmopolitan taxa in the reservoirs renders such comparisons speculative at best. The paper by S. Duxbury et al. ("Sequence stratigraphic subdivision of the Humber Group in the Outer Moray Firth area (UKCS, North Sea)") was, however, sheer drudgery. What the reader is supposed to get out of being dragged through the minutia of 20 stratigraphic sequences and 19 biostratigraphic zones is beyond me. The article by Armentrout et al. ("High-resolution sequence biostratigraphy of a lowstand prograding deltaic wedge: Oso Field (late Miocene), Nigeria") was unfocused, and included discussions of several topics, such as petrophysical data, seismic geometry, etc., that only detracted from the discussions of the biostratigraphic analyses and contributions. The use of sequence stratigraphic concepts in several of the articles was variable. For example, in the article by S. Duxbury et al., some of the sequences began (lower portion) with an "aggrading systems tract," but the meaning of that term was not clear, particularly how it relates to the more commonly understood lowstand systems tract, etc. The rare use of graphic correlation (which appears only in "Chalk palaeoenvironments and depositional model, Valhall-Hod fields, southern Norwegian North Sea," by P. J. Sikora et al.), particularly in conjunction with sequence stratigraphy, was surprising, because this combination of tools has proved to be quite effective in solving chronostratigraphic correlations.  

In summary, Biostratigraphy in Production and Development Geology is an important contribution to the literature on the use of fossils in oil exploration. Most of the articles are focused, well written, and clearly demonstrate the value of biostratigraphical data in the search for hydrocarbons. Some of the more salient contributions are: underscoring the use of all fossil information, even that restricted to small (i.e, field-scale) areas, in getting the most use out of the paleontological information; demonstrating the practicality of using fossil information in all phases of production and development geology; and presenting case histories where biostratigraphy has had a positive impact on the economics of oil exploration and development. The economic benefit of stable, coherent taxonomic schemes was emphasized, as was the understanding of the paleoecology of fossils, which are both important, practical points to be made to paleontology students. Anyone teaching biostratigraphy (or micropaleontology) at a university should be familiar with the text, and a couple of the articles should be required reading for the students. It should certainly be read by all oil company paleontologists and consultants, and by academicians working with oil companies. Lastly, it would make an excellent gift for managers--particularly if they hold MBAs.