It is a high risk venture to predict trends for any science because new discoveries or new demands can change the directions that are seen at present.

A major trend in geology is the participation of geologists in reservoir management from time of discovery through the life of a field. A significant task for the geologist in reservoir management is to participate in selecting the appropriate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method and in its application. As a consequence of these tasks, geologic applications change from the traditional descriptive aspects to a more quantitative approach.

Exploration management also requires a predictive role for geology. This includes predrilling predictions of reservoir quality and geometry, of aspects of the reservoir fluids including type of prospect fill-up, and of migration routes.

To refine and expand these predictive capabilities, the combination of geology with the other earth sciences, particularly geophysics and geochemistry, will continue to expand in scope.

Certainly not all of the current and future trends in geology have been identified in this discussion. It seems obvious, however, that these expanded roles for geology should insure that it will continue to have a

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significant place in both the exploration and production aspects of the petroleum industry.

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