Overview

The Belize Carbonate Field and Workshop Seminar has been supported by industry since its first offering in 1981 because:

• Modern depositional environments in Belize afford the observer the best opportunity to view most important potential reservoir, seal and source environments in a compact, easily accessible area

• Exploration and development workshops maintain the participant's focus on using observations of modern depositional environments to exploration and development problems

• The course is continually upgraded and locations of study are changed in response to natural processes (i.e. hurricanes)

• Course leaders continually expand their understanding of both carbonate and terrigenous clastic milieu of Belize

• Throughout the 25 years the course has been offered close relationships with hotel management, boat captains, restaurant owners and local airline personnel have been maintained--all of which has contributed to our excellent safety record.

• Belize is a politically safe nation.

As a result, over 450 participants representing more than sixty companies located in the USA, Canada and several Middle Eastern nations have attended the seminar as members of both multi-company and exclusive in-house presentations.

The instructors believe that when practical, a regional understanding of an exploration and/or development play produces the most successful results.  Thus, we offer the participant opportunities to observe all modern depositional environments that exist in Belize such as (1) depositional patterns of terrigenous feldspathic-quartz sands and clays along the Belizean coastal plain, (2) shelf reefs and inter-reef environments, (3)  barrier reef, (4) Glover's Atoll, (5) Northern Bay, (6) mud cays and (7) tidal flats.  Emphasis is placed on geometry and spatial relationship of each environment.  Reef forming organisms are introduced and described by shape rather than taxonomy because names have changed thru geologic time but shape and ecological niche occupied by reef-building organisms have remained similar.

Throughout the seminar, pit falls of using the Belize complex as a direct analog to exploration and development plays are stressed.  In contrast, we encourage keen observations and analogies of Belize environments that can be used to develop multiple hypotheses to solve exploration and development problems that are than tested by impartial working form until the best hypotheses is developed.  Each participant is encouraged to consider the influence of sea level changes (eustatic and/or tectonic origin), tectonics, preservation patterns and the influence of diagenesis on both interpretations and reservoir characteristics.

The field seminar is best suited for the geoscience professional with petroleum experience and some knowledge of carbonate depositional systems.  Participants should be in good health and able to swim.  A knowledge of snorkeling skills is advisable, but not necessary.