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Richard Koepnick, Ph.D.

Richard Koepnick

Part Time Faculty

Office locationStudent Resource Center, 594,

Area(s) of Expertise: General Geology, Petroleum Geology, Reservoir Characterization, Carbonate Sedimentology and Diagenesis, Petrophysics and Rock Typing

Courses Taught

  • GEOL 1122 Historical Geology
  • GEOL 1121 Physical Geology
  • GEOG 1111 Physical Geography

Education

  • Ph.D., Geology, University of Kansas, 1976
  • M.S., Geology, University of Kansas, 1969
  • B.A., Geology, University of Colorado, 1967

Research/Special Interests

Richard B. Koepnick has a 30+ year record of geologic accomplishment in industrial and academic settings. He provides worldwide consultation on carbonate exploration and reservoir characterization issues, particularly in the Middle East. He has developed depositional and diagenetic facies models and reservoir architectures for large, multi-year, carbonate reservoir characterization projects in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He is a key contributor of geologic and petrophysical information for the development of Qatar’s super-giant North Gas Field. He is a principal architect of a temporally based approach both for the identification of carbonate exploration plays and for the utilization of carbonate reservoir analog information. He is a pioneer in the development of strontium isotope technology. This technology has been used to solve a broad range of industrial and academic problems.

Publications

Selected Publications

Waite, L.E., Koepnick, R.B., and Markello J. R., In Press, The Miocene World; A Brief Summary, in SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication No. 114, Cenozoic Isolated Carbonate Platforms-Focus Southeast Asia. 

Markello, J. R., Koepnick, R. B., Waite, L. E., and Collins, J. E., 2008, The Carbonate Analogs through Time (CATT) Hypothesis and the Global Atlas of Carbonate Fields—A Systematic and Predictive Look at Phanerozoic Carbonate Systems, in: Siemo and Harris (eds.), SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 89.

Koepnick, R. B., Clarke., R. T., White, J. V., Hager, R. C., and Eby, D. E., 1999, Lower Cretaceous sedimentary geology of the Edwards Plateau, San Antonio area, AAPG/Student Chapter Field Trip #8, April 10, AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., and Hetherington, E. A., 1998, Construction of the Cambrian and Ordovician seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve. Chemical Geology, Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 152, p. 325-340.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., Hetherington, E. A., and Fletcher, A. 1997, Construction of the Silurian and Devonian seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve. Chemical Geology, Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 140, p. 109-121.

Denison, R. E. and Koepnick, R. B., 1995, Variation in 87Sr/86Sr of Permian seawater: an overview. in Scholle, P. A. and T. Pyret (eds.), The Permian of the Northern Continents, p. 124-132, Springer-Verlag.

Koepnick, R. B., Waite, L. E., Kompanik, G., Al-Shammery, M. J., and Al-Amoudi, M. O., 1994, Sequence stratal geometries and burial-related microporosity development: Controls on performance of the Hadriya Reservoir, (Late Jurassic), Berri Field, Saudi Arabia in Al-Husseini (ed.), Geo94, Middle East Petroleum Geosciences VII, p. 615-623, Gulf Petrolink, Bahrain.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Fletcher, A., Howell, M. W., and Callaway, W. S., 1994, Criteria for the recognition of original seawater 87Sr/86Sr in ancient shelf limestones. Chem. Geol., Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 112, p. 131-143.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., Hetherington, E. A., and Fletcher, A., 1994, Construction of the Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve. Chem. Geol., Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 112, p. 145-167.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Fletcher, A., Howell, M. W., and Callaway, W. S., 1994, Criteria for the recognition of original seawater 87Sr/86Sr in ancient shelf limestones. Chem. Geol., Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 112, p. 131-143.

Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Bishop, B. A., Dahl, D. A., and Koepnick, R. B., 1993, The use of strontium isotopes in stratigraphic studies: an example from North Carolina. Southeastern Geology, v. 33, no. 2 p. 1-17.

Denison, R. E., Koepnick, R. B., Fletcher, A., Dahl, D. A., and Baker, M. C., 1993, Reevaluation of Early Oligocene, Eocene, and Paleocene seawater strontium isotope ratios. Paleoceanography, v. 8, p. 101-126.

McGuire, M. D., Kompanik, G., Al-Shammery, M., Al-Amoudi, M., Koepnick, R. B., Markello, J. R., Stockton, M. L., and Waite, L. E., 1993, Importance of sequence stratigraphic concepts in development of reservoir architecture in Upper Jurassic grainstones, Hadriya and Hanifa reservoirs, Saudi Arabia. SPE Paper 25578, Bahrain.

Koepnick, R. B., Denison, R. E., Burke, W. H., Hetherington, E. A., and Dahl, D. A., 1990, Construction of the Triassic and Jurassic portion of the Phanerozoic curve of seawater 87Sr/86Sr. Chemical Geology (Isotope Geoscience Section) v. 80, p. 327-349.

Saller, A. H. and Koepnick, R. B., 1990, Eocene to early Miocene growth of Enewetak Atoll: Insight from strontium-isotope data. Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 102, p. 381-930.

Koepnick, R. B., Denison, R. E., and Dahl, D. A., 1988 Cenozoic seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve: data review and implications for correlation of marine strata. Paleoceanography, v. 3, no. 6, p. 741-754.

Koepnick, R. B., 1988, Significance of stylolite development in hydrocarbon reservoirs with an emphasis on the Lower Cretaceous of the Middle East. Geol. Soc. Malaysia, Bulletin 22, p. 23-43.

Koepnick, R. B., 1987, Distribution and permeability of stylolite-bearing horizons within a Lower Cretaceous reservoir in the Middle East, SPE Formation Evaluation, v. 2, no. 2, p. 137-142, June.

Morrow, D. W., Cumming, G. L., and Koepnick, R. B., 1986, Manatoe Facies--A gas-bearing, megacrystalline, Devonian dolomite, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada. Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 70, no. 6, p. 702-720.

Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Nelson, H. F., Otto, J. B., and Waite, L. E., 1985, Construction of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve for the Cenozoic and Cretaceous: supporting data. Chemical Geology, Isotope Geoscience Sec., v. 58, p. 55-81
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Koepnick, R. B., 1984, Distribution and vertical permeability of stylolites within a Lower Cretaceous carbonate reservoir, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi National Reservoir Research Foundation (ADREF) Special Pub., Stylolites and Associated Phenomena: Relevance to Hydrocarbon Reservoirs, p. 261-278.

Burke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Koepnick, R. B., Nelson, H. F., and Otto, J. B., 1982, Variation of seawater 87Sr/86Sr throughout Phanerozoic time, Geology, v. 10, p. 516-519.

Brady, M. J. and Koepnick, R. B., 1979, A Middle Cambrian platform-to-basin transition, House Range, West Central Utah, Brigham Young Geol. Studies, v. 26, pt. 1, p. 1-7.

Koepnick, R. B., 1976, Depositional history of the Upper Dresbachian-Lower Franconian (Upper Cambrian) Pterocephaliid biomere from west-central Utah, Brigham Young Univ. Geol. Studies, v. 23, pt 2, p. 123-138.

Work Experience

  • Assistant Professor of Geology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 1975-1977
  • Senior Research Geologist/Research Associate/Associate, Mobil Research and Development Corporation,Dallas TX, 1977-1993.
  • Associate Research Advisor/Research Associate, Mobil Oil Corporation, Technical Research Center, Dallas, TX, 1993-2000.
  • Geological Consultant/Senior Geologist, Qatar Petroleum Corporation, Gas and Oil Development Departments, Doha, State of Qatar, 2001-2007.
  • Adjunct Professor of Geology, Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, VA, 2008-2011.
  • Geological Consultant/President, Koepnick Geological Consulting, Inc, Athens, GA., 2008-present.

Personal Information

My favorite thing about north Georgia is that it is a great place to live!