Who We Are

Dr. Bingjian Li is currently the President and Geological Advisor of BlackRiver Geoscience LLC (BRG). At BRG, Bingjian has developed a few advanced image data applications along with his team  for unconventional shales, conventional (i.e. deepwater & carbonates) and fractured reservoirs and successfully introduced them to both domestic and international clients. Before founding BRG, he was the Principal Geologist at Schlumberger Petro-Technical Services and Geology Domain Champion at Reservoir Evaluation Wireline North America based in Houston. Dr. Li was responsible for geology solution product development with a primary focus on shale reservoirs using geology measurements, including the latest borehole image technologies, sidewall cores, and other logs. He was also one of the main geologist who field-tested the latest Quanta Geo technology and successfully introduced it to the US land market. He was actively involved in the fracture characterization of fractured shales in the US from 2013 onwards. Prior to his US assignment, he worked for Schlumberger as Principal Geologist in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and as Senior Geologist in Canada (after joining the company in 1997). He gained intensive experience in borehole image data in facies and depositional environment interpretation in clastic reservoirs, natural fracture characterization for any type of fractured reservoir, and other geological applications worldwide. Before joining Schlumberger, he had a one-year stint with HEF Petrophysical in Canada as the Manager of Geology, earning interpretation experience for the majority of the available borehole image tools on the market. Dr. Li also worked for an oil company for several years in his early career . He served as committee member and abstract reviewer for SPE ATCE conferences from 2013-2015. Moreover, he chaired G&G sessions in SPE ATCE 2014 and SPE ATCE 2015. He delivered short training courses to AAPG/SPE/HGS as well as individual oil companies and worked as an invited editor for a special publication issue for the Interpretation journal.  Dr. Li received his BSc in petroleum geology from Northeastern Petroleum University, , and his PhD in reservoir geology and sedimentology from Aberdeen University, UK (under the sponsorship of Shell/ESSO (UK)). He has published (or coauthored) more than 25 papers for professional conferences and journals. 

Dr. Linji An is an experienced, highly motivated geologist with over 18 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He started in southern California where he engaged in reservoir characterization, 3D geologic modeling and fault seal analysis of Wilmington field in Los Angeles basin for a SEGD project. After a short stint in Bakersfield where he worked on equity assessment for DOE on Navy Petroleum Reserve #1 (Elk Hills), he moved to ARCO Exploration and Production Technology in Plano, Texas, and worked on several fault seal analysis projects in Myanmar and the Gulf of Mexico. After ARCO was purchased by BP in 1999, he went to work for Sterling Commerce (now IBM) as a software engineer for 7 years. In 2007, he joined AERA Energy in Bakersfield, first as a development geologist and worked on diatomite reservoir steam flooding project in South Belridge field, then as an exploitation and exploration geologist and evaluated potentials of East Coalinga Primary fluvial reservoir and Kreyenhagen shale in San Joaquin basin. During these years, he built Petrel and EarthVision models, calculated volumetrics, analyzed log, core and geochemical data, interpreted seismic data, performed petrophysical and fault seal analysis, made geologic maps and cross sections, designed and drilled wells, prepared 3D grids for reservoir simulation, and monitored subsidence and processed microseismic data. He also finished his fault seal analysis software Dr.Seal during this time. In 2014, he moved to Texas again and joined Pioneer Natural Resources and specialized in full spectrum Petrel modeling of Eagle Ford shale in southern Texas, including geomodeling, volumetrics, uncertainty analysis, resource ranking, 3D grid preparation for reservoir simulation, some petrophysical and geomechanics analysis. 

Dr. Du is an accomplished reservoir geo-modeling geoscientist and simulation engineer. He has been engaged in many petroleum engineering researches and practices as well as oil/gas reservoir characterization, heterogeneity modeling, geological model constructions and fluid flow dynamic simulations. Dr. Du’s cross-discipline knowledge and integration experiences provide him a unique perspective in reservoir modeling studies. He studied hydraulic fracturing process, developed software for hydraulic fracturing design, conducted lab testing of fracing fluid rheology, formation compatibility, and proppants geomechanical properties and conductivity, optimization of low permeability and heterogeneous reservoir production with fracturing designs and well patterns. At GTI as research scientist, he played a key role and participated in multiple DOE funded research projects, including AI techniques to optimize field practices, hydrates characterization of lab synthesis and recovery, laser perforation and lab tests, LNG safety modeling, shale and coalbed methane reservoir characterization and CO2 sequestration. His Ph.D. study was reservoir heterogeneity description, modeling and its impact on fluid flow. Continued as research fellow,  he  performed characterization and heterogeneity description of Long Beach CA turbidite reservoir and modeling, worked on bed-sequence depicturing, core-log GR cross-correlation and shifting, bed-grain size distribution tests, shale/silt top continuity mapping etc.; designed core analysis to calibrate conventional core properties to in situ condition, corrected and cleaned logging curves - depth, steam, well bore collapse and end-of-hole influences, built stochastic reservoir geology and property models and OOIP for steam-flooding field simulation and management. In his last 15+ years, Dr. Du worked for Schlumberger as Principle Reservoir Engineer (and geoscientist), provided various complexity reservoir modeling, simulation and Petrel G&G/RE/Eclipse workflow consulting services and training classes including - structure, property, DFN and micro-seismic applications; and worked as reservoir modeling and engineering Advisor at Devon and Hunt Oil where he conducted many different types of reservoir study, model build, and simulations including GOM/Africa offshore reservoirs, and on shore conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, tight gas and carbonate fracture reservoirs, and complex faulting systems with fields in South and North America, Asia, Middle East and Romania. In addition, Dr. Du performed integrated unconventional reservoir studies as a team leader and published several well-cited SPE papers. In summary, Dr Du has developed strong expertise in both reservoir modeling and simulation and prepared himself as a unique professional for reservoir studies.