Alain RABAUTE
PhD, Geology – Geophysics
Université de Montpellier, France


  • Acquisition, integration and interpretation of multi-scale marine geophysical data (sea-going experience): sonar, 2D and 3D seismics
  • Formation evaluation
    • Physical properties, mineralogy, petrophysics, petrography
    • Expertise in well-logging data analysis and interpretation
  • Data analysis techniques: multivariate statistics (hard and fuzzy classification, neural nets), inversion methods (generalized least squares, neural nets, image analysis).

  • Numerical modelling, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis

  • Experienced in a wide variety of geological formations (silicoclastic, carbonates, argillaceous (accretionary prism), volcanic, and environments (active basins, convergent zones, margins)

  • Deep knowledge of major operating systems: Linux, Unix, Windows, MacOS
  • Programming languages: Fortran, C, Tcl/Tk, Visual, Shell, macro-language, html, IDL)
  • Geosciences-dedicated softwares: GIS (MGE Microstation, Mapinfo, Geomedia), cartography (GMT, Global Mapper, Caraibes), image analysis (NIH Image, ENVI)
Professional experience prior to GeoSubSight
  • Institut Français du Pétrole, Rueil-Malmaison, France
    CO2STORE (EC-funded consortium)"CO2 sequestration in geological reservoir"
    4 months
    • Numerical modeling of mineral alterations in a geological formation during injection of CO2-saturated fluids. Consequences on the formation.
    CHLORITE (Industrial partnership with Total, BP, Anadarko, Agip)"Pore-lining chlorite in siliciclastic reservoirs"
    20 months
    • Creation of an innovative analytical scheme (statistics and inversion methods) for the quantitative analysis of well-logging data in terms of mineral quantities, including clay minerals.
  • Schlumberger-Doll Research, USA
    CARBONATES (Industrial consortium)
    20 months
    • Creation of an innovative scheme (multi-scale geological-geophysical data integration) for the interpretation of NMR downhole measurements in dual-porosity geological formations (Middle-East carbonates).
    • Creation of an innovative analysis scheme (image analysis – wavelets – neural networks) to characterize formation texture and facies from well-logging micro-resistivity borehole images.
    GEOFRAME (Schlumberger - Geoquest well-log interpretation software)
    1 month
    • Technical consultant on the interpretation of micro-resistivity borehole images (implementation of FasTeX and RockCell modules).
  • Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, France
    ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND VOLCANIC RISKS (EC-funded consortium)
    9 months
    • Characterization of physical properties alterations associated to hydrothermal hot fluids circulations in a volcanic area (+3000m of volcano-clastic deposits of the Phlegrean Fields, Italy).
  • Ecole normale supérieure, Paris, France
    TECTOSTRAIN (Industrial partnership with Unocal)
    4 months
    • Modeling the active stress and velocity fields in South-East Asia around the Makassar basin with constraints from GPS measurements and CMT data.
    DEEP OFFSHORE TECTONIC STUDIES (Industrial partnership with Total, Exxon, Conoco, Unocal)
    30 months
    • Characterizing mud volcanism in the estearn Mediterranean and its relationship with local and regional tectonics.
    • Project technical manager and associate editor
  • CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
    GEOMOUND (EC-funded consortium)"Genesis and geological evolution of deep-water carbonate mounds"
    12 months
    • Multi-scale integration and analysis of geophysical data with constraints from geology. Creation of a numerical model of fluids circulation and transfer in an active margin context. Modeling the active stress and velocity fields in South-East Asia around the Makassar basin with constraints from GPS measurements and CMT data.
  • Sea-going experiences
    OCEAN DRILLING PROGRAM (International Research Organisation for Deep Drilling)
    4 months
    • Leg 156 (Jun-Jul 1994): Origin, nature and extension of fluid flows in over-pressure environments (décollement zone of the northern Barbados accretionary prism)
    • Leg 160 (Mar-Apr 1995): The phenomenon of mud volcanism in the eastern Mediterranean and its relationship with tectonics and fluid flow.
  • 1998 PhD (Geology - Geophysics) summa cum laude
  • 1990-1993 BSc - MSc (Geology – Geophysics – Geochemistry)
Languages
  • French: mother tongue
  • English: fluent
  • Spanish: good level, need practice
A. Rabaute and N. Chamot-Rooke, Active Mud Volcanism at the western Mediterranean Ridge-Backstop contact: the mud reservoir hypothesis, submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research.
N. Chamot-Rooke, A. Rabaute and C. Kreemer, Western Mediterranean Ridge mud belt correlates with active shear strain at the prism – backstop geological contact, Geology (in press).
E. Brosse and A. Rabaute, Stratigraphical and sedimentological guidelines for understanding the distribution of diagenetic chlorite in sandstones. Geochemical conditions favourable to its formation, In: E. Brosse and A. Rabaute (Eds.) Chlorite in sandstones, à paraître.
A. Rabaute, Contributions of a methodology for quantifying the mineralogical composition from the classical set of logs, In: E. Brosse and A. Rabaute (Eds.) Chlorite in sandstones, à paraître.
A. Revil, A. Rabaute and E. Brosse, Application of a new model of pore-space distribution to the appraisal of conductivity, permeability and saturation in chlorite-rich sandstones, In: E. Brosse and A. Rabaute (Eds.) Chlorite in sandstones, à paraître.
A. Rabaute, A. Revil and E. Brosse (2003a) In situ mineralogy and permeability from downhole measurements. Application to a case study in clay-coated sandstone formations, J. Geophys. Res., Vol. 108, No. B9, 2414, doi:10.1029/2002JB002178.
A. Rabaute, B. Yven, M. Zamora, and W. Chelini (2003b) Subsurface geophysics of the Phlegrean Fields: New insights from downhole measurements interpretation, J. Geophys. Res., Vol. 108, No. B3, 2171, doi:10.1029/2001JB001436.
A. Rabaute, L. Briqueu, Mohamed Ramadan, Olivier Voutay (1998) Mise en oeuvre complémentaire de différentes approches statistiques (classifications, moindres carrés, perceptron) et probabilistes (inversion totale) pour l'interprétation des diagraphies mesurées dans le forage 948 (Campagne 156 d'ODP). Comparaison et validation. XXXème Journées de Statistique, 25-29 mai, ENSAI, Bruz, 4 pages.
A. Rabaute, L. Briqueu, H. Mercadier and P.K. Harvey (1997) Characterisation of oceanic sediments and basalts from the New Hebrides island arc from downhole measurements in Site 833 (ODP Leg 134). Scientific Drilling, 6(2), p. 91–101.
P. Blum, A. Rabaute, P. Gaudon and J. Allan (1997) Analysis of Natural gamma-ray spectra obtained from sediment cores with the shipboard scintillation detector of the Ocean Drilling Program: example from Leg 156. Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 156: College Station, Texas (Ocean Drilling Program), p. 183–195.
J.C. Moore, T. Shipley, D. Goldberg, Y. Ogawa, F. Filice, A. Fisher, M-J. Jurado, G. Moore, A. Rabaute, H. Yin, G. Zwart, W. Bruckmann, P. Henry, J. Ashi, P. Blum, A. Meyer, B. Housen, M. Kastner, P. Labaume, T. Laier, E. Leitch, A. Maltman, S. Peacock, T. Steiger, H. Tobin, M. Underwood, Y. Xu, and Y. Zheng (1995) Abnormal fluid pressures and fault-zone dilation in the Barbados accretionary prism: Evidence from logging while drilling: Geology, v. 23, p. 605–608.
P. Labaume, P. Henry, A. Rabaute and ODP Leg 156 Scientific Party (1995) Pore water overpressure and circulation in the Northern Barbados accretionary prism: results of ODP Leg 156. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, t. 320, série IIa, p. 977–984.
T.S. Ramakrishnan, R. Ramamoorthy, E. Fordham, L. Schwartz, M. Herron, N. Saito, and A. Rabaute (2001) A model-based interpretation methodology for evaluating carbonate reservoirs, Paper SPE 71704, 15 p.
T.S. Ramakrishnan, A. Rabaute, E. Fordham, R. Ramamoorthy, M. Herron, A. Matteson, B. Raghuraman, A. Madhi, M. Akbar, F. Kuchuk (1998) A petrophysical and petrographic study of carbonate cores from the Thamama formation, presented at the 8th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., 11-14 October 1998, Paper SPE 49502, 14 p.
N. Saito, A. Rabaute, and T. S. Ramakrishnan, Method for Interpreting Petrophysical Data, UK Patent Number GB2345776, Grant Date: 1/16/01.
Conferences and Meetings
17 oral communications and posters in international meetings (European Geophysical Society, Ocean Marine Research Conference, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Réunions des Sciences de la Terre, Congrès de la Société Géologique de France, ...)