Alberto Riva

geologist

Born in 1977, I received my degree (MSc equivalent – 2001) in Earth Science from University of Ferrara (Italy) and completed my doctorate (2005) also at the University of Ferrara. I received also the habilitation as chartered geologist in 2001.

I am currently working as senior geologist in the Petroleum Geology section of G.E.Plan Consulting, a small consulting company based in Ferrara, Italy.

I am a specialist on carbonate stratigraphy, sedimentology and karst hydrogeology, but focusing also on 3D geological modelling and mapping, with hydrocarbon and mineral exploration applications. I am involved on several technical projects over different aspects of petroleum industry, from exploration to reservoir characterisation and development. One of my points of strength is the strong integration of different disciplines (sedimentology, geochemistry and structural geology), trying to obtain the best and the most useful informations from E&P datasets, often applying innovative approaches. Now, I’m working on various carbonate reservoirs projects that involve the use of outcrop analogue data for the reservoir analysis and interpretation.
I am also involved in several training courses on carbonates and on fractured reservoirs.
I use often the Dolomites as a geological laboratory where is possible to learn and/or teach to unravel the complexity of carbonate reservoirs.

My current geographical areas of expertise: The Dolomites, Italy, Albania, Croatia, Austria, France, Tunisia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq (Kurdistan), Mauritania, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba

My current fields of research are:

  • 3D characterization of carbonate reservoirs
  • present day karst development and characterization in different climatic settings and its comparison with paleokarst systems
  • hydrothermal dolomites, focusing on their impact on reservoir performance
  • stratigraphy and depositional dynamics of Mesozoic Tethyan carbonate platforms
  • regional geology of the Mediterranean and Middle East

Specialties

Carbonate geology (from Proterozoic to Cenozoic), geoinformatics, GIS specialist. Highly specialized in “hard” geological mapping on sedimentary rocks. Another field of expertise is karst geology, including caving.

Affiliations

  • American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
  • Geological Society of America (GSA)
  • European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE)
  • Società Geologica Italiana
  • Society of Petroleum Engineers
  • Club Alpino Italiano
  • Società Speleologica Italiana