Introduction to April Technical Articles

Because we had a surplus of fantastic papers for last month’s Value of Integrated Geophysics (VIG) Edition, the April RECORDER carries a continuation of similarly themed articles.

Rebecca Daniels and Brian Schulte of Talisman wrote our first article "Geophysical Methods for Mapping a Shallow, Unconsolidated Gas Sand". In this paper, Rebecca and Brian explain how they unlocked greater potential in a new shallow pool which is produced using CHOPS systems. Due to the shallow depth of the pool and the observed production results, the return on these wells is approximately twice what was paid out. Unfortunately wells that are drilled too close to the gas cap would be lost due to gas breakthrough, and the full net value of the well could not be obtained. Amplitude versus Offset (AVO) analysis of high resolution 3D seismic data was used to confirm the extent of a gas cap that needed to be avoided. Geophysical mapping of the gas cap gave Talisman the confidence to step out of the core development area to access greater reserves, thanks to the integrated efforts of geology, geophysics, and engineering.

Marian Hanna and Doug Uffen then provide a thorough commentary in "Reliable Geophysics". This paper goes deep into the questions that we need to ask ourselves about the reliability and suitability of various geophysical techniques. The authors provide conventional and unconventional examples to reinforce how integrated geophysical products add value and how reliably they contribute to producible reserves. They illustrate how discerning where and when these techniques are suitable for a specific issue or problem is key to the effectiveness of the methods deployed. This is a very useful concept in the value of integrated geophysics because reserves estimation is, after all, the ultimate goal of the entire team!