Articles
Understanding Reservoir Architectures at Christina Lake, Alberta with Crosswell Seismic Imaging
Weimin Zhang, Guoping Li, John Cody and Jeff Meyer
As part of the Christina Lake Phase 1 pilot project, six profiles of crosswell seismic data were acquired by placing both seismic sources and receivers in wellbores. The primary objectives of the survey are to provide a high-resolution reservoir characterization of McMurray formation to identify thin shale laminations (potentially permeability…
Imaging Through Gas Clouds: A Case History from the Gulf Of Mexico
Steve Knapp, Nigel Payne and Tony Johns
Results from the world’s largest 3D four component OBC seismic survey will be presented. Located in the West Cameron area, offshore Gulf of Mexico, the survey operation totaled over 1000 square kilometers and covered more than 46 OCS blocks. The area contains numerous gas invaded zones and shallow gas anomalies…
Memoirs of Successful Geophysicists – Ernie Pallister
Fifty-five years ago the Leduc oilfield set off the oil boom in Alberta. Fifty–four years ago I graduated in physics from the University of Alberta. My timing was wonderful — the first of innumerable fortunate events that were to follow. In this memoir I concentrate on a few learning experiences…
Memoirs of Successful Geophysicists – R.H. Carlyle
After over four years in radar with the Royal Canadian Air Force and obtaining a degree in Engineering, Physics, and post graduate training in semi-conductors at the University of British Columbia, I was hired by Gulf Research and Development Company (G.R.D.C.). My assignment was to report to Seismic Party 30…
Memoirs of Successful Geophysicists – Greg Davidson
I have always enjoyed the technical side of geophysics, the science and the technology. But technology never seems to take me all the way. Any discovery that I have participated in has demanded that I abandon the safety of the ‘firm ground’ of science, and venture out on to the…
Memoirs of Successful Geophysicists – Brian Russell
I must admit that I had mixed feelings when asked to write an article for a compendium entitled “Lives of Successful Geophysicists”. For one thing, I can see all my friends saying: “Who the heck does he think he is!” Secondly, virtually every geophysicist I know is successful, so why…
Memoirs of Successful Geophysicists – Larry Lines
Wendy Lines
Every geophysicist has a story to tell about the many twists and turns in their career development. This is a brief reflection on the paths taken by Larry Lines, Chair in Exploration Geophysics, during his career.... The Role of Visualization in Resource Exploration and Development
Geoffrey A. Dorn
The rapidly expanding application of visualization technology has the potential to fundamentally change the way companies conduct business in the oil and gas industry. Visualization technology has been used for years in exploration and development. Visualization is simply the graphical presentation of data in an intuitive fashion to reveal information.…
Using Advanced Seismic Imaging Tools to See the Invisible Beneath Foothills Structures
Samuel H. Gray, Scott Cheadle, Rob Vestrum, Jon Gittins, Tianfei Zhu, Hans Nanan
Oil and gas exploration in the Foothills of Western Canada is a mammoth industrial endeavor. Members of major Canadian and international oil and gas companies rub shoulders with their counterparts in smaller companies and with individuals and companies who develop exploration prospects, acquire and process geological and geophysical data, drill…
Where’s the Reef
J. Helen Isaac and Larry R. Lines
Pre-stack time and depth migrations of synthetic seismic data demonstrate that time migration does not always position images accurately, even when the exact velocity field is used, whereas prestack depth migration locates images correctly and focuses them better.
... Image Mispositioning in Foothills Seismic Data Due to a Dipping Transversely Isotropic Overburden: Implications from Physical Seismic Modelling Studies
J. Helen Isaac and Don C. Lawton
Significant errors occur in the position of a target imaged beneath a dipping transversely isotropic (TTI) overburden if the effects of anisotropy are not included during data processing. Using 2-D and 3-D seismic data acquired over scaled physical models, we demonstrate that the imaged position of a target is shifted…
The Prairie Meteorite Search
Alan Hildebrand, Dan Lockwood and Andrew Bird
Meteorites have been accumulating on the Canadian land mass since the end of the last glaciation, approximately 10,000 years ago. The current rate of fall for meteorites >100 g mass (surviving to the ground) is ~27 per year per 106 km2. With a 10,000 year integration time, and presuming that…
Tectonic Evolution of the East Coast of Canada
Keith Louden
The East Coast of Canada is generally divided into three regions: the Nova Scotian margin in the south, the Newfoundland margin in the centre and east, and the Labrador margin in the north. These margins formed during the past 200 million years as the supercontinent of Pangea rifted apart, first…
Tectonic Evolution of the Canadian Beaufort Sea – Mackenzie Delta Region: A Brief Review
Larry S. Lane
The Canadian Beaufort Sea continental margin is probably the best known segment of the Arctic Ocean margin, based on the interpretation of multiple datasets defining the deep crustal architecture, regional structural trends and the temporal-spatial tectonic evolution. Of 53 oil and/or gas discoveries, most are trapped in structures formed during…
On Seismic Waves in Linearly Elastic, Anisotropic and Nonuniform Continua
Michael A. Slawinski
Most sedimentary rocks are anisotropic. Most sedimentary basins are nonuniform. Consequently, exploration seismologists benefit from knowledge of these properties. This knowledge provides us with rock-physics information and also enables us to account for the effects of anisotropy and nonuniformity on seismic imaging. Anisotropy and nonuniformity are conveniently studied in the…
Discovery of Ring Faults Associated with Salt Withdrawal Basins
Steven J. Maione
The Jurassic Louann salt has played a dominant role in influencing the structural and depositional history of the East Texas Basin. Petroleum traps within the basin exhibit structural and stratigraphic elements influenced by salt tectonics, particularly during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Petroleum reservoirs in East Texas Basin include the…
Integrating Coherence Cube Imaging and Seismic Attributes
Satinder Chopra
Coherence Cube imaging essentially generates a cube of coherence coefficients (from the input 3D seismic data volume) that portrays faults and other stratigraphic anomalies clearly on time or horizon slices. These images show up distinctly, depicting buried deltas, river channels, reefs etc. Traditional seismic time slices are often used for…
Coals and their confounding effects
Mike Perz
If someone were to compile a list of “usual suspects” most often blamed for processing artifacts observed on Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) seismic sections, high amplitude coal reflectors would be found somewhere near the top (right alongside other well-known culprits such as ground roll, anisotropy, inadequate spatial sampling and…
Examining Due Diligence & Liabilities — CAGC Symposium
John Bertsch
“Where exactly does the buck stop?” and, “Although the job was done in good faith, was it done in blind ignorance?” These questions were recently posed to those attending the Fifth Annual Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractor’s (CAGC ) Oil & Gas Symposium, held in Calgary on August 21-22, 2001.
... CSEG MLA: Procedure and Questions
On October 25, 2001 the MLA Committee presented the Master License Agreement to interested members of the CSEG. The legal document was presented and interpreted for attendees of the forum. A plethora of examples of the MLA in action were given, and numerous questions from the audience were also addressed.…
