Articles

The Waves of the Past are Lapping the Shores of the Future

Juli Rohl

I started my career with ambitions of becoming a great geologist. Eventually, however, I learned that while I could become a good geologist, I would never be a truly great geologist. The difference was heart. My heart just wasn’t in it. Unlike many of my colleagues, I didn’t get a…

Transitioning from Mining to Solar

Adam Yereniuk

When I left the mining industry in 2015 to start a business in the solar energy industry, I knew little about solar or business. It was a very scary shift, but in my heart, it felt like the right move for my long-term career. What I lacked in knowledge; I…

From Land Management to Sustainability

Alyssa Bruce

In recognition of the measures required to mitigate climate change, the Government of Canada is proposing ambitious objectives to meet and exceed its greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, tabling the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in November 2020 (Government of Canada, 2020).

From Subsurface to a Venture Capital and Business Incubator

Jim Hollis

 I am an exploration geophysicist by training as well as by passion. I have spent the last 30 years involved in the development and commercialization of exploration technologies that help us better understand the subsurface – mostly in the search for hydrocarbons. I was fortunate to be involved in the…

How a curious geophysicist set the stage for a low-impact mining breakthrough

Doug Schouten

The Athabasca Basin in the Canadian Shield is a stark and rugged wilderness that harbours the world's leading source of high-grade uranium. It is challenging terrain, remotely located, and generally inhospitable to those who visit. For one geophysicist deployed in the area, however, the striking landscape served as inspiration for…

Introduction to October Focus: Future of the Oilsands

Brian Schulte

The goal was to talk about initiatives to reduce GHGs emissions in the oilsands, but a lot of this is surrounded by secrecy. Through Cole Narfason (Oil Sands Strategy Support Student - Suncor), I managed to get a paper from Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance.

The COSIA Land Innovation Opportunity: Seeking Innovators to Develop our ‘Approaching Zero Footprint

Christine A. Daly, Jack O’Neill and Megan Boutin

Innovative. Creative. Committed. These words have defined Canada’s oil sands industry for decades and are what drives people and companies to find new ways to make the industry more competitive and to reduce the environmental footprint.

Pricing and Future of Natural Gas

Brian Wm. Schulte and Jim Felton

We acknowledge that the scope of this paper may include some forward-thinking ideas some may disagree with. We welcome your insights and perspectives. It’s precisely the fact that so many variables, most of which are uncontrollable, some unforeseeable (e.g., COVID-19), makes working in and following the world’s most important industry…

Orange Shirt Day – Kihci-ita-kis-iw “Kihci-ita-kis-iw” is Cree for “All living things matter”

Brian Wm. Schulte

Many may not know what Orange shirt day is and also what is happening in regards to two programs (REDEVELOP challenge and NIYAK) being offered through five Universities across Canada in regard to their work with Indigenous people.

Family business, tradition, work ethics and entrepreneurialism

Eva Drivet

Once in a while, you come across a compelling “oil patch story” that inspires, and reflects on the resilience and leadership of members of our Geo-community. As little girls, Lisa Eastman and her sister Susan thought all kids grew up playing on seismic equipment parked in the yard. Their mother…

Almost 7000 Miles Apart: Stories of Hope amidst Uncertainties

Althea De Los Santos

Vision holds a different meaning to everyone. For some, it is a new word with an old concept or an old word with a new concept. For me, it is the latter one. Before Standard Oil became the world’s first multinational corporation by the end of 19th century, John Rockefeller…

Fall Preparations

Stephen Kotkas

If you were anything like me you had good intensions for a spring clean-up. You saw your neighbors tidying their property so you did a little… just enough to keep it respectable.

What’s the Future for North American Oil and Gas? A Perspective

Brian Wm. Schulte and Jim Felton

Jaws dropped around the planet in April 2020 when the price of oil went below 0 into negative prices. In effect, producers of the fuel that drives the global economy had to pay others to take oil from producers’ stores. It reflected market forces that had never been seen before.

“I remember Don Simpson”

John Boyd

When Don and I first met, we were both in our twenties and had been in the geophysical side of the petroleum industry for a few years. Don, a native Calgarian and a graduate of St Mary’s High School, started his working life in Amoco’s accounting department.

Dedication

We would like to thank the over 26,000 RNs employed by Alberta health Services; over 11,000 doctors; and more than 5,600 EMS professionals that are working on the frontlines of this pandemic.

Introduction to the April 2020 Focus:  Geomodelling and Geosteering

Devik Naidu

The April edition features compelling articles on geomodelling and geosteering. These articles were selected by the RECORDER Committee based upon the expertise of the authors and we wanted to feature their outstanding work in this edition.

Improving Your Forward Vision – How 4D Geosteering Software Improves Well Placements by Proactively Catching Deviations Early and Reducing Drilling Risks

Rocky Mottahedeh

In geosteering, to dynamically and confidently drive forward with confidence in the target with minimum doglegs, we need to have a real-time solution that not only allows us to correlate to the last survey point (how we got here), but which also provides the latest calculated 3D path to where…

Forward Vision for Geosteering and Mitigating Risk by Volumetric Simulation of Well Drainage and Frac Shadows

Rocky Mottahedeh

Creating value and planning for success in field development operations is a multi-disciplinary process that needs both a learning and an integrative approach to optimize capital. Technological advantage for producers comes from implementing just-in-time processes continuously with software systems that do the hard work in the background to provide Dynamic…

Geosteering – The Basics for Geophysicists

Curtis James

Gone are the days of old, when geosteering relied solely on drill cuttings. Advancements in drilling technologies have pushed laterals longer and deeper, and with faster drilling times. As these technologies advanced, so did the need for more accurate, real-time data from downhole, so the geosteering technologies and data collection…

Oil below $20 USD per barrel – what caused this?

Brian Wm. Schulte

The following is a tutorial on the economics and financing of oil and gas. It looks at the market over the last two years, how several factors have contributed and the role that the following have played into it.