Articles
AVO projected pilot trace for dynamic trim statics
Ye Zheng, Mike Perz and Juefu Wang
P-wave fracture analysis provides a means to extract information about fracture density and orientation from a target reservoir. While successful application of any fracture analysis method requires that the technique be based on a sound theoretical framework, it turns out that careful handling of certain practical issues is also crucially…
The role of amplitude and phase in processing and inversion
Tadeusz Ulrych
The object of seismic exploration is encoded in the data that are acquired on or near the surface of the earth. The goal of decoding these data is, essentially, to find out where and what this object is. Although we record our information in space and time, we always, at…
Technological Change – The Great Enabler of Exploration
Andrew Morrant
One of the more notable trends in computing over the past few decades has been the evolution of technology, as it becomes exponentially more powerful while simultaneously shrinking in size and cost. New innovation has created unparalleled system efficiencies that reduce total cost of ownership. Accordingly, lower-cost IT brings vast…
Isilon Clustered Storage: Speeding Data Acquisition and Analysis for Oil and Gas Companies
No Author Attributed
Anyone close to the seismic industry is aware of the huge volumes of data now routinely recorded, manipulated and stored. Many companies now specialize in advanced data storage technologies, offering unprecedented levels of storage capacity combined with usability. The following promotional article highlights one such company’s offerings.
... Seismic Artifacts – a case study
Niranjan Nanda, Ram Singh and Satinder Chopra
Two structures G and H in an Indian offshore basin were test drilled for Eocene prospects. The G-1 well turned out to be dry, but the H-1 well encountered a thick column of oil in Eocene limestone reservoirs. Following the discovery, a review interpretation of seismic data for detailed reservoir…
Characterization of Reservoir Heterogeneity: An Investigation of the Role of Cross-Well Reflection Data
Brad Bonnell and Chuck Hurich
Cross-well seismic data offers the possibility of meter-scale characterization of lateral variations in reservoir stratigraphy that compliments the vertical information available from well logs. We use simulated cross-well reflection data to investigate the effectiveness of the cross-well technique for mapping the lateral extent of meter-scale permeability barriers and for qualitative…
Seismic characterization of gas hydrates and associated fluid flow on passive and active continental
Andrew Gorman
Methane hydrates are abundant on the two active continental margin regions of offshore New Zealand. The New Zealand crust consists of a rifted fragment of Gondwana that now straddles the Pacific / Australian plate boundary. Along the east coast of the North Island, oceanic Pacific crust subducts under a continental…
Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) of potential field data: airborne gravity data as an example
Hassan H. Hassan and John W. Peirce
In this paper, we introduce a newly developed technique to process potential field data as an alternative to Fourier and wavelet based techniques. This new technique is called the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and was recently developed by Dr. Norden E. Huang at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Huang…
Evidence for Basement Fault Reactivation in Southern Alberta: An Integrated Topography and Airborne Magnetics Approach
Hernan A. Ugalde, Sara L. Underhay, William A. Morris, and Kristi Markham
The influence of basement control on sedimentation through fault reactivation within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin has been an important matter of research that lead to the Alberta Basement seismic Transects completed by Lithoprobe. However, due to the long seismic line lengths (about 40 km) and long recording times (about…
Litho-Magnetostratigrapy of the Athabasca Oil Sands
W. A. Morris and H. A. Ugalde
Magnetic mineral variations can be sensitive indicators of changes in sediment source, transport mechanism, and depositional environment. Applying a number of different magnetic property measurement techniques it is possible to detect magnetic mineral content, composition and grain size changes. The result is a quantitative expression of lithological changes, or magnetostratigraphy.…
Application of Magnetic Prospecting in Recognition of Volcanic Reservoirs
Zhanxiang He, Liu Yunxiang, Suo Xiaodong, and Dong Weibin
Combined with susceptibility of volcanic rock determined from core samples, an improved algorithm for separation of potential field anomalies can increase the resolution of magnetic data. In areas with abundant information, joint processing and interpretation of seismic, electrical and magnetic data can significantly enhance the prospecting effect. Within this context,…
International Year of Planet Earth 2007-2009
Godfrey Nowlan
The idea of an International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) was launched in 2000 at an IUGS Council meeting. Proclamation of an International Year was seen as a potentially powerful means of demonstrating how society could benefit from the accumulated knowledge of the solid Earth as part of System Earth.…
Geophysical surveys at tel Yavne, Israel: 5,000 years of buried history
Paul Bauman
During the first Jewish revolt against the Romans (66 of the common era {C.E.} to 70 C.E.), Yavne was captured by the soon to be Roman Emperor Vespasian. It is during this time period that a particular event projects Yavne into a prominent position in modern Jewish history and that…
Early Days of Seismic Field Operations in Western Canada
Bob Rintoul
The first seismic operations in Canada were torsion bar and gravity meter. We will look at shot hole seismic, primarily reflection. On occasion refractive shooting was also employed.
... Near Surface Geophysics as an Aid to Horizontal Drilling for Pipeline Construction
Paul Bauman and Christeen Nahas
In near surface environmental geophysics, the provider of such services will often propose that carrying out such work will save the client money in the overall project. Occasionally, and often in direct correlation with the quality of the work, such services result in increased budgets over the short term. For…
A simple way to speed up wave equation migration: using a time-shift imaging condition
Mark Ng
This article describes a way to speed up downward continuation wave equation migration (WEM) by 200% to 400%, or more, via modification of the conventional imaging condition. Specifically, I introduce a new ‘time-shift’ imaging condition, which can be used to estimate the migrated image in between actual migration depth steps.…
A Geophysical Facies Description of Quaternary Channels in Northern Alberta
Richard Kellett
Buried glacial channels in the surficial sediments of northern Alberta and British Columbia have been the focus of several industry and academic research groups in the last 5 years. Individual channels can be over 50 km long, two to five km wide, and have been incised up to 300 m…
Preparing for the Future in Geophysics: Out of the Darkness and into the “Lite”
Alan Cohen
Our North American exploration and production geophysical community is also facing an impending storm: We have a buildup of geophysicists in their late forties, many of whom will be leaving the field within the next five to ten years.
... CGGVeritas Marine Fleet Upgrade and Renewal
Richard Price
The creation of the CGGVeritas marine acquisition capability produced not only the largest fleet of seismic vessels in the industry, but also the most flexible and adaptable fleet in terms of streamer capacity and acquisition configurations. The company is currently in a position to offer vessels all around the world,…
