Articles

Anisotropic PP and PSv prestack depth migration of 4C seismic data, offshore Trinidad

Tony Johns and Raul Sarmiento

In November 2004, EOG Resources acquired an ocean-bottom cable (OBC) 4C swath survey across the Pamberi-1 well location in the Lower Reverse L block of the Columbus basin, eastern offshore Trinidad. The purpose of the 4C test survey was to evaluate the potential of long-offset multicomponent technology for resolving lithology…

Using Multi-Well Microseismicity to Identify Fracture Types Associated with Hydraulic Fracture Stimulations

Douglas C. Bleakly, James E. Wolfe, Ian Leslie, Marc Prince, Vladimir Shumila,Ted Urbancic

BP deployed microseismic monitoring arrays in two observation wells in a Rocky Mountain tight gas province for the purpose of mapping hydraulic fractures in a nearby lateral. Engineering Seismology Group (ESG) collaborated with BP to conduct an advanced re-analysis of the large data set obtained from the dual-well microseismic monitoring…

Towards a comprehensive open-source system for geophysical data processing and interpretation

Glenn Chubak, Igor Morozov, and Shannon Blyth

An effort is underway for building an open-source package (called SIA) for processing and analysis of a broad range of geophysical data, with emphasis on reflection/ refraction seismics. The package also represents a highly integrated framework for developing geophysical applications software using C++ and other languages. Currently, the package consists…

Vimy Ridge and Geophysics

Don Gendzwill

Vimy Ridge in northern France, a heavily fortified German army stronghold since 1914, was thought to be impregnable after large French and British armies suffered heavy losses in 1915 and 1916 in attempts to re-capture it. Many of the losses were due to their own inaccurate artillery fire. During April…

The wedge model revisited

Joanna Cooper, Don Lawton and Gary Margrave

Several physical seismic models of simple wedges were built to assess amplitude effects commonly associated with the classic ‘Widess’ wedge. Rather than producing simple tuning associated with thin beds, 2D zero-offset seismic surveys over these physical models showed a surprising number of high-amplitude dipping events corresponding to pure-mode , mixed-mode,…

2-D Migration Footprint

Peter Cary

It is sometimes thought that prestack migration footprint is a 3-D problem that is due to the poor spatial sampling inherent in prestack 3-D data. Footprint is often visible on 3-D time slices as a hatched interference pattern. However, it is not always recognized that prestack migration can generate a…

Improved trending of features on aeromagnetic maps

Richard Smith and Michael O’Connell

In mining and near-surface geophysics, aeromagnetic maps are an important tool for mapping geology. In some terrains, the geology is comprised of narrow features striking at multiple angles. When the aeromagnetic data is converted to a grid, these features do not always image well, particularly when the features are not…

R&D Forum in Atlantic Canada rewards Calgary geophysical company

Michael Enachescu

Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada (PRAC) held its two day Atlantic Petroleum R&D Forum this May 2007 at the Fairmont Newfoundland Hotel in St John’s. Delegates from across the country were in attendance, as industry leaders, scientists, engineers and others addressed regional petroleum industry needs and challenges - and the important…

Mapping the Mantle Lithosphere for Diamond Potential

David Snyder, Michael Bostock and Grant Lockhart

Diamond deposits are typically identified in four stages: (1) regional targeting in which a region’s potential is assessed, often by grid till sampling for indicator minerals or global seismology; (2) kimberlite detection in which till sampling and high resolution aeromagnetic surveys locate individual deposits; (3) deposit delineation in which drill…

The Influence of the Lithosphere on the Core: 3D Mantle Convection Modelling on Planetary Scales

Julian P. Lowman and M. Hosein Shahnas

Parallel computing clusters have made it feasible to study three-dimensional mantle convection on time scales of billions of years. Models tailored to take advantage of parallel machines are being used to re-examine problems where the full effects of three-dimensionality have remained unexplored. As a result, it has become possible to…

Digital Seismic Dilemma, Ownership and Copyright of Offshore Data

Michael Enachescu

From the Georges Bank Basin at the Canada/USA border in the South, to the tip of the Labrador Peninsula in the North, an impressive area of over 600,000 square kilometers offshore Atlantic Canada has potential for petroleum exploration. Only about 360 exploration and delineation wells have been drilled in this…

Simultaneous AVO Inversion for Leading Edge – Integrated Seismic Reservoir Characterization

Matt Brzostowski

Over the last several years, the oil and gas industry has been pushing for a tighter integration of seismic and reservoir properties through the use of quantitative rock physics relationships. The crux of this quantitative seismic interpretation is the use of P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity and density, measured in the…

An integrated geophysical study for orebody delineation

E. L’Heureux, H. Ugalde, W. Qian, B. Milkereit, C. Nasui

Properly constraining the shape and size of an orebody requires a complete database of geophysical and geological information derived from both surface and borehole data; each dataset provides a means of outlining the relevant changes in physical properties in either one or two dimensions. In this paper we present the…

What you know about The Ghawar Oil Field, Saudi Arabia?

Bandar D. Al-Anazi

The Ghawar Oil Field is by far the largest conventional oil field in the world and accounts for more than half of the cumulative oil production of Saudi Arabia. Although it is a single field, it is divided into six areas. From north to south, they are Fazran, Ain Dar,…

Junior Geophysicists Forum (JGF)

Time for a recap of another Junior Geophysicists Forum (JGF). It is hard to believe that we have already had the 4th JGF and the 5th is just around the corner! So sit back, relax, and find out what happened at the last JGF (or maybe this will help to…

Let it Flow. The Flow of Business.

David Mitrovica

As part of the 2007 convention, a series of sessions addressing wider business, environmental and social issues have been included. David Mitrovica, P.Geoph., the lead organizer of these sessions responds, in this article, to the reasons behind the sessions and the importance and relevance to the geoscientist.

The Ins and Outs of a CSEG Foundation Scholarship…

Rachel Newrick, Warren Pearson, and Jessica McPherson

In 2006, 24 CSEG Scholarships went to deserving candidates. This article explains how to donate towards a scholarship, apply for a scholarship, successfully be awarded a scholarship and, lastly, let’s you hear from the scholarship winners of 2006/2007 academic year.

Illuminating Reservoirs with Electromagnetics

Leonard Srnka

Offshore BC – Current Status

Bill Phelan

British Columbia remains committed to the responsible development of the Province’s offshore oil and gas resources. The Geological Survey of Canada estimates the Queen Charlotte Basin (the largest and most commercially prospective of four basins off the west coast of British Columbia) could contain 25.9 trillion cubic feet of natural…

Summary of a recent study of seismic airgun survey noise propagation in Queen Charlotte Basin

Alexander MacGillivray

In recent years there has been renewed interest in offshore oil and gas exploration and development in British Columbia. Particular attention has focused on the Queen Charlotte Basin (QCB) where the largest hydrocarbon deposits are believed to be located. Potential oil and gas exploration in this area will expose marine…