CAGC Column

2015 marks the second year of the downturn for seismic. In the past two years we have seen the number of land seismic companies drop from 10-12 down to 5-6 through mergers and/or companies leaving the industry. Rates came down in year one downturn as companies tried to maintain their revenue flow. Now in year two, cutthroat rates – if they occur – will potentially be a further detriment to the turnaround of some companies. Certainly there are changes ahead – the price of oil will rebound, the LNG projects remain hopeful, the new NDP government in Alberta will take the province in different directions and the market will adapt to all these things.

In Alberta, we are holding our annual Geophysical Seminar in Red Deer on September 16 and 17. The fully-packed agenda includes: AER, ESRD and Aboriginal Affairs; presentations on the general state of the upstream oil and gas industry in Canada; and our Keynote Speaker. See our website for further information and the full agenda.

October marks our annual Seismic in Motion (SIM) field trip. Participants spend the day in the field observing the various aspects of seismic and have the opportunity to hear and see contractors performing seismic work. SIM is being offered September 29, 30 or October 1, 2015. Location: outside of Calgary, AB. Cost: $300 (includes GST) per participant. Pick-up: Westin Hotel, downtown Calgary – 7:00 to 7:30 am. The day finishes at approximately 6:00 pm in the same spot. A hot lunch is provided. Good walking gear is required for some uphill and downhill walking. The CAGC will provide safety equipment, a safety coordinator and a tour guide for each group. This event fills up quickly, so book spots early. It is open to industry, Government and members of the public.

Once again for SIM, we have teamed up with the CSEG Outreach Committee, APEGA and the CAPP GEO committee to host 150 students from the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) system. We also include students from SAIT, MRU and U of C. This is an exciting partnership that produces an excellent opportunity for youth to see something of the Energy business and understand some of its intricacies. In addition we have hosted industry folks, oil company staff, regulators, interested stakeholders, and the media. The reviews continue to be outstanding. For our efforts over the years, we have seen the Partnership win the Mayor’s Award for Excellence for Educational Partnerships and CBE’s highest honour, The Lighthouse Award.

This year marks our 12th year. This event has been hosted in Alberta from 2004 through 2014 (with the 2005 event in BC). The event features all aspects of seismic – from surveying to line cutting and drilling to recording. The event also features special demonstrations of shooting seismic and observing a helicopter long line rescue operation. This event is put on by the contractors and is supported by the oil companies in a truly cooperative manner. Such an event takes a great deal of time, effort and resources to put together.

Over the years, we have put together several fifteen minute DVDs and CDs of the event. One was fashioned after a Seismic 101, another was set up to highlight our various occupations and training through Enform and another was geared towards the youth attending the event. These CDs and DVDs are offered, free of charge, through the CAGC Association, in case you have interest in viewing the activity. We have distributed this product amongst the industry, regulators and also to many educational outlets. A number of our members have used this footage in their public stakeholder engagements.

The event is characterized as a day out in the field. Seismic has become increasingly linear, with various aspects separated by time and distance. Gone are the days when the office staff and/or even the geophysicists get out to the field to spend time observing operations. This opportunity presents itself as a benign version of seismic, bringing all aspects to one location. In a safe and organized manner, individuals are able to spend the day on the ground viewing demonstrations, interacting with contractors who do the work and have the field expertise and gaining a valuable understanding of the challenges involved in the operations themselves.

This type of field trip holds interest for any type of personality. The demonstrations are quick and move along seamlessly, thus ensuring participants’ attention. As we have as many as two dozen contractors involved, participants have the opportunity to see multiple aspects and different equipment types and hear from many different individuals. The flavour of the day is variety. Whether the individual’s interest is piqued by hands-on learning, visual learning or listening to presenters, this field trip has them all.

We limit the number of participants on each day for reasons of transportation and safety.

The event is generally fully subscribed, so if you have interest we encourage you to register soon. Information and registration is available on our website: www.cagc.ca. Hope to see you out there.

From Brainy Quotes on the Internet:

The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.
– OSCAR WILDE