Grapevine

Western Atlas Forms New Division to Provide Exploration and Production Services

Western Atlas International recently announced that it is expanding the range of its oilfield services with the formation of a new division, E&P Services.

The new division will provide value-added interpretations to support clients in evaluating the oil and gas potential of their properties. These coordinated services extend from basin analysis through oilfield development and production monitoring.

Orval F. Brannan, Senior Vice President of Western Atlas International said, "E & P Services will integrate 3-D seismic, borehole measurements, and production data to provide comprehensive subsurface analyses. Our multidisciplinary teams of geologists, geophysicists, and engineers, who have successfully managed E & P projects, will enable our clients to utilize our services inhouse or on an outsource basis. While this new division will greatly expand the range of services we provide, we will continue to be a service provider and will not compete with our customers."

1993 C.A.G.C. Safety Awards Winners

The Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors (C.A.G.C.) is proud to announce the winners of the 1993 C.A.G.C. safety awards. TerraScan Exploration Ltd. and PowerProbe Geophysics Inc. win the Gold Award. Enertec Geophysical Services Limited won the Silver Award and J.R.S. Exploration Company Ltd. won the Bronze Award.

Nine companies were awarded safety certificates in recognition for having a lower, lost time accident frequency rate than the industry average. They are: Data Trek Exploration (1986) Ltd.; Enertec Geophysical Services Limited; Geco Prakla (A Division of Schlumberger Canada Limited); J.R.S. Exploration Company Ltd.; Norcana Resource Services (1991) Ltd.; PowerProbe Geophysics Inc.; Sourcex Seismic Ltd.; Terra Scan Exploration Ltd.; Veritas Geophysical Ltd.

Congratulation to all the 1993 winners!

PCF Celebrates 20th Anniversary and the Appointment of a New Executive Director

Mr. Len Bradley has been appointed new Executive Director of the Petroleum Communication Foundation (PCF) in its 20th Anniversary year.

The Petroleum Resources Communication Foundation was founded in 1975 by a group of Calgary oilmen who felt it was time the Canadian public had access to factual, non-advocacy information about the petroleum industry.

The Foundation has focussed on a number of issues to increase knowledge and awareness of how the petroleum industry serves Canadians – as a supplier of goods and services; as an employer; as an important source of revenue to governments and the economy; and as environmentally responsible corporate citizens.

CERI Released Employment Study

The Canadian Energy Research Institute has just released a study on 1994 employment in the Canadian petroleum industry that was commissioned by the Petroleum Communication Foundation. This is an update of a similar study undertaken in 1985 and 1992.

This report estimates the number of Canadian jobs that can be attributed to the petroleum industry and examines the changes in employment in that industry between 1985 and 1994.

This industry includes upstream companies involved in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, as well as downstream companies involved in delivering oil and natural gas products into the market place. The upstream companies consist of exploration companies, fully integrated companies, drilling contractors, service rig contractors, and various scientific, technical, service and supply companies. The downstream sector includes the pipeline companies, refineries, natural gas distribution utilities, wholesale petroleum product producers, service stations, and petrochemical producers.

Two levels of employment are measured in this study. The first category considers only those people who were directly employed by companies in the oil and natural gas industry. This group includes, for example, geologists with exploration companies, crews on drilling and service rigs, and gas station attendants at local service stations. According to this definition, the Canadian petroleum industry directly employed approximately 223,800 people in 1994 compared to 266,300 a decade ago.

The second measure of employment is much broader and included those who are indirectly employed by the petroleum industry. Those staff engaged in supplying goods and services to the petroleum industry are considered to be "indirectly employed". Some people working for electric utilities, automobile manufacturers, electronic and communications equipment suppliers, and banking and financial services derive their employment as a result of an active and vibrant petroleum industry. According to this definition, in 1994, 262,000 additional, indirect jobs were attributed to the oil and natural gas industry for a total of 485,800. In 1985. 396,400 additional (indirect) jobs generated a total of 662,700 direct and indirect jobs within the petroleum industry in Canada.

The CSEG Office has further details on this report.

IESX 9.0 Software Introduces New Tools for Multiple-Survey Seismic Visualization and Interpretation

GeoQuest announced recently the availability of release 9.0 of the IESX* product line, a revolutionary advance in interactive E&P software that allows the explorationist to quickly and easily combine multiple 20 and 3D seismic surveys into a single project. True multi-survey projects increase interpretation accuracy and provide greater confidence in the resulting drilling recommendations.
(*Mark of Schlumberger)

Release 7.0 of Finder Data Management System Available from GeoQuest

GeoQuest recently announced the availability of release 7.0 of the Finder* Data management system, used by oil companies worldwide to store, organize and track a wide variety of E&P data. Finder 7.0 software offers more than 90 enhancements, including a database management library that stores parametric as well as spatial data, and provides significant performance improvements for mapping.

The data management system in Finder is based on ORACLE^† 7.0, the latest release of the Oracle relational database management system, and includes new tools that enhance the maintenance of data integrity. The data model also features a hybrid surface-layer model for enhanced stratigraphy and an improved capability to manage production data.
(*Mark of Schlumberger; ^†Registered trademark of Oracle Corporation)

GeoViz 4.0 Introduced for Charisma and IESX Users, Interpretation Capabilities Added

GeoQuest introduced release 4.0 of its GeoViz;* visualization and interpretation application during the 1994 Society of Exploration Geophysicists conference in Los Angeles.

GeoViz software provides real-time three-dimensional displays of subsurface prospects for oil and gas exploration.
(*Mark of Schlumberger)

STEDCO Gets Environmentally Friendly!

Harish C. Joshi, M.Sc., P.Geoph., President, Super Tech Exploration and Development Co. Ltd. (STEDCO) is pleased to announce that this Company is geared to provide services for near-surface investigations in the realm of Environmental Geophysics. This is in addition to the integrated geoscience and engineering services for exploration and development in the oil industry, already provided by STEDCO.

Call for Papers – 11th Annual SEG/Gulf Coast Exploration and Development Meeting and Exposition

The Eleventh Annual Gulf coast Exploration and Development Meeting and Exposition of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists will be held April 12-13, 1995, in Houston, Texas.

Technical sessions will emphasize integration of disciplines in this year's focus "Application of New Technologies in Geophysical Exploration". The following are planned topics for talks and poster sessions: 3-D seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation;

Geophysical modeling; Geophysical applications in field development and reservoir management; Case histories; Near-surface geophysics.

Abstracts of 300 words or less, with no illustrations or mathematical equations, are requested for publication in the meeting program. In addition, an expanded abstract with illustrations would help the technical program committee in the review process. Talks should be limited to 20 minutes in length. Discussion periods will be included in the session design.

Abstracts must be received by February 15, 1995. Please send an original and two copies to:

1995 SEG/Gulf Coast Meeting & Exposition
Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Box 702740 Tulsa, OK, USA
74170-2740

Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada: 1995 Mineral Exploration and Development International Convention & Trade Show

March 4-8, 1995
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Registration forms available at the CSEG office or contact:
Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada
c/o Congress Canada
191 Niagara Street
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1C9