Tracing the Industry

How I got into Geophysics...

Melissa Burdan, Canadian Natural Resources.

I once was a physics buff. I was in pure physics at the University of Western Ontario and happy with my choice.

My first year summer plans were set to make some money for the following year but to also hang out here in Calgary at my aunt and uncle’s house. I wanted to try out some mountaineering, rock climbing etc… I had a summer job at Ranger Oil, I was an investor relations summer student.

The VP of investor relations at the time was John Faulds, he was not only a great boss, but became a wonderful friend as well. He asked me one day what my job plans were for after my degree. Hmmmmm, there is an after school?? I hadn’t thought of that. What was I going to do with my pure physics degree?

John introduced me to Jeff Slugget and Jeff promptly took me for lunch to explain the wonderful world of geophysics.

When I was choosing my courses for the next year of university I decided to try out some geo courses. I took a first year geophysics and the rocks for jocks. As it turned out, geophysics was full of fun courses and I also gained an appreciation for rocks. (which was a complete surprise to me!!) Hence, my job in geophysics and my rock collection at home… .

Stephen Biefer, Apoterra Seismic Ltd.

I grew up in Toronto in a nice middle class family. In grade seven I decided to become an electrical engineer and remained focused on engineering until I graduated high school and went to Waterloo for university, of course enrolled in engineering. I had lots of fun but found engineering boring (who would have guessed). I quit Waterloo and joined York University, intending to major in Environmental Studies. Canada was waking up to the fact that we have to preserve our environment. My university advisor happened to be head of the fledgling geophysics department, which was in dire need of students. The irony of switching from Environmental Science to either Mining or Oil and Gas exploration didn’t strike me until much later. I wasn’t sure what geophysics was, but he convinced me to switch to geophysics because there was a huge demand for geophysicists in the west. In fact, geophysicists were held in high regard. I had never been out west (Toronto was still the centre of the universe), but there were good paying jobs at a time when the Ontario economy was in deep recession. Too many university graduates were driving taxis. My break came in 1980 when Gulf Canada interviewed about 200 students across Canada for six summer jobs. I was lucky enough to be one of those six. A couple of years later, just as I was about to move to Calgary to join Gulf, the Toronto Star featured myself and several classmates on the front page of the Saturday edition with the headline “Brain Drain to the West”. Apparently Ontario was getting tired of losing too many of its university graduates to the west. The rest is history.

On the Move...

Zokero Inc is pleased to announce that it has released New SeisWare 6.1. SeisWare once again adds significant user driven functionality to it’s already comprehensive PC based seismic interpretation software. To help support the our growing customer base, we are pleased to welcome Alana Chin and Huy Kha to our support team, as well as Brenda Maloff as Sr. Programmer to our development team.

Arcis is pleased to announce that Wendy Ohlhauser has joined our team as a Processing Supervisor. Wendy has over 27 years of experience working in the geophysical processing industry, and comes to Arcis from Paradigm Geophysical (formerly Core Lab Reservoir Technologies Division). Arcis offers the energy industry a unique, integrated complement of seismic services; including, data processing, participation surveys, data marketing, geotechnical services and access to an extensive data library. Wendy can be reached at (403) 781-5872 or by email at wohlhauser@arcis.com.

Trango Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Kelly Thompson as Business development manager and Kevin Fulton as technical support. Both will add significant skills to Trango’s growth strategy in the US and Canada.

Martin Dawe has recently joined GSI as a Geophysical Technician. After enjoying the hospitality of Carmine Militano at C&C Systems as a ‘guest’ since last May, I am pleased that I am now a proper member of the Calgary Oilpatch. My thanks to everyone who I have met along the way and who have helped me since I moved here from the UK at the end of 2003. I hope to stay in touch. my email address is martin@geophysicalservice.com and phone is 514-6293.

Joe Stuhec, formerly of EnCana, has joined Galleon Energy Inc. as Sr. Geophysicist. Joe can be reached at 261-9292 or by email at joes@galleonenergy.com.

Divestco Inc. proudly welcomes the addition of two prominent new staff members:

Graeme Dales joins Divestco as Product Manager and will assist in coordinating efforts between development, database, sales, marketing, support, and operations.

Peter Zyla has accepted a full time position as Manager, NE Data Centre, and will manage all production, staffing, and client expectation activities within the log group. Peter brings with him a diversified and seasoned background as a process specialist, project manager, trainer and instructor.

Divestco Inc. is pleased to be able to compliment our staff with these two key employees.