Tracing the Industry

ON THE MOVE...

Andy Marshall is happy to announce his return to geophysics after having gone over to the dark side a.k.a. engineering for a couple years, a.k.a. engineering. He can still be reached at andy.marshall@encana.com or 403-645-6584.

Kyle Dreher is pleased to announce the debut of his geophysical career with TAQA North. As a geophysics new grad from the University of Calgary, I have developed an equally strong passion for both science and socializing. I would like to thank everyone who has generously helped me along the way, without forgetting my mother. Feel free to drop me a line anytime at kyle.dreher@taqa.ca or directly at (403) 680-0454. I look forward to progressing in this industry with all of you.

Members in the News...

I received the following from one of our members of the CSEG, Dr. Henry Lyatsky who was recently published in the Earth Explorer magazine.

Pervasive nature of high-angle faults in the continental crust has been well known in classical geology since at least the 1920s when it was described by the great German geologist Hans Stille in his seminal book. In Alberta, the same idea was inevitably applied on a basin-wide scale soon after the 1947 Leduc discovery. Gravity and magnetic geophysical methods were obvious tools for basement-fault delineation even then, and papers describing this work began to appear in the 1950s.

How things come full circle! My own work often combines this essential if half-forgotten old idea with modern gravity and magnetic capabilities. The quality of modern gravity and magnetic data is incomparably superior to that from 60 years ago. Data-acquisition instruments and procedures are now infinitely more precise. The Data processing capabilities of modern computers was unimaginable back then.

Misleadingly, though, the biggest gravity and magnetic anomalies in the Alberta and Williston basins tend to be caused by ancient basement structures related to the Hudsonian and even Kenoran orogenies. Being ductile, these ancient structures were seldom reactivated in the Phanerozoic as the two basins developed.

More crucial in oil and gas exploration are the networks of steep, brittle basement fractures and faults that formed after the ancient orogenies. Many of them have too little vertical offset to be visible seismically, and anyway the top of the Alberta basement is often hard to pick out in seismic data. Fortunately, these crucial brittle fractures and faults commonly appear as subtle lineaments in gravity and magnetic maps.

That’s where computing power comes in. A lot of numbercrunching is required to make derivative maps which would highlight the desirable subtle lineaments. With the benefit of the Geosoft data-processing package, I have created for my clients many regional and local gravity and magnetic atlases all across western Canada, in order to assist them with the detection of basement faults and fractures. Conventional and unconventional exploration and production benefit from such enhanced structural knowledge.

As a consultant and a scientist, I was flattered and honoured when the “Earth Explorer” magazine offered to profile my work in a dedicated article in its current issue. Based originally on an interview, it is titled “New Approach to Basement Studies for Oil and Gas Explorers”. You can find it here: http://www.earthexplorer.com/2013/New_Approach_to_Basement_Studies_for_Oil_and_Gas_Explorers.asp

Please have a read. It might be fun, and maybe even interesting, and I hope it does some good. Henry...

Giving Back...

Kelly Jamison

In February 2012 and again in January of this year I was given the opportunity to travel to Haiti with Team Canada Healing Hands (TCHH). Amongst other things, this organization provides wheelchair seating, and repair in various orphanages throughout Haiti.

Through a local company called Maximum Healthcare and Mobility, we shipped about 4,000 lbs of wheelchair parts to Haiti, another several thousand pounds were shipped from another group in New Brunswick, where the organization is based. 4 technicians and 5 physical therapists then set out for Port Au Prince and begin assembling the parts for placement with handicapped children.

Most days we left at about 9:00 am loaded up with assembled wheelchairs and typically travelled about 1 hour to most orphanages. I have no idea how far we drove as traffic is incredibly bad, and we took many shortcuts to get where we were going. We would then start fitting kids to their chairs, and fixing broken chairs using whatever parts we could muster. We would be back at our guesthouse sometime in the afternoon and spend most of the evening getting ready for the next day.

Haiti is a country of incredible contrasts. Unemployment is incredibly high, yet everyone seems busy. The streets are polluted, yet the citizens are incredibly well dressed. Children of all ages are busy going to and from school, all dressed in immaculate uniforms. One morning we left quite early and saw all the school boys getting their shoes shined before class.

Crime is apparently quite high and we saw lots of security, but at no time did I feel unsafe.

I can’t emphasize enough how rewarding this experience was. The need is insurmountable and I quickly realized it was important to look at the small picture, rather than thinking about what it would take to solve the big issues in Haiti. Hopefully I made some kids lives a little bit better.

If anyone reading this ever gets an opportunity to volunteer in this type of situation, I highly recommend it. It was not only an eye opening experience but working with a talented and dedicated team was very fun. If you would like any more information, feel free to contact me at k.jamison@shaw.ca.

You can also find out more information from the TCHH website at www.tchh.org.

Theo Fleury’s Victor Walk

Bill Goodwin, Terra-Sine Resources Ltd.

For those readers who missed the previous installment posted in Carmen’s Febuary column.

Terra-Sine Resources is supporting a very worthwhile project known as the “Orange Movement” initiated by one of Calgary’s hockey greats, “#14 – Theo Fleury”. The “Victor Walk” is an important part of the movement which will bring attention to the important, sensitive and often misunderstood issue of Child Sexual Abuse that has plagued our country and been neglected by our politicians and our courts for far too long.

Theo will start his walk on May 14, 2013 at the “Child Abuse Monument” located in Toronto and will finish at the steps of the Parliament building in Ottawa on May 23, 2013 where he will read aloud his original unedited victim impact statement on behalf of himself and all victims of sexual abuse in hopes of being heard once and for all. A distance of a little over 400km over the course of ten days!

Were you aware that a victim of sexual abuse that testifies in court against their tormentor is not allowed to read their victim impact statement without prior review and editing by their defense attorney? Thus rarely, if ever, is the impact statement presented to the court verbatim!

Not exactly what you could call proper justice… regardless of how “legally correct” the action may be.

At the time of this writing his walk starts in exactly 4 months, 1 week, 2 days and 21 hours and I have to tell you… he is relentless in his efforts to put a stop to these deviants that prey upon our children, and the injustices served up by our courts system, and to provide facilities for the healing of victims that is so badly needed.

Theo is quick to tell anyone who will listen, this event is not about him, IT IS ABOUT: ADVOCACY AND HEALING for the thousands of victims in this country who suffer on a daily basis with the injustices that were forced upon them by pedophiles when they were children, and again by the courts as an adult.

SUPPORTING LITTLE WARRIORS AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THEM that that provide support and healing for sexual abuse victims so they can re-claim their lives, but exist only through the generosity of public support. Though not widely known, “LITTLE WARRIORS” was the brainchild of Albertan Glori Meldrum who is herself a survivor, a “Victor” if you will, and they are currently in the midst of a massive capital campaign intent on raising $3.4 million for the construction of a world-class treatment centre called “Be Brave Ranch”.

EMPOWERING VICTIMS to cast the iron coat of guilt they have all worn for so long as “Victims” and become “Victors” who are in control of their own fate.

In case you don’t know it, Theo has gone Country! And the sales of his new country music album, proceeds of which go to “Be Brave Ranch” are doing very well.

In Theo’s words when he talks about his music;

• “My music is raw, honest, and a little rough around the edges, just like me”
• “I’m a proud Metis and was raised in a musical family; this is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he says, with a sparkle in his eyes. “But I was too busy scoring goals...against the Oilers!”

Give it a listen on itunes and buy a copy!

As this will be the last installment on Carmen’s column before the walk, I will finish this off with Theo’s own words about the “Orange Movement”

“In my hockey days I loved a good fight, but this has become the fight of my life. My mission now is to bring awareness to the epidemic of child sexual abuse, an epidemic that is currently costing Canadian taxpayers $15 billion a year!” Something is out of whack when the present system spends most of this money treating offenders, and barely anything on the victims.”

I invite you to join us in the “Orange Movement” in support of the thousands who still suffer in silence. Visit http://victorwalk.com/ for all of the details.

Before I close I would like to express our appreciation to the CSEG and Carmen Swalwell for giving us the opportunity to bring this very important issue to the attention of the membership.

Thanks Again For Listening,
Bill Goodwin