Geophysics Research at Colorado School of Mines

Terry Young

…Background When some people first hear of the Colorado School of Mines, they are not sure whether it is “Mines” or “Minds”. For many, the reference to “Mines” conjures up a limited image of what this institution must be about. It may be a surprise, then, to learn that “Mines”,…

Recent Advances in Application of AVO to Carbonate Reservoirs

Yongyi Li, Bill Goodway and Jonathan Downton

…Introduction Carbonates make up about half of the sedimentary rock in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), ranging from Cambrian to early Jurassic in geologic age, in which large oil and gas reserves exist in the Devonian and Early Carboniferous formations. Middle and Upper Devonian carbonate rocks alone have a…

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD): A New Oil Production Technology for Heavy Oil and Bitumens

T.N. Nasr

…Introduction The capacity of world heavy oil and oil sands has been estimated to be as much as that of the world’s total discovered light and medium crude oils in place. Over 90% of the world’s heavy oil and oil sands are deposited in Canada and Venezuela. Up to 90%…

Executive Message

…The Mandate of the CSEG includes " ... promoting fellowship and cooperation." Is there "rocket science" behind the promotion of cooperation within the CSEG, and in geophysics and science as a whole? When is cooperation a "winning" strategy for interactions in general? I'd like to pass along several connections we…

Grapevine

…New Move for Edge Technologies Edge Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce they have outgrown their previous office space and have moved to their new location at 1720, 510 - 5th Street S.W. Edge phone numbers remain the same, Ph. (403) 770-0440. Spectrum & Saudi Geophysical Electronic Data Management Contract…

The Athabasca Oil Sands Project

Neil Camarta

…Abstract When Shell Canada produces its first barrel of synthetic crude from the Oil Sands sometime next year, it will join a very small group of companies. If a ‘club’ for synthetic crude producers existed, Shell’s efforts would have earned its membership by virtue of decades of work, billions of…

Focusing Oil and Gas Exploration in Eastern Yemen by Using Satellite Images and Elevation Data along

Richard Harris, Mark Cooper, Ian Shook

…Abstract Landsat images and a digital elevation model covering the central and southern portions of the Masilah Basin in the Republic of Yemen have been used to enhance the mapping of poorly imaged structural features. An absence of recent post-rift sediments within the study area allowed Mesozoic and Cenozoic extensional…

Tectonic Evolution of the San Jacinto Fold Belt, NW Colombia

Miryam Caro and Deborah Spratt

…Abstract The San Jacinto Fold Belt is interpreted to be an inverted rift or graben on the northwestern continental margin of South America. Tectonic evolution of the San Jacinto Fold Belt from Cretaceous to present is complex and related to the development of the Caribbean Plate and its interaction with…

Geologic and Engineering Aspects of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Roberto Aguilera

…I am convinced significant volumes of hydrocarbons reside in naturally fractured reservoirs – particularly in fields abandoned because of improper testing and evaluation or because the wells did not intersect the fractures.1 Rules of thumb and naturally fractured reservoirs do not mix well. What appears to work in one might…

Running Out of Gas? The need for more and better exploration

Dave Russum

…Introduction Natural gas is widely regarded as the “clean” energy choice that will power North America until alternative energy sources become widely available. Public reports show Canada’s Federal Government assuming a virtually unlimited supply for the next 25 years 1,2. The US Energy Department assumes Canada’s natural gas exports to…

Women on the Go

An Interview with 5 women in the industry

…Could you review your educational background and career for us? [Karen]: I was educated at Queen’s University and did a geological engineering degree with a geophysics option. I graduated in 1984, over 18 years ago! I started working at Petro-Canada as a geophysicist, got my training there, and have worked…

Executive Message

…Just the other day a person, new to the oil and gas industry, asked me what it was that I liked about my job as a geophysicist? I told him I enjoy being the first person to see newly shot seismic data, no one else in the world has ever…

Tracing the Industry

…Another month of TTI announcements is here; the following have been sent in. Please feel free to contact me with any information about company changes, the CSEG membership may be interested in knowing. GeoTir is extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Doodlebug himself, Daryl Robbins to their team. Daryl's role will…

Grapevine

…Details on courses offered by Norm Cooper in 2003 are now available. There will be a total of 6 courses, including a new one, '2D Seismic Acquisition'. This is a 2 day course, with the first day spent on theory, and the second day is for workshops: noise identification, array…

Modern Depth Migration Methods: Promise and Challenges for Canadian Basins

Samual H. Gray and James Sun

…Prestack depth migration Seismic imaging has come a long way over the years. It has evolved from its ancient days as a mechanical tool applied to picked data from single-fold reflection records, through its early digital incarnation as poststack wave-equation migration, to its present “mature” state as prestack depth migration.…

Aeromagnetic Anomalies from the South-Central Alberta Foothills

Christian I. Abaco and Don C. Lawton

…Summary High-resolution aeromagnetic (HRAM) data from the south-central Alberta Foothills were processed to enhance near-surface sources of magnetic anomalies and suppress regional gradients. The processed HRAM anomalies are not related to the topography and are induced by the magnetic properties of the rock units underlying the survey area. Siliciclastic strata…

Resistivity and Seismic Visualization Techniques to Plot Subsurface Environmental Geology

Alan Coode, Grant Nimeck, Mike Pesowski, Ron Larson, Andrew Karvonen and Moir D. Haug

…Abstract Initial drilling and Time Domain Electro-Magnetic (TDEM) geophysical surveying (Geonics EM-47) indicated the presence of a sandy buried channel below till in Western Canada. Additional geophysical surveys used both resistivity measurements and seismic visualization techniques to explore the near surface lithology. The resistivity surveys (Komex International Ltd.) gave definitive…

Indiana Jones and the Seismic Anomaly: The Potential of Seismic Methods in Archaeology

David C. Henley

…Introduction The painstaking and time-consuming nature of archaeological excavation makes it important to locate potential targets as accurately as possible before digging. Field archaeologists mostly rely on their experience, knowledge and intuition to stake out the most fruitful excavation locations at a site, unless, like Indiana Jones, they have a…

An Immigrant’s Experience In Job Hunting

Ivaylo Nedev

…It is well-known that an overwhelming number of new immigrants choose the region of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as their new home. There are many reasons for this but the main ones are the popularity of the area and the presence of relatives and friends. I am one of…

“Enter Your Career With Open Eyes…”

An Interview with Sven Treitel

…[Satinder]: Sven, could you tell us about your educational background and experience? [Sven]: I grew up in South America, in Argentina. When I finished high school, I decided to come to the US because of the political situation there. I was accepted by MIT and Caltech. Caltech seemed to be…