New technologies for permanent reservoir monitoring - the CaMI Field Research Station

Don Lawton

…The Containment and Monitoring Institute (CaMI) of CMC Research Institutes, Inc. and the University of Calgary have constructed a Field Research Station (FRS) near Brooks, Alberta, for research into monitoring technologies for containment and conformance of fluids injected into the subsurface.  The FRS is a platform for development and performance…

The (Geo)Science of Safety: How Geoscientists are Making Potash Mines Safer

Craig Funk

…Potash, a mineral used primarily in fertilizers, has been mined in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada for some fifty years. The Prairie Evaporite Formation in Saskatchewan is host to the world’s largest potash deposits. Within the Saskatoon area, the upper stratigraphy of the Prairie Evaporite consists of a series of…

Introduction to September Focus: Value of the Integration of Geophysics

Paul Hausmanis, Louis Chabot and Elwyn Galloway

…The focus of this September issue of the RECORDER magazine is VIG, the Value of the Integration of Geophysics. It is very exciting for the VIG Committee, as part of the CSEG, to host this issue, and we would like to thank the RECORDER Committee for offering us this opportunity.…

Geoscientific Data Adds Value in Unconventional Reservoirs: Statistically Quantified

Fernando Alvarado Blohm

…A dataset of 25 metrics collected from the annual investment reports of 9 public operators in the Bakken Formation is used for statistical analysis of the value of geoscientific data. According to results of this analysis, for each million dollars invested in the geosciences, P90 reserves increase, on average, by…

Creating Economic Independence in Southeast Asia

Kathleen Dorey

…Considering the challenging times in the Canadian oil and gas industry for the geophysical profession, this article will demonstrate the successful and value-added application of geophysics by a Canadian oil and gas company in Laos, Southeast Asia. The value added by geophysics is quantified by calculation of the oil and…

Assessing Risk to the Ermelo Ring Road from Historical Coal Undermining Using Helicopter TDEM and Ground Geophysics

Jean M. Legault, Karl C.H. Kwan, Zihao Han, Geoffrey Plastow, Robert Wilson, Pierre Roux, C.J. Stoffel Fourie

…The South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) appointed AECOM SA (PTY) Ltd (AECOM) in August 2014 to investigate the viability of constructing a proposed ring road around the town of Ermelo, in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Coal mines have been operational in Ermelo since the mid-1800s, the majority…

Hydraulic Fracturing Data Integration – What Should I Be Asking My Engineer and What Are They Trying to Tell Me?

Dr. Jennifer L. Miskimins

…Communication between technical disciplines in the oil and gas industry is always a challenge. Different definitions, varied nomenclature, diverse cultures and backgrounds all make for challenges when working in the multidisciplinary world of petroleum extraction. This paper is an abridged version of the November 2016 Keynote Luncheon Presentation entitled “Integrating…

Improving Seismic Data Quality by Reprocessing and Redesign of a 3D Survey in an Area of Chaotically-scattered Source-generated Noise

Norman Cooper, Yajaira Herrera-Cooper, Eduardo Trinchero, Luis Vernengo, Raúl Stolarza

…The purpose of this paper is to propose a two-fold solution to a complex noise problem in the Gulf of San Jorge Basin in Argentina. Irregularly shaped intrusive bodies scattered at shallow depths over large areas above the reservoir generate a severe signalto- noise problem that masks deeper reflection signals…

Chief Editor’s Message

…p>Welcome back! Happy 150th birthday, Canada!   With the change to editions every 6 weeks, instead of every month, the summer interval between editions isn’t as large a gap as it used to be. However, the brief change was refreshing, reinvigorating, energizing – many synonyms exist for bright-eyed enthusiasm. I…

Letters to the Editor

…I object to the publication of the article “Knowledge True and False: Scientific Logic and Climate Change” in the March RECORDER. It discredits an entire field of science and its scientists and disparages all of academia. A detailed rebuttal would likely only result in non-productive back and forth exchanges, although…

Board of Directors Message

…This year has seen a lot of changes in the CSEG communications. The fiscal challenges for the CSEG and the need to quickly reduce the deficit led to the decision to go (mostly) digital. The need for swift action meant that changes were not analysed in advance perhaps as much…

CAGC Message

…2017 marks the continued downturn for our industry and seismic in general. It may indeed be the new normal. Much like when natural gas prices fell to the $2 and $3 range and stayed – maybe oil does the same at the $40 - $50 range. Our industry has survived…

Science Break: Automatic Transmissions

…For some time I’ve wanted to investigate automatic transmissions – I think it’s my inner German gearhead calling. In my lifetime automatic transmissions have evolved from sloppy, lurch-prone systems to the ultra-sophisticated transmissions like the 8-speed one in my truck. I’ll start with conventional mechanical clutch-operated transmissions, and then take…

Tracing the Industry

…On the Move... Raymond Law is pleased to announce he has joined TBI (Thrust Belt Imaging) as Sales and Marketing Manager; his new contact information is 403-690-8885 and ray.law@tbi.ca. Raymond will be responsible for sales and marketing activities in seismic processing. Raymond has over 33 years experiences in seismic processing,…

Paul Hatchell

An Interview with Paul Hatchell

…Paul, let us begin by asking you about your educational qualifications and your work experience? I received a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Wisconsin and started my Shell career at Shell’s Technology Center in Houston. I’ve worked mostly on developing new technologies (shear-wave logging, 3D seismic interpretation,…

Introduction to June Focus: Western Canadian Mineral Exploration Geophysics

Jean M. Legault and Oliver Kuhn

…Western Canada is well known for its oil and gas sector, but the minerals sector is also an important part of the resource extraction economy. For CSEG readers not familiar with the minerals sector, a closer look will reveal many parallels with the oil and gas world: dramatic up and…

How Geoscientists are Making Potash Mines Safer

Craig Funk, Janelle Appleyard, Jennifer Braun, Jodi Derkach

…Within the vicinity of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, potash is conventionally mined by three operating companies at five different mines. Continuous boring machines (borers) cut the potash out of the seams at about one kilometer depth. The stratigraphy of the roof above the mined-out rooms (salt-beam) in the Saskatoon area mines consists…

Geophysics on Fission Uranium’s Patterson Lake South Uranium Deposit

David Bingham

…The Triple R deposit on Fission Uranium Corporation’s Patterson Lake South (PLS) property is located in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, home to the world’s richest uranium mines. The deposit is accessible by all-weather Highway 955 which continues north to the UEX-AREVA Shea Creek deposit and former AREVA Cluff Lake uranium mine…

ORION 3D Deep Resistivity Imaging at the Phoenix Uranium Deposit

Roger Sharpe, Larry Petrie and Jimmy Stephen

…An ORION 3D DC/IP survey was conducted over the Denison Mines Phoenix Uranium Deposit at the Wheeler River Project in Northern Saskatchewan. The survey results provided 3D models that successfully delineated the known deposit at a depth of 400 m and provided an enhanced understanding of the three-dimensional geometry of…

Case Study of Mineral Deposits in the Yukon Using High Resolution Resistivity Induced Polarization Techniques

Melvyn E. Best and Isaac Fage

…During 2013 and early 2014 a test program was carried out to evaluate a multi-electrode, High Resolution Resistivity/ Induced Polarization (HRRIP) system over 9 mineral deposits within the non-glaciated region of the Yukon. The HRRIP system was chosen over conventional resistivity/IP systems used in the mining industry for the following…