Value of Integrated Geophysics (VIG) Short List Underway

The VIG Committee

…The VIG Committee is in the process of putting together an online listing, which we’re calling the VIG Short List, aimed at helping CSEG members teach others about the value of integrating geophysics into their corporate business plans. By “others”, we’re referring to engineers, geologists, upper management, investors, and other…

Marcellus & Utica Shale PSDM Case Study – Improved Structural Imaging and Rock Properties

Morgan Brown, David Waibel, Scott Schapper and Joel Starr

…In this abstract, we highlight the performance of PreStack Depth Migration (PSDM) on an ION GeoVentures multi-client survey from northwest Pennsylvania, the GroundhogSCAN 3D. The survey area of interest and a representative crossline are shown in Figure 1. Compressional tectonics during the Appalachian Orogeny shortened the geology above the Silurian-age…

President’s Message

…Your CSEG Board has four themes that they are working on as part of the CSEG’s short and long term strategies. They are: Financial Health of the CSEG Member Value Promotion of the profession Position of the CSEG as a professional society When I committed to run for VP –…

Chief Editor’s Message

…I recently attended a National Geographic presentation by Lee Berger. Dr. Berger told us the story of how his team discovered the latest hominin fossils, Homo naledi. The fossils were found at the very end of a huge, torturous cave system with small apertures too small for Dr. Berger to…

Letters to the Editor

…I was perusing the March edition of the RECORDER online (by the way, I like the “flippable” version for online viewing) but is there a way to download the entire edition as one pdf to view on my ipad? I can download individual articles from the current edition, and I…

CAGC Column

…Mayor's Letter to BC Citizens Should the Energy Sector Trust Canadians? Written by Bill Whitelaw for the Waterloo Record in Ontario. Bill is president and CEO at JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group. Distributed by Troy Media. A prevailing question is bouncing around the country: Should Canadians trust the energy sector? It preoccupies…

Tracing the Industry

…On the Move... Mantu Sihota is pleased to announce he has joined NAL Resources as Chief Geoscientist; his new contact information is 403-538-8978 and msihota@nal.ca. Mantu will be responsible for managing exploration activities, A&D and technical advancements to help the company meet strategic growth targets. Mantu has over 23 years…

Chief Editor’s Message

…Since September, our Chief Editor and Technical Editor messages have been focused on the changes happening. I suppose we are searching for the next vision to work towards. What is the RECORDER’s role in the CSEG for the next 10, 20, and 30 years? What is its role now? What…

Letters to the Editor

…Good morning, I was delighted to receive my RECORDER in the mail yesterday, but I was dismayed to learn that it was my second-last print edition. I am an old retired professor from Dalhousie University and the only way I can read something longer than a few lines in an…

CAGC Column

…Mayor's Letter to BC Citizens "USA stops importing Canadian oil and gas" That is not a current headline but it could be. What would happen to our economy if it was? I would like to talk to you about energy, pipelines and our natural resources. I am a mum and…

Data Interpretation and Integration from a Seismic Perspective – The Excitement of Innovation

Laurie Weston Bellman

…It’s a little cliché to say, but technology is changing so fast that it’s difficult to keep up. Computer storage, processing speeds and visualization capabilities continue to grow exponentially; “integration” (however difficult it is to define) is the dream of most geoscience departments and generic “big data” analysis techniques are…

Introduction To April Focus: Greenhouse Gas & Environmental Geoscience

Omid Aghaei and Ruth Peach

…Advances in the environmental sciences continue to be made by Canadians on such topics as CO2 emissions reduction, solar technologies, and water investigations. These topics are the focus of this month’s RECORDER. Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) captures CO2 from industrial sources and injects it into…

Using a Walk-away DAS Time-lapse VSP for CO2 Plume Monitoring at the Quest CCS Project

Vicente Oropeza Bacci, Simon O’Brien, Jordan Frank, Mark Anderson

…Shell Canada operates the Quest project, which is the first commercial scale and fully integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) project related to the oil sands. The project is part of a joint venture between Shell Canada Energy, Chevron Canada Limited and Marathon Oil Canada Corporation. CO2 injection at Quest…

Techno-economic Assessment of Solar Technologies in Canadian Housing Stock

Sara Nikoofard

…Being one of the least densely populated countries in the world, Canada’s rigorous climate, the energy intensive nature of the country’s industries, and the large distances between population centers result in a relatively high per capita energy consumption. In 2013, for example, Canadians consumed 7.2 tonnes of oil equivalent per…

Scanning Calgary’s ‘Water Towers’: Applications of Hydrogeophysics in Challenging Mountain Terrain

Craig W. Christensen, Masaki Hayashi, Laurence R. Bentley

…Alpine zones provide critical water storage for drier lowland areas like the Canadian Prairies. Groundwater plays an important role by helping delay the release of snowmelt to surface streams, but these storage processes have only recently been studied and are not yet completely understood. Traditional methods for hydrogeological investigations are…

Surface Geophysical Exploration for Groundwater at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Turkana County, Kenya

Paul Bauman, Erin Ernst, Landon Woods

…The Kakuma Refugee Camp is located in the semi-arid Turkana County of Northwestern Kenya. The Camp was home to 184,966 refugees (reliefweb, 11 Jan, 2016) at the time of our survey. Kakuma is entirely dependent for drinking water on groundwater pumped from 12 wells. Drilling success is variable. Usually, successful…

GeoConvention 2017

GeoConvention Committee

…GeoConvention: May 15 – 17, 2017 Core Conference: May 18-19 Greetings from GeoConvention 2017! In the rapidly changing landscape of the oil and gas industry, both regionally and globally, it is more crucial than ever to share ideas about technical innovations and business strategies to help shape our future. GeoConvention…

Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Centre

Rick Green

…The Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Centre (CRESRC) is a new geoscience facility located in Canmore, Alberta (see Figures 1 and 2). This facility was created to give geoscience information about the Canadian Rockies and to do geoscience outreach and programming for junior / senior high school and university students,…

Sayer’s Outlook for 2017 Oil & Natural Gas Mergers & Acquisitions Activity

Alan W. Tambosso

…In spite of prolonged low commodity prices, 2016 turned out to be an average year for mergers and acquisitions activity (“M&A”) in the Canadian oil patch. While the nature of transactions may change somewhat, with the worst of the price onslaught apparently behind us, 2017 could end up being a…

APEGA Legislative Review: Summary of Consultations

Neda Boroumand, Rachel Newrick and Ken Mitchell

…The APEGA Legislative review was an initiative that began in 2015 and was prompted by the Government of Alberta (GOA) in 2014. The objective of the review was to update the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act (EGP Act) and General Regulation to reflect today’s industry practice and ensure that the…