Jonathan Matthews

An Interview with Jonathan Matthews

…After working as Vice President of Statoil’s Heavy Oil Technology Centre, how did you decide to switch over to COSIA? Due to evolving corporate strategy, the Heavy Oil Technology Centre (HOTC) was closed after being successful in creating a vision for innovation value creation. Alan Fair, COSIA’s first Tailings Director,…

From the Archives: CSEG Conventions

…Historical CSEG Convention articles can be found in the CSEG RECORDER May 2004, and from the Petroleum History Society. Title page of 1973 National Convention Proceedings (right). Photo from the 1989 CSEG convention. Photos from the 1989, 1997 CSEG conventions. Photos courtesy of Penny Colton, and Glenbow Archives.

From the Archives: Early Days of Digital Processing

…The Journal of the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysics (J CSEG), now named the Canadian Journal of Exploration Geophysics (CJEG), has been published from 1965 to 2016 (with a dormancy period from 2000-2010). The journal has typically had 5-10 refereed papers in 1-2 issues per year. It is impressive to…

Tracing the Industry

…On the Move... Matteo Niccoli would like to let his friends and colleagues know that he has landed with Birchcliff Energy and may now be reached at mniccoli@birchcliffenergy.com. Ashley (Krakowka) Barrett has moved to the East Coast and is now the Manager of Petroleum Geoscience (Geophysics) at the Government of…

Seismic Amplitude Fidelity and its Impact on 3D and 4D Seismic Interpretation

Paul Hatchell

…How much trust should we place in seismic amplitudes and the interpretations we make from them? In a textbook world, seismic amplitude interpretation will tell us not just about the structure of the earth but also provide additional information about the rocks in the subsurface such as fluid-fill, porosity, and…

Introduction To March Focus: Back to Basics

Nicole Willson

…I was walking down the street one day, thinking about how I would explain to someone how geophysicists use gravity to explore the subsurface. We measure slight changes in gravity along the surface of the Earth. Of course, like seismic data, we have to process the raw data to remove…

Datums, Projections and Coordinate Systems

Adam Thomas

…Accurately describing locations on Earth is essential to exploration geophysics. The interpretation of fault zones, the surface and bottom locations of a well, and the position and orientation of seismic ground control points and receivers are all dependent on being able to accurately describe where they are. Unfortunately the latitude…

Discovering A Supermodel – A Rock-Physics Tutorial

Carl Reine

…Quantitative interpretation (QI) involves making predictions of rock and fluid properties from seismic amplitudes. Within the QI workflow, a number of components can greatly benefit from rock physics, which itself is an incredibly diverse field. Rock physics covers the measurement of rock properties in the lab, the empirical and theoretical…

Knowledge True and False: Scientific Logic and Climate Change

Henry Lyatsky

…"…There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” – DONALD RUMSFELD…

Eric von Lunen

An Interview with Eric von Lunen

…Please tell us about your educational background and your work experience? I obtained my B.Sc. degree in 1975 from Penn State University in geoscience/geophysics. Later went on to complete a M.Sc. in Geology from the University of Texas system in 1998. I was certified by AAPG Division of Professional Affair…

Executive Message

…It has been an interesting few months for the geophysical community! In the face of this volatile period, we as the Executive committee strive to continue our mandate of creating value for our membership, while staying sustainable and viable. This meant making a few big decisions recently, including changing the…

CAGC Column

…“The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is…

Technical Editor’s Message

…Have you noticed anything different about this issue of the RECORDER? That probably depends on how you normally digest the CSEG’s magazine-style publication. It is business as usual for those who routinely swipe through the webpages on their tablet or phone, but if you are used to thumbing through the…

From the Archives: Daily Oil Bulletin, May 22, 1964

…My first job in the Canadian oil and gas industry was in 1978 working for my geologist father as a minimum wage office tech/gopher at Canadian Hunter. My father, Lorne Larson, worked in the business from 1958 to about 1999. His father, Herb Larson, had an oil company and companion…

Science Break: Metal Leaching

…The term metal (or metallurgical) leaching refers to the processes involved in separating useful metals from non-valuable ore constituents. The science behind these processes, while not a very glamourous topic, is important: beyond the obvious practical necessity of extracting the metals, leaching methods historically have left behind toxic waste products,…

Grapevine

…Petrel Robertson Consulting Ltd. on India Trade Mission The Alberta Government, in conjunction with Global Affairs Canada and Export Development Canada, led a trade mission to New Delhi, India from December 4 to 10, 2016. Petrel Robertson was one of eighteen companies selected to represent the oil and gas industry…

Executive Message

…Financially Needed Changes for the RECORDER The CSEG has been and still is in financial stress. We cannot survive as a professional Society if we do not all consider and implement change that reflects fiscal responsibility for the Society. Therefore the CSEG needs to make some changes to how the…

Chief Editor’s Message

…When I began my last Chief Editor’s message with, “Some changes come slow, and some come fast”, I didn’t realize that the next change for the RECORDER was a blink away. The print version of the RECORDER is about to end. For ever and ever? I have no idea. RECORDER…

CAGC Column

…Excerpts from Fewer Seismic Firms Could Taint Recovery by James Mahony, Daily Oil Bulletin: November 28, 2016 While raising few problems in the current downturn, a dwindling stable of Alberta seismic firms could pose problems later, when a recovery starts to take shape, seismic industry leaders said recently. For seismic…

Letters to the Editor

…Keeping my knowledge up to date and improving my skills are challenging during the busy times but worse during the slow times. When working, it is a go-go-go environment with rarely the time to learn and test new ideas. Now that I am between career jobs, it is harder. I…