Tracing the Industry

…On the Move... It is with great excitement that Len McBeth, Wade Whitlow, and Kelly Zamiski announce that the Calgary office for Maxam Seismic Explosives Inc. has moved to more comfortable surroundings! Our new location is now located at: 1209 – 59 Avenue SE – Suite 190, Calgary, AB T2H…

Grapevine

…CSEG Doodlespiel The event will be held on January 20-22, 2017 back in beautiful Banff, Alberta! Book your rooms early at The Fox and The Caribou. We are also pleased to offer 2 new hotels for our participants to choose from: the brand new Moose and The Ptarmigan! Changes to…

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

Morgan Brown

…In this presentation, we highlight the performance of PreStack Depth Migration (PSDM) on an ION GeoVentures multiclient survey from northwest Pennsylvania, the GroundhogSCAN 3D. Provided that reflection tomography has produced an accurate interval velocity model, PSDM provides three key "structural imaging" benefits (over conventional time imaging or PSTM) for horizontal…

Two Workflows for Image-Based Near-Surface Modeling for Statics Corrections and for Circumventing Velocity Uncertainty in Subsurface Imaging of Complex Structures

Öz Yilmaz

…In exploration seismology, the most common type of the near-surface is defined as the depth interval below the topography, composed of a low-velocity, unconsolidated, heterogeneous soil column and weathered rock layer. As such, raypaths are close to vertical incidence within the near-surface – a requirement for statics corrections to be…

Introduction To January Focus: Geostatistics. Big Data. Analytics.

Neda Boroumand

…The branch of statistics, “Geostatistics”, the term “Big Data” and the scientific process of “Analytics” have been around for a while. However, their application on data acquired for subsurface evaluation and resource development is becoming increasingly important. The present day Geophysicist/ Geoscientist is having to make sense of more and…

Incorporating Big Data in Geostatistical Modeling for Making Bigger Decisions in the Face of Even Bigger Uncertainty

Jeff B. Boisvert and Clayton V. Deutsch

…The main purpose of generating geostatistical models of reservoir properties is to use them to calculate quantities of hydrocarbons or make decisions on how/if to produce the resource. In today’s data rich environment there is increasing data available for building these models; however, it is often difficult to convert this…

Data Analysis of Induced Seismicity in Western Canada

Hoda Rashedi and Alireza Babaie Mahani

…Due to the recent increase in the rate of seismicity in western Canada and central eastern US from oil and gas activities, there is a high demand for data from seismographic networks to understand ground motion variability and assessment of seismic hazard to the critical infrastructure. In western Canada, efforts…

Discussion: Let Geologists Do the Geology!

Robert Pickering

…If the seismic tool is intrinsically unaware of geology, why do we depend so heavily on the seismic tool to provide geological answers? The seismic tool, sonic tool, and the check-shot survey are tools designed to record interval transit times. Geologists do geology. Geology is an observational process from which…

Rock Physics Template (RPT) Technology for Reservoir Characterization and 4D Seismic Monitoring

Albert Kabanda

…This paper describes the use of Rock Physics Templates (Avseth et al. 2005) in both reservoir characterization and 4D seismic reservoir monitoring. A major challenge in seismic exploration is the mapping of type, location and extent of hydrocarbon fluids. During reservoir production monitoring, the aim is to follow the temporal…

Amy Fox

An Interview with Amy Fox

…Amy, let us begin by asking you about your educational qualifications and your work experience. I have a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of New Hampshire, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. It says Geophysics on my graduate degrees, but I’m not a seismologist. The Geophysics department…

Three Years of Doing ISM in Western Canada: What Have We Learned?

Dario Baturan

…Earthquakes can be induced by human activities such as mining, reservoir or dam impoundment, geothermal reservoir stimulation, wastewater injection, hydraulic fracturing or CO2 sequestration. Such events are predominantly small in magnitude, and are rarely felt locally or detected regionally. However, 16 induced earthquakes of magnitude M3.5 or larger have been…

Introduction to December Focus: Microseismic User Group

Paige Mamer

…An Analytical Approach to Hydraulic Fracturing and Induced Seismicity Monitoring JOHN L. J. DUHAULT Determination of the Stress State – An Additional Benefit of Background Seismicity Monitoring ZUZANA JECHUMTÁLOVÁ AND DAWID SZAFRAŃSKI Interpreting Microseismic Data from Hydraulic Fracturing: Understanding Subsurface Deformation Through Numerical Modeling NEDA BOROUMAND AND DAVID EATON Beyond…

An Analytical Approach to Hydraulic Fracturing and Induced Seismicity Monitoring

John L. J. Duhault

…The public’s fears about hydraulic fracturing and subsequent potential for induced seismicity are a growing concern, even in tried and true oil fields of Alberta. The stakeholders need to be shown that a well thought out approach to understanding hydraulic fracturing and potential induced seismicity can be done following a…

Determination of the Stress State – An Additional Benefit of Background Seismicity Monitoring

Zuzana Jechumtálová and Dawid Szafrański

…What is the benefit of background seismicity monitoring and how long it should be carried out before subsurface injection? This is a typical question an operator may ask when considering the start of a geothermal, salt water disposal or hydraulic stimulation injection. The usual duration estimate is at least one…

Interpreting Microseismic Data from Hydraulic Fracturing: Understanding Subsurface Deformation Through Numerical Modeling

Neda Boroumand and David Eaton

…This article is a summary of the results presented in the PhD Thesis written by Boroumand (2016). The developments made in the research sought to find an answer to the question “why and how did the hydraulic fracture(s) grow in a particular direction?” It makes specific use of microseismic observations…

Beyond the Microseismic Clouds: A Comprehensive Approach to Unconventional Gas Development

Jason Hendrick, Adam Baig, Eric von Lunen, and Ted Urbancic

…The development of shale and tight sand resource plays over the past decade has dramatically changed the oil and gas industry. Advances in hydraulic fracturing technologies have unlocked vast unconventional hydrocarbon resources. Unfortunately, the vast supply (together with other external factors) has led to a price collapse that has plunged…

CSEG 2017/2018 Executive Election

…John L. J. Duhault, P. Geoph. President Elect (elected as Vice President in 2016) As the society’s incoming President I look forward to continuing to focus on providing value for our members, value to our employers/clients and to promote the value of geophysics to all the other professional disciplines that…

GeoVectra

The GeoVectra Team

…This article has evolved from its original idea quite substantially. At first we were planning to do an interview with GeoVectra president Mike Hall, and then we decided to show the story of one successful company during the downturn. When we started writing it, we started to think about the…

Time-Lapse Survey Repeatability: An Elastic Modeling Study

David C. Henley, Joe Wong, and Peter M. Manning

…Remote monitoring of fluid movement in a subsurface formation is an important application for seismic reflection imaging. In this setting, it is important that seismic data be acquired and processed in a repeatable fashion in order to reliably detect image differences due solely to the formation fluid changes. One way…

The Value Added Role of Geophysics in the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry

From the Chief Geophysicists Forum

…The role of geophysics in the industry is a robustly debated subject these days. As our industry continues to evolve in order to meet challenges brought on by unconventional resources, changing supply and demand factors, environmental drivers, and legislative and tax regime changes – just to name a few –…