Tracing the Industry

…“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air…” In the midst of a third wave of COVID, we’re back in lockdown measures in most of the provinces… workers are mandated to be at home, online classes…

Integrating Pore Pressure and Lithology Prediction from Well and Seismic Data to Characterize Abnormal Pressures in the Compartmentalized Volve Oil Field, Central North Sea

Draga Talinga and Carl Reine

…Abstract Pore-pressure distribution within the clastic and carbonate Mesozoic sequences at the Volve oil field in the Central North Sea is particularly interesting due to the presence of two distinctive pressure regimes within the Jurassic sandstones: one hydrostatic and one moderately overpressured. In this study, we used pressure data from…

Andrea Crook

An Interview with Andrea Crook

…Andrea, how did you get to pursue a career in geophysics? I have always loved math and science, so I began my university career with a joint degree in Math and Physics. However, as I started thinking about a career to pursue, I realized I wanted to work in applied…

Effective Technical Talks

Stewart Trickett

…Introduction Being an expert in your field is not enough. You must communicate your knowledge and findings effectively. Although natural aptitude varies, communication skills can be studied, practiced, and refined like any other. You need only apply yourself. Suppose you’re to give a PowerPoint talk, perhaps describing some research results…

The Prevention and Cure for Tube Waves

Allan Campbell

…In recent years, vertical seismic profiling (VSP) has become an important tool for geophysicists involved in the exploration for oil and gas. VSP’s can provide precise time-depth relationships for seismic reflections. VSP’s frequently have better resolution (wider frequency bandwidth) than surface seismic. Unlike most surface seismic, the VSP corridor stack…

Useful Mistakes, Cognitive Biases and Seismic

Lee Hunt

…We come to conventions and Symposia to hear about success and bask in the glory of our awesome, successful colleagues. But mistakes may also lead to useful learning opportunities. After all, we often mistakenly look upon our successes as if they are the result of some intrinsic property of ourselves,…

Science Break: mRNA Vaccines and Molecular Testing

…mRNA Vaccines – by Oliver Kuhn As we know, scientific advances usually follow a slow, laborious path, involving many incremental steps forward along with inevitable dead ends, but occasionally punctuated by glorious breakthroughs. The development of mRNA vaccines has been relatively rapid and fuelled by enormous levels of money and…

Board of Directors’ Message

…Fast forward to one year later, I have yet to meet all the board and committee members in person since that meeting in February due to the COVID-19.  As the organization went through the change of conducting all meetings virtually, I had concerns about how I was going to develop…

Software Correctness

Stewart Trickett

…Summary If I were to choose one overarching philosophy for how software should be developed, it would be to program for correctness — that is, do everything practical to reduce errors. Introduction There are many attributes we may want in geophysical software: Developed quickly Runs quickly Easy to use Well…

Depth Imaging – Above and Beyond Reflections: The Why and How of Your Pre-stack Depth Migration Project

Svetlana Bidikhova and Mike Hall

…Introduction When I was a student, I learned the magical, melodic word “migration” but not in relation to butterflies, birds or wildebeests. Since then, I have dedicated several years of my post-graduate research work to migration, only to understand the brilliance of the Socratic Paradox that, "I know that I…

Focus Introduction: Potential Careers in Sustainability and Renewables

Keith Hirsche and Joan Embleton

…Coordinators: Keith Hirsche and Joan Embleton Technical Editors: Brian Schulte, Draga Talinga, Steve Jensen, Jubram Akram Format Editor: Elizabeth Atkinson Prelude There are many who do not believe renewables will provide solutions to our energy needs. Some feel that the Paris Accord is based upon a fundamental misconception of climate…

Geophysics for an Energy Transition

Kathleen Dorey

…Introduction As the world is slowly transitioning to non-traditional forms of energy use and consumption there are a number of energy related projects that still require high level geophysical applications in Canada and around the world. In the last few years projects outside the traditional oil and gas space have…

Geothermal Energy – A Sustainable Alternative to Well Abandonment

Jeremy Boak, Alan J Cohen, Salah Faroughi, Hamed Soroush and Maria Richards

…Introduction Geothermal energy has the potential to supply more energy than the global total of oil and natural gas combined (Feder, 2020). It is renewable, stable, and has a minimal carbon footprint. Geothermal power plants can produce electricity consistently, constantly, and without regard to weather conditions (US DOE, 2017). The…

A Tale of Two Energy Industries

Keith Hirsche

…Author’s Update: This article was originally written in August 2016 and the trends mentioned within this document have continued over the past 5 years. For example: Solar panel module prices continued to drop from $0.57/Watt in 2016 to $0.32 in 20201 In 2016, the cost of utility scale solar was…

The Hydrogen Transition is Here – A Simplified Glance at Major Factors and Concerns

Dilpreet Singh

…Introduction What’s going on? Are these trends sustainable? What is the role of a geoscientist in this crazy new world? There are many different viewpoints on where we see the future of energy heading in the coming years and decades. Nowadays, there’s no question that renewable energy has gone from…

The RenuWell Workforce Training Program

Andrea Hasenbank and Scott Meunier

…Introduction Over the past three months we have had the good fortune of working with a team of diverse experts at the RenuWell project to build a training program that is a compelling example of the kinds of rapid upskilling programs we need to support fossil fuel industry and Indigenous…

The RenuWell Project

Keith Hirsche

…ELEMENTAL ENERGY (2003 ALBERTA) INC. / RENUWELL.CA The oil and gas industry has fueled our society through a period of unprecedented economic prosperity for more than a Century. Given this vital role at the core of our industrialized world, who could have imagined that NextEra, a Green Energy utility would…

The Waves of the Past are Lapping the Shores of the Future

Juli Rohl

…I started my career with ambitions of becoming a great geologist. Eventually, however, I learned that while I could become a good geologist, I would never be a truly great geologist. The difference was heart. My heart just wasn’t in it. Unlike many of my colleagues, I didn’t get a…

Transitioning from Mining to Solar

Adam Yereniuk

…When I left the mining industry in 2015 to start a business in the solar energy industry, I knew little about solar or business. It was a very scary shift, but in my heart, it felt like the right move for my long-term career. What I lacked in knowledge; I…

From Land Management to Sustainability

Alyssa Bruce

…In recognition of the measures required to mitigate climate change, the Government of Canada is proposing ambitious objectives to meet and exceed its greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, tabling the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in November 2020 (Government of…