Geophysical Society of Houston

2009 GSH/SEG Spring Symposium

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:13:53 GMT

2009 GSH/SEG Spring Symposium
Start Date: 4-Mar-09 8:30 AM
End Time: 5-Mar-09 5:30 PM
Location: The Omni Palace, Houston, TX 77077
Speaker: Several Guest Speakers

Event Details:

"Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation"

Honoring Dr.Frank Levin

A two-day symposium of invited and contributed papers on recent innovations in seismic (land, marine, ocean-bottom, simultaneous sources) and EM acquisition technology, along with related processing and interpretation techniques.

A banquet, toasting and roasting the honoree, will be held the evening of March 4, 2009

Call for Papers
Contact Technical Program Chairman,
Young Kim, for abstract information

young.kim@tgsnopec.com

GSH Techncial Luncheon

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:15:06 GMT

GSH Techncial Luncheon
Start Date: 18-Feb-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 18-Feb-09 1:30 PM
Location: Petroleum Club of Houston, Downtown Houston, Texas 77002
Speaker: Kurt Rudolph

Event Details:

Learning by the Bit: 15 Years of West Africa Deepwater Exploration, Development, and Production

The past 15 years has witnessed the opening of a major new hydrocarbon province in the deep-water of West Africa, resulting in the discovery of over 20 billion oil-equivalent barrels of recoverable oil and gas. A significant part of this resource is already on production, contributing about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. This intense period of exploration, development, and production provides a unique laboratory to understand Tertiary deep-water petroleum systems.

Several key technical learnings from the deep-water portions of the Aptian Salt Basin and Gulf of Guinea are summarized:

· Rich source rocks with recent hydrocarbon generation driven by Neogene load have created robust petroleum systems. These are dominated by vertical migration into younger reservoirs.

· Petroleum reservoirs are mostly slope channel complexes, with subsidiary distributive systems. Resulting lateral variability in sand development creates the opportunity for combination structural-stratigraphic traps with channel complexes draped across 3-way closures.

· Generally excellent seismic imaging has facilitated the direct detection of reservoir and fluids. DHI/AVO analysis is a key technology with most discoveries associated with predrill anomalies.

· Deep-water reservoirs have displayed excellent productivity and usually have good pressure connectivity. But complex reservoir heterogeneity can result in non-uniform sweep. This places a premium on accurate reservoir characterization, optimized development programs, and active surveillance (including 4D).

A significant future remains for this area as a prolific hydrocarbon province. However, exploration and production opportunities are becoming increasingly complex. Continued success will require ongoing improvements in technology and concepts to address seismic imaging, field size, and reservoir complexity challenges.

Petroleum Club of Houston

800 Bell St.

Downtown Houston, Texas 77002

GSH Techncial Luncheon

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:55:37 GMT

GSH Techncial Luncheon
Start Date: 17-Feb-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 17-Feb-09 1:30 PM
Location: Omni Palace, Housotn, Texas 77077
Speaker: Kurt Rudolph

Event Details:

Learning by the Bit: 15 Years of West Africa Deepwater Exploration, Development, and Production

Several key technical learnings from the deep-water portions of the Aptian Salt Basin and Gulf of Guinea are summarized:

· Rich source rocks with recent hydrocarbon generation driven by Neogene load have created robust petroleum systems. These are dominated by vertical migration into younger reservoirs.

· Generally excellent seismic imaging has facilitated the direct detection of reservoir and fluids. DHI/AVO analysis is a key technology with most discoveries associated with predrill anomalies.

Omni Palace

12121 Westheimer Rd.

Housotn, Texas USA 77077

SEG Professional Development

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:50:37 GMT

SEG Professional Development
Start Date: 9-Feb-09 7:30 AM
End Time: 12-Feb-09 5:00 PM
Location: Courtyard Marriott Houston I-10 West, Houston, TX 77079
Speaker: Many Different Topics

Event Details:

SEG Education Week, West Houston
9-12 February 2009
Courtyard Marriott Houston I-10 West
12401 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage.mi?marshaCode=HOUWK

Registration and breakfast available at 7:30 a.m.
Courses Duration: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Important: Please complete a separate form for each registrant

PETROLEUM GEOLOGY FOR GEOPHYSICISTS & ENGINEERS By Ken Wolgemuth - February 9-10

GRAVITY AND MAGNETICS FOR EXPLORATIONISTS By Michal Ruder - February 9-10

3D SEISMIC ATTRIBUTES FOR PROSPECT IDENTIFICATION & RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION
By Kurt Marfurt - February 11-12

SEISMIC ANISOTROPY: BASIC THEORY AND APPLICATIONS IN EXPLORATION * RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION
By Ilya Tsvankin & Vladimir Grechka - February 11-12

Course Fee
Member – US $795, Non-member – US $870 per course
Take 2 courses and receive a $100 discount

SEG Student Members – US $50 per course
(Students must register using this form, discount not available online)

Late Fee applied after January 1: $35
To register online go to the SEG homepage http://seg.org and login to “My SEG”

SEG Continuing Education Refund Policy

Refunds will be granted only to registrants who cancel in writing on the following basis:

30 calendar days or more in advance, full refund less a $50 processing fee. Cancellation will be accepted by telephone, but must be followed up in writing by email, fax, or mail.

No refund is allowed for cancellations made less than 30 calendar days in advance. Substitution may be made at any time. Course materials will be sent to the registrant if no substitution is made.

A late registration fee is charged for all late registrations (generally less than 30 calendar days in advance of a class). The late registration fee is not refundable, and is not included in the $50 processing fee.

If canceling a course for low enrollment, SEG will notify participants 3-4 weeks before course date.

SEG reserves the right to cancel a course at any time due to situations beyond our control. In this case, SEG will provide participants as much notice as possible.

In the event a course is cancelled, registrants may receive a full tuition refund or may apply their tuition to another presentation. Substitutions are permitted; please notify the SEG Continuing Education Department in advance whenever possible.

In no case is SEG responsible for participant expenses including, but not limited to, airfare and hotels.

RESTRICTIONS: Taping of sessions is not permitted

To download registration form click here

Courtyard Marriott Houston I-10 West

12401 Katy Freeway

Houston, TX 77079

Rock Physics SIG

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:53:20 GMT

Rock Physics SIG
Start Date: 21-Jan-09 5:30 PM
End Time: 21-Jan-09 7:00 PM
Location: CGG Veritas (Visualization Center, 3rd. floor), Houston, TX 77072
Speaker: Philip D. Heppard

Event Details:

Physical response of mud rocks to pore pressure un-loading; a probable example from the Jurassic age Bossier Shale, Texas

There is very active exploration and development of highly overpressured gas sands of Upper Jurassic age in the Bossier Trend from onshore Texas to Louisiana in the Gulf Coast, USA. In the principal study area of Savell Field, Robertson County, Texas, the reservoir sands are overpressured to as high as 17.9 PPG (6,900 psi overpressure) at 14,500 feet, are sealed vertically by marine to deltaic shales, and laterally by down-to-the-basin, northeast-southwest trending, normal faults.

The Bossier section is directly overlain by a thin, dense limestone unit and then by thousands of feet of normally pressured siltstone and sandstone of the Cretaceous age Travis Peak formation. Current reservoir temperatures are 320 to 370 degrees F. The lower Bossier shale section has log responses indicating an organic content and likely dispersed gas. Gas cracking of earlier reservoired oil in interbedded sandstone and organics in the shale is interpreted to begin from 60 to 50 MYA and continues to the present although at a reduced rate.

From the Late Tertiary to the Recent the area was slowly eroded with an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 feet of section removed. Evidence that the overpressure is due to fluid expansion from gas generation is mainly from the observation that the Bossier shale is relatively dense at 2.6 to 2.65 g/cc and normally compacted for its maximum burial depth. However, there is an obvious well log response in terms of velocity and resistivity in the shale to the overpressure. From normally pressured or near normal pressure shale in some wells in the Bossier to the north to overpressured wells to the south the velocity decreases from 13,500 to 8,800 feet/second, resistivity drops from about 6 ohms to 1.5 ohms, but density decreases, if at all, from near 2.65 to perhaps 2.60 g/cc.

Our working model is that the observed log response in the water-wet portion of the shale section to the interpreted origin of overpressure from gas cracking, referred to as fluid expansion or un-loading by some workers (Bowers, 1995, 2001; Katahara, 2006), is due to the increasing overpressure slightly forcing apart grains and expanding the " connecting pores" (Bowers and Katsube, 2002).

The increasing pressure in the pores decreases the grain to grain contact area thereby decreasing the rigidity of the rock and reducing its velocity. The slight opening of the connecting pores also provides electrically conductive pathways reducing the rock resistivity yet having little overall affect on its total porosity.

CGG Veritas (Visualization Center, 3rd. floor)

10300 Town Park Dr

Houston, TX 77072

GSH Techncial Luncheon

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:15:37 GMT

GSH Techncial Luncheon
Start Date: 21-Jan-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 21-Jan-09 1:30 PM
Location: Petroleum Club of Houston, Downtown Houston, Texas 77002
Speaker: Niven Shumaker

Event Details:

The Poorman’s Guide to Depth-calibrating Seismic Data in the Presence of Allochthonous Salt

It is a well known problem that depths from isotropic PSDM data generally do not match well depths. This often leads to problems using such data for well planning and resource estimation. In this talk we demonstrate the fundamental limitations of isotropic velocity analysis and how it relates to depth errors. We also demonstrate methods to correct these types of errors.

The simple reason for these errors is the fundamental difficulty of determining the vertical component of the subsurface velocity field from data shot and recorded at the surface. There are numerous mechanisms that may lead to inaccurate estimation of vertical velocity from seismic velocities using standard isotropic processing techniques. However, in many cases seismic-scale anisotropy is the first-order cause for this problem. Thus isotropic seismic velocities which flatten gathers and optimize the seismic image need to be “verticalzed” for depth conversion and before computation of other velocity-related geophysical attributes.

While the difference between optimal imaging velocity and vertical velocity is not apparent when imaging in time, it is clearly manifest on data imaged in depth. Not only are the depths of seismic events misrepresented on isotropic PSDM images, but the magnitude and direction of dip can be misrepresented!

In the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa apparent dip errors are most pronounced in the vicinity of salt overhangs where isotropic strata (salt bodies) are juxtaposed with anisotropic strata (shale and inter-bedded silt). Distinguishing between isotropic and anisotropic strata is the keys to characterizing the correction function required to “verticalize” the velocity field post-stack. Post-stack depth calibration examples will be presented from West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico where seismic-scale anisotropy can be approximated by a second or third order polynomial.

Petroleum Club of Houston

800 Bell St.

Downtown Houston, Texas USA 77002

GSH Techncial Luncheon

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:54:52 GMT

GSH Techncial Luncheon
Start Date: 20-Jan-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 20-Jan-09 1:30 PM
Location: Omni Palace, Houston, Texas 77077
Speaker: Niven Shumaker

Event Details:

The Poorman’s Guide to Depth-calibrating Seismic Data in the Presence of Allochthonous Salt

It is a well known problem that depths from isotropic PSDM data generally do not match well depths. This often leads to problems using such data for wellplanning and resource estimation. In this talk we demonstrate the fundamental limitations of isotropic velocity analysis and how it relates to depth errors. We also demonstrate methods to correct these types of errors.

The simple reason for these errors is the fundamental difficulty of determining the vertical component of the subsurface velocity field from data shot and recorded at the surface. There are numerous mechanisms that may lead to inaccurate estimation of vertical velocity from seismic velocities using standard isotropic processing techniques.
However, in many cases seismic-scale anisotropy is the first-order cause for this problem. Thus isotropic seismic velocities which flatten gathers and optimize the seismic image need to be “verticalzed” for depth conversion and before computation of other velocity-related geophysical attributes.

Omni Palace

12121 Westheimer Rd.

Houston, Texas USA 77077

Technical Breakfast

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:55:21 GMT

Technical Breakfast
Start Date: 14-Jan-09 7:00 AM
End Time: 14-Jan-09 8:30 AM
Location: Fugro, Houston, TX 77081
Speaker: Francisco Ortigosa

Event Details:

The Kaleidoscope Project: Breaking the Sound Barrier in Seismic Imaging.

The subsalt exploration targets in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico have changed through time following maturation of new geological play concepts closely related to the evolution of seismic imaging algorithms. Current seismic imaging technology is not yet good enough to image properly the geological structures below the salt.

Reverse Time Migration (RTM) is the imaging technology expected to fulfill the demands of the existing exploration challenges. Seismic imaging improvement largely depends on compute power and on the correct implementation on the hardware of the algorithms used for processing.

The evolution of imaging algorithms has largely depended upon the evolution of hardware. In fact, during the last eight years, the computing power needed for seismic imaging in the oil industry has increased by two orders of magnitude, and the storage requirements, and therefore I/O needs, has increased by three orders of magnitude.

Seismic Imaging has evolved very fast due to the astonishing price/performance characteristics of Commodity Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Technology High Performance Computing (HPC) that made Linux PC Clusters affordable during the last decade. However, the hardware technology that favored the seismic imaging revolution has hit the power wall when it is most needed, i.e. when RTM is the next chapter in the evolution of seismic imaging.

New hardware alternatives like FPGA’s, GPGPU’s and heterogeneous multicore processors (Cell/B.E.) are constantly scrutinized as the replacement of the homogeneous processor technology.

However, there is no clear consensus about the path to follow and there are currently several initiatives in the industry. The Kaleidoscope Project is a “dream team” partnership of top geophysicists, computer scientists and organizations from around the world that are creating a major advance in computerized techniques for seismic imaging. The Kaleidoscope Project now makes possible the full realization of the next generation seismic imaging technology that accelerates and streamlines oil and gas exploration. The algorithms being developed are tailored to the new generation of IBM’s Cell /B.E. processors.

Project benchmarks show that the Cell /B.E. processors perform the computation of RTM algorithms one order of magnitude faster than leading brand processors

Fugro

6100 Hillcroft Ste 100

Houston, TX 77081

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 11-Jun-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 11-Jun-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 14-May-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 14-May-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 9-Apr-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 9-Apr-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 12-Mar-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 12-Mar-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 12-Feb-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 12-Feb-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

GSH Board Meeting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:36 GMT

Start Date: 8-Jan-09 10:00 AM
End Time: 8-Jan-09 11:30 AM

GSH Office

14811 St. MAry's Lane

Houston, Texas USA 77079

President's Column December 2008

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT

AN EXCEITING CAREER and MONEY

This is intended for those college students who are deciding on a career path, but you long-timers can read it too. Unfortunately, very few of the college students will be reading the GSH NEWSLETTER, because our membership are mostly working professionals, so your assignment is to pass this Newsletter to college students, college advisors, and guidance councilors.

Consider this a testimonial of sorts. I’ve been a professional for 31 years and I’m having so much fun that I’m looking forward to the next 31. That’s no joke. I’m a consultant, so I don’t have to retire. Why would I want to leave the party? Seriously, this career has been fun and there’s no reason for it to end now. Why isn’t everyone rushing to join the energy industry?

“Join the Navy and See the World” is a slogan that most everyone knows. After college I considered the Navy, for that very reason. The Navy offered to pay for my graduate degree in nuclear physics, which was a serious option as my degree was in physics. But then I realized that if I did my graduate work in Geophysics, that I could “Join an Oil Company and Get Paid to See the World.” That’s a better deal. I’ve been paid handsomely to live and work (not just visit) in eight states and nine nations, and in the process I’ve visited several others. I know others who’ve traveled a lot more than that. Some of you may not want to travel. Fine. There are jobs in all companies that don’t transfer. But for those of you who want to see the world, the best way is to get paid to travel. I started my career with Chevron. Chevron paid me a “hardship” bonus to live in Perth, Australia for one year and work all over the “out back” of Western Australia and South Australia. How great is that? Another great assignment was when Chevron essentially doubled my salary to live in Khartoum, Sudan and oversee geophysical operations in the Sudd. While in Sudan I’d pass spare time by hanging out at the bar at the Grand Hotel, over looking the Blue Nile (the White Nile was on the other side of town) and would talk with guys who were going South on safari. These guys were paying a prince’s ransom for the privilege of going to the same area that I got paid to visit. I’m telling you, this can be a great job! What other industry does this? Well, the CIA, but then you can’t talk about your experiences.

Have you read Moby Dick, or Omoo or Typee? Why do I ask? Because Herman Melville went on one whaling trip and wrote three novels from the adventure. There are a lot of us who could write novels from our travels, if we were inclined to write novels. That’s another opportunity which can come out of a career in the energy industry.

What are you college students waiting for? Have you been frightened by the “feast and famine” nature of the energy business? Don’t be. There are opportunities during an “up” cycle, and there are opportunities during a “down” cycle. Just plan for a cycle and be versatile enough to take advantage of the opportunities in change. Remember that all modern civilizations live on energy consumption, so there will always be another “up” cycle. Think of it as a roller coaster ride, and remember that people stand in line and pay good money for the privilege of riding the roller coaster. I said it was an exciting career in the title.

Those of you who have bright ideas and want to create new technology, consider that some energy companies have budgets larger than some nations GNP. They promote new technology as a means for staying successful. The point is that energy companies can fund big projects and push applied physics which means you can do applied research. We do projects every year that are the equivalent of a graduate degree.

Do you feel that “Big Oil” has a poor environmental image? I claim that image is wrong, but if you feel that way, then there are jobs in Energy in alternative sources, such as wind, solar, tidal, and/or geothermal. And all forms of energy need environmental advisors, so that’s another way to have a “green” position in the energy industry.

You can make a career in the energy industry be just about anything you want it to be.

By the time this gets to print, the SEG Annual Meeting in Las Vegas will be past, so, start now planning to attend the SEG Annual Meeting 2009 in Houston and go by The Living Legends booth (I’m not one of them) and talk with which ever Legend is there. I’m betting that all of the Legends will expand on what I said about a career in the energy industry being a great choice of careers.

Last month Jackie Ming wrote the President’s Column. We have different ways of phrasing it, but we both are saying that there are good opportunities for long, enjoyable careers in the energy industry. This industry allows one to have as exciting a career as one chooses. It's great.

Professional Society
Once upon a time, one could get a job out of college and reasonably expect to work an entire career at that company. Now it’s more typical for one to change companies every five years or so. This makes having a professional membership even more important because the Society becomes the common thread that will span the entire professional career. If you’re a member, thanks, and please actively participate. If you know someone who isn’t a member, tell them how great GSH is and that they can apply online at www.gshtx.org

Corporate Relations Committee
Money. I finally get to a topic that is of interest to all. I don't have to tell anyone in the business world that a cash flow is needed to stay in business. A Professional Society is the same. We have to have a steady cash flow from our membership and from companies within our industry who support forward-thinking advancements to keep our workers on the leading edge of the industry. One way to support the GSH is to encourage employees to attend the events, such as the Technical Breakfasts, Technical Luncheons, DISC, Symposium, etc. Give them time to attend and encourage them to expand their knowledge. Enlightened employees are good for the company. Another way to support the GSH is via cash sponsorships. The GSH is working to form contacts with companies so that they can include sponsorships in their annual budget. You'll be hearing more on this from the GSH Corporate Relations Committee, which is co-chaired this year by Past President George Marion and Past 2nd VP Haynie Stringer.

Calendar of Events:
December events are clearly listed in the Newsletter and on the GSH web site. GSH will send emailed reminders to those who are listed with GSH. If you are not getting emailed reminders, please send an email to Lilly Hargrave at GSH office and ask to be added to the list.

8-Dec-08 2:00 PM

President's Column January 2009

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Glenn Bear – Editor

I continue to be impressed by the quality of the technical programs offered by the Geophysical Society of Houston. The technical breakfasts and the monthly luncheons (on the west side of Houston and downtown) are consistently worth the time and effort to attend. The various Special Interest Groups (Data Processing, Rock Physics, Potential Fields, and Multi-Component) routinely provide excellent speakers that dig a bit deeper into the technical issues we all handle on a daily basis. The annual Spring Symposium has been a huge success largely because of the high-quality technical work being presented there. These events are publicized via the monthly GSH Newsletter and the GSH Website. Technical breakfasts and SIG meetings are free! GSH members and non-members are welcome at these events (What a DEAL!). The technical lunches and the Spring Symposium are available at a modest cost. One of the benefits of GSH membership is a reduction in the cost of attending these flagship technical events. GSH Membership is still just $30 / year!

So why haven’t I see YOU there? To be fair, one could also ask “why haven’t I seen Glenn there?” By far the most common answer I hear (and give) is “I’m just very, very busy.” Perhaps the good news is that most of us are fully employed and don’t have any trouble finding enough interesting work to keep us busy. The bad news appears to be that we are so busy trying to meet short-term deadlines that we can’t look up long enough to see what else is happening. In a profession such as ours, this is a dangerous habit to fall into. Even if you are lucky enough to be part of an excellent technical team in an excellent company, it is very likely that you have peers of at least equivalent technical prowess right here in Houston. Attendance at the GSH technical events is a great way to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology of our industry and to make the connections that will allow you to be more efficient in your work. It is a true win-win!

For my part, I’m trying to squeeze in as many technical events as possible. I would encourage you to do the same. Chances are you’ll hear an interesting technical talk that will inspire you to think a bit differently about your work. You might also meet some interesting people who can share or lighten your work load. If you attend a technical breakfast or lunch, at the very least you won’t have to face the busy day hungry!

So take my advice, turn off your Blackberry, and go see some of the great ideas being shared at a GSH technical event. You’ll be glad you did!

3-Dec-08 1:00 PM

Geoscience Day 2008 - The Life of an Oilfield

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Geoscience Day 2008 - The Life of an Oilfield

Geoscience Day 2008, jointly sponsored by the Geophysical Society of Houston and the Houston Geological Society, was held at the University of Texas’ Bureau of Economic Geology facility in northwest Houston on October 23. This yearly educational event focuses on introducing industry new hires to areas of the business that they may not normally experience with the goals of showing how their work fits into the greater picture and creating enthusiasm for the geo-scientific workplace.

Approximately 90 students attended the event which was composed of 4 main track sessions on the life of an oilfield from the first geologic idea through development and production and retirement decisions. The main track was supplemented by related break-out sessions which focused on a particular subject. The attendees were able to choose from a selection of several presentations at each break-out period based on their interest. Technical and non-technical sessions were available to accommodate everyone’s interest.

Main Track Sessions:
• Geologic Idea to Lease Acquisition
• Prospect to Drill Site
• Drilling
• Development and Production

Break-out Sessions:
• Seismic Acquisition - Field demonstration of an operating vibroseis truck and geophone spread with actual recording
• Seismic Processing - How field shot records are processed to remove noise, stacked and migrated to generate a final volume ready for interpretation.
• 3D Visualization – This presentation illustrated how new automated techniques, which enable geoscientists to more fully exploit the available information within 3D seismic data, are applied to a complex fault system within the Gulf of Mexico.
• Well Logging - A real-time demonstration of a logging operation including logging truck, tools, acquisition and related wireline logging technologies.
• Core (rock) Discussion - The various analyses that can be performed on cores and cuttings in order to better understand a reservoir and how critical it is to integrate the study of rock material (core and cuttings) with other indirectly derived data (seismic, geophysical logs, etc).
• Fracturing and Monitoring - How microseismic and tiltmeter monitoring provide methods to achieve some degree of observation capability of induced fracturing to improve oil production.
• Tools of the Trade - Docents explained several current tools used in the industry such as GIS mapping, air guns, streamer cables & birds used in marine seismic acquisition
• Politics of Oil – The history and projected future for the world oil market and the supply and demand balance between the countries who have oil and those who need it.
• Geophysical Society of Houston Museum Tour - A bit of history of geophysical tools and how they were used to find oil and gas on a docent led tour.

Thanks to all the presenters and their companies:

Jerry Coggins           Geologic Idea to Lease /Shell
Daniel Lanier             Prospect to Drill Site  /Geoscience Earth & Marine Services
Keith Grimes             Drilling    /Hamilton Group
Laurel Gandler          Development & Production/ Hess
Laurie Geiger            Seismic Processing  /TGS
Norm Warpinski         Monitoring & Fracturing /Pinnacle Technologies
Arthur Berman          Politics of Oil   /Consultant
Beverly DeJarnett    Core Discussion / Bureau of Economic Geology
Les Denham            Museum Tour / Interactive Interpretation & Training

Thanks to our demonstrators:

Global Geophysical     Seismic Acquisition Demonstration
Schlumberger            Well Logging Demonstration
Paradigm                  3D Visualization Demonstration
ION                          Marine Seismic Cable Display
Seismic Exchange     GIS Demonstration & Historical Films
Buckley Powder        Explosives display

Be sure to thank our sponsors?

30-Oct-08 8:00 AM

1971 EXPLORATION ON MINDANAO PHILIPPINES

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

My employer, King Resources, had taken bankruptcy on the last day of 1970 and one of their companies, International Resources, was obligated to manage the exploration of a Mindanao prospect for a Philippine Company to gain a share. Index Geophysical (Stan Leventhal & Vick Shainock's Company) had been hired for the seismic work and the survey called for the use of plowed-in primacord. The plan was for end-on 6-fold shooting with early digital equipment. The only thing I remember about the instruments is that John Bonneville (representing I R) had supplied a chewing gum wrapper that was necessary to get the instruments to work. The instruments were truck mounted except in some off road areas where a water buffalo cart would be used. The truck was also mounted with a WWII Japanese Air Siren used to signal the populace to stand still. We would shoot primarily roads and trails but would have some swampy terrain not suitable for the tractor. For these areas we would first use a plow pulled by Water Buffalo until it was too dangerous for them, then a man would push the cord into the mud with his toes.

Our base of operation was the village of Tacurong with living quarters above stores on the East side of a square. The first order of business was to design a plow which could be pulled by a tractor we rented from a nearby farm. We had a great, hard-working Cajun crew. I recall that Ellis Petri was a member of the crew and that some crew members were strongly religious (one having given up sex for lent). Our local helpers were primarily Christian (consistent with the Philippines) as our area was mostly populated by Christians excepting in the North part where there was a Muslim community. There were both Catholic and protestant churches and in one I recall seeing hymnals from a church in Iowa. Unknown to me at the time, the company had taken out "war" insurance on us and it became obvious why while we were there. The crew was apprehensive when we shot in the Muslim area past a Mosque and coincidentally got their highest production rate on that day. That same day 5 miles further North four people were killed in an ambush. We learned to smile a lot in the back country.

This report is prompted in part by meeting Nemesio Agustin while putting a 91 year old neighbor into a neat, Philippine run, care center after hurricane Ike. Nemesio is from a villiage about 15 miles South of Tacurong. He recalls coming into Tacurong to watch a movie as his village lacked a movie house. It’s a small world.

23-Oct-08 9:00 AM

President’s Column- October 2008 Newsletter

noemail@gshtx.org — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Talk about a learning curve….over the last 2 ½ years in this industry, I have found myself interfacing with many new aspects of the Oil and Gas world. Coming from a business/marketing background, I discovered a broad range of unfamiliar technical topics that I have been challenged to jump right into the middle of, soaking up as much information as possible. These range from learning the differences between a Geologist and a Geophysicist to becoming familiar with the Upstream Petroleum cycle to learning about “residual velocity analysis” or even just “picking salt”. Right away I observed the small percentage of junior Geophysicists compared to the abundance of well-seasoned veterans in the industry. I have come to understand this is a common concern as many companies look at future employment trends in light of the large number of specialists quickly approaching retirement age. Aside from guiding every child we know into the Geosciences world, what are we doing to immediately prevent an upcoming shortage? It seems, as a community, we are working on that now with several approaches. There is a “Maps in Schools” program which has the simple objective of placing maps in as many schools as possible. There are many working on an individual level. Last year as the Membership Chair of the GSH, I went and recruited new members within my company and also become involved with the Young Professional groups of both the Geophysical and Geological Societies. Last year these Young Professional groups combined to form a newly reborn “NeoGeos Society” (http://www.hgs.org/en/cmt/?32). It is off to a great start with two energetic young ladies, Cecilia Baum and Rachel Czechowskyi taking over the reins earlier this year. We look forward to the continuous infusion of fun ideas and casual marketing (i.e. word of mouth) inviting young professionals from multiple science-related industries all over Houston to participate in events such as monthly socials and educational scavenger hunts. On a slightly larger scale, I see companies supporting and encouraging events and activities associated with the NeoGeos such as the extremely well-attended Geoscience Day at the UT Bureau of Economic Geologic Houston Research Center. As the NeoGeos Society grows and evolves, we welcome new methods, ideas, and approaches to reach out to those young professionals lingering on the outskirts to come join in on the fun. This year as the GSH Secretary, I look to our new Membership Chair, David Hammer to continue the initiative to not only increase membership but pull in the next generation of Geoscientists. Onward and forward……

23-Oct-08 9:00 AM

Geophysical Society of Houston

2009 GSH/SEG Spring Symposium

"Celebrating 60 Years of Innovation"

Honoring Dr.Frank Levin

SPONSORS

GSH Techncial Luncheon

GSH Techncial Luncheon

SEG Professional Development

Rock Physics SIG

GSH Techncial Luncheon

The Poorman’s Guide to Depth-calibrating Seismic Data in the Presence of Allochthonous Salt

GSH Techncial Luncheon

Technical Breakfast

GSH Board Meeting

GSH Board Meeting

GSH Board Meeting

GSH Board Meeting

GSH Board Meeting

GSH Board Meeting

President's Column December 2008

President's Column January 2009

Geoscience Day 2008 - The Life of an Oilfield

1971 EXPLORATION ON MINDANAO PHILIPPINES

President’s Column- October 2008 Newsletter