Explorer Geophysical Corner

The first of an occasional series on seismic imaging, is titled 'A Practical Approach to Seismic Imaging of Complex Geology.' Geophysicists explain their job of transforming information in time into depth so the geologist can make maps and calculate where to drill.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

No one seems to agree on what should be done about Louisiana's disappearing wetlands. Many say the oil and gas industry are responsible for this loss while others declare it is due to natural causes. These issues will be debated at a forum during the AAPG annual meeting. Causes and possible solutions for this environmental crisis will be discussed.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

In an ongoing, ever evolving effort to enhance safety, oil companies and service contracts now require everyone going to facilities offshore to pass a survival and emergency training course. EXPLORER Correspondent Kathy Shirley shares her experience. All this for a one-day story!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Oil companies' activities quietly continue in China. Bohai Bay is one hot spot for drilling featured in this article.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

South Louisiana is actually a whole new exploration frontier. A total of 70,200 wells have been drilled in South Louisiana with a minuscule 0.03 percent drilled to 20,000 feet.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Wildcat Recollections Column

A billion-barrel field in a thousand places?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

VSP surveys are routinely performed in many parts of the world -- especially in Europe, because of the recognized superiority and versatility of the VSP over the simpler and less expensive check shot survey. Their uses increases as the advantages become clearer and survey reliability increases.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Wildcat Recollections Column

The special EXPLORER: A Century issue illustrates how at times the 'Story behind the story' is better than the story itself. In an effort to capture this flavor of exploration science and business, Marlan Downey describes his memories of some of the interesting fields found by teams he has been associated with during more than 40 years of exploration and production.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Relying solely on sonic logs to convert surface seismic travel time to depth may lead to errors in interval velocity. Limited check shot data helps reduce these errors.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

E&P players are always asking for more and better data at increasingly lower cost. Data acquirers are always looking for means to ensure that data is provided in an acceptable revenue stream. It is 'presently the lifeblood of the geophysical industry'.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) seismic-reflection surveys provide one of the most important data types for understanding subsurface depositional systems. Quantitative analysis is commonly restricted to geophysical interpretation of elastic properties of rocks in the subsurface. Wide availability of 3D seismic-reflection data and integration provide opportunities for quantitative analysis of subsurface stratigraphic sequences. Here, we integrate traditional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation with quantitative geomorphologic analysis and numerical modeling to explore new insights into submarine-channel evolution.

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Request a visit from Jacob Covault!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

In comparison with the known boundary conditions that promote salt deformation and flow in sedimentary basins, the processes involved with the mobilization of clay-rich detrital sediments are far less well established. This talk will use seismic examples in different tectonic settings to document the variety of shale geometries that can be formed under brittle and ductile deformations.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Around 170 million years ago, the Gulf of Mexico basin flooded catastrophically, and the pre-existing landscape, which had been a very rugged, arid, semi-desert world, was drowned beneath an inland sea of salt water. The drowned landscape was then buried under kilometers of salt, perfectly preserving the older topography. Now, with high-quality 3D seismic data, the salt appears as a transparent layer, and the details of the drowned world can be seen in exquisite detail, providing a unique snapshot of the world on the eve of the flooding event. We can map out hills and valleys, and a system of river gullies and a large, meandering river system. These rivers in turn fed into a deep central lake, whose surface was about 750m below global sea level. This new knowledge also reveals how the Louann Salt was deposited. In contrast to published models, the salt was deposited in a deep water, hypersaline sea. We can estimate the rate of deposition, and it was very fast; we believe that the entire thickness of several kilometers of salt was laid down in a few tens of thousands of years, making it possibly the fastest sustained deposition seen so far in the geological record.

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Request a visit from Frank Peel!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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