Explorer Director’s Corner

The Grammys and the Academy Awards all have been given, and now it’s our turn on the red carpet.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Using a combination of certain seismic techniques helped bring success to a team of fracture-hunting geoscientists.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

A wide-bin 3-D seismic survey shed light on the Monterey oil prospect near Santa Maria, Calif.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Coexist – often easier said than done, especially when the exploration industry is attempting to work in highly populated or environmentally sensitive areas. So how does it work in California?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Foundation Update

If you have a passion to support future generations, add your contributions to the James E. Hartman Student Leadership Summit Fund. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Tidewater areas can be difficult places to acquire consistent-quality seismic data, because different sources have to be used across exposed land surfaces than what are used across shallow-water areas.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The Obama administration announced a Gulf lease sale in June.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Fayetteville Shale– The Sequel: The play has a glorious past, but technological advances and data integration are making its present – and future – even better.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

A team player: 3-D seismic technology is more than just a stand-alone tool – its true value shines when it is combined with other well data.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

An added dimension: 3-D seismic data is an essential ingredient in operators’ efforts to understand the risks and nuances of shale plays.

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

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.

Show more

Request a visit from Jacob Covault!

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.

Show more

Request a visit from Frank Peel!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Related Interests

See Also ...