What do you want from your event? Take our quick Geophysics Survey…

The Geophysics Special Interest Group held its 2016 seminar on the theme of Getting Value from Geophysics: Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Low Oil Prices at the Geological Society. We are most grateful to Cairn Energy, Paradigm and Seismic Image Processing for their generous sponsorship, which enabled us to host the event at a very economical £100 per PESGB member and attract a good audience at a time when training and conferences are under close scrutiny by management. Approximately 100 geoscientists and others attended the seminar which in consideration of the economic climate was a considerable success (we budgeted 70-100) and we were able to make a modest surplus for the PESGB coffers. Thank you to all the sponsors, speakers and delegates for supporting the seminar.

The seminar which was spread over two days was opened by Martin Millwood Hargraves with a keynote talk which highlighted the value of integration and showed new technology developments in reservoir inversion studies with multiple rock physics models. The talks were all excellent with a wide spectrum of interesting topics, including applications of satellite gravity (free to all), limitations on seismic acquisition vessel size and trends towards multiple seismic sources to increase coverage, towed streamer electromagnetics, and a talk by Bernstein’s on the Great Oil Shake-Out which gave plenty of encouragement that our industry has a significant role to play in the next two decades at least. The latter presentation was followed by a panel discussion on the future trends in geophysical technology. A subsequent panel discussion debated the skills required for successful geophysical careers for the 21st century.

Feedback on the seminar from the attendees was as follows:

84% technical value of talks presented
100% rated organisation good to excellent
90% rated abstract volume good to excellent
94% rated venue/location good to excellent
81% rated networking good to excellent
75% rated catering good to excellent – we will try and do better next time

As a consequence of the excellent feedback, the un-official, un-elected and un-paid Geophysics SIG committee (join us if you wish) who are gluttons for punishment have decided that they wish to propose to you the membership the next geophysics seminar, to be held in a similar venue and format in October 2017.

We have selected three possible themes and are offering these to you to vote for the one you would most like to attend:

1. Geophysical Case Studies: Successes and Challenges
2. Quantitative Interpretation: What does it mean, is it any good, and what’s next in QI
3. Field development and production geophysics: including nodes, multicomponent, towed streamer 4D, case studies

Please participate in the survey by going to https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LCV2ZVV by the end of February – it will only take one minute

PESGB Geophysics SIG Committee (UUU)

Getting Value from Geophysics

Article by Stephen Pickering

On the news this morning I heard that oil prices have risen slightly after it was reported that US oil stocks have declined, pundits are predicting a more significant rise in 2017 as demand outstrips supply. Of one thing we can be sure the world’s population is continuing to grow. Despite the substitution of Uber-style car sharing and improved engine efficiency, populations in non-OECD countries will aspire to owning a car as their disposable incomes increase, and so too the demand for oil.  Maybe the end of the current industry recession is nearing an end, hurrah!  Investment analysts Bernstein have modelled the future oil production and estimate peak oil demand of 108 mmbo/d in the period 2030 to 2035 so our industry may have a bright future at least in the next 10 – 20 years.

The challenge for Geophysics today is to make yet another step change in performance; integration, cost reduction, improved productivity but most importantly increased accuracy of our measurements and risk reduction.  Now is the time to plan our recovery to ensure that we can find and produce the oil needed to satisfy the future demand, as we explore for more difficult to find hydrocarbon traps.

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) will host a seminar at the Geological Society, Piccadilly on 27th/28th September on the theme of Getting Value from Geophysics: Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Low Oil Prices. The aim of this seminar is to stimulate ideas and discussion around just how we can make such a step change in the 21st Century, and to reassure industry analysts and investors that now is the time to invest once again in our industry.

Come and join us http://pesgb.org.uk/events/event-316/

 

Going for Gold in Geophysics

Article by Stephen Pickering

As I write this article I am listening on the radio to the Rio 2016 Olympics commentary, specifically how technology has been instrumental in improving performance in cycling. The British Cycling Team realised that in addition to carbon fibre technology, the paint on a bicycle weighs 100g, the clothes worn by the cyclists can affect aerodynamics and muscular performance (literally hot pants!), and that the riders experience G-forces which require specific saddle design. All these and many more innovations can all potentially improve performance no matter how small. However, they also realised that the key to winning Olympic Gold lies in the integration of these many marginal innovations and that to remain an Olympic winner, innovation has to become a continuous process.

In June 1999 William Aylor Jr. presented a paper Measuring the Impact of 3D Seismic on Business Performance in the Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT). In his paper Aylor demonstrated that 3D seismic had a major impact on the performance of Amoco’s E&P operation’s during the 1990’s. Aylor showed that 3D seismic improved reserves replacement, improved exploration finding rates and volumes, and had a positive effect on field-reserves revisions, all of which resulted in a step change in performance for Amoco. In the paper Aylor suggests ways in which to measure the impact of emerging technologies. These measures gauge the benefits (efficiency and effectiveness) as well as the easily measured costs (economy) when managing technology investments.
Twenty years on the investors in our industry; the bankers, investment trusts and venture capitalists, have in recent years become very risk averse with regards Exploration new ventures. Based upon recent drilling results there is a common misbelief that the time for exploration is over. Fortunately, geophysics has a superb track record of game changing innovations combining science and engineering; CDP stack and common midpoint gathers, 3D and 4D seismic, multi-cable and multi-source acquisition, broadband, Reverse Time Migration, are just a few. Each one of these innovations has changed the exploration game through lowering costs, speeding up the process of data collection and analysis, and/or providing more accurate and informed measurements – Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. These innovations individually and collectively have contributed to the impressive record of geophysics to make step changes in Exploration drilling performance and in identifying subsurface hydrocarbon resources as demonstrated by William Aylor.
The challenge for Geophysics today is to make yet another step change in performance; integration, cost reduction, improved productivity but most importantly increased accuracy of our measurements and risk reduction.

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) will host a seminar at the Geological Society, Piccadilly on 27th/28th September on the theme of Getting Value from Geophysics: Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Low Oil Prices. The aim of this seminar is to stimulate ideas and discussion around just how we can make such a step change in the 21st Century, to challenge those who believe the time for exploration is over, and in due course win that elusive Liquid Gold.
Come and join us

Committee Highlights: Changing the Game in Geophysics

Stephen Pickering of the Geophysics Committee, shares his highlights from the upcoming Geophysics Seminar…

The investors in our industry; the bankers, investment trusts and venture capitalists, have in recent years become very risk averse with regards Exploration new ventures. Based upon recent results there is a common misbelief that the time for exploration is over. Fortunately geophysics has a superb track record of game changing innovations combining science and engineering; common midpoint gathers, 3D seismic, multi-cable and multi-source acquisition, broadband, Reverse Time Migration, are just a few. Each one of these innovations has changed the exploration game through lowering costs, speeding up the process of data collection and analysis, and/or providing more accurate and informed measurements – Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. These innovations individually and collectively have contributed to the impressive record of geophysics to make step changes in Exploration drilling performance and in identifying subsurface hydrocarbon resources.

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) will host a seminar at the Geological Society, Piccadilly on 27th/28th September on the theme of Getting Value from Geophysics: Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Low Oil Prices.

Amongst the presentations at the seminar Joshua May will present Towed Streamer Electromagnetics an innovative technique which combines electromagnetic acquisition with broadband seismic. The resulting measurements are both cheaper and more efficient and the results of a seismically guided inversion can be displayed as shown in the image above. The high resistivity is evidence of possible hydrocarbons and when combined with a structural trap, result in reduced exploration risk.

Towed Streamer Electromagnetics is one of many Game Changing techniques you can learn about at the seminar.

Come and join us by registering your place at http://pesgb.org.uk/events/event-316/

The Game isn’t over yet!

Committee Highlights: Effective seismic interpretation (and interpreters)

Stephen Pickering of the Geophysics Committee, shares his highlights from the upcoming Geophysics Seminar…

What is an effective depth conversion? Does it matter if it does not exactly tie the well control?  Interesting questions which Chris Burns and Jonathon Stearn (Baker Hughes) will address in their paper How accurate is my depth conversion of seismic data? 

I personally remember only too well (sic) drilling a subsalt exploration well on UKCS block 30/18 back in the 1980’s, following extensive but flawed post stack depth imaging and velocity modelling the well was still many hundreds of metres off prognosis.  Interestingly Burns and Stearn argue that simple formulae where the variables are easily related to physical properties (such as the instantaneous velocity function Vi = V0 +kZ) are preferred to the more mathematically complex formulae.  A similar conclusion that I made after that awful well!  If like me you need to improve your prospects (sic) make sure you attend the PESGB Geophysics seminar.

Hear more at 14.30 on Wednesday 28 September 2016 at the ‘Getting Value from Geophysics: Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness for Low Oil Prices’ seminar to be held at the Geological Society of London.

Click here to see the full programme and to register your place 

 

Welcome to the PESGB Blog…

The PESGB Blog has been designed to complement the PESGB website, and bridge the gap between the PESGB Magazine and social media, whilst providing a forum for discussion for the PESGB community.

Post your comments, or contact blog@pesgb.org.uk to write a feature, share your anecdotes, pearls of wisdom or musings on the industry. This blog is for the members, shaped by the members. If there is anything you would like to see here, please get in touch.

Get involved, we would love to hear from you!

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