Industry

Speaker: Steven Constable

Talk Title: Mapping Gas Hydrate using Electromagnetic Methods

Talk Overview:

Gas hydrate is found globally on the continental shelves and is important as an unconventional hydrocarbon source, a hazard to drilling and seafloor infrastructure, a potential source of potent greenhouse gas, and a confounding resistor in the interpretation of conventional marine EM data. Yet, estimates of global hydrate volume vary by three orders of magnitude and identified recoverable reserves are rare, the reason being that it is difficult to image hydrate using seismic methods alone. However, gas hydrate is highly resistive and presents a good EM target at high saturations. Conventional controlled-source EM (CSEM) methods can be used to image hydrate, but are inefficient because seafloor receivers need to be closely spaced to achieve the appropriate resolution in the upper hundreds of meters of the seafloor. Several groups, including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, have developed towed CSEM systems designed to map hydrate in deep water, and such equipment is now being used commercially to image hydrate with a potential for methane production. In this lecture I will describe marine gas hydrate, laboratory studies of its electrical properties, and the equipment that we use to image it, with case studies from offshore California and the Gulf of Mexico.

About the Speaker:

Steven Constable studied geology at the University of Western Australia, graduating with first class honors in 1979. In 1983 he received a Ph.D. in geophysics from the Australian National University for a thesis titled “Deep Resistivity Studies of the Australian Crust” and later that year took a postdoc position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, where he is currently Professor of Geophysics. Professor Constable is interested in all aspects of electrical conductivity, and has made contributions to inverse theory, electrical properties of rocks, mantle conductivity, magnetic satellite induction studies, global lightning, and instrumentation. However, his main focus is marine electromagnetism; he played a significant role in the commercialization of marine EM for hydrocarbon exploration, work that was recognized by the G.W. Hohmann Award in 2003, the 2007 SEG Distinguished Achievement Award, and now the SEG 2016 Reginald Fessenden Award. He also received the R&D 100 Award in 2010, the AGU Bullard Lecture in 2015 and recently (2016) was named a Fellow of the AGU. More recent efforts have involved the development of equipment to map gas hydrate and permafrost. Professor Constable has served as an associate editor for the journal Geophysics, as a section secretary and corresponding editor for the American Geophysical Union, and on the MARELEC steering committee.

Please click here for the event flier

ASEG WA  Introduction to Ground Penetrating Radar Workshop
Dr. Jan Francke

Friday 23 September 2016
1:00 pm for 5:00 pm
(Registration from 12:30.  Drinks and nibbles 5 - 6 pm)
City West Function Centre, 45 Plaistowe Mews, West Perth WA 6005

$35 registration cost.  Please thank our sponsors Core Geophysics and Groundradar Inc. for assisting in keeping the price down.

Although a recent addition to the geophysicist’s toolbox, Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is now a well-established geophysical method in Australia.  Dozens of systems are deployed daily throughout the region, mainly for civil infrastructure projects.  In addition to being one of the easiest geophysical tool with which to collect data, it is also perhaps the most misinterpreted and oversold method. 

The concept of radar imaging of the subsurface is not new, with the principles having been well-established over the last century.  Technological advances in GPR technology have enabled deeper and faster imaging of larger areas with higher resolution.  The workshop will begin by introducing the history of GPR along with general EM theory.  The content covers various types of GPR instruments, suitable survey environments, along with interpretation and modelling pitfalls. 

The overall focus of the workshop will be on managing expectations with regards to GPR resolution and penetration, including examinations of several case studies from the region.  Recently, claims have been made of exceptional performance by devices which seemingly are outside of the bounds of physics.  These technologies will be examined and example data discussed, within the context of scientific principles. 

The workshop will be held by Dr. Jan Francke, who has worked exclusively with long-range GPR technologies for 25 years in 85 countries.  His experience spans thousands of projects in environments ranging from Arctic Sweden to southern Chile.  He conducts numerous workshops on GPR applications a year in a non-academic format, relying on real-world examples rather than complex mathematical modelling and theory. 

Biography

Dr. Francke is amongst the most experienced users of ground penetrating radar in the world, having spent his entire 25-year career working with deep GPR applications.  He holds a BSc from the University of British Columbia, an MSc from the University of Canterbury, and a PhD from Kings College London, all focusing on mineral exploration applications of GPR.  His field experience includes GPR projects in over 85 countries on six continents.  He has authored dozens of papers on the applications GPR to mining and geotechnical problems, and conducted numerous workshops teaching GPR principles and managing expectations on realistic GPR performance.

Please register by 21 September
 

18th International Association for Mathematical Geosciences Conference

On behalf of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences (IAMG), we invite you to participate in our 18th Annual Conference, IAMG2017. The conference will be held in the historic port city of Fremantle in Western Australia, 2-9 September 2017.

The aim of the conference is to promote the advancement of mathematics, statistics and informatics in the geosciences. Areas of geoscience application include studies of the Earth, its natural resources and the environment.

IAMG2017 will provide a venue for the presentation of new research in the form of oral and poster presentations at the Esplanade Hotel. We invite researchers to submit abstracts via our abstract submission portal. We also welcome proposals for short courses and workshops associated with the conference. The IAMG2017 Scientific Committee, composed of distinguished experts, will ensure an outstanding technical level for the presentations at the conference. There will be exhibition space available for geoscience related industries to showcase recent technological developments, including software. The economy of Western Australia relies heavily on its mineral and energy resources and we particularly urge related industries to participate in this conference and support research.

More details at the Conference Website.

Title: Mapping Gas Hydrates using Electromagnetic Methods
Presenter: Prof. Steven Constable
When: Tuesday 27^th of September, 2016
Time: Drinks and food from 5:30 pm, presentation from 6:15 pm
Where: Coopers Alehouse, 316 Pulteney St, Adelaide

About the talk:

Gas hydrate is found globally on the continental shelves and is important as an unconventional hydrocarbon source, a hazard to drilling and seafloor infrastructure, a potential source of potent greenhouse gas, and a confounding resistor in the interpretation of conventional marine EM data. Yet, estimates of global hydrate volume vary by three orders of magnitude and identified recoverable reserves are rare, the reason being that it is difficult to image hydrate using seismic methods alone. However, gas hydrate is highly resistive and presents a good EM target at high saturations. Conventional controlled-source EM (CSEM) methods can be used to image hydrate, but are inefficient because seafloor receivers need to be closely spaced to achieve the appropriate resolution in the upper hundreds of meters of the seafloor. Several groups, including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, have developed towed CSEM systems designed to map hydrate in deep water, and such equipment is now being used commercially to image hydrate with a potential for methane production. In this lecture I will describe marine gas hydrate, laboratory studies of its electrical properties, and the equipment that we use to image it, with case studies from offshore California and the Gulf of Mexico.

About the presenter:

Steven Constable studied geology at the University of Western Australia, graduating with first class honours in 1979. In 1983 he received a Ph.D. in geophysics from the Australian National University for a thesis titled “Deep Resistivity Studies of the Australian Crust” and later that year took a postdoc position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, where he is currently Professor of Geophysics. Steven is interested in all aspects of electrical conductivity, and has made contributions to inverse theory, electrical properties of rocks, mantle conductivity, magnetic satellite induction studies, global lightning, and instrumentation. However, his main focus is marine electromagnetism; he played a significant role in the commercialization of marine EM for hydrocarbon exploration, work that was recognized by the G.W. Hohmann Award in 2003, the 2007 SEG Distinguished Achievement Award, and now the SEG 2016 Reginald Fessenden Award. He also received the R&D 100 Award in 2010, and the AGU Bullard Lecture in 2015. More recent efforts have involved the development of equipment to map gas hydrate and permafrost. Steven has served as an associate editor for the journal Geophysics, as a section secretary and corresponding editor for the American Geophysical Union, and on the MARELEC steering committee.

Please click here for the event flier.

ASEG WA September Tech Night
SEG/AAPG Distinguished Lecturer,
Steven Constable

Thursday 29 September 2016
5:30 pm for 6:00 pm
City West Function Centre, 45 Plaistowe Mews, West Perth WA 6005

Geophysical Inversion: Which Model Do You Want? 
With a broad suite of geophysical inversion tools now available, it is seductively easy to submit your data, turn the crank, and obtain a model. But is the model meaningful? Are the data properly fit? How much does the model depend on the data, and how much on parameters in the inversion code, such as model discretization and regularization penalty? The inversion process depends as much, if not more, on the error structure of the data and inversion parameters as the data themselves. We all know that geophysical inversion is non-unique, but many people are surprised just how different models can be that fit the data equally well. And what exactly constitutes an adequate fit to the data? Without a rigorous analysis of error structure, choice of misfit can be highly subjective. Some rely on “L-curves”, but it can be shown that they too are subjective and depend very much on the choice of plotting parameters. Seeking to drive misfit down as low as possible can also be perilous – the least squares best fitting models for some problems are known to be pathological, and it is likely that this is true in general. In this lecture I shall attempt to provide an understanding of the practical issues associated with geophysical inversion, and provide a road map for avoiding common pitfalls.

Steven Constable studied geology at the University of Western Australia, graduating with first class honors in 1979. In 1983 he received a Ph.D. in geophysics from the Australian National University for a thesis titled “Deep Resistivity Studies of the Australian Crust” and later that year took a postdoc position at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, where he is currently Professor of Geophysics. Steven is interested in all aspects of electrical conductivity, and has made contributions to inverse theory, electrical properties of rocks, mantle conductivity, magnetic satellite induction studies, global lightning, and instrumentation. However, his main focus is marine electromagnetism; he played a significant role in the commercialization of marine EM for hydrocarbon exploration, work that was recognized by the G.W. Hohmann Award in 2003, the 2007 SEG Distinguished Achievement Award, and now the SEG 2016 Reginald Fessenden Award. He also received the R&D 100 Award in 2010, and the AGU Bullard Lecture in 2015. More recent efforts have involved the development of equipment to map gas hydrate and permafrost. Steven has served as an associate editor for the journal Geophysics, as a section secretary and corresponding editor for the American Geophysical Union, and on the MARELEC steering committee

Registrations close September 26

The next conference will be held in conjunction with PESA and the AIG and will be called the Australian Exploration Geoscience Conference (AEGC).

Initial abstract submission closes on 12 May, 2017.

Exploration ‘17 is the sixth of the very successful series of DMEC decennial mining exploration conferences, which have been held in the seventh year of every decade starting in 1967. The theme of the Exploration ’17 conference is “Integrating the Geosciences: The Challenge of Discovery”, featuring a multi-national, multi-disciplinary technical programme, exhibition, workshops and field schools.

Early-bird registration for this conference closes 31 August, 2017.

More details, including registration, at www.exploration17.com

For more information please visit www.aapg.org/events/

Target 2017

Target 2017: Innovating now for our future conference will be held at UniClub, University of Western Australia Uniclub from April 19-21 2017 in Perth, Western Australia.

The mining industry must act now in order to find the next generation of mineral deposits that will sustain human development. Most resources extracted from the Earth today exploit near-surface deposits discovered more than 30 years ago. The outcrop/subcrop search space is being rapidly depleted of world-class deposits, leaving broad volumes of the Earths’ crust unexplored. Innovation is required to aid discovery of new tier-one deposits, especially if the exploration space is to be truly broadened extending under cover. Innovation is also required to increase the discovery to investment ratio, which is at an all-time low. Target 2017 will focus on all aspects of mineral exploration and provide a unique opportunity to workshop solutions to the challenges that lie ahead.

We expect more than 250 attendees from around the Australian and international mineral exploration community, including executives, professionals, researchers and university students. The technical program will consist of a unique plenary session, panel discussions and poster sessions, focusing on multi-commodity exploration from greenfields at the regional scale through to brownfields and near mine exploration. Short courses and workshops will cover topics such as the mineral systems approach to exploration targeting, applied exploration geophysics and geochemistry and 3D exploration and will provide hands-on training opportunities for conference delegates.

Presented in Perth, Western Australia the conference will benefit from being organized in the Australian Capital for the mineral industry. Target 2017 will be an excellent opportunity to network with your peers in the collegial atmosphere that has developed between industry, government and academic professionals in the minerals industry.

We look forward to welcoming you to Target 2017 and together shaping tomorrow’s exploration strategies for the future sustainability of our industry.

Keynote speakers

• Cam McCuaig (BHP), Methods of targeting across all scales – what important elements to consider?
• Carl Brauhart (CSA Global), Computational modelling in mineral systems analysis – the OSNACA example
• Glen Masterman (Evolution Mining), Successful targeting and exploration success in the mining industry – a corporate perspective
• June Hill (CSIRO), The role of machine learning in brownfields exploration
• Nick Hayward (Teck), Exploration targeting – best practice
• Richard Ernst (Carleton University): Multi-Commodity, Multi-Scale Exploration Targeting Using the Large Igneous Province Record
• Rob Hough (CSIRO), Creating a new frontier in detection and data integration for exploration through cover
• Ross Cayley (GSV), Thinking and targeting on the lithospheric scale as part of an exploration strategy:  using pre-competitive data
• Alok Porwal (Indian Institute of Technology), Uncertainty mapping in GIS-based prospectivity modelling
• Sandra Occhipinti (CET), Methods of targeting across all scales: shat important elements to consider; learnings from the Capricorn Distal Footprints study

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION CLOSES 28 FEBRUARY 2017

Speaker: Dr Nabeel Yassi

Talk Title: Current trends in onshore seismic data acquisition; a case study on cable-free nodal systems

Talk Overview:

Since the late 1970s, seismic surveys were conducted with cabled multi-channels acquisition systems. As the number of channels steadily grew, a fundamental restriction appeared with hundreds of kilometres of line cables dragged on the ground. Seismic surveys within rugged terrain, across rivers, steep cliffs, urban areas, and culturally and environmentally sensitive zones; were both challenging and expansive exercises.

Modern technology has made different cable-free solutions practical. Many successful 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition using cable-free autonomous nodal systems were attempted in the past few years; however, there remain a number of concerns with these systems.

•   The first concern queries whether the units are working according to manufacturer specifications during the data acquisition window.
•   The second is the limited or no real-time data quality control that inspires sceptics to use the term blind acquisition to nodal operations.
•   The third is the traditional question of geophone array versus point receiver acquisition.

The talk elaborates on the benefits of the cable-free seismic surveys with specific examples of 2D and 3D exploration programs conducted in Australia in the past six years. Optimisation of field crew size, field crew resources, cost implications, and footprint to the environment, wildlife and domestic livestock will be discussed.

In addition an open forum discussion will focus on the data quality/data assurance and the processes implanted during data acquisition to maintain equivalent industry standards to cable recording. The talk highlights data analysis and test results of geophone array versus cable-free point receiver recording from the latest 3D seismic survey in Australia.

About the Speaker:

Nabeel Yassi graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in geology, 1974; MSc in geophysics, 1977; and PhD degree in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne – England, 1984. After receiving his PhD, Nabeel resumed academic duties to achieve the position of Associate Professor in Geophysics at Baghdad University. From the mid-90s he moved to seismic exploration and supervised onshore and Transition Zone / OBC seismic data acquisition and data processing for Oil and Gas exploration; with extensive track of successful seismic surveys in Australia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Nabeel has complementary experiences in sedimentary basins analysis, structural-tectonics, and geological interpretations. This unique experience in geological / geophysical integrations has been systematically utilised to optimise 2D/3D seismic survey designs, enhanced seismic recording parameters, field seismic data processing and delivering the highest data quality for seismic surveys within the most challenging field conditions, sensitive areas and complex tectonic frameworks. Practices were further enriched through international exposure to different types of hydrocarbon systems.

During the last six years, Nabeel was the Chief Geophysicist at Geokinetics (Australasia) Pty Ltd. He was highly involved in the latest technologies of seismic surveys; including nodal, cable-free recording systems with a blend of conventional cable recording and different types of seismic sources. Participated in many 2D/3D seismic surveys delivering superior seismic data quality and peak field efficiency with minimum/no footprint to the environment. Recently he resumed the role of consultant geophysicist supporting the exploration industry to maintain the same high standards.