DECEMBER 2008 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Technical Breakfast Technical @ Fugro GSH Board Meeting VOL. 43, NO. 4 NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2008 Lunch Technical Lunch Multi-Component SIG Technical Luncheon Technical Breakfast President’s Column @ Omni @ Petroleum at WesternGeco By George Marion, Past President Club Date: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 The Same Talk, AN EXCITING CAREER Time: 7:00 a.m. Social 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Two Locations and MONEY 7:30 a.m. Presentation

8:00 a.m. Q & A Date 1 his is intended for those Location: Fugro Date: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008 college students who are 6100 Hilcroft, Suite 100 T Time: 11:30 a.m. deciding on a career path, but you long- Houston, TX 77274 Location 1: Omni Palace (Salon A) timers can read it too. Unfortunately, RSVP: Liz Ivie at Fugro 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 12121 Westheimer Rd. very few of the college students will 713-369-5863 Houston, TX 77077 be reading the GSH NEWSLETTER, or [email protected] CHRISTMAS because our membership are mostly Title: “Reservoir-Prone DAY Date 2 working professionals, so your assignment Mass Transport and Date: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 is to pass this Newsletter to college Slump Deposits” Time: 11:30 a.m. students, college advisors, and guidance Location 2: Petroleum Club Speaker: Dr. Trey Meckel, 28 29 30 31 JANUARY 1 2 3 counselors. 800 Bell St. (43rd Floor) Woodside Energy (USA), Inc. Houston, Texas 77002 Consider this a testimonial of sorts. I’ve Downtown Houston been a professional for 31 years and Happy New Year Abstract: I’m having so much fun that I’m looking Mass-transport deposits are common in Register Online: www.gshtx.org forward to the next 31. That’s no joke. the deepwater stratigraphic record, but JANUARY 2009 Cost: $25/members pre-registered I’m a consultant, so I don’t have to SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY are rarely considered to contain reservoir- $30/members nonregistered retire. Why would I want to leave the quality sands. However, several recent 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 $35/non-members party? Seriously, this career has been publications have documented sand-prone fun and there’s no reason for it to end Technical mass flows and slumps, including reservoirs Title: “Seismic Attributes For now. Why isn’t everyone rushing to join Breakfast in prolific oil and gas fields, as well as shallow Stratigraphic Feature the energy industry? Characterization” drilling hazards. These observations suggest that such remobilized sands are “Join the Navy and See the World” is a The Geophysical Society of Houston Newsletter (ISSN 1082-0817) is published monthly except in July by the Geophysical Society of Houston, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77079. more common than previously suspected, Subscription to this publication is included in the membership dues of $30 annually. Periodicals postage paid in Houston, Texas. Speaker: slogan that most everyone knows. After Satinder Chopra and may be a more significant component POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Geophysical Society of Houston Newsletter, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77079. , Manager college I considered the Navy, for that of deepwater hydrocarbon systems than Reservoir Services very reason. The Navy offered to pay for has been generally acknowledged. Arcis Corp., Calgary my graduate degree in nuclear physics,

Technical Luncheon continued on page 14. Technical Breakfast continued on page 12. President’s Column continued on page 6.

Inside This Issue January Technical Breakfast...... 3 Sponsor Thanks...... 11 Item of Interest...... 4 Geoscience Day Thank You...... 12 Happy Multi-Component SIG...... 12 EEGS Annual Meeting...... 7 Membership Report...... 17 Holidays! Items of Interest...... 8 Seismic Stratigraphy Review, Part 2.....20 Geoscience Day 2008...... 10 Calendar of Events...... 24 GEOPHYSICAL SOCIETY OF HOUSTON Sandra Babcock, Office/Business Accounts Manager • 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77079 • Office Hours 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Phone: (713) 463-9477 • Fax (713) 463-9160 email: [email protected] • website - http://www.gshtx.org GSH Board of Directors = GSH Executive Committee + SEG Section Representatives

Phone Fax/Other Email PRESIDENT______Frank [email protected] Corp Relations______George [email protected] Historian______Art [email protected] Museum______Tom [email protected] Nominating______Frank [email protected] Outreach______Lisa Buckner______713-609-4256____ 713-609-5666_____ [email protected] Scholarship Liaison ______Art Ross [email protected]

PRES-ELECT______Mike [email protected] Academic Liaison______Steve [email protected] Advisory______Lee [email protected] Employment Referral______Sam Leroy______281-556-9766____ 281-556-9778_____ [email protected] Office______Dave Agarwal______281-920-4450____ 281-920-1576_____ [email protected] Volunteers______Hamzat Erogbogbo_ ____ [email protected]

FIRST VP______Bill [email protected] Continuing Education______Bill [email protected] Speakers______Bill [email protected] Tech Breakfasts______Marvin Taylor______713-369-5864____ 832-367-3837(c)___ [email protected] Tech Luncheons______Bill [email protected] Tech Committee______Jim DiSiena______832-854-4289____ 832-854-7606 ____ [email protected]

SIGS Data Processing______Steve Cole______713-369-5883____ 713-408-9405(c)___ [email protected] Potential Fields______Greg Jorgensen______435-313-1950______greg_jorgensen@flatirons-geophysics.com Rock Physics______Ayako [email protected] ______Ronny [email protected] ______Ezequiel F. Gonzalez_ ___ [email protected] Multi-Component______John [email protected] ______Mark [email protected] ______Tony [email protected]

SECOND VP______Bob Ayers [email protected] Annual Meeting______Jim Moulden______832-636-8665____ 832-636-5824_____ [email protected] Awards Banquet______Steve Davidson______713-202-7838 (cell)[email protected] Golf Tournament______Dennis Sump [email protected] Salt Water Tournament_____ Bobby Perez______281-240-1234____ 281-240-4997_____ [email protected] Sporting Clays 2008______Steve [email protected] Tennis Tournament______Marvin Taylor ______713-369-5864____ 832-367-3837(c)___ [email protected]

SECRETARY______Jackie [email protected] Directory______Paul [email protected] GSH Membership______David Hammer______713-973-5772____ 832-545-5044(cell)_ [email protected] HPAC (Auxiliary) Liaison____ Kathi Hilterman______713-467-2599______OTC Rep.______Roy E. Clark, Jr.______281-654-5651____ 281-654-5891_____ [email protected] SEG Membership______Bob [email protected]

TREASURER______Peter [email protected] Finance______Steve Cochran______281-509-8506____ 281-509-8091_____ [email protected]

EDITOR______Glenn [email protected] Assistant Editor______John [email protected] Company Contacts______Scott Sechrist______281-856-8029____ 281-856-7445_____ [email protected] Electronic Pub______Scott Sechrist______281-856-8029____ 281-856-7445_____ [email protected] Photography______John [email protected] Publicity______Scott Sechrist______281-856-8029____ 281-856-7445_____ [email protected] Web Site______Paul [email protected] PAST PRESIDENT______George Marion [email protected] PRIOR PAST PRES.______Kathy [email protected] SEG SECTION REPS______Lee Lawyer [email protected] ______Roy E. Clark, Jr. ______281-654-5651____ 281-654-5891_____ [email protected] ALTERNATE SEG REPS______Bill [email protected] ______Art Ross [email protected] ______Haynie Stringer______281-491-2045____ 877-552-0178_____ [email protected] ______Robert [email protected]

2 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 23 Editor’s Note: January Technical Breakfast To ensure your information reaches the GSH society members Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2008 in a timely manner it must appear Time: 7:00 a.m. Social in the appropriate newsletter 7:30 a.m. Presentation issue. Please note the following 8:00 a.m. Q & A

deadlines and plan your function’s Location: Fugro publicity strategy accordingly. Items 6100 Hilcroft, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77274 must be received on or before the corresponding deadline date. Please RSVP to: Liz Ivie at Fugro 713-369-5863 or send any obituary or memorial [email protected] articles of recently deceased Title: members to Glenn Bear, editor, at “The Kaleidoscope Project: Breaking the Sound Barrier in Seismic Imaging” [email protected]. If you have any questions please call Speaker: Francisco Ortigosa, Repsol

Glenn Bear at 713/431-6583. Abstract: The subsalt exploration targets in the Current seismic imaging technology is not deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico yet good enough to image properly the 2008 GSH have changed through time following geological structures below the salt. Reverse Newsletter Deadlines maturation of new geological play Time Migration (RTM) is the imaging Issue...... January 2008 concepts closely related to the evolution technology expected to fulfill the demands Deadline...... December 1, 2008 of seismic imaging algorithms. of the existing exploration challenges. Issue...... February 2008 Deadline...... January 2, 2008 January Technical Breakfast continued on page 17.

Announcements from Technical Lunch 1 @ Omni Tues., December 9 Technical Lunch 2 @ Petroleum Club Wed., December 10 Technical Breakfast @ Fugro Wed., December 10, 2008 Multi-Component SIG @ WesternGeco Wed., December 11

22 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 3 Here’sHere’s My Card My . . . Card . . .

n 1962, Harry Hess published a paper entitled, “The History I of Ocean Basins”, which was a follow up to a widely circulated report to the Office of Naval Research. He advanced the theory that there was sea floor spreading away from the mid Atlantic To reserve your advertisement space or for Ridge. Hess’s work triggered a scientific revolution in earth science, resulting in the modern concept of Plate Tectonics. rate information contact Lilly Hargrave at: 713-463-9477 Harry Hammond Hess was born May 24, 1906. After two Rear Admiral Harry Hammond Hess years in Electrical Engineering at Yale, he shifted to Geology and received a B.S. degree in 1927. After two years as an where he served as Captain of the USS Cape Johnson. He Exploration geologist in Rhodesia, he completed his graduate modified the fathometer to profile the trips across the Pacific. work at Princeton where he received a doctorate degree. He Those profiles resulted in the discovery of many flat topped sub joined the faculty at Princeton in 1934 and remained there for sea volcanoes that Hess called guyots. He stayed in the Naval the rest of his career. He joined the U. S. Navy during WWII Reserve and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral.

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4 Geophysical Society of Houston SEPTEMBERDecember 2008 DecemberSEPTEMBER 2008 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 2521 Book/Subject Review of Introduction of a “personals” section in the GSH Newsletter ~ September 2008 Seismic/Sequence Stratigraphy, Part 2 “Making Waves” By Dan Heinze he Geophysical Society of Houston would love to hear from you! We are introducing a new section in the GSH Newsletter devoted to you and your personal news. You are invited to submit personal items that may be of interest to he usefulness of sequence stratigraphy field examples, the vast majority of which T the broader geophysical community. Twas underscored at the June 2008 are from the oil industry. This text has EAGE meeting in Rome by Exxon Mobil the advantages of not only ten years of Our intent is to provide a forum for our readers to share their personal achievements, recognition, and accomplishments Executive VP, Johnny Hall, where in his development in the field but now also, and/or share stories of interesting endeavors that others might wish to hear. You may have noticed similar inserts in other keynote address at the awards banquet, the almost ubiquitous availability of 3D publications. We hope you will use the GSH Newsletter to let your friends and colleagues know where you are, what you he identified it as one of the three most seismic for the further refinement of have been up to, and to inform them of your current position and company affiliation. important oil finding methodologies to sequence stratigraphy and its illustration. emerge in the past ten years. Extensive material is presented on Contributions should be personal in nature and limited to a paragraph or two. If you can keep your news item to a short applicability and relevance to industry paragraph, we will make sure everyone hears the news. Please note that the editor reserves the right to edit or reject items Sequence Stratigraphy by Emery and problems, especially in the chapter on sequence stratigraphy to the forefront deemed to be of a commercial nature. No advertisements here please. Myers (1996) and Principles of Sequence “systems tracts”. This text, I believe of industry awareness: the Exxon group Stratigraphy by Catuneanu (2006) are successfully, also tries to evenhandedly (Vail et al., 1977, AAPG Memoir 26; You can submit your “Making Waves” items to the editor via email, to [email protected] or [email protected] bookends in this historical development. recount the major competing models of Sarg, 1988, SEPM Spec. Pub. 42, p The earlier of these two well written texts sequence stratigraphy. In his summary 155; Van Wagoner et al., 1990, AAPG We look forward to hearing from you! was the first reasonably complete account Catuneanu concludes that they all are Methods in Exploration Series #7) and of this newly emergent discipline and the valid in their appropriate context and the BP group of Sequence Stratigraphy latter represents a more systematic and suggests directions that would lead to by Emery and Myers (1996). Even the comprehensive handling of the now more their synthesis. differences between these two models of mature but still rapidly developing field. sequence stratigraphy were part of the The first major step in this direction has just rich development and usefulness that has Both of these books do an excellent job been made: Towards the Standardization subsequently flourished. I believe this is of achieving their authors’ objectives. of Sequence Stratigraphy (in press); O. one more example of how the sharing “Thank You!” To Our 2008 Sequence Stratigraphy by Emery and Catuneanu, V. Abreu, J.P. Bhattacharya, of technology by larger oil industry Myers (1996) is essentially an upgrade M.D. Blum, R.W. Dalrymple, P.G. Eriksson, companies improves their technology by Honors and Awards Banquet and formalization of the text of an oil C.R. Fielding, W.L. Fisher, W.E. Galloway, independent, outside scrutiny and makes company’s (BP’s) training course. As M.R. Gibling, K.A. Giles, J.M. Holbrook, the whole industry advance more rapidly. Sponsors! such it assumes a good bit of geologic R. Jordan, C.G.St.C. Kendall, B. Macurda, background. It is well organized and O.J. Martinsen, A.D. Miall, J.E. Neal, D. As I enjoyed soaking in this material, an loaded with relevant concepts, concisely Nummedal, L. Pomar, H.W. Posamentier, application to crustal imaging occurred described and illustrated with many helpful B.R. Pratt, J.F. Sarg, K.W. Shanley, R.J. to me: A foundation of sequence graphics and real world examples. It does Steel, A. Strasser, M.E. Tucker and C. stratigraphy is the prediction that the facies tend to be written from a single point of Winker. Earth-Science Reviews. change laterally is incrementally related view of the subject but it is not as tightly to the facies change vertically within integrated as an academic text, perhaps From my start as a neophyte, I would have each “systems tract” of a “stratigraphic because its chapters were written by been aided in both books by a glossary, sequence”. Therefore once a sequence several different authors. This book was especially of geologic terms, since most stratigraphy interpretation has been my first significant exposure to sequence of my experience is in geophysics, made, assuming it is correct, these facies stratigraphy and was an effective and specifically seismic imaging. gradients and their directions could be efficient means to come up to speed on useful in further constraining velocity and the subject. As usual with a breakthrough technology, other physical parameter inversions in the historical reviews in both texts point to seismic and electromagnetic processing. Principles of Sequence Stratigraphy a long history of insightful, even visionary Such inversions may of course also feed by Catuneanu (2006) is consciously work by many in academia and industry. back into sequence stratigraphy, reducing an academic text, thoroughly and These earlier efforts pointed to but did the likelihood of or perhaps even excluding systematically laying the historical and not quite capture the revolutionary core certain interpretations. conceptual background of the discipline. of seismic stratigraphy as it emerged in It then does an excellent job of leading the 1970’s and sequence stratigraphy The third and last part of this review of the reader through the why’s and how’s as it developed into the 1980’s. I would seismic/sequence stratigraphy will focus of applying sequence stratigraphy with like to point out two groups, however, on additional texts that add more detail many well executed graphics and clear that were critical in bringing seismic/ or wider breadth to the subject.

20 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 24December 2008 GeophysicalGeophysical SocietySociety of Houston SEPTEMBER 20085 SEPTEMBER 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 5 President’s Column continued from page 1. which was a serious option as my degree advantage of the opportunities in change. Professional Society . . . Here’s My Card . . . was in physics. But then I realized that if I Remember that all modern civilizations Once upon a time, one could get a job did my graduate work in Geophysics, that live on energy consumption, so there will out of college and reasonably expect to I could “Join an Oil Company and Get always be another “up” cycle. Think of it work an entire career at that company. Paid to See the World.” That’s a better as a roller coaster ride, and remember that Now it’s more typical for one to change deal. I’ve been paid handsomely to live people stand in line and pay good money companies every five years or so. This and work (not just visit) in eight states and for the privilege of riding the roller coaster. makes having a professional membership nine nations, and in the process I’ve visited I said it was an exciting career in the title. even more important because the Society several others. I know others who’ve becomes the common thread that will traveled a lot more than that. Some of you Those of you who have bright ideas and span the entire professional career. If may not want to travel. Fine. There are want to create new technology, consider you’re a member, thanks, and please jobs in all companies that don’t transfer. that some energy companies have budgets actively participate. If you know someone But for those of you who want to see larger than some nations’ GNP. They who isn’t a member, tell them how great the world, the best way is to get paid to promote new technology as a means GSH is and that they can apply online at travel. I started my career with Chevron. for staying successful. The point is that www.gshtx.org. Chevron paid me a “hardship” bonus to energy companies can fund big projects live in Perth, Australia for one year and and push applied physics which means Corporate Relations Committee work all over the “out back” of Western you can do applied research. We do Money. I finally get to a topic that is Australia and South Australia. How great projects every year that are the equivalent of interest to all. I don’t have to tell is that? Another great assignment was of a graduate degree. anyone in the business world that a cash when Chevron essentially doubled my flow is needed to stay in business. A salary to live in Khartoum, Sudan and Do you feel that “Big Oil” has a poor Professional Society is the same. We oversee geophysical operations in the environmental image? I claim that image have to have a steady cash flow from Sudd. While in Sudan I’d pass spare time is wrong, but if you feel that way, then our membership and from companies by hanging out at the bar at the Grand there are jobs in Energy in alternative within our industry who support Hotel, over looking the Blue Nile (the sources, such as wind, solar, tidal, and/ forward-thinking advancements to White Nile was on the other side of town) or geothermal. And all forms of energy keep our workers on the leading edge and would talk with guys who were going need environmental advisors, so that’s of the industry. One way to support South on safari. These guys were paying another way to have a “green” position the GSH is to encourage employees to a prince’s ransom for the privilege of in the energy industry. attend the events, such as the Technical going to the same area that I got paid to Breakfasts, Technical Luncheons, visit. I’m telling you, this can be a great You can make a career in the energy DISC, Symposium, etc. Give them job! What other industry does this? Well, industry be just about anything you want time to attend and encourage them to the CIA, but then you can’t talk about it to be. expand their knowledge. Enlightened your experiences. employees are good for the company. By the time this gets to print, the SEG Another way to support the GSH is via Have you read Moby Dick, or Omoo or Annual Meeting in Las Vegas will be past, cash sponsorships. The GSH is working Typee? Why do I ask? Because Herman so, start now planning to attend the SEG to form contacts with companies so that Melville went on one whaling trip and Annual Meeting 2009 in Houston and they can include sponsorships in their wrote three novels from the adventure. go by The Living Legends booth (I’m not annual budget. You’ll be hearing more on There are a lot of us who could write novels one of them) and talk with which ever this from the GSH Corporate Relations from our travels, if we were inclined to Legend is there. I’m betting that all of the Committee, which is co-chaired this write novels. That’s another opportunity Legends will expand on what I said about year by Past President George Marion which can come out of a career in the a career in the energy industry being a and Past 2nd VP Haynie Stringer. energy industry. great choice of careers. Calendar of Events: What are you college students waiting for? Last month Jackie Ming wrote the December events are clearly listed in the Have you been frightened by the “feast President’s Column. We have different Newsletter and on the GSH web site. and famine” nature of the energy business? ways of phrasing it, but we both are saying GSH will send emailed reminders to those Don’t be. There are opportunities during that there are good opportunities for long, who are listed with GSH. If you are not an “up” cycle, and there are opportunities enjoyable careers in the energy industry. getting emailed reminders, please send an during a “down” cycle. Just plan for a This industry allows one to have as exciting email to Lilly Hargrave at GSH office and cycle and be versatile enough to take a career as one chooses. It’s great. ask to be added to the list.

6 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 19 18 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 7 January Technical Breakfast continued from page 3. Seismic imaging improvement largely depends on compute in computerized techniques for seismic imaging. The power and on the correct implementation on the hardware of Kaleidoscope Project now makes possible the full realization the algorithms used for processing. The evolution of imaging of the next generation seismic imaging technology that By Lee Lawyer algorithms has largely depended upon the evolution of hardware. accelerates and streamlines oil and gas exploration. The In fact, during the last eight years, the computing power needed algorithms being developed are tailored to the new generation for seismic imaging in the oil industry has increased by two orders of IBM’s Cell/B.E. processors. Project benchmarks show of magnitude, and the storage requirements, and therefore I/O that the Cell/B.E. processors perform the computation of needs, have increased by three orders of magnitude. RTM algorithms one order of magnitude faster than leading The Poulter Method brand processors. Seismic Imaging has evolved very fast due to the astonishing Biography: Thomas C. Poulter was the Scientific Director of the Armour Institute at the University of Illinois at price/performance characteristics of Commodity Off-the- Francisco Ortigosa is Director of Geophysics at Repsol. Chicago when he created the Antarctic snow cruiser (a.k.a. “Penguin 1”). Shelf (COTS) Technology High Performance Computing Francisco has dedicated 21 years to the petroleum industry (HPC) that made Linux PC Clusters affordable during the last While he was a a physics professor at Iowa Wesleyan College he recognized James Van Allen as a holding geophysics related positions in Spain, Venezuela, decade. However, the hardware technology that favored the student and put him to work, at 35 cents an hour, preparing seismic and magnetic equipment for the Colombia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Egypt and currently USA. seismic imaging revolution has hit the power wall when it Antarctic Expedition. He is particularly focused on the value added to the E&P is most needed, i.e. when RTM is the next chapter in the Business by new technologies in the field of Geophysics. He was second in command on the Second Byrd Antarctic Mission to the South Pole with Richard evolution of seismic imaging. New hardware alternatives like E. Byrd. The Poulter Glacier was named after him by Admiral Byrd, as were the Poulter Research FPGA’s, GPGPU’s and heterogeneous multicore processors Recently he has created the Kaleidoscope Project that Laboratories at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). (Cell/B.E.) are constantly scrutinized as the replacement of has been awarded by IEEE Spectrum as one of the most the homogeneous processor technology. However, there is innovative projects for 2008. The Kaleidoscope Project In 1948 he joined SRI in Menlo Park, California, where he remained until his death in 1978. While no clear consensus about the path to follow and there are is also finalist for the Petroleum Economist awards 2008, at SRI he did research involving dynamic phenomena of explosives. His paper, “The Poulter Seismic currently several initiatives in the industry. Project Innovation of the Year. Method of Geophysical Exploration” was printed by Geophysics as a Silver Anniversary Classic. Poulter was trying primarily to measure the thickness of ice sheets. The Kaleidoscope Project is a “dream team” partnership Francisco has authored or coauthored numerous technical of top geophysicists, computer scientists and organizations papers presented in International Conferences. Francisco is The Poulter method involves placing small explosive charges a few feet above the ground, usually in from around the world that are creating a major advance affiliated with the SEG, EAGE and AAPG. patterns. Charge sizes vary but two pounds/shot are common with as many as 36 shots per pattern. The method is used in remote areas, such as the Rockies, where normal seismic operations are difficult and environmental considerations are a high priority. ED NE S YO SH U SOFAR & SOSUS G ...... In the early 1940’s, the U. S. Navy was experiencing difficulties with its sonar equipment. The Navy asked Maurice Ewing and J. Lamar Worzel to investigate. They discovered that temperature effects were bending the sound waves in such a way as to create a “shadow zone” - a region in which sonar GSH transmissions went undetected. This discovery had enormous implications for submarine warfare in MEMBERSHIP that a submarine could “hide” beneath it. REPORT

Moreover, Ewing and Worzel discovered that sound waves could be focused into a narrow region, in As of November 8, 2008 which they traveled for great distances. They called this phenomenon sound channeling, and it be- came the basis for SOFAR (Sound Fixing and Ranging), which the Navy used during the war to locate Active 783 downed airmen and SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System), the navy’s Cold War Underwater acoustic Associate 150 FT Students 4 array established to detect Soviet submarines. JOIN TODAY Emeritus 51 Honorary 28 For GSH Membership Lifetime 29 Information Please Contact Total 1045 LIlly Hargrave at 713.463.9477

8 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 17 Some species of shrew, like this Northern Short-tailed Shrew, emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echo of those calls that return from objects in the environment. This form of echolocation, also called biosonar, allows them to locate, range and identify objects. While some animals use echolocation to pinpoint food, the shrew uses it to investigate its terrestrial habitat.

PGS develops and deploys the highest fidelity imaging and data processing tools to provide a clearer image of the subsurface. The ability to honor true azimuth in 3D SRME and state-of- the-art signal processing capabilities, coupled with versatile velocity model-building workflows and a com prehensive suite of pre-stack depth migration algorithms, deliver consistent results to reduce drilling risks and lower finding and development costs. Find out more about our unmatched turnaround time, data quality and image clarity by calling Frank Dumanoir at (281) 509-8354. A clearer image www.pgs.com

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16 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 9 Geoscience Day 2008 The Life of an Oilfield

eoscience Day 2008, jointly sponsored by the Geophysical Society of Houston and the Houston Geological Society, was held G 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

10 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 15 Technical Luncheon continued from page 1. Seismic attributes are used to extract our attention on conditioning such data interactive interpretation, but has spent information from seismic reflection data. for the derivation of attributes. We also more time in special processing of Geoscience Day 2008 Such attributes can be used for both discuss some of the procedural steps for seismic data involving seismic attributes GSH HGS quantitative and qualitative interpretation. noise filtering and dip-steering options for including coherence and textures, seismic Thanks To Our Sponsors 2008 Some attributes such as seismic amplitude, computation of some geometric attributes inversion, AVO, VSP processing and Geoscience Day envelope, RMS amplitude, spectral like coherence and curvature. Finally in frequency enhancement of seismic data. Platinum Sponsor magnitude, acoustic impedance, elastic this context, we also discuss the impact His research interests focus on techniques impedance, and AVO measures are directly the choice of algorithm can have on the that are aimed at characterization of sensitive to changes in seismic impedance. final results. All these factors ensure that reservoirs. He has published 5 books and Other attributes such as peak-to-trough the seismic attributes yield more accurate more than 12 dozen papers and abstracts thickness, peak frequency, and bandwidth information for interpretation. and likes to make presentations at any are sensitive to layer thicknesses. Both beckoning opportunity. of these classes of attributes can be Examples will be presented for the quantitatively correlated to well control application of curvature and coherence Satinder is a member of the SEG ‘The using multivariate analysis, geostatistics, or attributes to 3D seismic volumes. These Leading Edge’ Editorial Board, is the neural networks. Seismic attributes such examples illustrate the use of these editor of the CSEG RECORDER and the Gold Sponsors as coherence, Sobel filter edge detectors, attributes to aid the geophysicist in making Ex-Chairman of the SEG Publications amplitude gradients, dip-azimuth, more accurate interpretations. Finally Committee. He received several awards curvature, and gray-level co-occurrence we’ll provide an update on emerging at ONGC, and more recently has matrix texture attributes provide images trends in attribute research and discuss received the ‘Best Poster’ Award for his that allow interpreters to qualitatively use the directions in which seismic attributes poster entitled ‘Seismic attributes for geologic models of structural deformation, are headed. fault/fracture characterization’ that he seismic stratigraphy, and seismic presented at the 2007 SEG Convention. geomorphology to infer the presence of Biography: He received the 2007 ‘Best Paper’ Award fractures or the likelihood of encountering Satinder Chopra received MS and M.Phil. for his paper entitled ‘Curvature and iconic Silver Sponsors sand-prone facies. degrees in physics from Himachal Pradesh Coherence-Attributes adding value to 3D University, Shimla, India. He joined the Seismic Data Interpretation’ presented at IENCE EA OSCIE ARTH In order to extract accurate information Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited the CSEG Technical Luncheon, Calgary in GE & from seismic attributes, the input seismic (ONGC) of India in 1984 and served January 2007 as well as the 2005 CSEG

R M .. AR INC data must be optimally processed. The there until 1997. In 1998 he joined CTC Meritorious Services Award. He and his IINE SERVIICES,, I term ‘optimally’ essentially means that any Pulsonic in Calgary, which later became colleagues have received the CSEG Best distortion is minimized or removed during Scott Pickford and Core Laboratories Poster Awards in successive years from processing. In practice, the resulting pre- Reservoir Technologies. Currently, he is 2002 to 2005. He is a member of SEG, stack or poststack data will still show a working as Manager, Reservoir Services CSEG, CSPG, EAGE, AAPG, APEGGA Demonstration Sponsors certain amount of left-over “noise”. This at Arcis Corporation, Calgary. (Association of Professional Engineers, noise might include acquisition related Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta) artifacts, processing artifacts and random In the last 24 years Satinder has worked and TBPG (Texas Board of Professional noise. In this presentation we focus in regular seismic processing, and Geoscientists).

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14 Geophysical Society of Houston December 2008 December 2008 Geophysical Society of Houston 11 Technical Breakfast continued from page 1. Given that such ‘degradational’ reservoirs criteria that aid in the recognition of in research, exploration, development, are not uncommon in nature, identifying sand-prone mass-transport deposits in and production projects in the Gulf of and characterizing them accurately is the subsurface. None of these criteria is Mexico, West Africa, Australia, New MULTI-COMPONENT SIG critical, but can be controversial. For probably sufficient by itself to distinguish Zealand, Malaysia, West of Shetlands, instance, understanding whether a reservoir between a mass-transport deposit and a and South America, as well as onshore Date: December 11, 2008 is in a mass-transport deposit or a turbidite turbidite system; however, in aggregate, developments on the Texas Gulf Coast system can have dramatic implications in these criteria are sufficiently diagnostic to and the Anadarko Basin. Time: 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. terms of understanding reservoir potential identify mass-transport deposits that are and spatial distribution, and in terms of likely to be reservoir-prone. Trey received a PhD in earth sciences from Location: WesternGeco Richmond Campus generating models with representative rock the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Q-Auditorium properties away from control points. These Biography: (ETH-Zürich), an MA in Geology from 10001 Richmond Ave. implications become increasingly important The University of Texas at Austin, and a Houston, TX 77042 given ever-increasing costs associated with Dr. Lawrence D. Meckel, III (Trey) is the BA with honors in Geology from Williams the development of deepwater fields. Chief Geologist of Woodside Energy College in Massachusetts. Speaker: Dr. Leon Thomsen, Delta Geophysics Moreover, this underappreciated play type USA. Previously, he was the Coordinator ( SEG President, 2006-2007 ) provides potential green- and brownfield of Reservoir Modelling and Geoscience Among his numerous papers and exploration potential in many continental Technology at Woodside Energy Ltd. presentations, he won the New Orleans Topic: “The Fluid Dependence of Seismic Anisotropy” slope trends. in Perth, Australia. He specializes in Geological Society’s 2002-2003 Best integrated depositional systems analysis, Paper Award. Next year, Trey is Abstract: This presentation will use examples sequence stratigraphy, and risk assessment. convening an AAPG Hedberg Research from producing fields, the seafloor and Conference on deepwater foldbelts. All exploration geophysicists know of the work of Biot and Gassmann, which established the fluid dependence of shallow subsurface, outcrop, and flume With Woodside, and previously with Shell the bulk modulus and the shear modulus of isotropic elastic media. But, few know of the extensions of this work to tank experiments to illustrate specific International E&P, Trey has been involved anisotropic media. In fact, both Biot and Gassmann treated this subject, but subject to restrictive assumptions, so these works are not well known. Brown and Korringa provided a clean derivation, free of objectional assumptions, but the implications for the seismic anisotropy parameters epsilon, delta, and gamma were not spelled out. Here we present those implications explicitly.

Biography: To : GSH Newsletter GSH/HGS GeoScience Day Leon Thomsen holds titles of Scientist for Delta ‘Thomsen parameter’ returned over 600,000 hits. In Re: 1995, he moved to Amoco’s Worldwide Exploration ctober 23, 2008 Geophysics, Executive Advisor for KMS Technologies- O exas KJT Enterprises Inc., and Visiting Scientist for Group in Houston, where his 1997 paper established ouston, T acquisition, seismic processing, 3D visualization, displays of H industry tools, and even discussions of the politics of today’s oil Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds the modern field of converted-wave exploration, industry both in the United States and in the worldwide arena. a B.S. in geophysics from California Institute of defining such concepts as “C-waves”, “registration”, Technology (Pasadena), and a Ph.D. in geophysics “gamma-effective”, “diodic velocity”, etc. I particularly enjoyed the seismic processing break-out session. from Columbia University (New York). He held The speaker, Laurie Geiger – an Advising Geophysicist at TGS, postdoctoral positions at Centre Nationale de la As Principal Geophysicist (and Senior Advisor, was able to explain all the “buzzwords” (source, receiver, noise Recherche Scientifique (Paris), International Business following the BP-Amoco merger), he had the attenuation, velocity model, time & depth migration, and many Machines (Palo Alto), and Caltech. He was Assistant, opportunity to investigate unconventional topics more) in use within the industry in a fun presentation that made in geophysics; this led him, beginning in 2002 to then Associate Professor at the State University of the topic understandable to laymen. CSEM. Working together with KMST, BP acquired New York (Binghamton), with sabbatical positions at and processed the world’s first successful at-scale Goddard Institute for Space Studies (New York) and Overall, the event provided me with a greater understanding of tCSEMTM survey. In 2008, Leon retired from BP, the Australian National University (Canberra). the seismic domain of knowledge, the geological and geophysical and established Delta Geophysics. n October 23rd, 2008 the second annual GSH/HGS methods currently used in the market, and how we apply all of OGeoscience Day was held at the UT Bureau of Economic these in the life of an oilfield from prospect to retirement. Leon’s industrial career began in 1980, at Amoco’s Leon has served the Society of Exploration Geophysics Geologic (BEG) Houston Research Center. famous research center in Tulsa, where he was the as Chair of several committees, as Distinguished It was also an excellent occasion to meet and mingle with my Amoco inventor of what we now call seismic AVO. Lecturer, Distinguished Instructor, Vice-President, For people new to the seismic world, but not new to the oil and counterparts and/or clients in the industry. The food was He led significant revisions to the exploration seismic and President (2006-07). He holds the SEG’s gas industry, this was an excellent event. The full-day program great. The presentations were well prepared and delivered paradigm, helping to establish the basic ideas of Fessenden Award, and the Russian Academy of covered so-called main track courses (lectures) encompassing in an admirable facility. Kudos and many thanks to everyone polar anisotropy and azimuthal anisotropy. His Natural Sciences’ Kapitsa Medal. He is an Honorary involved, especially to those involved in the overall organization topics ranging from the initial geologic concept, to lease 1986 paper, establishing the modern field of seismic Member of the Geophysical Society of Houston, and acquisition, through the development of prospects to drill, and of this event. anisotropy, is the single-most-cited paper in the of the European Association of Geoscientists, and a finally field development and production. It also provided the history of Geophysics; a recent Google of the term Foreign Member of the RNAS. attendees with individual break-out sessions. Participants were See you next year! able to choose topics of particular interest from the extensive Mike Zyglicki offering of sessions. These included sessions on seismic PGS Data Processing, Houston

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