Summer/Fall 1992 WESTERN PROFILE CONTENTS 20 1nMexico , the seismic line might WESTERN followa donkey path leading to a smallvillage or lead to the ruins of someancient civilization. Western PROFILE crewsare exploring for oil and gas in the dry heat of Mexico's ChihuahuaDesert and over the mountainousc liffs of Guerrero. President'sPage 2 News Briefs 4 Safety/ Health/ Environment 17 36 Greatquantitie s of oil have flowed Exploring the Treasuresof Mexico 20 fromVenezuelan derr icks since Floatingon Oil 36 the turn of the century. A steady Bravingthe Serpent's Mouth 49 streamof work has also flowed Party Pickings 55 throughWestern 's operating centers in Lake Maracaibo and Caracas. Behindth e Lines 65 Crew88 is currently performing Names in the News 68 the largests ingle 3-D survey in LakeMaracaibo's history. 49 Thefirst digita l bay cable operation in SouthAmerican waters has been successfullycompleted in the "Serpent'sMouth" between the coastsof Trinidadand Venezuela. Party92 tackled heavy currents here duringa 3-D survey in this complex field. Diane Danielski , Editor Bill Poplin, Designer fnlntCover:This ceremonialmask with Livia Perez, Typographer incrnstationsof turquoise, se1pemi11e, and ihe/1was unearthed from the archaeological Volume XXXIX, No. 2, Summer/Fal l, 1992. 1ireofTeotihuacan just outside of Mexico Published by and for the employees of City.The mask is from the Mesoamerica Western Geophysical , P.O. Box 2469, Classicera (300 B.C. - 900 AD.). (Photo Houston, TX 77252. Editorial office: 10,001 courtesyof Randy Faris/Ed Stewart Richmond Ave. Houston, TX 77042. Printed Photographers.) in the U.S.A. © 1992 by Western Atlas International , Inc. 0 Thisissue of Profile magazine is printed onpre-consum er recycled paper. MESSAGE th thefiscal year recently Although we cannot rely on last ended, results indicate good year's pe1formance to take us Wpe,formance-in spite of the through the year at hand, we can cost of realigning crews into new use these successful efforts to areas of operation. Such exem­ define our mission. If we are to plary pe,formance is to the credit continue our success, Western of the many Westernersthroughout must make additional improve­ the world and is something of ments in safety, quality,produc­ which we can all be proud. tion, and cost effectiveness.All of The smooth introduction of our these must be accomplished as we four new ships into three operating continue to return a good profit areas (the Guff of Mexico, margin to ensure continued invest­ Asia/Pacific, and the North Sea) is ment in ourfirm. Our technologi­ the result of a dedicated Western cal improvements rely upon such effort. Early resultsfrom the oper­ investments. ations of these new ships clearly We can meet our goals through show that we have progressed to a implementation of total quality new level in both quality and pro­ management. We must focus on duction of marine 3-D data. improved communication with 2 clientsto ensurethat their Each of us at Western can con­ requirementsare being met with tribute to our continued success by theutmost quality. We must listen constantly Lookingfor ways to carefullyto their needs, under­ improve our products and ser­ standtheir requirements thorough­ vices, while making eve1y effort to ly,and make evety effort to eliminate waste and reduce unnec­ prol'idethe services that they essmy spending. And, we must require. continue to address these issues if Someof our clients arefortu­ we are to achieve our goals. natelyrecogni:ing the true value Take an active role in manag­ ofquality seismic products and ing your effectiveness by asking servicesrather than seeking low­ others to be critical of your area of costalternatives. This is essential responsibility.By sharing ideas toWestern's continued innovations and implementing improvements, inseismic technology and long­ Western'spe1formance goals can termresearch programs, as well be reached and even exceeded. asour continuing efforts to Thanks to each of you for a job supportour indushy in thefa ce well done. Keep up the good work. ofconstant political challenges. 3 NEWSBRIEFS A GoldenNight for WesternAtlas FourWA divisions receive Litton awards for technologicalachievement May 14 was a golden night for the Western Geophy ical, Atla Wireline Services, Core Laborator ies, and Western Atlas Software division of Western Atlas. The prestigious Charles B. Thornton Award, the highest recog­ nition in the Litton Industries Awards program, was awarded to Engineering Managers Lee E. Siems. Loring C. Chien, Design Engineer Marvin K. Amerine, and Design Engineer William P. Vorheier of Western Geophysical for development of the WG-24 Seismic Data Acquisition system. Atlas Wireline Services· Project Leader Robert A. Lester and deve lop­ ment team members Marcelo Civarolo, Todd Doan, Edward Domangue, Patricia Domangue, Terry Hinkle, Luis Pelegri, Michael Scherling, Mathew Schmidt, L. Dale Schroeder, and Joyce Thomas were recipients of the 1992 Group Advanced Technology Award for (Leff to righ1) Wes1em Geophysical's Marvin K. Amerine, Loring C. Chien, William P. Vorheier. developmen t of the Segmented Bond and Lee E. Siems received Lillon's prestigio11sCharles 8 . Thornton Award for developmem of Tool (SBT TM). the WG-24 Seismic Data Acq11isitio11System. (Phow by Glen M11se.) Recipients of Advanced Technology Achievement awards included Core Laboratories' Senior Scientist incorporate s unique electrical and opti­ Services SBT developm ent team divid­ Dr. Stanley C. Jone s for development cal technologie s, and, by using 24-bit, ed a$ ] 0,000 prize among its members. of the Pressure- Decay Profile Perrnea­ non-floating -point AID converters and The SBT is an acoustic well logging meter (PDPK-200) system and Western fiber-optic data telemet ry paths, has sig­ device that provides 360-degree sec­ Atlas Software Director of Sale nificantl y improved the quality of tored measurements to simplify cement Technology John R. Wallis for develop­ recorded data. The WG-24 system bond interpretation and cut remedial ment of the BUTZ ® soft ware package. records up to 1,024 channe ls of data cementing and logging costs . Dr. Qiang Zhou, also of Atlas from as many as four cab les deployed Jones and Wallis each received a Wireline Services, received honorab le from the same ship, with cables up to $5,000 honorarium and distinctive mention for his work on the Job Site 6,000 meters long. Western plans to plaques. The first commercially-viable Tool Calibration Device. convert all of its marin e seismic survey­ sys tem to use a press ure-decay penne­ Siems, Chien, Amerine, and Vorheier ing to this new system. abi Iity determ inat ion to measure the of Western Geoph ysical each received The Group Advanced Technology time rate of pressure change of gas $5,000 and a glass sculpture for their Achievem ent Award was offered for the entering a core sample, the PDPK-200 work on the WG-24 system. The system first time this year. The Atlas Wireline system is revolutionizing permeabi lity- 4 NEWSBRIEFS Dr. Stanley C. Jones of Core Laboratories received a Liuon Technological Achievement Awardfo r development of the Pressure Decay Profile Permeameters system. (Photo by Ray Ng.) (Leftto right) Marcelo Civarolo, Terry Hinkle, Luis Pelegri, Robert Leste1;L. Dale Schroede1; MichaelSch erling, Patricia Domangue, Mathew Schmidt, and Edward Domangue of Atlas \VirelineServ ices receiveda Litton Advanced Technology Achievemem Group Awardfor devel­ opme/11of the Segmented Bond Tool (SBT). Not pictured are Joyce Thomas and Todd Doan. (Photoby Glen Muse.) basedreservo ir description. The BLITZ best reflect the firm's continuing com­ softwaresys tem is a component of the mitment to technological excellence . VIP-Executive® family of reservoir Winners of these awards are chosen by simulatorsand provides the ability to a Litton committee of experts from modelthe oil recovery process in com­ patents and licensing, advanced technol­ plexreservoirs and introduce the effects ogy engineering, and planning. ofreservoir heterogeneity , structural Selections are based on creativity discontinuity,and complex fluid behav­ and unique application of each technol­ iorat a fieldscale . ogy, its ability to strengthen the firm's John R. Wallis of Western Atlas Software was Since1 980, Litton's Advanced competitive position, and its potential to the recipient of a Litton Technological TechnologyAchievement Awards pro­ expand Litton's position in new or Achievement Awardfor development of gramhas honored more than 175 men existing markets. BLJ1Z numerical linear solver software. andwomen whose accomplishments (Photo by Glen Muse.) 5 NEWSBRIEFS Regentchristened; construction underway on two morevessels Chatoornamed VP of Data Processing- EAMEregion Reporter Tom Hoymer Joe Chatoor, based in Western 's London office, has been named vice pres ident of The 303-foot- long Western Regent, the data proce ssing for the Eur ope/Africa/ fo urth new vesse l in Western 's seismic Middl e East (EAME) region. He will fleet, was christene d on April 10 by also continue his responsibilities as Mrs. Shirley Boyd, wife of Senior Vice general manager of the London office. President Vic Boyd. Having joined the Chatoor began his career with London fleet, the Regent is now work­ Western in 1968, and has served as area ing in the North Sea. manager of data processing for the Plans are now underway for two EAME region and mana ger of inter­ additional seismic ships, with construc­ national data processing services. tion to begin in mid-August. Hull speci­ ficat ions for these two ships are based on the Pride and Legend design; how­ Cuddusnamed Manager of eve r, length has been increased by Mrs . Shirley Boyd. wife of Senior Vice NavigationServices in London approximate ly 26 feet for an overall President Vic Boyd, christened the Western length of 255 feet. Cost of the two ships Regent in No rway 011 April 10. Also partici­ Ytbar ek Cuddus has been named man­ is approx imately $60 million. pating in the christening ceremony were Yard ager of navigatio n services in Western's Both ships will have four-streamer Manager Andreas Ri11gs1ad (left) and Administra 1ive Director Ivar Myklebos t (sec­ London office.