The Artemis Project: Geology’s Gateway to the Stars
NASA’s Artemis I patch. © NASA. In December 1972, the 17th and last Apollo mission put Harrison Schmitt, the only professional geologist ever to have ventured into space, on the…
Geology & Geophysics
Improving seismic quality
With many of the world’s basins now explored, the search for new hydrocarbons is becoming dependent on improvements in seismic data quality. One of the new acquisition techniques is WesternGeco’s…
The Many Ways Fossils Help Decode the Subsurface
From determining how rocks correlate to reconstructing palaeoenvironments and palaeotemperatures, which is relevant to the petroleum geologist, fossils are of great significance to science and industry While there are lots…
What Drives Continents Apart?
Rather than convection currents within the mantle – could the forces at play be related to the Earth’s velocity? During a visit to Bolivia in 2001, the sight of marine…
Seabed mineral exploration
Seabed mining is very much in the news today, following initiatives from the Norwegian authorities who are encouraging companies and organisations to develop technical solutions to help kick-start and service…
Mitigating Risk with Seismic Forward Modelling
Benefits of seismic forward modelling: mitigating risk is always a focus within the oil and gas industry but it becomes even more crucial in these times, with an ongoing pandemic…
Ray-Based Seismic Modeling
Ray-based seismic modeling has come a long way and the motivation for this is simple enough: performing a modeling study is significantly cheaper than failing in the field! Field managers…
Sustainable Geophysics
In what ways can geophysics be said to add value to society, economic systems and the environment? This was the question three Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG) members asked themselves…
Renewed Interest in CSEM in Oil and Gas Exploration
Controlled Source ElectroMagnetic (CSEM) is a proven technique that has a strong future in helping solve certain oil and gas exploration and production challenges, especially when seismic data alone cannot…
Marine Site Investigation and Reducing Risk
The evolving role of seismic reflection data within offshore site investigation. Marine site investigation is, at heart, about reducing risk. Sometimes it involves minimizing the risk to operations posed by…
Who Needs Geoscientists?
At the time of writing, the world is enduring the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the global economy is struggling. Nonetheless, we should look ahead to a brighter future…
Are Carbonate Reservoirs ‘Difficult’?
Up to 60% of the world’s conventional petroleum is reservoired in carbonate rocks – but they are often regarded with apprehension by the industry. Despite their reputation, carbonate reservoirs are…