From Moscow to Mohkínstsis
“I was the first generation of students that graduated in the Soviet Union without having a job lined up for me,” says Svetlana Bidikhova. “When I started university, few people…
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How to stand your ground as a YP working in the oil and gas industry?
“Let’s not forget that the oil and gas industry is not the sole source for the environmental problems the world is facing,” wrote one of the young professionals during the…
The evolution of fault interpretation
Before the advent of 3D seismic data in the 1980s and 2D seismic in the 1970s, subsurface geologists typically depicted or interpreted faults as vertical or nearly vertical. Consequently, these…
Embracing uncertainty in geothermal exploration
“If we can’t discuss uncertainty, we won’t go anywhere.” Geothermal Radar’s co-founder Philip Ball is adamant about what is currently lacking in the planning of new geothermal exploration wells. “Where…
What is a good source rock?
I recently worked in a well-established basin with proven hydrocarbon accumulations. To my surprise, all reports and published papers routinely talked about local source rocks with barely 1 % Total…
AI and the future of subsurface discovery: Are we asking the right questions?
The question at the heart of geoethics today isn’t just whether we should use artificial intelligence (AI) in geoscience, it’s how we use it, to what end, and what that…
Storing radwaste: Transcending the limits of geoscience
Today, we have an estimated total of 370,000 to 400,000 tons of spent radioactive waste globally, which is the equivalent of 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools, that have been generated since…
DUG Elastic MP-FWI Imaging: From field data to quantitative interpretation
DUG Elastic MP-FWI Imaging delivers high-resolution elastic rock property outputs for quantitative interpretation — directly from field data. DUG Elastic MP-FWI Imaging is a unique approach to seismic processing and…
A pragmatic approach to seabed mining
“I do obviously worry about the ecosystems down at the seafloor,” says biologist Annemiek Vink from the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) in Hannover when we meet on Teams.…
Basin modelling in the age of AI: A partnership, not a replacement
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are now part of many professional domains – from healthcare to engineering – and the subsurface is no exception. In basin and…
DUG Elastic MP-FWI Imaging: Better physics, better results
The Earth is inherently elastic. As data processing has advanced to better honour physics, we have continually refined our ability to understand the subsurface. Land seismic data, such as the…
Technology is always missing in the debate about seabed mineral extraction
“If you talk to organisations opposing seabed mineral extraction,” says Annemiek Vink, “they all speak about the terrible environmental damage that this will cause. But none of them relate this…