WA

Annual student tech night with presentations by several Curtin and UWA students

Vincent Crombez from CSIRO and Tasman Gilfeather-Clark from UWA will present to other young professional members of the ASEG and PESA

Crombez: From cores to stratigraphic modelling: an innovative workflow to characterize unconventional targets. Application to the Montney and Doig Formations (W. Canada)

In self-sourced reservoirs, the occurrence of hydrocarbons is linked with in-situ organic content and thermal maturity, while the effective extraction of this resource depends on the brittleness of the reservoir which is mainly controlled by the mineralogy and the rock fabric. The aim of this study is to improve the understanding of sedimentary heterogeneities in shale plays, based on outcrop and well data from the Triassic Montney and Doig Formation (Fms), lab analyses and numerical modelling.

Our workflow comprises 3 stages: (1) Well correlations, based on sequence stratigraphy, providing an understanding of the 3D stratigraphic architecture of the basin. (2) Integration of Rock-Eval VI, ICP-MS/AES analysis on cores, cuttings and outcrop samples distributed along a basin-wide cross-section highlighting the controls on organic accumulation (dilution, destruction, production). (3) A process-based forward modelling of the stratigraphic evolution of the basin with DionisosFlow, providing a quantification of the controlling factors as well as 3-D distribution of reservoir heterogeneities at basin-scale.

The integration of the geochemical analysis in the stratigraphic framework showed that the organic content in the Montney and Doig Fms is controlled by different combinations of: organic production, dilution and destruction, depending on the location along the depositional profile and on the depositional sequence. The stratigraphic modelling provided the opportunity to understand this complex interaction and study the distribution of organic heterogeneities. The dynamic of dilution, destruction and production processes can thus be spatially and temporally quantified and correlated with the stratigraphic architecture and the dynamic of the basin. Lastly, stratigraphic modelling provided important feedbacks on organic matter accumulation conceptual models and geochemical proxies interpretation.

With in-situ organic content and thermal maturity, while the effective extraction of this resource depends on the brittleness of the reservoir which is mainly controlled by the mineralogy and the rock fabric.

Vincent works at CSIRO as a Post-Doctoral research fellow and he participates as a mentee in the ASEG-PESA Mentoring Program.

Gilfeather-Clark: Machine Learning for Land Classification - A SOM Case Study of Broken Hill   

Self-Organising Maps (SOM) is an unsupervised learning algorithm, used in this work to complete landmass classification analysis of the area to the North of Broken Hill. An examination of current ML landmass classification methodologies is introduced followed by a brief review of SOM. Applications of SOM for mineralisation targeting and data QC are identified in a data rich setting. The results of the study confirm the efficiency of the SOM algorithm for clustering lithological groups in land classification studies. Perhaps most notable is SOM’s ability to highlight variation in cover without needing to assign labels, which has been identified as a key aspect moving forward in Australia’s mining future, when considering the vast expanses of Australia which is composed of sub cropping rock.

Tasman completed Bsc. Geology and Geophysics in 2014 at Macquarie University. He then worked in exploration geophysics surveying with various junior exploration companies for a year doing IP, Gravity, & Magnetics Surveys around Australia. He returned to Macquarie to complete a Masters of Research under Dr Kate Selway studying the relationship between grain-size and conductivity over a shear zone near the Musgraves in central Australia. During his Masters he was co-chair of GESSS NSW conference committee and team leader of the Team Macquarie's submission to the Frank Arnott Award, where he worked with David Pratt of Tensor Research and Bruce Dixon formerly of CSIRO, on the work he's presenting tonight. He's recently moved to Perth to complete a PhD with the Center for Exploration Targeting at UWA under Prof. Eun Jung Holden of the Geo Data algorithms team.

With the proliferation of fibre-optic cables, has emerged an increased level of interest in their use as sensors. With the employment of appropriate hardware, cables can be used for  both temperature and vibration monitoring

More details.

Digital Disruption in Exploration: A Symposium on Disruptive Innovation in Resource Exploration

http://cess-dde.com/

UWA Woolnough Society Wine and Cheese night

September 14, 630-830pm

UWA Edward de Courcy Clark Science Museum, Perth

https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=416773&

Using microgravity to monitor groundwater storage and usage in an urban woodland environment – Kings Park, Western Australia

Alan Aitken, UWA 

PESA ASEG 31th annual Golf Classic 2018

Friday 9th November at the Araluen Golf Resort

The Classic is one of the most pleasant and well-attended oil and mineral industry golf tournaments held in Perth with recent years enjoying attendances of 100 + players.This year we have selected the tournament to be held at,Araluen Golf Resort, on Friday 9th November 2018. Built high up in the Roleystone hills, the fairways are lush, and the greens are smooth, undulating and fast. The course presents wondrous views of wooded valleys below, with some holes stretching from the tee over the horizon. Some of you may recall the challenge and beauty of this course from recent years of the PESA-ASEG Golf Classic.

ASEG / PESA Members: $160

Non-members: $210

There are limits on player numbers, so early registration is advised.

More details here

Seismic Full Waveform Inversion for Fundamental Scientific and Industrial Problems.

Seismic waveform inversion is a powerful method used to quantify the elastic property of the subsurface. Although the development of seismic waveform inversion started in the early 1980s and was applied to solve scientific problems, it became popular in industry only about 15 years ago. One of the key elements in the success of seismic waveform inversion has been the increase of the acquisition of long offset seismic data from 3 km in the early 1990s to more than 15 km today. Not only did long offset data provide refraction arrivals, but it also allowed recording of wide-angle reflections, including critical angles, providing unique information about the subsurface geology.

In this talk, I will elaborate on the early development of the seismic full waveform inversion (FWI) and its application to solve fundamental scientific problems. The first big success of FWI was its application to gas hydrate reflections, also known as bottom simulating reflection (BSR), which showed that the
BSRs are mainly due the presence of a small amount of free methane gas, not a large amount of hydrates stored above the BSR, and hence the total amount of methane stored in marine sediments should be much less than previously estimated. A second major success of FWI was its application to quantify the characteristics of the axial melt lens observed beneath ocean spreading centers. The seismic full waveform inversion results show that one can distinguish between pure melt and partially molten mush within a 50 m thick melt lens, allowing to link the melt delivery from the mantle with the hydrothermal circulation on the seafloor. The application of full waveform inversion to spreading center problems has become an important area of research.

Unlike in sedimentary environment, the seafloor in general scientific environment could be very rough and water depth could be deep, making it very difficult to use the conventional method of background velocity estimation. To address this issue, the surface seismic data could be downward continued to the seafloor, as if both streamer and sources were placed on the seafloor, similar to land geometry. This method allows to bring the refraction starting from zero offset to far offset, which is extremely useful for full waveform inversion of first arrivals. The downward continuation also allows to reduce the seafloor diffraction, increase the moveout of reflection arrivals, and enhance wide-angle reflections, all important for seismic full waveform inversion. The application of a combination of downward continuation and FWI has allowed to quantify gas anomalies in sedimentary basins and fluids at subduction fronts. The waveform inversion also has been used to monitor CO 2 sequestration.

I will explain the intricacy of FWI, based on the physics of waves, specifically the role of amplitudes and converted waves in addressing fundamental scientific problems. The presentation should interest professionals working in the oil and gas sectors, or crustal studies and global seismology.

More details and biography.

EAGE Australasian Workshop on Continuous Improvement in 4D Seismic

4D seismic is well established for monitoring of conventional reservoirs during production. Approaches vary from occasional repeat streamer surveys to frequent monitoring by means of permanent surface or seabed arrays of receivers. The industry has had most success to date with oil fields, but application of 4D seismic to gas fields is also becoming the norm. Successful 4D programs add substantial value by allowing multi-discipline subsurface teams to update their models, optimise the field drainage plan, and avoid drilling unnecessary or poorly-sited wells. However, the demands of increasingly complex reservoirs, and the imperative to contain costs in the current industry climate, require continuous improvement in 4D surveying, processing and evaluation technologies.

The workshop will update on the latest ideas, technologies and industry practice in 4D seismic reservoir monitoring, especially related to industry challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. It will be a perfect avenue to exchange experiences through networking, share dynamic discussions on theoretical aspects, best practices and case studies.

The EAGE calls upon geoscientists and engineers interested in planning, executing and evaluating reservoir monitoring programs using 4D seismic to contribute to the technical programme. Speakers interested to present at the workshop are welcome to contact Event Manager, Ruth Dass with a title and brief abstract before Friday, 27 July 2018.

More details here