WA

The WA Branch of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists invites current active members to attend our upcoming ASEG WA Branch Tech night event at our new venue in CBD at Yagan Square, but still with the usual snacks and drinks provided. Note that there is plenty of public transportation, and, if need be, paid parking is available at nearby Wilson Parking - 427 Murray St - Google Maps. The venue has wheelchair accessibility. The details of the speech title and the author's bio are provided below.
 

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aseg-wa-branch-event-september-2021-tech-night-tickets-167719783387

Speech title: Downhole Assays via Elemental Spectroscopy
Speaker: Jennifer Market, Geophysics Manager, Epiroc's Kinetic Logging Services

Talk summary: 
Pulsed neutron wireline tools were introduced to the Australian iron ore industry in 2011 to deliver "downhole assays" and since then, the technology has developed into a reliable and efficient means of supplementing and even replacing traditional assay analysis. 
Not only are there safety benefits through reduced site exposure, but the technology allows for better vertical resolution and near-real-time results. The potential cost savings can be significant, with some companies stating that downhole assays are currently saving them ten million dollars a year compared to conventional methods.
Not only can the technology be used to grade iron ore at the site, but it can also measure percentages of minor elements such as silicon, aluminium, copper, nickel, titanium, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, and sodium, as well as hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, and carbon. They can also measure proxies for LOI (loss on ignition).  The sampling resolution is generally 10-20 cm - considerably higher than the typical 2 metre sampling used in conventional assay in the Pilbara, allowing for less assumptions about minor element distribution.  The depth of investigation approximately 30-50 cm which also gives a more representative sample. 
This presentation will begin with a description of pulsed fast and thermal neutron activation technology as implemented in the downhole assay environment, paying attention to the calibration methods. Then, a case study will be presented in detail, discussing the data acquisition and calibration programme. The results of the downhole assay compared to traditional assay will be discussed, considering the pros and cons of each method.
 

Speaker Bio: 

Jennifer Market is the Geophysics Manager for Epiroc's Kinetic Logging Services, with 20+ years' experience in research and development of mineral logging (mining) and oilfield technologies and applications with particular expertise in downhole assays, acoustics and geomechanics.

REGISTRATION and RSVP are REQUIRED on or before 30th August to give our hosts at Shoe Bar enough time to properly set up their venue. ASEG WA Branch would like to give thanks to sponsors for their continuous support.

Please email wasecretary@aseg.org.au with any queries or for additional information. Kindly rsvp in the below link to get a spot as seats are limited. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Industry Mentoring Program 2021 - Workshop No. 3

Date & Venue: Tuesday 20th July 2021

Registration from 5 pm 5:30 pm - 7.00 pm workshop, 7.00 -8.30 pm Networking

RubixBar, 334 Murray Street, Perth (Opposite Belgian Beer Café)

Registration link

Industry Mentoring Program 2021 - Workshop No. 3

About this event

Networking Made Easy

Not everyone finds networking easy, but it’s a big part of being successful in your career or business. So it’s important to be good at it.

If you’ve been wondering…

Why is it so hard to carry on a CONVERSATION?

How do I EXPAND my network?

How do I network if I’M AN INTROVERT?

I’m WORKING REMOTELY, how do I keep networking?

Would I get that JOB OR PROMOTION if I was better at networking?

How do I RECONNECT with people in my network who I have fallen out of touch with?

How do I turn networking into ACTUAL BUSINESS?

What is the SECRET to networking? …

… then you won’t want to miss this important presentation.

Guest Speaker: Ron Gibson

Ron Gibson is a recognised leader in the field of networking. His 150-plus presentations each year distil nearly three decades of practical networking know-how he has gained from building his own successful business, exclusively from relationships he builds and a strong word-of-mouth reputation. In this workshop, Ron will share specific how-to advice for making networking easy, effective and rewarding

Program:

5.00 pm - 5.30 pm Registration

5.30 pm - 7.00 pm Workshop

7.00 pm - 8.30 pm Networking & nibbles

Sponsorship

For the first time, the Joint Industry Mentoring initiative is offering various sponsorship packages for the 2021 program. More information is available here.

The Joint Industry Mentoring Program is an initiative by the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Engineers Australia, Petroleum Club of WA, Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA), Society of Petroleum Engineers WA (SPE), Society for Underwater Technology, Subsea Energy Australia (SEA) and Women in Subsea Engineering (WISE).

This development has been a voluntary collaboration between individuals and organisations involved in Subsea Engineering in Australia. This year SUT is looking after the organisation of the program and this is the first of a 5-event series.

Contact: SUT (08) 9481 0999 or perthevents@sut.org

ASEG WA - July Tech Night event
Date & Venue:
Thursday 22nd July 2021
5:30 pm start - 7.30pm end
The Shoe Bar
Shop GSO7 Yagan Square
376 - 420 Wellington St
Perth CBD

The WA Branch of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists invites you to attend our upcoming ASEG WA Branch Tech night event at our new venue in CBD at Yagan Square, but still with the usual snacks and drinks provided. Note that there is plenty of public transportation, and, if need-be, paid parking is available at nearby Wilson Parking - 427 Murray St - Google Maps. The venue has wheelchair accessibility. The details of the speech title and the author's bio are provided below.

Speech title: Kamchatka (Russia) Nickel Project Geophysics
Speaker: Paul Mutton, Consulting Geophysicist, Touchstone Geophysics

Talk summary: For those that enjoy challenging projects, stunning scenery, or a place teeming with exploration potential, Kamchatka is the jackpot. Paul has been working and visiting there regularly since 2017 for a nickel exploration project and will present some of the issues and results for some of the surveys. Principle techniques have been Time Domain EM (Drill hole, Ground, Airborne), drone magnetic surveys, and petrophysics. Vodka not included.

Speaker Bio: Paul Mutton is a born and educated West Australian Geophysicist. After a career start as a WMC graduate in the nickel mines of Kambalda, he joined Southern Geoscience Consultants about 20 years ago, firstly as an employee and finally as shareholding Consultant. He left in 2014 to continue consulting independently through his consultancy, Touchstone Geophysics. He thoroughly enjoys travelling and particularly enjoys distant or challenging projects, particularly those with an opportunity for pushing the envelope.

REGISTRATION and RSVP are REQUIRED (click this link) on or before 20th July to give our hosts at Shoe Bar enough time to properly set up their venue. ASEG WA Branch would like to give thanks to sponsors for their continuous support.

Please email wasecretary@aseg.org.au with any queries or for additional information. Kindly rsvp in the below link to get a spot as seats are limited. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

ASEG WA - June Tech Night and Student Award event
Date & Venue:
Thursday 24th June 2021
5:30 pm start - 7.30pm end
The Shoe Bar
Shop GSO7 Yagan Square
376 - 420 Wellington St
Perth CBD

The WA Branch of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists invites you to attend our upcoming ASEG WA Branch Tech night event at our new venue in CBD at Yagan Square, but still with the usual snacks and drinks provided. Note that there is plenty of public transportation, and, if need-be, paid parking is available at nearby Wilson Parking - 427 Murray St - Google Maps. The venue has wheelchair accessibility. The details of the speech title and the author's bio are provided below.

Speech title: The Value of Geophysical Information at the Time of Drilling
Speaker: Dave Lawie, Chief Geoscientist and Chief Technologist, IMDEX

Overview:

The transition to a decarbonized future starts and ends with metals — but there can be no start without the mining industry. Billions of dollars have been allocated globally to improve battery technology and production, electric vehicle production, and storage and charging infrastructure, but where are the key metals and minerals coming from? There are limited supplies to meet increasing demand.

Miners big and small will be required to find, define and mine the crucial metals of the future, including copper for renewable energy infrastructure such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and charging stations; lithium and cobalt for lithium-ion batteries; rare earth and critical minerals; and aluminum, silver, nickel, lead, and zinc. Mining companies in a decarbonized future will have to be adept at finding and supplying these metals from increasingly remote and challenging environments. The difference between success and failure, between an economic and uneconomic deposit will be greater orebody knowledge, which will deliver improved processing intensity, less waste, fewer tailings, less water use, and greater overall efficiencies.

Mining companies able to access reliable data as early as possible at each step of the mining value chain from exploration and drilling, to planning and production, will be in the best position to deliver the metals the world will demand.

Speaker Bio: Dave holds the dual roles of Chief Geoscientist and Chief Technologist – Mining for IMDEX. Prior to joining IMDEX, Dave held global positions in exploration geochemistry and R&D with Pasminco and Anglo American before co-founding ioGlobal in 2004 as Managing Director.

Dave grew ioGlobal into a global company specializing in geochemistry and geometallurgical consulting services, cloud-based data management, and the ioGAS desktop analytics software– the company was acquired by IMDEX in 2012.

Dave has a PhD in Geosciences and Analytics from the University of New England and a trade qualification as an Instrument Technician. 

ASEG WA Branch will also felicitate ASEG WA 2020 student award to four students. REGISTRATION and RSVP are REQUIRED before 22nd June to give our hosts at Shoe Bar enough time to properly set up their venue. ASEG WA Branch would like to give thanks to sponsors for their continuous support.

Please email wasecretary@aseg.org.au with any queries or for additional information. Kindly rsvp at this link to get a spot as seats are limited. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Time series clustering and class-based machine learning in predicting elastic properties of rocks: why, how, what, and so what

Shuvajit Bhattacharya, Ph.D., Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin

Multivariate time series clustering and class-based machine learning (ML) are relatively new concepts in geosciences; they have an immense potential to improve our models and provide more geologic insights than traditional baseline ML models. Seismic and wireline logs are a form of time series or depth series that share interdependence or conditional dependence with each other, depending on the rock type. Moreover, seismic and log data are highly redundant from an ML modeling perspective. We often do not consider these fundamental features of our datasets in ML models. This results in reduced explainability and troubleshooting of ML models and our models' failure when the boundary conditions change slightly. This talk will discuss the promises and challenges of semi-supervised time series clustering and class-based ML to solve these challenges. I will show an example of accurately and consistently predicting elastic properties of mudrocks using these concepts.

Biography: Dr. Bhattacharya is a researcher at the Bureau of Economic Geology, UT Austin. He is an applied geophysicist/petrophysicist by background. Prior to joining BEG, he worked with the University of Alaska Anchorage, Battelle, and other organizations in different roles, such as an assistant professor and petroleum geoscientist. He completed multiple projects for fossil fuel and geothermal energy exploration and carbon sequestration in the US, Australia, South Africa, and India. He has published over 50 technical articles in different journals and conferences.

To register, use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yKwFn9ZGR3e1ddp-G22zTQ

Title: Basin-wide and multi-scenario modeling of rock property and AVO feasibility volumes

Presenter: Dr. Per Avseth

Please see the Zoom link for the 18th May webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-9wBWxOITtOYopFbRpVYpA

Summary:

One of the key tasks within the field of geoscience is to obtain a better understanding of the subsurface rock properties using remote sensing techniques (e.g., seismic and CSEM) and/or selected modelling tools. In mature areas with many wells and good quality seismic data, a data-driven approach can be used to predict rock properties between wells. In areas with limited well control and/or complex geology, we still rely on models to understand expected changes in rock properties between/away from wells, even though the seismic data is of good quality. Integration of geology and geophysics is a key to optimally select, constrain, and calibrate rock physics models. Lack of well log data can make it challenging to quantify uncertainties, but a scenario-based modeling with alternative geological scenarios and sensitivity testing of key input parameters can help us to better understand and possibly reduce the uncertainties away from well control.  In this presentation, I will demonstrate how a scenario-based feasibility modelling of rock physics properties, constrained by local geological inputs (mineralogy, facies, temperature, burial history, etc.) can give valuable information, that can be utilized before new seismic data are acquired (e.g., to decide whether certain types of data like AVO will be beneficial or not), or they can be used to guide the quantitative seismic interpretation of existing seismic data. 

Bio:

Per Avseth is a geophysical advisor and CTO of Dig Science in Oslo, Norway, and a part-time researcher at the Dept. of Electronic Systems at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.  Per received his M.Sc. in Applied Petroleum Geosciences from NTNU in 1994, and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University, California, in 2000. Per worked as a research geophysicist at Norsk Hydro in Bergen, Norway (2001-2006), a consultant at Rock Physics Technology (2006-2008) and Odin Petroleum (2008-2012) in Bergen, and as a geophysical advisor at Tullow Oil in Oslo (2012-2016). He held a position as an adjunct professor in reservoir geophysics at the Dept. of Petroleum and Geoscience at NTNU from 2008-2020. Per was the SEG Honorary Lecturer for Europe in 2009. He is a co-author of the book Quantitative Seismic Interpretation (Cambridge University Press, 2005), and has published extensively in the fields of rock physics and AVO analysis. His current research focuses on basin-scale rock physics and integration of basin modeling, sedimentology and rock physics.

ASEG WA February 2021- Student Tech Night

Venue: The Shoe Bar
Tuesday 23  February 2021
5:30 pm start, 6-7 pm presentation
The Shoe Bar
Shop GSO7 Yagan Square
376 - 420 Wellington St
Perth CBD

The WA Branch of the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists is excited to invite you to our first face-to-face live ASEG WA Tech Night in 2021. We are trying out a new venue in CBD at Yagan Square, but still with the usual snacks and drinks provided. Note that there is plenty of public transportation, and, if need-be, paid parking is available at nearby Wilson Parking - 427 Murray St - Google Maps. - Also, for those of you who missed 2021's AGM bash and its handouts, your 50th Anniversary baseball caps will be available to take back home with you. And, once again, we'd like to thank our sponsors for their continued support for 2021 and the future.

For this meeting, we are hosting our upcoming Student Tech Night presented by local WA Honours, Masters or PhD Students from UWA and Curtin.
       Four students will give short presentations on their recent work in the field of geophysics at this annual student night. Attendees will be asked to vote on the best presentation, and one student will be awarded a prize courtesy of the WA branch.

Speakers:

1) Partha Pratim Mandal
Title: Geomechanical characterization of unconventional gas shale - Example from Goldwyer shale formation
 
Bio: Partha Pratim Mandal is a PhD student at Western Australia School of Mines, Curtin University and currently works on geomechanical characterization of unconventional gas shale in the onshore Canning Basin. His research work focuses on in experimental design and assessment of geomechanical properties under in-situ condition, viscoelastic creep response, ultrasonic recording, computation of elastic anisotropy, geomechanical modelling (1D and 3D) and hydraulic fracturing of unconventional gas shale. He is recipient of several student awards from PESA, AAPG and AIG.
 
2) John Shepherd
Title: Quantitative 3D seismic stratigraphy of the Bight Basin, southern Australian margin: Preliminary findings
 
Bio: John Shepherd is currently undertaking a petroleum-based PhD in quantitative seismic stratigraphy at the Centre for Energy Geoscience, UWA. His research focusses on investigating shelf-margin architecture and deep-water sand delivery in the Bight Basin. He is employed part-time as a geology tutor and swims competitively.
 
3) Sofya Popik
Title: P-Wave Anisotropy Estimation from 3D VSP Data Acquired with Geophones and DAS at Otway Site.
 
Bio: Sofya Popik is a PhD candidate in Exploration Geophysics at Curtin University, Australia. She completed her BSc and MSc degrees in Geophysics at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia. Sofya's PhD is in seismic monitoring. It focuses on integration of borehole and surface seismic monitoring techniques in CO2 geosequestration projects. This research project proposes to optimize acquisition of the monitor surveys using collaborative analysis of borehole seismic and surface seismic data. 
 
 4) Muhammad Atif Iqbal
Title: Petrophysical rock typing integrated with mechanical stratigraphy to identify producible and brittle layers in gas shale plays.
 
Bio: Mr. Muhammad Atif Iqbal is currently a PhD candidate in Western Australia School of Mines (WASM), Curtin University. His PhD research is focused on heterogeneity understanding through high-resolution multiscale (analytical and machine learning-based) rock typing to identify producible and brittle layers in gas shale plays. He has more than six years of industry and research experience as a Geoscientist with petroleum and mineral exploration companies. His expertise lies in core logging, formation evaluation, petrophysics and reservoir characterisation

Please rsvp in the link here to get a spot as seats are limited. We are looking forward to see you there.

Presenter: Ain Nadrah Noor Sazali, Iraya Energies

Title: CASE STUDY :  Efficient exploration in the Bonaparte Basin Using Unstructured Data Analytics with ElasticDocs

Abstract:

Mining and Oil and Gas companies are awash with data from many different disciplines, the amount of data is growing exponentially and is estimated to double every 12 to 18 months. The diversity of the available data is such that it is impossible for any single user to efficiently access this information and knowledge. In recent years, these industries have been turning to finding new ways of tackling this challenge, using Big Data and Machine Learning technologies. In Iraya, we have developed ElasticDocs^TM,  an intuitive knowledge container, capable of automatically ingesting and structuring reports, images and presentation using machine learning.

We will present a case study covering the entire Bonaparte Basin for Play Based Exploration (here, for Oil and Gas potential).The technology will be used to address the five most common potential challenges during a geological study: (i) Discrepancies in formation tops, (ii) Limited understanding of lithology distribution, (iii) Limited mineral composition understanding, (iv) Fluid distribution, (v) Pressure/temperature patterns. We will demonstrate how such analysis can be conducted in ElasticDocs and how much time and resources are saved by the geoscientist mining these vast amounts of unstructured data such as reports (G&G, drilling, production), presentations (studies, analysis, summaries), images (cores, thin sections), spreadsheets and tables.

Bio:

Ain Nadrah Noor Sazali is a Digital Earth Scientist in Iraya Energies. With her diverse background of domain expertise (geology, petrophysics) and  also in Data Science, she designs and deploys innovative machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions for unstructured data using ElasticDocs to support the geoscientists and engineers decision making. She holds a MSc in Petroleum Geology, a BSc in Industrial andComputational Mathematics, and a Diploma in Science Physics.

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5ncAhPosQSiGWO-b-JP8Vw

On Tuesday 2 February, 3:30pm AEDT FedEx is bringing you a talk by Dr Mehdi Tork Qashqai from the CSIRO on Seismic imaging of the crust using Bayesian joint Inversion of teleseismic P-wave coda autocorrelation waveforms.

Deep crustal-scale structures are critical for controlling and development of a wide range of mineral deposits. Incoming seismic waves generated from teleseismic earthquakes can be used to image the deep crustal structures. Traveltimes of the teleseismic P and mode-converted S-waves and their reverberations place a tight constraint on the Vp/Vs ratio, and their amplitude ratio provides tight bounds on the P and S wave velocity jumps across the main discontinuities/boundaries in the subsurface structure below a seismic receiver. Teleseismic P-to-S converted waveforms have been used for decades to estimate the shear-wave velocity of the subsurface and depths of major discontinuities below a seismic receiver through a method known as the P receiver functions. In this presentation, a new and alternative approach is presented. Waveforms associated with the P and all mode-converted shear waves are extracted by the autocorrelation of the teleseismic P-wave coda recorded on the radial and vertical component of a three-component receiver. Then, these waveforms are jointly inverted using a probabilistic joint inversion framework to simultaneously estimate seismic properties of the crust (Vp, Vs and Vp/Vs). This approach is particularly useful when there are no high-quality and reliable receiver function waveforms. This approach is cost-effective and can be used in conjunction with the inversion of receiver function, or the deep active seismic reflection profiling to obtain additional/complementary information on the subsurface structure, especially at middle and lower crustal depths where the deep seismic reflection method has penetration problem. In this presentation, I will show some synthetic and real data examples to confirm the feasibility of this imaging technique and also to encourage further application of this approach.

Bio:

In November 2012, Mehdi joined the PhD program at Geodynamic and Geophysics group at Macquarie university in Sydney, Australia. His research focused on the development and implementation of a multi-parameter geophysical inverse modelling tool known as “LitMod”. In August 2016, Mehdi completed his PhD thesis entitled “Multi-observable Probabilistic Inversion for the Thermochemical Structure of the Lithosphere". Prior to his doctoral study, he was working in the oil and gas exploration industry for 6 years as a seismic processing and team leader geophysicist, delivering processing, imaging, and quantitative interpretation of seismic data. He joined the CSIRO Deep Earth Imaging Future Science Platform (DEI FSP) in July 2017 as a postdoctoral fellow. He is currently a research scientist at CSIRO DEI FSP and his main research in the “Geoscience Imaging” pillar of the DEI research is focused on the developing and application of new passive seismic imaging approaches to obtain better tomographic models of subsurface structure across multiple scales (e.g., from exploration-scale to lithospheric-scale). 

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JKe1Im6oSTmmBSh9h7EnSg