SAGEEP 2018 Short Courses

Short Course Topics 

Short Course Chair Janet Simms announces the slate of full-day educational offerings at SAGEEP 2018 on two days during SAGEEP 2018:  Sunday, March 25, the first day of SAGEEP, and Thursday, March 29, 2018, the last day.  Course prices will be available soon!  Visit the Registration Information web page when SAGEEP opens online registration.

Sunday March 25, 2018

SC-1: Passive Surface Wave Methods: Theory and Practice  
Instructors: Instructors: Don Zhao, Geogiga Technology Corp.; Antony J. Martin, GEOVision, Inc.; Mike Ostrzenski, Geogiga Technology Corp.
Time:  8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Course Description:
Surface wave methods are commonly used for estimating shear wave velocity profiles. Compared with active surface wave data, passive surface wave data contains much stronger low-frequency energy, allowing for greater depth of investigation. There are a variety of methods for analyzing passive surface waves, however an appropriate method should be carefully chosen for data acquired under certain circumstances as each method has pros and cons. 

This short course will explain the most important concepts of passive surface wave methods. Emphasis will be placed on different analysis methods and a comprehensive comparison, factors influencing the depth of investigation, and the combination of active and passive surface wave data.

This one-day course will cover following topics:
• Signal processing fundamentals for surface wave methods
• How and why surface wave methods work
• Different passive surface wave methods
• Data acquisition
• Data processing
• Special applications of surface waves

Attendees will need to bring a Windows-based laptop to run surface wave modeling and data processing software included in Seismic ProTM. All attendees will receive a free copy of Surface RT — passive surface wave real-time monitoring software.

SC-2: GPR Principles, Practice & Processing
Instructors:  Dr. Nectaria Diamanti; Steve Cosway, Sensors & Software
Time:  8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Course Description:
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a non-invasive subsurface exploration technique that has found widespread application in areas including near-surface geology (< 100 meters), geotechnical and environmental surveys, mine safety, forensics, archaeology, utility location, concrete inspection, snow thickness measurements and glaciology.  This one-day course will: introduce the principles of GPR and GPR instrumentation, discuss survey design, provide hands-on data acquisition with a GPR system and explore data interpretation (including common pitfalls), data processing and data visualization in 2D and 3D.  The course also includes case studies of common and not-so-common applications of the technology.  No prerequisites required.  Students will receive printed course notes and a memory stick with a PDF copy of a GPR textbook written by Dr. Peter Annan, the CEO and founder of Sensors & Software.  Students need to come prepared to work for 2-3 hours outside and, if interested, bring a PC-based laptop with a fully charged battery for the data processing portion of the course.  The laptop should have Google Earth installed, if possible.

CANCELLED:  SC-3: What’s NEW! in Slimline Borehole Geophysical Logging?  New!  Special Guest Speaker John Stowell will Discuss Recent Trends and New Technologies
Course Provider:  Mount Sopris Equipment Co., Inc.
Instructors:  Jim LoCoco, Taylor Weber, Lia Martinez / Mount Sopris Instrument Company, Inc.
Time:  8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Course Description:
New downhole geophysical logging tools and associated software are now available to the near surface geophysical community. This short course and workshop will bring you up-to-date on these new technologies. The morning segments will include discussion on two new technology borehole logging tools.

Spectral induced polarization (SIP) methodology is a relatively new technique in exploration & near surface geophysics, and borehole SIP has not come to the mainstream yet; however, proof of principle testing and validation is ongoing. Borehole SIP testing and comparison to NMR and other classical porosity and permeability estimation tools will be presented. Rutgers University and others are leading the way in the advancement of SIP into the borehole environment. Kemna et al in 2012 described recent results of laboratory testing. Slater (2007, 2016) reviewed geophysical literature focusing on the estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) from SIP and other measurements. Our short course will address these concepts, applying to new 2018 borehole SIP data. The SIP measurement sweeps the surrounding geo-media with a range of sine wave currents at frequencies ranging from about 1 mHz to about 20 kHz. Impedance |Z| and phase ϕ are determined by correlating induced voltage U and stimulus current I. Examples will be presented. SIP applications are related to its unique (relative to other geophysical methods) sensitivity to the interfacial properties of porous materials. Firstly, SIP is sensitive to fundamental pore geometric properties (surface area to pore volume, critical pore diameter) controlling fluid flow and therefore offers outstanding opportunities for geophysical estimation of permeability. This short course will summarize the explosion of papers describing links between SIP parameters and permeability in the recent literature.

Of interest to near surface geophysicists is a new generation, non-radioactive source neutron tool that delivers in-situ porosity estimates in saturated media, and moisture- content profiling in the vadose zone. This innovative solution will provide a welcome addition for well loggers and geophysicists who are restricted from using Am-Be or Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) sources. Using the 4 Curie equivalent, high-output, long-life electric Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) fusion neutron generator, the QL40-nGEN provides radiation on/off capability, increasing safety for operators and the environment, while reducing regulatory burden associated with radioactive sources. Our short course will discuss applications, including:

Semi-quantitative In-situ Porosity
Petrophysical Properties
Aquifer Quality and Delineation
Moisture Content of Unsaturated Media
Gas-liquid contact delineation

The afternoon session will include new WellCAD version 5.2 processing features.

The new NMR module offers a set of processes to derive total porosity, fluid volumes and permeability (Timur Coates and Schlumberger-Doll-Research) from T2 distribution data. It also provides a dedicated workspace where the user can examine T2 data in detail, add T2 cutoffs and adjust the cutoff times for each imported or interactively defined zone individually. While changing the cutoff time on top of the T2 data the fluid volumes and permeability calculations update in real-time and provide an immediate answer product to the user. Workspace and processes are tool manufacturer independent.

The afternoon session will also include a session on the latest features of WellCAD’s ISI (Image and Structure Interpretation) module, including the color classification algorithm for core and optical televiewer images, along with advances to basic WellCAD features:

Join us for this informative short course and workshop! We promise a few surprises as well!

SC-7:  "Satellite InSAR Data: Reservoir Monitoring from Space"
Course Provider:  EAGE
Instructor:  Alessandro Ferretti
Time: 8:30 a.m. -  4:30 p.m.
Course Description:
Satellite radar data for surface deformation monitoring is gaining increasing attention, and not only within the oil and gas community. It provides a powerful tool for remotely measuring extremely small surface displacements over large areas and long periods of time, without requiring the installation of in-situ equipment. However, apart from remote sensing and radar specialists, only a relatively small number of geoscientists and engineers understand how a radar sensor orbiting the Earth at about 7 km/s from 700km above the Earth's surface can actually measure ground displacements of a fraction of a centimeter.

This course provides a step-by-step introduction to satellite radar sensors, SAR imagery, SAR interferometry and advanced InSAR techniques. Rather than a tutorial for remote sensing specialists, the course starts from very basic concepts and explains in plain language the most important ideas related to SAR data processing and why geoscientists and engineers should take a vested interest in this new information source. Instead of providing a thorough analysis of InSAR algorithms, the main aim of the course is to diffuse the news about the potential impact of InSAR results on many real-life applications, highlighting where and when they can provide effective solutions. Participants will learn that InSAR is not only an information source for research and development activities, but also a reliable tool that can be applied successfully to many different applications, spanning from sinkhole detection to reservoir optimization. Special attention will be paid to oil and gas applications where surface deformation data can provide valuable constraints on reservoir dynamics, enabling time-lapse monitoring of volumetric strains at depth. Volume changes in the reservoir induced by fluid extraction and injection can induce both subsidence and uplift. Stress changes may then trigger the reactivation of faults and threaten well integrity. Depending on the depth of the reservoir and the characteristics of the cap rock, deformation may also be detectable at the surface. After demonstrating case studies focussing on secondary and tertiary oil recovery, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and Underground Gas Storage (UGS), allowing participants to understand the strengths and limitations of satellite radar data and compare InSAR with other in situ observations, the course will describe the available historical archives of SAR images, allowing, even if not at full worldwide coverage, the estimation of surface deformation phenomena since 1992.

The course will conclude with a brief discussion of the new satellite sensors to be launched in the next few years and the new trends in data integration and visualization.

Thursday March 29, 2018

SC-4: From AEM data to 3D hydrogeological conceptual model  
Instructors: Tom Martlev Pallesen, MSc, Chief Geologist, and Mats Lundh Gulbrandsen, Ph.D., R&D Consultant Geophysicist, I*GIS A/S
Time:  8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Course Description:
Groundwater mapping and hydrogeological conceptual modelling, using AEM data is a “hot topic”. The GeoScene3D Team at IGIS is a part of the Danish suite of technical solution providers in this area, and has a deep expertise and experience.

In this course we will dive into the process of building a 3D conceptual model from scratch using AEM and other data types. This “hands-on” course goes through the practicalities in modelling using the GeoScene3D software. We will dive into how you get the most of your AEM data. We will look into traditional manual modelling techniques as well as Machine Learning tools for inspecting AEM data and doing the modelling. This includes the GeoScene3D clustering tools for AEM data, used to locate features in data not directly observable by the eye, and machine assisted modelling tools using Smart Interpretation. The course will be a combination of short lectures and exercises, and at the end of the day you will have gone through the full process of creating a new project, loading all your data, inspecting and visualizing data in 3D, on cross-sections and in GIS maps and, and with you fellow course participant you will build an actual 3D conceptual model as an end result.

The GeoScene3D Team will provide course participants with a 3 month full license for GeoScene3D. The participants are required to bring their own laptops with a reasonable graphics card, see more on https://www.geoscene3d.com.

SC-6: Land and Marine Resistivity/IP Imaging in 2D, 3D and 4D
Time:  8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Instructor:  Jason Greenwood, AGI
Course Description:
This course will provide attendees with a better understanding of 1D, 2D, 3D and 4D resistivity/IP imaging methods in various land and marine settings. Topics will focus on processing case history data sets with EarthImager(tm) software (1D, 2D, 3D & 4D), data filtering, forward and inverse modeling, 2D and 3D array design and hands-on practice on how to process surface data, borehole data, terrain (topography) information, underwater data, continuous resistivity profiling (CRP) data on land and marine, 3D data and (4D) time-lapse monitoring data.

This course is open to all levels of experience. Attendees who have already worked with resistivity/IP methods will have a chance to focus on particular case examples from their work, difficult to process data or more advanced methods like time lapse inversion, 3D surveys around a foundation and other less often applied methods. We will have all of these data types to work with in the class and can fit the materials for each attendees needs. We will have a short outdoor demonstration with the AGI SuperSting resistivity/IP/SP system as well. This class requires each attendee to bring a Windows laptop and to have administrative privileges so that EarthImager may be installed (Windows 7, 8 or 10).