In the 1920s, the first oil discovery in Seminole, Oklahoma, was made at a depth of approximately 4,000 feet. Currently, the world’s deepest oil well in Russia extends 49,000 feet into the earth’s surface. Deep exploration below existing production, complex overburden, or at the limits of geophysical resolution is critical for existing and emerging ventures. To meet these challenges, researchers and geoscientists are actively working to acquire better data and develop innovative methods to improve imaging. And in this episode, guest editors Chao Wang and Stephen Graf highlight the recent advances that improve success and extend capability in challenging deep environments.
Podcast Tag: TLE
Episode 202: The next revolution in seismic interpretation
Steven Lynch discusses his article in The Leading Edge, “High visual resolution interpretation: The case for virtual seismic reality.” Steve lays out the case for why the seismic you have is better than you think. He argues that the industry needs to undergo a complete change of mindset regarding visualization. Steve hopes to convince you that there’s a tremendous amount that you’re not seeing. And that most of the information acquired in seismic has yet to be observed or interpreted. This episode will give you much to think about – and maybe help you unlock new oil in old places.
Episode 198: How to chart a successful career in 2023 w/ Kurt Marfurt
Kurt Marfurt reflects on his career and the recent award of SEG’s highest honor, the Maurice Ewing Medal. He offers his major takeaways from various career stops along his path and how his volunteer roles at the SEG advanced his career. Kurt provides wisdom on what’s changed and hasn’t changed in building a successful geophysical career and what he’s most proud of when looking back at his accomplishments. It’s a privilege to hear from geophysicists at the top of their profession, and Kurt provides actionable advice with a fun and insightful look back at his long career.
Episode 196: The sound of seismic
Paolo Dell’Aversana highlights his article in The Leading Edge, discussing a dual-sensory approach to understanding seismic. Based on concepts well-established in cognitive sciences, Paolo introduces the idea of expanded imaging in geophysics, using a dual-sensory (audiovisual) perception of a data set. In this episode, Paolo explains the basic principles of multimodal seismic data analysis using augmented imaging theory. He shares the advantages and limitations of converting seismic data into an auditory format and outlines how geophysicists can start with this approach today. This episode unlocks secret information hiding in your seismic data waiting to be discovered.
Episode 194: Improving integration in machine learning workflows
Felix J. Herrmann discusses his open-access article, “Learned multiphysics inversion with differentiable programming and machine learning.” He shares why the future of the oil and gas industry depends on the democratization of technology design. He provides insights into why modernizing wave-equation inversion frameworks is important to geophysics and shares the implications for the results of his study. This episode provides a glimpse into the future capabilities of machine learning to help provide the path for the next great discoveries in geophysics.
Episode 193: The potency of rock-physics-guided deep neural networks
Fabien Allo highlights his award-winning article, “Characterization of a carbonate geothermal reservoir using rock-physics-guided deep neural networks.” Fabien shares the potential of deep neural networks (DNNs) in integrating seismic data for reservoir characterization. He explains why DNNs have yet to be widely utilized in the energy industry and why utilizing a training set was key to this study. Fabien also details why they did not include any original wells in the final training set and the advantages of neural networks over seismic inversion. This episode is an exciting opportunity to hear directly from an award-winning author on some of today’s most cutting-edge geophysics tools.
Episode 188: A reality check on full-wave inversion with Öz Yilmaz
Öz Yilmaz returns to the podcast to highlight his award-winning article, "A reality check on full-wave inversion applied to land seismic data for near-surface modeling." Using his insightful and informative style, Öz provides invaluable information on some of the most important topics facing geophysicists. Do not miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best geophysicists working today.
Episode 186: The role of critical minerals in future-proofing
Critical mineral exploration will play a key role in human development and progress. Dr. Alan Jones defines critical minerals and how and why each country defines them differently. He explains why the public has a dim view of mining and elaborates on the valuable role of copper in utilizing electric vehicles. Alan also makes a case for why we must inspire young minds with the possibilities of critical minerals exploration. Do you want to be part of the future of humanity? This is the question at the center of this can't miss episode.
Episode 178: Why you should consider drone-based geophysics
Dr. Callum Walter discusses the benefits of drone surveys when taking on dirty, dangerous, and demanding jobs. He highlights the similarities and differences compared to other geophysical surveys and the unique difficulties when collecting data by drones. Callum outlines a few case studies currently benefiting from drones, the possibility of rocket-powered drones, and using drones in off-world environments. Callum also offers when drones could be right for your project profile.
Episode 177: Searching for the perfect x-ray image of the Earth
What sets the seismic method apart from other geophysical exploration methods is its ability to deliver three-dimensional high-resolution images of the subsurface. Ramesh (Neelsh) Neelamani traces the history of the seismic method to showcase recent breakthroughs and future advancements. This episode is a wide-ranging exploration of seismic resolution based on seven new papers in The Leading Edge.
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