Event Location:

The Black Lab Pub
4100 Montrose
Houston, TX  77006

NOTE: You Must Be Logged in to Register

Speaker: Alan Morgan

Shallow hazards associated with dissolution karsting within the Castile formation of the Delaware basin of west Texas represent a significant drilling hazard. One operator encountered four karst related cavities within the first four hundred feet of section from two separate pad sites. The intersection of these dissolution cavities resulted in the loss of significant amounts of drilling fluids and concrete, resulting in the abandonment of the boreholes. Approximately 1100 line-km of Airborne Full Tensor Gradiometry (FTG) data are acquired at a nominal line spacing of 100m and drape elevation at 80m above the ground surface in order to rapidly identify and assess further risks to drilling in the adjacent lease acreage. 2.75D and 3D models are constructed to determine detectability and identify relevant wavelength and amplitudes based upon information collected from the karst cavities. Focused enhancements of the acquired data reveal correlation to the drilled cavities, but the wavelengths are too broad to assess drilling risks. Curvature analysis of the FTG data reveal a striking correlation to cavern analysis performed in outcropping areas of the Castile formation. Riskiest and safest drilling sites are identified by means of analyzing the curvature information. 

Speaker Biography: Alan Morgan
Alan is a subject matter expert in potential fields and has been involved in the integrated interpretation of potential field data since 2004.  Prior to his potential fields experience, he attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe where he obtained degrees in Geology (B.S, 2002) and Geoscience – hydrogeology specialty (M.S., 2004).  His global experience varies from mega-regional to prospect scale projects, primarily in areas where seismic imaging falls short in efforts to assess geometry risk.  His specialties include 2D and 3D inversion, magnetic depth methods and plate kinematic modelling.  He also is a contributor to a patent in the evaluation of plate kinematic models using potential fields methods.  He has also served on the SEG gravity and magnetics committee and is the current coordinator for The Meter Reader for the SEG publication, The Leading Edge.

**This year, there is no registration fee for our SIG meetings. Dinner and drinks are available from the establishment's menu. We ask that you continue to pre-register, to prepare meeting room set up.