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Meeting Location:
Schlumberger
10001 Richmond Ave, Q Auditorium
Houston TX 77042

Speakers: James Mika, Allan Chatenay, Ron Kerr, and Thomas Brackman

A geophysical program consisting of high resolution 2D multi-component seismic data, passive 2D and 3D seismic data, and resistivity profiling was undertaken in south central, South Dakota, USA.  The program was designed to be a "proof of concept" to determine the extent to which these data can be used to characterize the subsurface for the purposes of aggregate, groundwater, and geothermal exploration in a unique geologic setting.  These data may also prove relevant to determine the cause of recent earthquakes in the area (2014; 2020), as well as to assess the suitability of the Cretaceous for CO2 sequestration.

The subsurface in the survey area consists of ~300’ of glacial overburden deposited over approximately 1,000’ of Cretaceous sediments.  Buried glacial valleys can contain significant amounts of sand and gravel, which have groundwater and low-enthalpic geothermal energy potential.  Shallow deposits of coarser grained sediments can also be mined for aggregate (road & construction materials).  Geothermal potential also exists in the Cretaceous, as those aquifers are known to be associated with anonymously high surface heat flows in the region.

The project was conceived with and delivered with a collaborative framework.  As some of the geologic objectives are quite shallow, we attempted to synergize the mindsets of classical oil & gas exploration with those from geotechnical work.  Therefore, industry experts in active and passive seismic acquisition and processing, as well as experts in resistivity & surface wave inversion methods were consulted and/or engaged in the project.  A key contributor was the South Dakota Geological Survey, who provided key geologic context and drilled two test boreholes at the project site.  The collective experts met virtually periodically to review results and discuss future work.

The presentation will provide an overview of the project goals, work processes, interim results, and a summary of ongoing and future work.

Speaker Biographies:

James Mika has over 30 years’ experience in the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of seismic data.  He is recently retired from a career as a geophysicist in the oil & gas sector (BP; Houston, TX) and is now working to redirect his skills and passions towards the robust characterization of the subsurface for the purposes of geothermal energy, CCUS (carbon capture & storage), and groundwater investigations.


Allan Châtenay is the President of Explor. Explor is a geophysical technology and data company that develops and implements advanced geoscience solutions to provide the highest quality seismic data to our customers across a range of industry verticals, including oil and gas, mining, geothermal, CCUS, and near-surface work.  Mr. Châtenay has been in the geophysical industry for over 30 years. He holds several patents in geophysical acquisition technology, has a Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the University of Oxford.



Ron Kerr is an independent seismic processing QC consultant for multiple operator clients. His experience includes seismic processing QC oversight at over >20 seismic processing shops involving 100’s of seismic datasets. Prior to consulting, Ron handled seismic processing QC for Devon Energy both offshore GOM and onshore US. He was also the depth migration manager at Spectrum. Ron authors the popular Houston Seismic processing blog on LinkedIn and dabbles with seismic training presentations.

Thomas Brackman is a Principal Geophysicist and Professional Geologist specializing in geophysics with applications to real world problems in engineering, environmental and mining applications.  He is currently the Vice President and Principal Geophysicist at NSG Innovations LLC. The continuing focus of research and industry projects is pushing the limits of geophysical techniques to bring the subsurface into view, thus planning for success as opposed to reacting to the unknown.

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