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APPLICATIONS OF GEOMATICS

ENGINEERING TO GEOLOGICAL

RESEARCH AND HYDROCARBON

EXPLORATION

Sunil Lalloo

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

1 •Introduction to concepts

2

•Overview of tools and methodologies

3 •Useful resources

WHAT IS GEOMATICS?

The discipline of gathering, storing, manipulating

and managing spatially referenced data.

3

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

4

Surveying – The art and science of measurement

Measurement of

Space

Measurement of

Value

Measurement of

Cost

Geomatics Valuation

Surveying

Quantity

Surveying

GEOMATICS - SUB-DISCIPLINES

Land Surveying (Geodetic, cadastral,

topographical, engineering, seismic)

Hydrographic Surveying (hydrography;

oceanography; bathymetry etc.)

Geoinformatics (GIS; Remote Sensing;

Photogrammetry; GNSS)

5

APPLICABILITY TO GEOLOGY

“The oil industry cannot exist without land

surveyors.. If you put a well in the wrong place, no

oilfield technology or amount of drilling will correct

that” – Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association

Positioning

Data capture

Mapping

Exploration

GEOMATICS IN THE OIL AND GAS LIFE-CYCLE

Explore Appraise Develop Produce Decommission

Seismic

surveys.

Rig Moves

Maps and

geo-

databases

Bathymetric

surveys

Maps and

geo-

databases

Precise

positioning

Pipe layout

Construction

support

Platform

surveys

Pipeline

inspection

Maps and

geo-

dabases

Pre and

as-left

surveys

Maps and

Geo-

databases

Whitecomb 2006

GEOMATICS TOOLS AND

METHODOLOGIES

GEOLOGICAL AND SEISMIC SURVEYING

Key methods – reflection seismology, seismic

refraction and seismic tomography.

Seismic surveys are “ultrasounds” of the earth.

Surveyors release compressed air into the water

to create short duration sound waves that reflect

off subsurface rock layers and are “heard” by

sensors being towed behind the vessel.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SURVEYING

This uses the principle of induction to measure

the electrical conductivity of the subsurface.

A primary alternating electric current of known

frequency and magnitude is passed through a

sending coil creating a primary magnetic field in

the space surrounding the coil, including

underground.

APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC

SURVEYING

Finding voids and solution features in soil and

rock.

Locating abandoned mineshafts, crown holes and

subsistence features.

Identifying bedrock discontinuities

Defining former landfill sites

Mapping soil types and land drainage systems

HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING

the measurement and description of the physical

features of the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and

their adjoining coastal areas, with particular

reference to their use for navigation and

exploration.

Applications:

Marine construction, dredging, offshore oil

exploration and drilling.

14

BATHYMETRIC MAP

15

GEODETIC SURVEYING

Relates to the geometry of curved surfaces. Surveys

done over large areas where the curvature of the

earth's surface is taken into account.

16

GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEMS

Satellite system used to pinpoint the geographic

location of a remote receiver.

Uses timing and positing to determine distances

and deflection.

Position of the receiver is then computed using

triangulation and trilateration.

Applications:

Precise positioning of off-shore features, platforms,

pipeline routes, navigation

REMOTE SENSING

Science of obtaining information about objects or

areas from a distance – typically from an aircraft

or satellite.

E.g. of satellites: LIDAR (Light detection and

ranging); LandSat (NASA); Synthetic Aperture

Radar (SAR)

Applications: Surveying and mapping of land and

ocean features; location and mapping of

hydrocarbon seepage; creation of digital elevation

models.

Source: ITC 2015

Use of DTM to investigate lithology Source: ITC 2015

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

A GIS is a computer based system used for

capturing, storing, visualising, manipulating,

analyzing and managing spatially referenced

data.

Can be used to understand the complex

interrelationships of natural resources, physical

phenomena and human populations.

APPLICATIONS OF GIS IN THE OIL AND

GAS INDUSTRY

Data index maps.

Block ranking for decision making.

Land Management

Well planning

Field operations

Environmental monitoring

Pipeline routing and monitoring

Vessel tracking

Emergency Response

USEFUL RESOURCES

SOFTWARE

GeoCalc – compute coordinate transformations:

http://www.terramodel.net/geocalc.html

QGIS – GIS software: http://www.qgis.org/en/site/

PostgreSQL – Geo-database software:

http://www.postgresql.org/

TOOLS

Compute Solar declarations -

http://www.jgiesen.de/astro/astroJS/decEoT/index

.htm

Online coordinate transformations:

http://beta.ngs.noaa.gov/gtkweb/

Guide for the use of GNSS in the oil and gas

industry: http://www.ogp.org.uk/pubs/373-19.pdf

TRAINING

Online GIS Tutorials – ESRI Virtual Campus:

http://training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=cat

alog.webcoursedetail&courseid=2500

Free GIS courses from Universities:

http://www.gislounge.com/learn-gis-for-free/

REFERENCES

American Petroleum Institute. 2014. “Seismic Surveying 101”. Cited [01-06-15].

http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/Oil-and-Natural-Gas/Exploration/Offshore/Seismic-

Survey-Factsheet.pdf

ITC. 2015. Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques applied to geological survey. Cited

[15-06-15]. https://www.itc.nl/ilwis/applications/application14.asp

Subsurface Geotechnical. 2015. Electromagnetic methods. Cited [18-06-15].

http://www.geophysical.biz/electromagnetic-method.htm

Subsurface Surveys. 2007 “Geophysical Methods”. Cited [18-06-15].

http://www.subsurfacesurveys.com/em.htm

Whitecomb, David. 2006. “An overview of Geomatics Involvement in the Offshore Oil

& Gas Industry”. In Hydrofest 2006. Robert Gordon University.

NEED MORE INFO?

Contact:

Sunil Lalloo

Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land

Management

Faculty of Engineering, UWI St. Augustine

Email: sunil.lalloo@gmail.com

sunil.lalloo@sta.uwi.edu

Phone: 662-2002 ext 83705

Mobile: +1 (868) 336-3245