First Break - Volume 29, Issue 4, 2011

The Peak Oil theory may be on its way to being confirmed by the depletion of Europe’s largest natural gas field, which can only be rescued by a new era of gas exploration. This would also delay Europe’s growing dependency on foreign gas imports. Ruud Weijermars and Elaine Madsen examine whether past success can be equaled by future exploration initiatives.

Arild Buland, Lars Ole Løseth, Andreas Becht, Malgven Roudot and Tage Røsten report that the performance of the controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method in exploration shows a strong improvement from early to recent cases based on a review of Statoil’s CSEM database.

As exploration for hydrocarbon resources moves to increasingly complex geological environments, the integration of multiple physical measurements is needed to build better earth models. E. Tartaras, L. Masnaghetti, A. Lovatini, S. Hallinan, M. Mantovani, M. Virgilio, W. Soyer, M. De Stefano and F. Snyder (WesternGeco); Javier Subia (Petrobras); and Thierry Dugoujard (Perenco) describe how.

In a case study of the Bossier Formation, Marianne Rauch-Davies, Horace Snyder and Paul Smith of NEOS GeoSolutions show how a successful earth model can be built where seismic and well data is scarce by integrating less conventional geophysical measurements.

K.M.U. Fletcher (GETECH), J.D. Fairhead (GETECH/University of Leeds), Ahmed Salem (GETECH/University of Leeds), K. Lei (GETECH), C. Ayala (IGME) and P.L.M. Cabanillas (REPSOL) describe what has been involved to produce a European-Mediterranean database incorporating all the available magnetic data from land, airborne and offshore sources.

Bülent Tezkan, Johannes B. Stoll, Rainer Bergers and Hannah Großbach report on a recent pilot project to prove the feasibility of unmanned aircraft systems for carrying out aeromagnetic surveys.

A group of technical sub-surface teams undertaking a realistic industry project in an academic environment completed individual personality assessments. The resulting personality profile of a team has been used to identify performance issues, and has been related to team performance and peer review measures. For the teams studied, there appeared to be very similar average personality profiles and this was reflected in their similar performance. Individuals found the process of undertaking personality tests instructive. The teams had also undergone team role profiling so it was possible to compare role profiles and personality traits. Important aspects of collective team behaviour, such as openness to new ideas, conscientiousness, imagination, and attention to detail require a range of personalities playing their natural team roles, supported in their actions by the remaining team members. In teams, the conscientious nature of some people who pay attention to detail appears to count against them when it comes to peer review. A balanced team might be one therefore that has a better understanding of personality and team roles so that all beneficial traits are nurtured.