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Passing cardboard boxes filled with rock chips, powders and sands awaiting microscopic analysis, the tiny geologist stops to examine a chart detailing gamma-ray readings taken by sensors on an exploration drill that cut into the seabed somewhere on the Scotia Shelf. The short, sharp strokes of the graph look like the results of a cardiac exam turned on its end.
Measuring the gamma rays produced naturally by the rocks in a well can help researchers figure out the type of rock and how it may have been deposited 200-million years ago as the Nova Scotia Basin was formed. By extension, that understanding can lead other scientists to draw conclusions about the possibilities of gas rich reservoirs in certain locations.
For St-Amour, the new science is just one exciting piece of the puzzle. Correlating seismic data collected from partners and independent seismic firms will provide corroboration for the geoscience models developed.
On a cool, late January morning, he is excited because the group has taken delivery of the data associated with a refraction survey carried out in November. It was conducted using 100 ocean-bottom seismographs along a 400-kilometre stretch, 240 miles off the northeast tip of Cape Breton. “It holds the promise of helping us understand the subsea plate formation and the underlying geology.”
Nova Scotia isn’t the first jurisdiction to put together a comprehensive package to lure oil giants. St-Amour says Ireland has recently provided industry with computer modeling and seismic data that fill knowledge gaps in their local geology.
Ireland is a fine example, but McEachern points to New Zealand as the textbook case. Five years ago, it had a single operating gas well, and it was in decline. A series of exploration efforts came up dry and the government was getting ready to throw in the towel. They were poised to put the offshore behind and build an LNG plant that would have to serve their energy needs. At the last minute, he said, they decided to take one more shot, and invested in a detailed study that drew together everything they knew about their offshore into a single database and made it available to industry.
“It’s now considered one of the most successful spots for oil and gas developments,” says McEachern. “Our offshore geology is extremely complex and there are regional nuances certainly, but the Play Fairway Analysis will at least give companies potential prospective areas they can consider.”
Oil and gas is a risky business, but St-Amour says if the effort can “de-risk the geology,” there is every reason to believe there will be a bright future for the industry. “We are not going to be 100 per cent of the reason a company returns, but we could provide the reasons a major player might want to take another look.”
The first preliminary results from research are beginning to trickle in and St.-Amour says the atlas should be completed on schedule by late 2010 or early 2011.
Sandy McMullin can’t wait. He’s already building a strategy to get it to industry at workshops, peer review sessions and trade shows.
