Title: Introduction to Marine Seismic Acquisition

Date: Monday, November 10, 2014

Time: 9:30 to 10:30 am

Location:  Centergy One 5186, CSIP Library (via videoconference)

Speaker:         Mr. Azizur Rahman Khan, Geophysical Consultant, Saudi Aramco

About the tutorial
We have come a long way since the first successful seismic survey that discovered an oil field in Texas, USA in the year 1924. Seismic surveys can save oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars by giving precise information about the subsurface geological features. Marine seismic surveys have been used for decades to assess the location and size of oil and gas deposits which are buried several kilometers deep beneath the ocean floor.

Various types of techniques and equipment are used for seismic exploration offshore. It depends upon the marine environment, geological objectives, and financial consideration.

Tutorial Outline & Objective
The tutorial will cover the fundamentals of seismic wave generation and propagation, reflection of seismic waves, various techniques used in marine seismic data acquisition, design and operation of marine seismic source, design and functioning of seismic sensors, seismic data recording system, positioning and navigation, and geophysical and operational challenges in offshore seismic surveys.

At the end of the tutorial the participants should be able to understand different marine seismic survey techniques, their merits and demerits, and their application in oil and gas exploration.

Who should attend ?
The tutorial is designed for non-geophysicists who wish to gain an overview of different kinds of equipment and techniques used in marine seismic survey for hydrocarbon exploration.

Speaker Biography
Mr. Azizur Rahman Khan

With his M.S. in physics from Lucknow University and a certificate course in geophysics from Indian Institute of Technology, Aziz began his career as a seismic data acquisition geophysicist in 1984 at Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) India, specializing in land seismic survey design, data acquisition and processing, and VSP Data Acquisition & Processing.

From 1997 to 2007 Aziz worked with an offshore seismic crew as party manager specializing in offshore seismic survey design and operations. As a contract specialist, Aziz was responsible for hiring seismic crews for offshore exploration in India and abroad.

In 2008, Aziz left ONGC to start as geophysical specialist at Khafji Joint Operations, Saudi Arabia, and was involved in designing and planning a multicomponent OBC seismic survey in Arabian Gulf. 

In late 2013, Aziz joined Saudi Aramco as a geophysical consultant, currently focusing on seismic data acquisition in the Red Sea for sub-salt imaging.