NPA and TREICoL are pleased to announce to the petroleum industry the launch of a comprehensive 2 or 3 day workshop on Offshore Oil Seep Detection.

The workshop is designed to give participants a working knowledge and understanding of the practical aspects of our satellite seep screening methods (e.g. data selection, weather screening, seep interpretation, etc.) plus practical advice and video footage on seep detection and sampling at sea.

The workshop will also cover alternative air-borne and ship-borne seep detection methods (ALF, Hymap, towed sniffer, multi-beam seismic, etc) plus examples of successful integrated studies, world-wide.

1. Repeating Oil Seep, Radarsat Data	2. Satellite Imaging System, Red Sea

3. Slick Sampling for Geochemistry	4. Surfacing Oil Seep (oil 'pancakes')

Workshop Objectives

The NPA-TREICoL Seep Detection Workshop provides a comprehensive overview of the science and technology underpinning the detection and mapping of surface oil slicks and its application to oil exploration. Using a dynamic and interactive style, featuring integrated, graded exercises and quizzes to test immediate feedback, an understanding leading to practical skills is assured. NPA-TREICoL offer three presenters/trainers with unrivalled experience and authoritative knowledge of the topic.

This workshop aims to satisfy four key objectives:

• to provide participants with an understanding of the merits (and limitations) of various remote sensing technologies (not the details of image processing etc.)

• to provide participants with an understanding of the methodology used, e.g. in the selection and assessment of the commercial remote sensing data-sets (primarily SAR)

• to provide participants with an understanding of the interpretation of the output data and their integration with other geological, geophysical and geothermic data-sets

• to provide hands-on interactive training in the above by the use of exercises and quizzes, linked to periods where open discussion and argument will be encouraged
  

Workshop Summary

Session 1; Understanding Seeps and Slicks
1.1. Seeps and Oil Exploration - the historical perspective.
1.2. Principles of Oil Slick Formation
1.3. Exercise 1 & Quiz - Recognizing slicks & Ocean Features on Images
1.4. Weather Screening and Data Selection
1.5. Weather Screening Exercise

Session 2 - Methods for Detecting Offshore Seeps.
2.1. Space-borne Seep Detection Methods & Interpretation of Surface Features
2.2. Interpreting Surface Features on SAR Imagery Exercise
2.3. Other Methodologies for Seep Prediction, Detection & Assessment
2.4. Hyper-spectral Seep Detection Methods

Session 3 - Data Interpretation & QC
3.1. Seep Interpretation 1
3.2. Slick Interpretation & Ranking Exercise, Part 1
3.3. Slick Interpretation & Ranking Exercise, Part 2
3.4. Geological Controls on Seepage & Verification of Oil Slicks

Session 4 - Practical Applications 1
4.1. Data Organization & Deliverables
4.2. Case History 1; High Seepage basin, South Caspian
4.3. Case History 2; Low & Moderate Seepage basins
4.4. Case History 3: High Seepage Basin, Deep-water Mexican Gulf

Session 5 & 6 - Practical Applications 2
5.1 Makululand Exploration Game
5.2. An Integrated Petroleum Systems Analysis Workflow: Towards A Predictive Capability
5.3. Video 2. The Bermuda Triangle
5.4. Applying an integrated workflow to assess petroleum prospectively exercise

Workshop Tutors

Alan Williams, Oil & Gas Manager, NPA Group

Over 30 years experience in the international oil industry, 14 with BP Exploration (1979 - 1992). Specialising in novel technology for offshore oil and gas exploration, allied to strong project management and marketing expertise.

Spent his formative years (1970-79) as a remote sensing geologist with Huntings before joining BP Exploration, initially as a geological geochemist, later heading up the interpretation team for BP´s prestigious ALF Project. In 1992, he joined World Geoscience Corporation to manage the latest version of the ALF technology from Guildford, UK. In 1995, he moved to National Remote Sensing Centre Limited (now Infoterra) in Farnborough to head up their global oil marketing services, and in 1999 joined NPA (Nigel Press Associates Ltd.) as Oil & Gas Manager. Since then he has been primarily involved in the interpretation and marketing of offshore seep detection projects world-wide in developing NPA's flagship Global Offshore Seep Database.

Michael King, Offshore Project Manager, NPA Group

Michael is a graduate in geology with a MSc in Remote Sensing. He joined NPA in 2004 where his primary task has been in overseeing the production of NPA's Offshore Basin Screening projects. Michael manages the offshore projects group and he has been heavily involved with NPA's Global Offshore Seep Database and the development of the GIS products for the oil majors. He co-presents on NPA´s Technology Transfer and SAR Interpretation Course, with recent courses being held in The Hague, Ankara, Mumbai, Houston, Stavanger and London.

Previously Michael worked in the gold exploration industry where he used satellite imagery for locating and characterising hydrothermal alteration associated with mineral deposits.

Dr Geoff Lawrence, Director, TREICoL Ltd

Dr Geoff Lawrence was Head of Satellite Remote Sensing at BP before founding The Really Easy Imaging Company Limited (TREICoL) to apply remote sensing to oil and mineral exploration, and for military and environmental agencies.

He was a Visiting Industry Specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab working on Shuttle Radar and founding Chairman of the Geological Remote Sensing Group. He has wide practical experience in applied remote sensing forged on 250+ operational and research projects since 1970, including work on the ground in 40+ countries. He established "Offshore Basin Screening" (OBS) in partnership with NPA in 1992, to map oil seepage offshore using SAR, and developed and researched the technology that has now completed almost global coverage of the world's offshore oil basins: over 60 million km2 of ocean interpreted for slicks on SAR. He has presented remote sensing at many international conferences and led workshops and training sessions in a dozen countries.

Geoff has unrivalled experience in the interpretation of seeps from SAR data and has played a key role in ensuring a consistently high level of quality control from all the global seep projects undertaken by NPA since 1992, something that differentiates NPA-TREICoL from competing companies in the seep detection sector.

For further information on costs and availability, contact either Alan Williams (alan@npagroup.com) or Michael King (michael.king@npagroup.com).

Back to Global Offshore Seep Coverage Map