Seismic exploration for oil and gas

Article By:

Ng, Tai P. New Ground Resources Ltd., Alberta, Canada.

Last reviewed:December 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.612900

Prospecting for oil and gas using exploration seismology, a geophysical method of determining geologic structure by means of prospector-induced elastic waves. By studying body waves such as compressional and shear waves propagating through the Earth's interior, the constituent and elastic properties of its solid and liquid core, its solid mantle and its thin crust are defined. The major differences between earthquake seismology and petroleum exploration seismology are scales and knowledge of the location of seismic disturbances. Earthquake seismology studies naturally generated seismic waves, which have periods in minutes and resolution in kilometers. In exploration seismology, artificial sources are used that have periods of tenths of a second and tens of meters of resolution. Production seismology requires higher-frequency seismic waves and better resolution, often resolution in the order of a few meters. See also: Earth; Earth interior

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