SHORT COURSES
28th September 2025
VSP technology - From check shot to advanced distributed acoustic sensing
Instructed by Sebastien Soulas (Avalon Sciences Ltd, UK)
About the instructor
Sebastien Soulas completed his Master’s degree in Geophysics (specialising in Borehole geophysics) from School and Observatory of Earth Sciences (EOST), Strasbourg France, in 1994. He then spent 12 years working in marine seismic data processing, acquisition, and analysis at various European locations before leading global borehole seismic activities for Maersk Oil in Copenhagen. He worked for BP 8 years and acted as senior Borehole Seismic Technical Expert in Upstream Reservoir Development, managing global borehole seismic operations, including the planning and execution of data acquisition, data processing and VSP data integration with surface seismic. At the beginning of 2019, he joined LYTT as Senior Advisor for Borehole Seismic, a BP tech start-up which develop and deploy high-value applications using DAS and DTS to provide real-time 24/7 subsurface analytics including seismic applications. He played an instrumental role in the design, development, installation, and validation in the industry’s first subsea DAS VSP system using distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) for bp in GoM Atlantis field.He joined Avalon Sciences in May 2022 as Global Operations Manager in Somerton and is overseeing field operations, field testing and advise on internal/external technical matters. He also continues to provide support to the R&D team in downhole 3-C optical seismic sensors technology development for active and passive seismic.He has presented numerous technical papers on borehole Geophysics including DAS seismic at EAGE and SEG conferences and workshops promoting data value, technology adoption and integration with surface seismic.
Overview
The course will highlight value of borehole geophysics and practical range of applications in the oil and gas and also in the context of energy transition for CCUS and geothermal energy where more efficient and cost-effective borehole monitoring are required. We will review advancements in sensing technology for the last three decades and also a wide range of case studies where VSPs delivered.This will provide the latest advances of fibre-optic sensing for reservoir management applications, and discusses challenges related to sensing hardware, deployment, processing, integration and analysis. We aim to showcase the DAS seismic application, give a snapshot of the state of the technology, and outline the road ahead.I will also provide an overview of recent applications of borehole geophysics from field exploration to development and where it has improved drilling decisions, structural imaging and impacted surface seismic processing in order to maximize the value of seismic information.This would be an opportunity to share with the industry on the application of sensor technologies. This can help directly the future development of seismic sensors by presenting our learnings, results, and needs.Participants’ profile
The course is designed for Geologists, Geophysicists and geoscientists who would like to get an understanding of VSP principles and various applications.
Pre-requisites
Basic understanding of Geology and geophysics including signal processing and geophysical operations (surface and downhole)
Participants’ profile
The course is designed for Geologists, Geophysicists and geoscientists who would like to get an understanding of VSP principles and various applications.
Pre-requisites
Basic understanding of Geology and geophysics including signal processing and geophysical operations (surface and downhole)
SHORT COURSE
2nd October 2025
Microseismic Monitoring for the Energy Industry
Instructed by Leo Eisner (Seismik, Czech Republic)
About the instructor
Leo Eisner obtained his MSc. degree in Physics at the Charles University of Prague and Ph.D. in Geophysics from the California Institute of Technology and his M.S in Geophysics from the Charles University in Prague. He spent six years as a Senior Research Scientist with Cam-bridge Schlumberger Research. He then moved to MicroSeismic, Inc.in 2008 and since 2009 till 2010 he was the Chief Geophysicist. in 2010 he moved to Prague to become Purkyne Fellow at the CzechAcademy of Sciences. He worked in the Academy of Sciences until 2017. He founded and he is currently the President of a consulting company Seismik s.r.o. His papers and extended abstracts cover abroad range of subjects, including the seismic ray method, finite difference methods, seismological investigations of local and regional earthquakes and micro earthquakes induced by hydraulic fracturing, etc. He has lead/advised three Ph.D.s and six MSc. theses.
Overview
This newly revised programme explains the principles of microseismic monitoring ranging from single monitoring borehole to surface and near surface networks. The applications cover from conventional to unconventional production, through geothermal energy extraction to CO2 sequestration. We will focus on understanding the measurements made in passive seismic, their use and their uncertainties.
The course will also discuss the latest developments in microseismicity from DAS monitoring systems, source mechanisms, tomography and anisotropy to reservoir simulations. Finally, we will discuss social and scientific aspects of (induced) seismicity related to oil and gas reservoir, hydraulic fracturing and unconventional production.
Participants’ profile
The course is designed for users and practitioners in microseismic monitoring.
Participants’ profile
The course is designed for users and practitioners in microseismic monitoring.
Course Outline:
1. Introduction: Definitions, a brief review of microseismicity outside of oil industry: water reservoirs, mining, geothermal, CO2 sequestration. Microseismicity and induced seismicity by reservoir production.Historical review of microseismicity in energy industry with focus on hydraulic fracturing (Basel, Soultz, M-site, Cotton Valley, Barnett,etc). Principles of the hydraulic fracturing and geomechanics. Goal of microseismic monitoring and options to meet them.
2. Earthquake seismology: number of unknowns, differences be-tween active and passive seismic. Receivers - how to select optimal type of sensors to meet our goals. Absolute location, relative location. P- and S-wave polarizations. Frequency content of microseismic data. Finite source. Earthquake magnitudes.
3. Downhole monitoring: single well monitoring technique - S-P wave time + P-wave polarization technique location. Horizontal monitoring borehole. Picking strategies for downhole montoring. Optimal design of downhole monitoring array. Orientation of down-hole geophones. Velocity model building and calibration. Inclined/dual and multi well monitoring.
4. Surface monitoring: P-wave location from surface: depth vs. ori-gin time. Detection uncertainty and signal-to-noise ratio. Frequency content, attenuation and detection. Design of surface monitoring array. Calibration and velocity model building. Relative locations:using S-waves recorded at the surface monitoring array. Case study comparing the downhole and surface locations. Why surface micro-seismic monitoring works, near surface attenuation.
5. Source mechanisms: concept of source mechanism, definition of dip, strike and rake for shear source. Description of shear, tensile, volumetric, CLVD components of source mechanism. Inversion for source mechanisms from single monitoring borehole, multiple monitoring boreholes surface P-wave only data. Radiation pattern of source mechanisms frequently seen in microseismic monitoring.Source mechanisms and stress orientation.
6. Advanced source parametrization: Magnitude: definition and de-termination, seismic energy, b-values and magnitude of completness, physical liminations of b-values, stress drop, source dimensions.
7. Anisotropy: Introduction to anisotropy. Effect of anisotropic media on S-waves: shear wave splitting. Shear wave splitting observed in microseismic data. Inversion of anisotropic media from P- andS-waves using microseismic events, time lapse changes. Anisotropy and surface monitoring of microseismic events.
8. Reservoir simulations: Current use of microseismicity in oil industry and implementation of microseismicity into modeling. Diffusion model for pressure triggering of microseismic events. Non-linear diffusion and mass balance. Discrete Fracture Networks constrained by microseismicity. Reservoir simulations and history matching.
9. Seismicity in the vicinity of energy exploration. History of felt seismicity related to oil and gas industry. Differentiation of natural and induced seismicity. Seismic moment and total injected volume.Blackpool case study as an example of induced seismicity. Oklahoma and DFW seismicity - natural seismicity? Hazard assessment and mitigation. Social aspects related to development of shale gas.
10. Review of recent research effort and case studies in microseismicity. Models of relationship between microseismicity and hydraulic fracturing. Most important things to remember about microseismicity.
