Biography
Dr. Russell holds a B.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan (1975), a M.Sc. from Durham University (1978), U.K., and a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary (2004), all in geophysics. He joined Chevron in Calgary as an exploration geophysicist in 1976 and subsequently worked for Teknica and Veritas before co-founding Hampson-Russell Software with Dan Hampson in 1987. Hampson-Russell is now a subsidiary of CGG, where Brian is Vice President, GeoSoftware and a CGG Fellow. Brian is involved in the research of new AVO, rock physics, inversion and attribute techniques as well as giving courses and talks throughout the world. He is a Past-President of both the SEG and Canadian SEG (CSEG) and has received Honorary Membership from both societies, as well as the Cecil Green Enterprise Award from SEG (jointly with Dan Hampson). He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary and the University of Wyoming and is registered as a Professional Geophysicist (P.Geoph.) in Alberta.
Description
In petroleum exploration, our goal is to make maps from two types of data: sparse, poorly sampled data measured at isolated locations, and dense, well sampled data measured on a grid. This course is about producing better maps by analyzing our data for both errors and trends, producing optimal maps from sparse datasets (e.g. well depths or measured porosities), improving the fit between two related measurements about the same parameter (e.g. well depths and seismic traveltimes, or porosity measurements and inverted seismic impedance) and simulating a range of possible maps and making quantitative predictions about their probability of occurrence (e.g. the probability of finding porosity above a given value). All of these techniques will be illustrated using datasets taken from both the Alberta basin and other exploration plays throughout the world. Hands-on exercises will also be included to reinforce the concepts learned in the course.
