Exprodat, the oil and gas ArcGIS platform specialist, has provided the Department of Geoscience within the Oslo University with a license of their Data Assistant to support their work on modelling the Earth’s crust.Data Assistant was created by Exprodat to simplify the transfer of data between Esri’s ArcGIS software and file formats used every day in exploration and production departments. Geoscientists using Data Assistant are able to visualise and spatially analyse Schlumberger, IHS, Landmark and a host of other datasets.
As Dr Mohamed Mansour Abdelmalak explains; “In a time where GIS and seismic interpretation need to be linked, Exprodat’s Data Assistant provides an invaluable tool to increase the efficiency by moving successfully different 2D/3D seismic datasets (including interpretations, grids, polygons and horizons) to ArcGIS without using complex workflows or bespoke development.”
Dr. Abdelmalak works at the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), an institution which has the ambitious aim of furthering the understanding of Earth. The staff of CEED explore the dynamics of the continental plates, search for the origin of large scale volcanism and the evolution of climates as well as investigating the causes of the abrupt demise of life forms.
The Centre hopes that their work will result in a new Earth model and provide explanations as to how mantle processes interact with plate tectonics and trigger massive volcanism, which bring with it the associated environmental and climate changes seen throughout the history of Earth. This will also increase the understanding of how sedimentary basins form and develop and hence better link deep and shallow/surface processes.
Exprodat Technical Director Chris Jepps explains why his company decided to support the Centre’s work; “At Exprodat we maintain close links with many respected academic institutions, and our new relationship with Oslo University extends a network that already includes Imperial College’s Petroleum Geoscience department,Cardiff University’s 3D Lab and Utah State University’s geothermal research team, among others.
We’re delighted that, like many of our other academic partners, Oslo University is able to use our software to help further their geoscientific understanding and advance their research.”
CEED is hosted by the Department of Geosciences, which is Norway’s largest geoscience institute with approximately 400 students ranging from bachelor to PhD level. More information about the department can be found at http://www.mn.uio.no/geo/