Petroleum GeoscienceSeismic Fundamentals for Non Geophysicists
Seismic sections appear in every board pack and farm out data room, yet many of the people approving the spend cannot say what a reflection actually represents or why a bright spot may mean nothing at all. This programme closes that gap without the mathematics. Delegates begin with how sound travels through rock and bounces off layer boundaries, then see how a survey is shot on land and offshore, and why raw records need heavy processing before anyone can use them. Time versus depth, vertical resolution, multiples and other artefacts are demonstrated on real displays. Later sessions show how interpreters pick horizons and faults, how amplitude anomalies are used and misused, and what time lapse monitoring adds. Delegates leave able to read a seismic line with confidence and to challenge claims made from it.
Course objectives
- Explain in plain language how seismic reflections are generated
- Describe how land and marine seismic surveys are acquired
- Outline why processing is needed and what it changes
- Distinguish two way time from depth on a seismic display
- Recognise common artefacts such as multiples and velocity pull up
- Follow how interpreters map horizons and faults
- Question amplitude based claims of hydrocarbons in a prospect
Who should attend
- Petroleum and drilling engineers
- Asset and project managers
- Commercial, finance and legal staff reviewing data rooms
- Regulators overseeing seismic permits and data
- Geologists with little geophysical background
Course outline
- 01Sound waves in rock and acoustic impedance
- 02Land and marine survey basics
- 03What processing does to raw records
- 04Time, depth and velocity
- 05Resolution, tuning and thin beds
- 06Artefacts, multiples and pitfalls
- 07Picking horizons and faults
- 08Bright spots and their limits
- 09Time lapse seismic and reservoir monitoring
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Harare, Zimbabwe | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 8 to 12 February 2027 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 15 to 19 March 2027 | Gaborone, Botswana | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate |
Seismic Fundamentals for Non Geophysicists
From R8,500