LiDAR: A Remote Sensing Technology for Integrated Solutions in Onshore Exploration and Production

Beaubouef, Tamra¹, Mark Wagaman², Mike FitzMaurice³ (1) Airborne Imaging, Inc, Spring, TX (2) Veritas DGC, Denver, CO (3) Bill Barrett Corporation, Denver, CO

The onshore oil & gas industry is currently faced with numerous restrictions arising from severe government regulations, tight windows of operations imposed by weather, difficult terrain, & remote locations. In addition, economics dictate that exploration and development processes are as streamlined as possible. Having a clear model or visualization of the project site in the initial stages is one way to address these issues. LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) is a remote sensing technology that provides a high precision, geo-referenced digital elevation model.

The lidar DEM (Digital Elevation Model) can be put into a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) database and used as the basemap of which a variety of map layers can be overlaid, including: lease, permit, and cultural data allowing for easier assessment of land issues, seismic points, existing/planned pipelines & roads, etc. all integrated into one complete digital dataset.

Seismic acquisition costs can be minimized as lidar has proven to be a valuable tool for pre-planning source/receiver locations, elevation substitution, slope analysis, & estimating equipment requirements. Regulatory analysists can realize significant time savings by pre-planning pad & road locations before an onsite visit, in addition to identifying some archeological, hazard, and vegetation zones useful for environmental impact studies. A number of safety issues can be addressed: pre-planning safety evacuation routes including helicopter landing zones, radio signal modeling, flow containment analysis, & less time/people in the field.

LiDAR data provides a precise DEM that can be utilized among many disciplines within an organization to expedite onshore exploration & production processes.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90055©2006 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Billings, Montana