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Oil, Gas & Mining vocabulary · Exploration & Geology

Seismic survey

Meaning in oil, gas & mining, with examples

/ˈsaɪzmɪk ˈsɜːrveɪ/nounCore term

In oil, gas & mining, seismic survey means: A method of mapping rock layers underground by sending sound waves into the earth and recording the echoes that bounce back from different layers.

In Turkish: sismik etüt, sismik araştırma, sismik çalışma

How it is used

The main tool for finding oil and gas traps before drilling. Surveys are 2D or 3D, onshore (with vibrator trucks or small charges) or marine (with air guns towed behind a ship). Geophysicists acquire, process and interpret the data; people often just say 'the seismic'.

Example sentences

  1. A 3D seismic survey of the block will be shot next spring.

  2. The seismic survey showed a large structure at about 2,500 metres.

Common collocations

  • 3D seismic survey
  • shoot a seismic survey
  • seismic data
  • seismic interpretation
  • marine seismic survey
  • explorationThe work of searching for new oil, gas or mineral deposits, using geological mapping, geophysical surveys, sampling and test drilling.
  • hydrocarbonA chemical compound made only of hydrogen and carbon. Crude oil and natural gas are mixtures of hydrocarbons, so the word often means oil and gas in general.
  • reservoirA layer of porous rock deep underground that holds oil or gas in the tiny spaces between its grains, with rock above it that stops the fluids escaping.
  • dry holeA well that does not find oil or gas in amounts worth producing. It is usually plugged and abandoned.

More terms: Exploration & Geology

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