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The Delhi Chapter of
Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG) held a seminar on the topic “Lesser
Explored Basins-Future Thrust” on the 15th of December 2006 at Hotel Le Meridien,
New Delhi. The Seminar was sponsored by OVL, New Delhi.
The Delhi Chapter of APG
provides a platform which brings together petroleum geoscientists to discuss and
deliberate upon the emerging trends and technologies and disseminates the
knowledge in hydrocarbon exploration.
The seminar was attended by a wide cross section of geoscientists from ONGC, OVL,
DGH, IOC, Eni, Geological Survey of India and Central Groundwater Board,
distinguished academicians from Delhi University including the Head of
Department of Geology and even the budding geologists – the students.
On behalf of President, APG- Delhi Chapter, Mr. D.S. Porwal, GM (Geology), OVL,
in his welcome address, gave a brief account of the activities of the Delhi
Chapter. He highlighted the need for greater emphasis on the lesser explored
basins while pointing to the international trends in energy availability. Shri
Jokhan Ram, the President of APG-India and ED-Chief, KDMIPE, ONGC appreciated
the Delhi Chapter for organizing the seminar on a highly relevant topic. He
recalled the grand success of the International Conference organized by APG-India
at Goa in September this year and announced plans for hosting a regional AAPG
Conference in India.
 Shri
D.K.Pande, Patron, APG-India and Director (Exploration), ONGC inaugurated the
Seminar and welcomed the Chief Guest Dr. K.S. Mishra, Dy.Director General,
Geological Survey of India, Nagpur. In his inaugural address he expressed the
pressing need for opening up vast relatively unexplored areas such as the Deccan
Syneclise, Frontier basins and ultra deepwaters for exploration.
Shri Sudhir Sharma, Secretary, APG Delhi Chapter, introduced the main speaker
for the Seminar, Dr K.S. Mishra. Dr. Mishra is an eminent Geologist and a
renowned expert on Deccan Volcanism. He has specialized in the Interpretation of
aeromagnetic datasets. Dr. Mishra is also the visiting fellow to Canadian Centre
for Remote Sensing in Microwave Remote Surveying for mapping basement tectonic
features for oil exploration in the western sedimentary province of Canada. Dr.
Mishra is working in GSI since 1971 after completing his post graduation from
Vikram University, Ujjain and Ph.D. from Manitoba University. Presently Dr.
Mishra is holding the position of Dy Director General in Geological Survey of
India and posted at Nagpur.
 Dr.
K.S. Mishra gave a fascinating account on the topic “Cretaceous Volcanism and
Hydrocarbon Potential of Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments in Kutch, Saurashtra
and contiguous areas of Cambay Basin and Western Indian Shelf “. Using evidences
from geomorphological similarities between well known recent lava fields of
Hawai and Iceland and Deccan lava flows, he put forth the proposition that the
Deccan traps were not the result of a mantle plume or hot spot but infact due to
partial melting of pre-existing ancient rifts. A series of central type of
eruptions would have prevented degradation of the hydrocarbon potential of the
sub-trappean Mesozoic sediments. The presentation was followed by lively
interaction with the audience.
 Earlier,
Mr. Sukant Tiwari, Chief Geologist, ONGC had set the ball rolling by his talk
‘Glimpses of Muglad Basin’. The presentation gave a cogent summary of the
various aspects of the Basin setting, evolution, structural style and petroleum
geology. The successful play types and the factors critical for ensuring
entrapment were elaborated. The role of faults and importance of judging the
lateral seal was found to be crucial to the success of exploratory ventures. The
southern part of the Muglad basin is relatively unexplored and possesses
significant hydrocarbon potential.
 Shri
G.C. Saxena, GGM-Head CEC-OG, New Delhi then held sway over the audience with a
riveting presentation on “Emerging Technology in Exploration”. The presentation
brought out state-of-art technologies currently being utilized by the industry
for mitigating the exploration risk such as GX Technology, Over&Under Survey,
Q-Technology, Sea Bed Logging and SAR Technology. Shri Saxena also gave a
fascinating account of futuristic technologies under development which include
Passive Seismic, Infrasonic Spectroscopy, Amplified Geochemical Imaging,
Airborne Magnetic Surveys and Airborne Microseep Mapping. Use of several
technologies simultaneously is the preferred strategy for mitigating risk and
homing into the subsurface prize. The presentation was embellished with
illustrations from field applications.
 Summing
up the proceedings, Shri Jokhan Ram pointed out that different schools of
thought existed regarding the mode, duration and genesis of Deccan volcanism and
it’s implication for prospectivity of sub-trappean Mesozoics. He said that Dr.
K.S. Mishra has brought out a new hypothesis which has positive implications for
hydrocarbon prospectivity and this need to be investigated in conjunction with
other methodologies and technologies as well. He thanked the main speakers for
an intellectually stimulating talk and expressed his hope that APG-Delhi would
provide many more opportunities for the geoscientists of Delhi to meet and
discuss latest trends in their respective fields and enrich the profession.
Shri Sudhir Jain, Treasurer, APG Delhi Chapter thanked the speakers,
distinguished guests, the audience and the sponsors for their contribution in
making the seminar a grand success and brought the technical proceedings to a
close.
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