Canada's First Full-Sized, 3-D Visualization Centre for Oil and Gas Exploration

"This technology is a major step forward in oil and natural gas exploration, one that compares with the advent 15 years ago of three-dimensional seismic collection," said Gerry Macey, PanCanadian's Executive Vice President, Exploration. "For the first time, an entire exploration team of geo-scientists and technicians can collaborate in front of spectacular interactive images of the underground petroleum prizes. Apart from the greatly enhanced optics, the collaboration opportunity alone will help many expert minds unleash new ideas, improve our decision making and lower our drilling risk as we search for petroleum reserves in Western Canada and around the world."

Installed in PanCanadian's training centre just below the Calgary Tower, TerraDeck is at the infant stage of its application. But already this technology has helped improve PanCanadian's oil recoveries. When PanCanadian examined one of its mature reservoirs in northwest Alberta, this visualization technology helped geologists and drillers substantially improve oil recovery rates. Viewing the seismic data on the big, 3-D screen, the exploration team decided to move the original bottom-hole location of a horizontal well. The new well punctured a far richer section of the reservoir than the initial target would have, causing production rates to rise an estimated five-fold.

Large, visualization centres are employed in a variety of industries such as manufacturing and entertainment, but this is the first installation of a full-sized facility at a Canadian oil and gas company. TerraDeck covers 950 square feet and can accommodate 15 people at once. The name TerraDeck is derived from the Latin word Terra meaning earth. The word Deck is from flight deck as teams pilot their way to profitable oil and natural gas deposits.

PanCanadian plans to employ TerraDeck on a wide variety of exploration properties, including the deeper horizons of the company's huge Western Canadian land base, in deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, off Canada's East Coast and in the company's numerous overseas locations. The TerraDeck computer, software and projection equipment cost about $1.2 million. It's expected to pay off with fewer dry holes and as more well bores penetrate reservoirs' sweet spots.

TerraDeck is a collaboration of three sophisticated technology partners. Landmark Graphics Corporation provides the key computer software to interpret multidisciplinary oil field data. Silicon Graphics, Inc. provides the supercomputer hardware and Panoram Technologies provides the three overhead projectors to generate the spectacular images on the large screen.

PanCanadian is one of Canada's largest producers and marketers of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its extensive exploration and production activities stretch from coast to coast in Canada and include a variety of international interests in the Gulf of Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia and Africa.

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