The SEG Advanced Modeling (SEAM) Corp. has announced Talisman Energy Inc. and Tullow Oil as new participants to the SEAM Phase II - Land Seismic Challenges project.

This research project is an industry-led consortium addressing critical land seismic challenges through advanced 3D elastic modeling. Through three separate models, the project addresses high channel count acquisition, near surface issues, and fractured reservoir detection. Talisman and Tullow join 20 other industry-leading companies participating in the three-year project.

“Becoming a member of SEAM fits within our strategy of accessing relevant leading edge geophysical research through collaboration. This industry-lead consortium is studying the geophysical response to realistic geological subsurface models on a scale and with a degree of realistic complexity which we, like many other participants could not construct independently,” said John Doherty, principal geophysicist with Tullow Oil. “The subsurface challenges SEAM seeks to address are readily identifiable across our portfolio, so ultimately, the lessons from the simulations resulting from the response of these models will be leveraged across our business.”

SEAM Phase II commenced in early 2011. Participating companies commit to provide both funding and technical expertise over the project’s three-year duration. Project focus was determined after discussions with industry. The resultant models and simulated geophysical datasets will be most relevant to seismic data acquisition, processing, imaging and inversion challenges in desert regions, in unconventional shale plays and in foothills exploration.