3D technology being used to locate new Alaska oil pockets

PRUDHOE BAY, Alaska (AP) — New technology is being used to search for untapped oil in an Alaska bay that is already an established source of fossil fuel, according to officials.

Oil and gas company BP is employing “3D seismic” technology to locate small pockets of previously undiscovered oil in Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday.

The area has been an oil source for more than four decades, but in recent years its flow has slowed, the newspaper reported.

The technology involves metal platforms mounted to “vibe trucks” weighing about 93,000 pounds (42,185 kilograms) that cause the ground to vibrate with sonic energy, officials said.

“As the energy wave goes through the subsurface, the rocks are in layers, and the layers are based in hardness,” said Robert Pool, a BP seismic acquisition specialist. “A harder layer, the sound wave goes through faster. And a softer layer, it goes through slower.”

Receivers pick up the returning sound waves and convert the data into a three-dimensional “cube” depicting the geology below, including the location of hidden pockets of oil, officials said.

The 3D seismic survey from January through mid-April will sweep over 450 square miles (about 1,166 square kilometers), the company said.

Environmental groups have voiced strong opposition to prospective 3D seismic work in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but they have not opposed BP’s use of the technology in Prudhoe Bay, the newspaper reported.

Alaska only allows seismic work when the tundra is frozen and covered with snow, while federal authorization is required because the bay is a polar bear habitat, officials said.

        美联社4月8日报道，英国石油公司目前正在阿拉斯加北部的普拉德霍湾使用一种“三维地震”勘探技术寻找尚未开发的石油。普拉德霍湾油田供油已有四十多年，不过近几年该油田产油量开始逐渐放缓。

　　据报道，三维地震勘探技术需要将一个金属平台装到一辆9.3万磅重的“感应卡车”上，通过声波能量这种装置将能够使地面振动。

　　英国石油公司的一名地震探测专家罗伯特•普尔(Robert Pool)表示，当能量波穿过地表下的岩石，岩石会分层。岩石越硬，声波便会穿得更快，岩石越软，穿越速度也会相应变慢。专家称，三维地震勘探技术会采集地下地层反射回地面的地震波信息，然后经过电子计算机处理将这一数据转换得出一张张地震剖面图和一个三维空间上的数据体，其描绘了地下岩层界面的具体情况，有助寻找地下石油。

　　据报道，环保组织强烈反对“三维地震”勘探技术应用于北极国家野生动物保护区，但他们没有反对英国石油公司在普拉德霍湾使用这一技术。官员表示，阿拉斯加只允许在冻土带结冰并被雪覆盖的情况下进行地震工作，但由于该海湾是北极熊的栖息地，因此也需要得到联邦政府的批准。(实习编译：张逸雯 审稿：谭利娅)

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中文是中国新能源网编译的，大家可以看看是否准确