Oil's Seismic Signature
Seismic mapping has long been used to study underground rock in the search for potential oil-bearing formations.
To make these maps, geologists set off small explosions or use mechanical thumpers to vibrate on the surface, and then use instruments to observe how the seismic waves are scattered by underlying rocks.
Rock physics can extend the technique's usefulness by studying how porous rocks conduct seismic waves when fluids are added or removed from them, Schmitt said.
His studies have shown it's possible to map exactly what parts of the rock are being penetrated by steam—and where the largest oil reserves remain in any given rock layer.
This could allow production crews to target precisely the right areas without wasting time and costly steam on regions that have already been depleted.
Not all energy experts see heavy oils as a solution to the world's energy problems, however.
To turn the oil into gasoline, hydrogen must be used to combine the oil with natural gas, points out David Goodstein, author of Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil.
"It's very difficult and will always be limited," Goodstein said of the process.
But he applauds efforts to wring more oil from Canada's sandy deposits.
Only a mix of technologies can slake the world's energy thirst, he notes.
"We have to try everything we possibly can," he said.
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