Guest Introduction

Dr. K.M. Strack is president of KMS Technologies- KJT Enterprises Inc. The Russian Academy of Science elected him a Foreign Member. Kurt also serves as Professor at the University of Houston, Mahidol University Bangkok, and at Yangtze University. He served as Chief Scientist for Baker Atlas. Prior to that Kurt pioneered LOTEM development and advanced borehole geophysics technologies in Germany, Australia and the USA. Kurt received a Ph.D. from the University of Cologne and a M.Sc. from Colorado School of Mines. Kurt has over 200 publications, 1 textbook & authors/co-authors more than 30 patents. He received a Fulbright scholarship and numerous international grants/awards.

The SPWLA granted Kurt a Distinguished Technical Achievement Award in 2003 for new logging technologies. SEG granted him the Reginald Fessenden Award.   Kurt was Distinguished Lecturer for the SPE (1998-1999) and SPWLA (2004-2005). In 2007-2008 he received the SEG’s Presidents Special Services Award. 2012 Kurt is co-recipient Cecil H. Green Enterprise Award from the SEG.

Lecture Detail

In the lecture, Dr. K.M. Strack firstly gave the concept of the geophysics, which is “a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis”. He further explained that Geophysics is closely related to human life, contributing to decrease environmental damage and minimize carbon footprint.

Subsequently, he gave a brief introduction on the research background and some basic geophysical methods, including gravity, magnetics, sound waves and electricity. He also elaborated on its application in the field of hydrocarbon exploration and production, for example, decreasing the risk level of well drilling, discovering residual oil and promoting oil recovery rate, etc. 

Besides, he introduced geophysics’ contribution in geothermal industry, for instance, exploring hot fluid zone, monitoring induced seismicity and measuring the temperature change, etc. Similarly, for renewable energy like geothermal and combustible ice, Geo-electromagnetics is the prominent method to find hot areas in the subsurface which is then used for heat production. 

Finally, Dr. K.M. Strack pointed out that the geophysical method is extending reservoir experience to earthquake prediction, and Chinese researchers do some pioneer work in this field. The earthquake is one of the most severe natural disasters, and its prediction is a worldwide scientific problem. If the electromagnetic method can be utilized to predict the earthquake, there will have a profound effect on our lives.

In conclusion, geophysical methods are not merely the fundamental technology in hydrocarbon exploration, but also have many applications in other fields such as engineering and geothermal application, even in cost saving and environmental protection.

Q&A Session

In this Q&A Session, students asked some question regarding the earthquake prediction  and how to find the fracture underground, and Dr. K.M.Strack gave a detailed answer one by one.

Prof. Zhanxiang He on behalf of College of Science presenting the honorary certificate to Dr. K.M.Strack