In this issue:

CO2 sequestration and the In Salah case study
A new version of the PSInSAR™ algorithm now available
InSAR Remote Sensing over all of Italy
Open house at TRE Canada
TRE Canada awarded research contract with the Canadian Space Agency
TRE attended the SEG Conference and Exhibition for the second year in a row

CO2 sequestration and the In Salah case study

It is now widely recognized that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  due to human activities have an impact on the climate of our planet.
Reduction of CO2 (perhaps the most important GHG) emission into the atmosphere is a main objective of climate initiatives. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) regards the injection of carbon into appropriate geological formations and has been identified as a key method for reducing CO2 emissions. Significant investments are being made in this technology.
Once injection has taken place, CO2 storage sites should be carefully monitored to control and optimize the process, and to protect people, wildlife and ecosystems in the area surrounding  the reservoir.
It is possible to monitor CO2 with many techniques that are available on the market or under development. These include methods that directly detect CO2 and those that indirectly measure its effects on rocks, fluids and the environment.
A promising approach has recently been tested at the Krechba field (Algerian central Sahara), where integration of 3D seismic techniques with satellite InSAR data - combined with other measurements such as wellhead samples – has recently proved to be a powerful tool in tracking the subsurface migration of the gas.
The Krechba field was developed in July 2004 as a part of a joint venture with BP, Sonatrach and Statoil. Here CO2 is re-injected into the water leg of the Krechba Carboniferous Sandstone gas producing reservoir (about 20 m thick) via three horizontal wells at a depth of 1,900 metres.
Satellite image data acquired since the injection started in August 2004 and processed with the PSInSAR™ technique has identified uplift around the injectors, while the production area shows an interesting subsidence pattern.
These data turned out to be extremely valuable and confirm how useful the combination of remote sensing and in situ observations can be for long-term monitoring of subsurface fluids.



Figure 1: 3D view of the study area. PSInSAR™ data were integrated into a GIS environment to generate deformation maps and countour lines of the displacement field. ENVISAT data©European Space Agency, 2004-2007.

Note: CCS involves capturing CO2 at coal or gas-fired power stations and industrial facilities and transporting it by pipeline or ship to a storage location, and injecting it via well into a suitable geological formation for long-term storage. Once injected in the reservoir, the CO2 will fill the pore spaces below the cap rock. Over time, part of the CO2 will dissolve and eventually be transformed into minerals. These processes take place at different time scales and contribute to permanent trapping.  Based on the study of natural systems, carefully chosen storage sites are not expected to show any significant leakage but it is necessary to have monitoring programs in place.

top

A new version of the PSInSAR™ algorithm now available

TRE is proud to announce that a new version of the PSInSAR™ processing chain is now available for commercial projects. During the last year, the internal software procedures as well as TRE hardware facilities have been updated to allow the delivery of ever better data to our clients and, following three months of testing by our R&D group, the new processing chain is now available!
Although the PSInSAR™ software used for generating PS results has been continuously updated since TRE was founded in March 2000, this new release delivers a range of new features and tools that improve the quality of the final results and the amount of the information that can be extracted from radar multi-temporal data-stacks.

• PS affected by non-linear motion and then exhibiting a non-linear displacement time series can now be better identified and the deformation signal can be better singled out.
• Detection and monitoring of non-linear deformation signals can now also be carried out in Regional PS analyses, not only in Local PS analysis. This is a major enhancement.
• Radar data gathered by the new satellites, TerraSAR-X and the constellation Cosmo-SkyMed, can be now processed for PSinSAR™ analyses.
• More quality checks have been added to all processing steps for improved reliability and precision assessment.

Figure 2: an example of non-linear time series.

top

InSAR Remote Sensing over all of Italy!
TRE delivers first results covering the central regions of Italy

As mentioned in previous newsletters, the Italian Government has been undertaking a national plan for remote sensing, including the creation of a national InSAR database, that will support local authorities in preventing and forecasting natural hazards in Italy.
TRE has been awarded the contract for providing the entire ERS InSAR database of Italy and presented the first results a few days ago in Rome.  The PS measurements have already benefited from the new PSInSAR™ processing algorithm.

top

Focus on TRE Canada

Open house at TRE Canada

TRE Canada’s open house was held on October 1, 2008, to celebrate the incorporation of the company and the opening of its permanent office. The new premises are located at #550 – 409 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC.
During the event, the staff (Brian Young -CEO, Jamie Preston, Alexis Birnie and Giacomo Falorni), greeted approximately 45 guests, including the Consul General of Italy.
Alessandro Ferretti, Managing Director of TRE was present at the event and commented on TRE Canada’s positive start and the importance of the North American market:
“North America is now one of the fastest growing markets for our company”.

Figure 3: TRE Canada’s open house in full swing on October 1, 2008.

top

TRE Canada awarded research contract with the Canadian Space Agency

TRE Canada Inc, the North American subsidiary of TRE, has recently been awarded a research contract by the Canadian Space Agency entitled “Measurement of Horizontal and Vertical Motion using PSInSAR™”.
The objective of the project is to use the PS technique to determine full 3D displacements from Line-of-Sight (LOS) measurements using multiple datasets of SAR images. This represents an exciting new challenge for TRE and will further the advancement of the PSInSAR™ algorithm.

top

Events

SEG 2008 at Las Vegas
TRE attended the SEG Conference and Exhibition for the second year in a row

This year major focus was on CO2 geological storage research.  TRE shared with the numerous visitors to the booth the results obtained at the In Salah CO2 field, in central Algeria. 
Presentations regarding SAR interferometry and the PSInSAR™ algorithm were given at the Conference workshop " Unconventional time-lapse geophysics “, whose goal was to show examples of unconventional approaches to time-lapse geophysics and the associated monitoring applications.

Figure 4: TRE's staff at SEG 2008.

top