Download I have known Dr Yoshinori Takano on the occasion of IODP

[TO BE PREPARED ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD]
May 8, 2017
United States Department Homeland Security
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Texas Service Center
4141 North St. Augustine Road
Dallas, TX 75227
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am delighted to write this letter in support of Dr. Gboyega O. Ayeni’s priority
worker immigration petition for classification as an outstanding researcher.
I am a Winthrop Professor in Geophysics, Woodside-Chevron Chair, and Director,
Centre for Petroleum Geoscience, School of Earth and Environment, University of
Western Australia (UWA). I have over 15 years of service as an expert advisor to
various industry, academic and government organizations, including the US
National Academy of Sciences. Prior to joining UWA in 2009, I held several senior
positions in operations, research, management in the energy industry, as well as
academic positions at various Universities. Over the past 10+ years, I have been
the principal investigator (PI) on various research projects totaling more than
$120M in competitive grants. In addition, I have published over 70 refereed journal
papers and expanded conference abstracts resulting in over 1000 citations. . I
received the J. Clarence Karcher Award for Outstanding Research Scientist in 1996
in recognition of my pioneering work in time-lapse imaging. I was a Distinguished
Lecturer of Society of Petroleum Engineers between 1998 and 1999, visiting over
30 international lecture sites. Between 2000 and 2001, I served as a Joint Society
Distinguished Lecturer of the Society of Exploration Geophysics and American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, visiting over 40 international lectures sites.
Between 2009 and 2010, I was elected the First Vice-President of the Society of
Exploration Geophysicists, a professional body with global membership of over
35,000. Details of my background, awards/recognition and positions held are
contained in my attached Curriculum Vitae. Given my background and international
recognition as a subject matter expert in the field of time-lapse seismic imaging, I
believe I am well qualified to judge the professional credentials of Dr. Ayeni and his
research abilities.
My evaluation of Dr. Ayeni is based primarily on his work at the Stanford
Exploration Project (SEP), a research consortium of over 20 industrial affiliates
recognized globally for its contributions to several key developments in seismic
imaging for over four decades. Dr. Ayeni’s primary research at Stanford focused on
improving time-lapse (4D) seismic imaging of subsurface reservoirs. Since its
introduction as a practical tool for monitoring fluid flow in subsurface reservoirs,
time-lapse imaging has found widespread use in the energy industry as the primary
tool for hydrocarbon reservoir monitoring. This is because it enables an
understanding of the reservoir response to hydrocarbon production and/or fluid
injection in oil and gas fields. Time-lapse imaging is also a tool for environmental
monitoring (e.g., Carbon dioxide sequestration monitoring).
As part of PhD research at Stanford University, Dr. Ayeni developed a linearized
joint inversion method that can improve time-lapse imaging of reservoirs under
complex overburden. In addition, Dr. Ayeni demonstrated that this method could
also attenuate artifacts in time-lapse images, which are caused by inconsistencies
between seismic acquisition geometries. Overcoming these challenges can enable
monitoring of fluid flow in reservoirs located below very complex overburden such
as salt (e.g. Gulf of Mexico) and in areas where it difficult to repeat seismic
acquisition geometries between the different seismic surveys. Dr. Ayeni has also
presented ways to improve acquisition of time-lapse seismic data sets. One limiting
factor against the use of time-lapse imaging is high cost associated with frequent
repeated acquisition of seismic data sets. Dr. Ayeni showed that if these data are
acquired cheaply using a simultaneous-source technique (an innovative seismic
acquisition method), his linearized inversion methods can be used to image such
data with sufficient accuracy. Furthermore, Dr. Ayeni has proposed ways to acquire
and image directly seismic data sets using permanent encoded arrays. Results from
Dr. Ayeni’s research have been presented at several international conferences and
workshops within and outside the United States. For example, results from Dr.
Ayeni’s work were presented at the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)
held in Houston, TX. The OTC, which was established in 1969, is a global event
sponsored by 13 different professional engineering, mining, marine and geoscience
organizations. This conference is attended annually by over 80,000 energy
professionals from over 100 countries and by over 2,500 exhibiting companies.
Presenting at this conference demonstrates the value placed on his research
contributions and the broad interests in his work by the oil and gas industry. This
also demonstrates the international significance of Dr. Ayeni’s research
contributions. Results from Dr. Ayeni’s work have also been published in Geophysics,
a peer-reviewed journal in exploration geophysics published by the Society of
Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).
Any Additional comments from my CV……
Dr. Ayeni continues to make important contributions to the field of seismic imaging
through his affiliation with the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. I strongly
recommend that his petition for Classification as an outstanding researcher be
approved.
Sincerely,
---------------David E. Lumley
Winthrop Professor, Woodside-Chevron Chair
Director, Centre for Petroleum Geoscience
School of Earth & Environment
The University of Western Australia