Raptor 3D in San Augustine and Nacogdoches Counties, TX
Project Status
The Raptor 3D has been cancelled.
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MapSnapper is planning a geophysical survey on behalf of XTO Energy Inc., an oil & gas exploration and production company based in Houston, Texas. MapSnapper is a leader in geophysical technology and has overseen hundreds of successful projects across the country.
XTO Energy has applied for a geophysical permit with the Corps of Engineers at Sam Rayburn Reservoir and the US Forest Service for Angelina National Forest to allow MapSnapper to conduct a geophysical survey on behalf of XTO Energy in the area outlined on the map below.
What Is A Geophysical Survey?
A geophysical survey employs technology that uses reflected sound waves created by ground vibrations to detect and identify the structural characteristics of rock formations below the surface of the earth. The collected data is used to generate a 3-Dimensional image of the rock formations that assists XTO Energy in the exploration for and production of oil and natural gas.
Geophysical testing provides information that allows the driller to best position wells in the subsurface for maximum production. It can be compared to an MRI prior to a surgical procedure, where the images allow the physician to see what’s there before he goes inside.
Geophysical testing is very safe, and none of the testing done to date has resulted in damage to public infrastructure or property.
About the Equipment
The equipment used to perform the seismic survey will consist of three types of sources (Vibroseis trucks, an air gun barge, and shot holes) and two types of receivers (small geophones with data collection boxes and batteries and hydrophones in the lake).
Surveyors will navigate to the source and receiver locations and mark the position. Then, a team distributes the geophones and collection boxes at the selected points throughout the survey area.
The Vibroseis truck is used to create the vibration and the geophones are ultra-sensitive recording devices used to detect and measure the reflected sound waves created by the sources. The data collection boxes are attached to the geophones. These boxes record the data, which is then retrieved and read to create the map used by geologists to determine where best to drill.
Once the geophones are in place, the Vibroseis trucks, in groups of 2 or 3, will move along the source line stopping at designated locations to briefly vibrate the ground and produce the desired sound waves. The Vibroseis trucks will remain at each location only a matter of minutes. The vibration occurs for a matter of seconds and then the truck moves on to the next location.
An air-gun barge will produce the source signal in the lake.
Drill buggies will place shot holes off-road where the Vibroseis trucks cannot travel. Small explosive charges will be placed about 40 feet deep and sealed with plugs, bentonite, and gravel exceeding the Railroad Commission’s requirements.
The geophones and collection boxes will remain on the ground for a few weeks during the recording in a particular area and will be collected after recording in that area is completed.