Geotek
Encyclopedia
Geotek is a UK company that designs and manufactures specialised geological and oceanographic equipment.
, Surrey to its current location in Daventry
, Northamptonshire where John Roberts joined as Technical Director.
The company has grown to become a leading supplier of equipment for the automated analysis of sediment and rock cores. The Multi-Sensor Core Logger has been sold and contracted worldwide to universities, institutions and survey companies who use the instrument for a range of applications including studies of climate change
, offshore site investigation and oil
, gas and minerals exploration.
Geotek also plays a leading role in specifying and managing marine environmental surveys of the seafloor and managed the Strategic Environmental Assessment
for Oil and Gas and Renewable Energy for the Department of Trade and Industry. This was the UK's first fully online Government consultation process.
In recent years Geotek has been instrumental in advancing the development of pressure core analysis, particularly for the study of gas hydrates, and has played a leading role in a number of high profile gas hydrate investigations funded by national governments.
measurements to be obtained rapidly, accurately and automatically on sediment or rock cores under a variety of conditions.
Core samples are collected on land or at sea by academia, the hydrocarbon, mining and construction industries, as well as by the military for a host of different purposes. Correctly analysed, cores can yield crucial information about the properties of rock or sedimentary strata. For academia, core samples are now an essential part of climate and earth history research. The hydrocarbon industry needs accurate data on reservoir properties such as permeability, porosity
, grain size, type and chemistry of the geology
they are investigating, whereas the construction industry and the military may be interested in geotechnical
properties such as p-wave velocity, density and water content. Mining companies need geochemical information but also need to understand the physical properties which affect the rock crushing properties.
Company history
Founded by Peter Schultheiss in 1989, Geotek was incorporated in 1994 when Quentin Huggett joined as a company director and the business moved from HaslemereHaslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, Surrey to its current location in Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
, Northamptonshire where John Roberts joined as Technical Director.
The company has grown to become a leading supplier of equipment for the automated analysis of sediment and rock cores. The Multi-Sensor Core Logger has been sold and contracted worldwide to universities, institutions and survey companies who use the instrument for a range of applications including studies of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, offshore site investigation and oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, gas and minerals exploration.
Geotek also plays a leading role in specifying and managing marine environmental surveys of the seafloor and managed the Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic environmental assessment is a system of incorporating environmental considerations into policies, plans, and programmes. It is sometimes referred to as strategic environmental impact assessment. The specific term strategic environmental assessment relates to European Union policy...
for Oil and Gas and Renewable Energy for the Department of Trade and Industry. This was the UK's first fully online Government consultation process.
In recent years Geotek has been instrumental in advancing the development of pressure core analysis, particularly for the study of gas hydrates, and has played a leading role in a number of high profile gas hydrate investigations funded by national governments.
Products
The Geotek Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) is the only commercially available non-destructive core logging equipment that can work with both whole round and split cores of both hard rocks and soft sediments. The range of MSCL systems enable a number of useful geophysicalGeophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
measurements to be obtained rapidly, accurately and automatically on sediment or rock cores under a variety of conditions.
Core samples are collected on land or at sea by academia, the hydrocarbon, mining and construction industries, as well as by the military for a host of different purposes. Correctly analysed, cores can yield crucial information about the properties of rock or sedimentary strata. For academia, core samples are now an essential part of climate and earth history research. The hydrocarbon industry needs accurate data on reservoir properties such as permeability, porosity
Porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0–1, or as a percentage between 0–100%...
, grain size, type and chemistry of the geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
they are investigating, whereas the construction industry and the military may be interested in geotechnical
Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering is important in civil engineering, but is also used by military, mining, petroleum, or any other engineering concerned with construction on or in the ground...
properties such as p-wave velocity, density and water content. Mining companies need geochemical information but also need to understand the physical properties which affect the rock crushing properties.