Department of Earth & Environmental Science (BUES)

2-D Seismic Data Interpretation of Qadirpur Area, Pakistan

2025-02-07T10:54:48Z

2-D Seismic Data Interpretation of Qadirpur Area, Pakistan Ammad Ali Tariq Aim of the study is to interpret 2D-Seismic Reflection time section of the Qadirpur Area (Sindh Province) Pakistan. This seismic section is a Pre-stacked time migrated section and was provided by the Department of Earth Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad and this line bears the title 985-QPR-03 It is about 40 Kms in length and is oriented in SW-NE direction. OGDC acquired data in October 1998 and processed it in January 1999. The velocity information is in the form of RMS. DIX interval and DIX average at different times is given, and is provided at selected S.P. RMS velocity varies from 1500 m/s to 5000 m/s Interpreted part of this line from S.P. # 460 to S.P # 720, with CDPs from 920 to 1440 Length of this part of seismic section is 13 Kms. For interpretation of this part of Seismic section, four reflectors and 2 faults are marked on the basis of prominent reflections from subsurface horizons due to changes in lithology and diffractions. Using the RMS velocity given in the velocity panels on seismic section for selected shot points, calculate the time on constant velocity interval of 100m/sec Then using these calculated time and velocity values prepare the Iso-velocity graph and Iso-time graph (for mean line method) by taking constant velocity and time respectively, In Mean line Method of velocity estimation, a velocity vs time graph is prepared. From this graph, a mean average velocity is determined. From Seismic Section, arrival times (two ways) of each marked reflector are determined, Using these arrival times, Time Section is prepared. Also using these arrival times, calculate the average velocity for these times on mean line graph and then the depth of each reflector has been calculated using s(vt)/2 and is represented in Depth Section. Depth Section provides a reliable picture of reflectors and structures present in the subsurface of the area. Well correlation is also done, which satisfy the calculated depths, so horizons have been marked Interpretation of the Project Area shows that, extensional regime and calm environment prevails in the area. Reflectors are almost flat-lying, whereas Horst and Graben structures have been found. Supervised by Mr. Rashid Jamil

Evaluation of Structural Driven Geothermal Systems: A Comprehensive Geophysical Analysis in Thar Platform, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan

2026-07-28T04:19:29Z

Evaluation of Structural Driven Geothermal Systems: A Comprehensive Geophysical Analysis in Thar Platform, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan Zohaib Naseer, 01-286222-004 Geothermal energy resources are a renewable energy source that is an emerging field worldwide. These resources are economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Geothermal energy potential exists in Pakistan; however, these resources have not yet been fully tapped due to a lack of research interest and proper methodology. The current study aims to determine the potential of geothermal energy in the subsurface by utilizing 2D and 3D seismic and well data to explore the geothermal potential of the sandstone reservoir in the Southern Indus Basin of Pakistan. The study area, Sanghar Block, lies in the Thar Platform. The major subsurface structures present in this area are horst and graben, which are considered perfect structure for the trapping of geothermal energy. The detailed studies are performed on the Lower Goru Formation, which is considered as major reservoir in the study area. Effective evaluation of geothermal reservoir characteristics from well and seismic data plays a fundamental role in harnessing subsurface geothermal resources. Facies identification was achieved using borehole data through artificial intelligence techniques, indicating that the key facies present in the Lower Goru Formation are shale and sandstone. As the shale containing naturally radioactive lithology have a radioactive element like U, Th and K, which are also considered a source of heat. It has been considered based on present studies that the existence of radioactive elements such as U, K, and Th in these facies is a dynamic source of heat in the subsurface. Geothermal reservoir properties such as average porosity, the volume of shale, heat production, radiogenic heat production, and permeability were computed from well logs and seismic data. A DFFNN was utilized to demonstrate the variation of geothermal reservoir characteristics along the seismic transect. In the DFFNN data is split into 70 % for training and 30% for testing purposes. The models are optimizing by using multiple hidden layers which control the over and underfitting of geothermal and petrophysical model parameters. The major function of DFFNN is to boost the incorporation of well and seismic data for geothermal reservoir characterization by estimating rock characteristics gained from model based seismic inversion. DFFNN technique achieved excellent correlation values from 85-98% for geothermal and petrophysics properties by utilizing multiple attributes while in traditional techniques which often suffer from poor resolution and high ambiguities when estimating these properties. The current research is innovative because of its amalgamation of machine learning and statistical methods, which permits the evaluation of geothermal properties (average porosity, the volume of shale, heat production, radiogenic heat production, and permeability) on seismic sections that are typically insights in the studied interval. The results of subsurface geothermal reservoir characteristics average values derived from logs curve data: average porosity (15.90%), volume of shale (33.80%), heat production (0.933 µW/m3), radiogenic heat production (1.20 µW/m3), and permeability (16.37 mD) are relatively promising which signifies that the present study zone is promising for geothermal potential. The quality control of seismic to well ties is confirmed by generating the relationship between synthetic seismogram, real seismic and time to depth chart, while the validation of facies prediction is confirmed by using well reports. The geothermal analysis is compared with published and international values for the validation of results Based on the current results, it has been determined that the innovative methods have enhanced prediction accuracy and minimized the ambiguity in geothermal characteristics, and this study has a positive impact on Pakistan renewable policy as it provides an alternate source of fossil fuel and coal and promote renewable energy target. Key words: Geothermal Energy, Heat Production, Radiogenic Heat Production, Permeability, Machine Learning, Deep Feed Forward Neural Network. Supervised by Dr. Muhsan Ehsan

Trends of Climatic Extremes and Their Correlation with Wildfire Occurences in Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad

2026-10-27T10:40:38Z

Trends of Climatic Extremes and Their Correlation with Wildfire Occurences in Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad Mir Khizar Rafique, 01-262242-039 Climate change, fuel load, and human activities are the three major components of wildfire, but the relationship between long-term change in climatic extremes and fire activity is yet to be tested in the protected mountain landscapes of Pakistan. This study compared the climatic changes of the last 30 years in Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) near Islamabad with the fire record of the park during 1996 to 2025. The daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and wind speed were analysed, and 27 core Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices for temperature and precipitation extreme were computed using ClimPACT2 Package in RStudio. The Modified Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator and Innovative Trend Analysis were applied to examine trends at monthly, seasonal and annual scales; associations between fire frequency and burned area were quantified using Spearman's rank correlation. While warming was reported in Islamabad and the Potohar Plateau, both maximum and minimum temperature decreased (slope −0.0279°C/yr and −0.027°C/yr respectively) with ITA showing significant cooling in later years, while precipitation and humidity increased and winds were mostly calm. Fire frequency and burned area both decreased significantly, with burned area decreasing at a higher rate than fire frequency, meaning that fire size has decreased but not necessarily the number of fires; the number of fires increased significantly in the summer with Sen’s slope of 0.048 recently from July to September. The strongest relationships were at the lower end of the temperature spectrum, with more burned area being correlated with warmer coldest nights (rho = 0.49, p < 0.01), and fewer frost days being correlated with less burned area, while winter heavy-rainfall days and June rainfall totals were both correlated with reduced burned area, and the heat index was not significantly correlated. Because climate affects fire primarily through fuel dryness, rather than ignition, which remains predominantly human-driven, MHNP serves as a cooler microclimate than its warmer surroundings. This study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the climate wildfire nexus and provides an essential baseline for evidence-based forest management, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction. Future efforts must prioritize early resource deployment and strict access controls, supported by future research to develop a locally calibrated Pakistan’s fire-weather index. Supervised by Dr. Asma Jamil

Unconventional Hydrocarbon Potential of The Ghazij Formation, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan

2026-10-27T10:17:01Z

Unconventional Hydrocarbon Potential of The Ghazij Formation, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan Sultan Hisham Sultan Alkatib, 09-262242-020 The Ghazij Formation in the Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan, is a shaledominated Eocene sequence containing carbonate-rich limestone intervals whose source rock quality and unconventional reservoir potential remain poorly characterized. This study integrates geochemical and petrographic analysis of the Ghazij Formation in Zamzama-5 and Mehar-1 to evaluate the quantity, quality, and thermal maturity of organic matter and to assess its unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir potential. Total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were applied to drill-cutting samples from Zamzama-5. Mehar-1 was evaluated by TOC and visual cutting examination only, as all samples fell below the 0.5 wt.% analytical threshold. XRF and XRD indicate carbonate-dominated limestone at Zamzama-5, ranging from calcareous quartzose limestone at shallow depths to a purer limestone at depth. Clinochlore as the only clay phase (4–5%) and a diagenetic dolomite-to-ankerite transition at the deepest interval. TOC values of 2.71– 5.05 wt.% indicate very good to excellent source rock quality, exceeding the 2% unconventional hydrocarbon threshold throughout. Rock-Eval pyrolysis identifies Type III indigenous gas-prone kerogen (HI: 87–183 mg HC/g TOC), with the production index indicating immature to early mature conditions in the sampled intervals. SEM-EDS identifies five pore types defining a multi-scale pore system, with interparticle pores at shallower depths and more conspicuous natural microfractures at the deepest sample. Mineralogy-based brittleness indices of 29.5–39.6% and 90.3– 96.8% indicate a favourable mineralogical brittleness framework for hydraulic fracture stimulation. However, the sampled Ghazij intervals are currently immature to early mature, representing the principal limitation to their present thermogenic hydrocarbon potential. More thermally mature Ghazij intervals may occur in deeper parts of the Southern Indus Basin and require investigation using samples from more deeply buried wells. At Mehar-1, TOC values of 0.32–0.45 wt.% and mixed shale-limestone cuttings confirm a lean organic-poor facies equivalent. The Ghazij limestone at Zamzama-5 exhibits the principal organic, mineralogical, and pore-system characteristics favourable for an unconventional tight carbonate gas play, but its present immature to early mature thermal state remains the principal limitation. It is therefore proposed as a target for further investigation, particularly in deeper parts of the Southern Indus Basin where more mature intervals may occur. Supervised by Dr. Adeeb Ahmed