Society of Petroleum Geophysicists (SPG) & Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG), (Vadodara Chapters)hosted their Annual Technical Meet jointly on 22nd July 2023 at ONGC Officers Club Vadodara. A large number of Geoscientists including retired senior officers from ONGC and students from MS Universityalso attended the event.

ED-Basin Manager Sh. P. R. Mishra presided over the meet. The event featured two distinguished geoscientists as speakers: Prof. M.G. Thacker, HOD, Department of Earth and Environment Science, KSKV Kachchh University and Prof. Dhananjay Sant, Faculty of Science, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

The afternoon session witnessed delivering of two thought-provoking, interactive talks. The first one was by Prof. M.G. Thacker on the topic “Geo-tectonic evolution of Kachchh paleo-rift Basin”. It was followed by another very enlightening talk by Prof. Dhananjay Sant on the topic 'Kachchh Basin: New Insights'.

In the first presentation, Prof. Thacker explained in great detail the evolution of Kutch Basin from Late Triassic onwards. Kutch basin is a rift basin which formed when India separated from Gondwanaland in Late Triassic. Synrift sedimentation took place in Half-Grabenal settings during Mid to Late Jurrasic.

Post-Rift sedimentation took place during Early cretaceous. This was followed by Deccan volcanism and Indo Eurasian Collision. Quaternary tectonics are still active in Kutch and signs of that can be observed like fault cuts, folds etc

He also stressed upon how Kutch is one of the few places in India where great number of geological features have been preserved in pristine condition due to its Arid Climate. Sequence boundaries of various horizons are also clearly observed in Kutch. As ONGC forays into new plays to further explore new regions, Kutch Basin has come up as a front runner.

Recently APG VRC has also conducted 2 field trips to Kutch Basin to better understand its geology. Kutch has also been an integral region to study fossil evolution. Many fossils like dinosaur bones fragments, corals, trace fossils as well as completely preserved Ichthyosaurus have been discovered here.

The second talk was delivered by Prof. Dhananjay Santon the topic ‘Kachchh Basin: New Insights’. There he discussed Kachchh basin in context of major structural elements in the Indus basin. He also discussed about shallow subsurface mapping of major and minor faults and seismicity along Kachchh mainland fault.

He elucidated his research work on HVSR technique, as a tool to map the extension of rock outcrop / features in subsurface, and to demarcate distinct rheological contrasts up to depth of 2000m. Microtremor surveys use ambient noise as the signal. The ability of the survey to generate rapid single station records at required resolution and cost effectiveness of the operations, are some of the incentives of using a microtremor survey

Prof. Sant then presented his research work in Kachchh region, a maiden attempt to map shallow subsurface rheological interfaces laterally across the Banni Plains and to decode geometry of the antecedent faults associated with the Kachchh Mainland Fault using the microtremor method. Prof. Sant further clarified that the ambient noise encapsulates fundamental resonant frequency of the sediment layers. These resonant frequencies derived from the microtremors show strong correlation with the velocity of the Rayleigh waves and the thickness of the sediments

The technical event garnered significant participation and engagement from SPG and APG members of WON Basin. ED - Basin Manager Shri PR Mishra highlighted the importance of such technical sessions and encouraged the continuation of such programs.

The evening brought delightful entertainment with a mesmerizing cultural program presented by an Orchestra Group from outside, followed by an interactive dinner.

Patron SPG & Vice President APG ED-Basin Manager Shri P.R.Mishra,President SPG Shri Mithai Lal, Vice President SPG Shri AK Bakshi,Secretary APG Shri Harshavardhan Dave & Secretary SPG Smt. Sangeeta Savanurwere instrumental in making the event successful. The technical event was ably compered by Mr. Snehanjan Mishra, executive member, SPG Vadodara.The vote of thanks was proposed by Mrs. Sangeeta Savanur, Secretary, SPG, Vadodara Chapter.

Special appreciation is also due to the members of the organizing committee, Mr. Rishabh Shukla, Mr. Vishal Pandey, Mr. Sameer Bhardwaj, Mr. Shashank Sangewar, Mr. IndrajitDalui, Mr. Sharat Shekhar & Mr. Vipul Chawla, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the smooth execution of the event.