William Harbert

Professor

Contact

William Harbert
504 SRCC
4107 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Biography

Dr. William Harbert received his MS in Exploration Geophysics and Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University. He is a life-time member of SEG, a registered professional petroleum geophysicist and member of AAPG and SPE. He has been a DOE ORISE Research Associate and a Resident Institute Fellow of the NETL-Institute for Advanced Energy Solution (IAES). He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the In Salah CO2 Injection Project facilitated by British Petroleum and is presently on the Altarock Review Board, which focuses on an enhanced geothermal power project funded by the United States Department of Energy. 

 

  • Research
  • Recent Publications
  • Publications
  • Teaching

The research of this group is seismic analysis of microseismic, reflection seismic, VSP and fluid and structure using advanced processing and attributes. The group works to accurately image surface geometry using geophysical techniques and advanced geophysical processing. The goal of this research is to better understand subsurface structures, subsurface pore filling phases and topologies and dynamic processes at a variety of scales, from micro computer tomography (CT) scale to log response scale, to vertical seismic profile and cross well tomorgraphy scales and surface seismic response scale. 

Research Areas

Wang, Z., Huang, L., Dilmore, R., and Harbert W., 2018, Modeling of time-lapse seismic monitoring using CO2 leakage simulations for a model CO2 storage site with realistic geology: Application in assessment of early leak-detection capabilities, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 76, p. 39-52.

Kumar, A., Zorn, E., Hammack, R., and Harbert, W., 2018, Long-Period, Long-Duration Seismic Events and Their Probable Role in Reservoir Stimulation and Stage Production, SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, SPE 191377.

Kaminski, V., Hammack, R., Harbert, W., Veloski, G. A., Sams, J., and Hodges, D. G., 2018, Geophysical helicopter based magnetic methods for locating wells, Geophysics, 83, B269-B279.

Kumar, Abhash, Kevin Chao, Richard Hammack, and William Harbert, 2018,Surface Seismic Monitoring of Hydraulic Fracturing Test Site (HFTS) in the Midland Basin, Texas. Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, 23-25 July 2018: pp. 3799-3809.

Zorn, Erich, Kumar, Abhash, Harbert, William and Hammack, Richard, 2019, Geomechanical Analysis of Microseismicity in Organic Shale: A West Virginia Marcellus Shale Example, Interpretation, 7, T231-T239.

Daley, T. M., and Harbert, W., 2019, Goals of CO2 monitoring: Why and how to access the subsurface changes associated with CCS, in Geophysics and Geosequestration, Cambridge University Press, accepted and in press.

Delaney, D., Purcell, C., Mur, A., Haljasmaa, I., Soong, Y., Crandall, D., and Harbert, W, 2018, Dynamic Moduli and Attenuation: Rhyolite and Carbonate Examples, AGU Book submitted and in review.

Daley, T. M., and Harbert, W., 2018, Goals of CO2 monitoring: Why and how to access the subsurface changes associated with CCS, in Geophysics and Geosequestration, Cambridge University Press, accepted and in press.

Kaminski, V., Hammack, R., Harbert, W., Veloski, G. A., Sams, J., and Hodges, D. G., 2018, Geophysical helicopter based magnetic methods for locating wells, Geophysics, accepted and in press.

Barbara Kutchko, Dustin Crandall, Johnathan Moore, Connor Gieger, Magdalena Gill, Igor Haljasmaa, Richard Spaulding, William Harbert, Alison Mergaman, Laura Dalton, Eilis Rosenbaum, Dustin Mcintyre, Glen Benge, Charles Buford, Joe Shine, 2015, Assessment of Pressurized Foamed Cement Used in Deep Offshore Wells, SPE, OTC-25994-MS.

Zorn, Erich, Kumar, Abhash, Harbert, William and Hammack, Richard, 2018, Geomechanical Analysis of Microseismicity in Organic Shale: A West Virginia Marcellus Shale Example, Interpretation, submitted and in review.

Wang, Z., Huang, L., Dilmore, R., and Harbert W., 2018, Modeling of time-lapse seismic monitoring using CO2 leakage simulations for a model CO2 storage site with realistic geology: Application in assessment of early leak-detection capabilities, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 76, p. 39-52.

Kumar, Abhash, Zorn, E., Hammack, R., and Harbert, W., 2017, Long period, long duration (LPLD) seismicity observed during hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale in Greene County, Pennsylvania, The Leading Edge, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/tle36070580.1.

Zorn, Erich, Harbert, William, Hammack, Richard, and Abhash, Kumar, 2017, Geomechanical Lithology-Based Analysis of Microseismicity in Organic Shale Sequences: A Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Example, The Leading Edge, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/tle36100845.1, p. 845-851.

Kumar, Abhash, Zorn, Erich, Hammack, Richard, Harbert, William, Ampomah, William, Balch, Robert, and Garcia, Leonard, 2017, Passive seismic monitoring of an active CO2-EOR operation in Farnsworth, Texas, SEG 2017 Annual Meeting, DVD Extended Abstracts.

R. Spaulding, I. Haljasmaama, C. Gieger, B. Kutchko, J. Fazio, G. DeBruijn, J.M. Shine, G. Benge,  W. Harbert, 2015, An Assessment of the Dynamic Modulus of Atmospherically Generated Foam Cements, SPE, OTC-25776-MS.

Rui Zhang, Donald Vasco, Thomas M. Daley, William Harbert, 2015, Characterization of a fracture zone using seismic attributes at the In Salah CO2 storage project, Interpretation, 3, SM37-SM46.

Wang, Pengyun, Pozzi, M., Small, M., and Harbert, W., 2015, Statistical method for real-time detection of changes in seismic risk at deep-well injection sites, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 105, doi: 10.1785/0120150038.

Wang, Pengyun, Small, Mitchell, Harbert, W., and Pozzi, M., 2015, A Bayesian approach for assessing seismic transitions associated with wasterwater injections, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, (accepted and in-press).

Wang, Pengyun, Pozzi, M., Small, M., and Harbert, W., 2015, Statistical method for real-time detection of changes in seismic risk at deep-well injection sites, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, (accepted and in-press).

Rui Zhang, Donald Vasco, Thomas M. Daley, William Harbert, 2015, Characterization of a fracture zone using seismic attributes at the In Salah CO2 storage project, Interpretation, 3, SM37-SM46.

R. Spaulding, I. Haljasmaama, C. Gieger, B. Kutchko, J. Fazio, G. DeBruijn, J.M. Shine, G. Benge,  W. Harbert, 2015, An Assessment of the Dynamic Modulus of Atmospherically Generated Foam Cements, SPE, OTC-25776-MS.

Barbara Kutchko, Dustin Crandall, Johnathan Moore, Connor Gieger, Magdalena Gill, Igor Haljasmaa, Richard Spaulding, William Harbert, Alison Mergaman, Laura Dalton, Eilis Rosenbaum, Dustin Mcintyre, Glen Benge, Charles Buford, Joe Shine, 2015, Assessment of Pressurized Foamed Cement Used in Deep Offshore Wells, SPE, OTC-25994-MS.

Hammack, Richard W., Harbert, W., Sharma, Shikha, Stewart, Brian W., Capo, Rosemary C., Wall, Andy J., Wells, Arthur, Diehl, Rodney, Blaushild, David, Sams, James, and Veloski, Garret, 2014, An Evaluation of Fracture Growth and Gas/Fluid Migration as Horizontal Marcellus Shale Gas Wells are Hydraulically Fractured in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, NETL-TRS-3-2014, 80 pp..

Kutchko, Barbara, Moore, J., Gill, M., Haljasmaa, I., Spaulding, R., Harbert, W., Benge, G., Cunningham, E., Lawrence, D., DeBrujin, and Shine, J., 2014, Assessment of foamed cement used in deep offshore wells, SPE, SPE-170298-MS.

Carter, Kristin M., Schmidt, Katherine, W., Harbert, W., and Parrish, Jay B., 2014, Using geophysical and remote sensing techniques to evaluate deep geologic formations in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Fourth Series, 12 p.

Karimi, Bobak, McQuarrie, Nadine, Lin, Jeen-Shang, and Harbert, W., 2014, Determining the geometry of the North Anatolian Fault east of the Marmara Sea through integrated stress modeling and remote sensing techniques, Tectonophysics, 623, p. 14-22.

Zorn, Erich V., Richard Hammack, and Harbert, W., SPE, 2013,  Time Dependent b and D-values, Scalar Hydraulic Diffusivity, and Seismic Energy from Microseismic Analysis in the Marcellus Shale: Connection to Pumping Behavior During Hydraulic Fracturing, SPE, SPE-168647-MS.

Hammack, Richard, Zorn, E., Harbert, W., Stewart, B., Sharma, S., and Siriwardane, H., 2013, An Evaluation of Zonal Isolation After Hydraulic Fracturing; Results From Horizontal Marcellus Shale Gas Wells at NETL’s Greene County Test Site in Southwestern Pennsylvania, SPE 13ERM-P-65-SPE.

Hur, Tae-Bong, Baltrus, J. P., Howard, B. H., Harbert, W. P., and Romanov, V. N., 2013, Carbonate Formation in Wyoming Montmorillonite under High Pressure Carbon Dioxide, International Journal of Green House Gases, v. 13, p. 149-155.

Harbert, W., Purcell, Christopher, and Mur, Alan, 2011, Seismic reflection data processing of 3D surveys over an EOR CO2 injection, Energy Procedia, v. 4, p. 3684-3690.

Mur, Alan, Purcell, C., Soong, Y., McLendon, T. Robert, Haljasmaa, I. V., Kutchko, B., Kennedy, S., and Harbert, W., 2011, Integration of core sample velocity measurements into a 4D seismic survey and analysis of SEM and CT images to obtain pore scale properties, Energy Procedia, v. 4, p. 3676-3683.

 

Kirchen, K., Harbert, W., Apt, J., and Morgan, M. G., 2020, A Solar-Centric Approach to Improving Estimates of Exposure Processes for Coronal Mass Ejections, Risk Analysis, 40, 1020-1039, DOI: 10.1111/risa.13461.  
Kumar, A., Hammack, R., Bear, A., and Harbert, W., 2020, Seismic Monitoring of an Associated Gas “Huff N Puff” for Enhanced Oil Recovery in the Upper Wolfcamp Shale of the Midland Basin, Texas, Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, URTeC: 2818. 


Wang, Z., Dilmore, R. M., and Harbert, W., 2020, Inferring CO2 saturation from synthetic surface seismic and downhole monitoring data using machine learning for leakage detection at CO2 sequestration sites, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 100, p. 1-11. 


Harbert, W., Goodman, A., Spaulding, R., Haljasmaa, I., Crandall, D., Sanguinito, S., Kutchko, B., Tkach, M., Fuchs, S., Werth, C. J., Tsotsis, T., Dalton, L., Jessen, K., Shi, Z., and Frailey, S., 2020, CO2 induced changes in Mount Simon sandstone: Understanding links to post CO2 injection monitoring, seismicity and reservoir integrity, Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 100, 103109.  


Warner, T., Rampton, D., Morgan, D., Bromhal, G., Harbert, W., and Wang, Z., 2020, Using Geophysical Technologies Deployed in Inexpensive Monitoring Wells to Monitor the Evolution of a CO2 Plume: Potential Benefits and R&D Needs, National Energy Technology Laboratory, United States Department of Energy, DOE/NETL-2021/2635.  


Wang, Z., Dilmore, R.M., Bacon, D. H., and Harbert, W., 2021, Evaluating Probability of Containment Effectiveness at a GCS Site using Integrated Assessment Modeling Approach with Bayesian Decision Network, Greenhouse Gas Sci Technol. 0:1–17 (2021); DOI: 10.1002/ghg.2056 


Kumar, A., Harbert, W., Hammack, R., Zorn, E., Bear, A., and Carr, T., 2021, Evaluating proxies for the drivers of natural gas productivity using machine learning methods, Interpretation, https://doi.org/10.1190/int-2020-0200.1.  


White, Donald, Daley, Thomas, Paulsson, Björn, Paulsson, Harbert, William. 2021,  Borehole Seismic Methods for Geological CO2 Storage Monitoring, The Leading Edge, https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40060434.1.  

 

Prasad, Manika, Glubokovskikh,, Stanislav, Daley, Thomas, Oduwole, Similoluwa, and Harbert, William, 2021, CO2 Messes with Rock Physics, The Leading Edge, https://doi.org/10.1190/tle40060424.1.  

GEOL 1445 and 2449 GIS, GPS, and Computer Methods

​The goal of this course is to gain expertise in the methods of Geographic Information Systems using the GeoTRANS and ArcGIS software packages on PC based workstations. No previous computer classes are required. Students will be graded on the basis of approximately 5 computer assignments, in-class exercises, a project, and final exam. This course is a core course for the GIS Certificate.The goals of the GIS courses are to gain expertise in the methods of GIS through increasingly complex exercises.

Offered every Fall term and in the Summer if there is student demand. Lecture 3 hours.

GEOL 1446 and 2446 Adv GIS Systems & Computer Methods

The goal of this course is to continue to gain expertise in ARC/INFO GIS and computer workstations. Students will use GIS instruments to collect GIS data, import and export DEM and DLG data in a variety of format, be introduced to map projections, ModelBuilder models, and work with the TIN, grid, and network modules of ARC/INFO on computer workstations.  Graduate level courses include individual projects and course presentations often focused on thesis-related subject matter.

Offered every spring term. Lecture, 3 hours.

GEOL 1410 and 3410 Exploration Geophysics

Various geophysical techniques‑‑seismic, gravimetric, magnetic, and electro‑magnetic‑‑are frequently utilized in the exploration of the Earth's crust for mineral or petroleum deposits of economic value. The basic principles of these techniques, the interpretation of geophysical data, and their application to geology will be discussed in quantitative detail. The goals of this course are to give students an understanding of the physical principles of geophysical methods so that they will appreciate the strengths and limitations of the methods. After certain fundamentals have been mastered, the students study the procedures used in data acquisition and use the department's equipment to conduct geophysical surveys. The final phase of each section of the course gives students training in interpretation of geophysical data.

Offered every other year. Lecture 3 hours.

GEOL 2447 Geophysical Well logging

In the well logging courses, the goals are to develop an understanding of the principles and applications of well logging,  an understanding of geological lithology, unit and stratigraphic characteristics, structure geology, fault structure and other geological concepts relevant to well log analysis. We focus on the students ability the ability to interpret well logs and field analysis based upon well logs, including formation structure, fluid characteristics, production zones, and uncertainty.