Technology Used to Find Oil at Leduc

The seismic technology used was standard for that time. A series of lines, approximately 10 kilometres apart, was delineated on the area to be explored. The seismic crew then drilled a series of 18-metre deep holes at regular intervals along each line, placing small quantities of explosives in the holes and detonating them. The resulting shock waves travelled underground, reaching solid rock and reflecting back to the surface to geophones (like microphones) placed on the ground. The time it took for the waves to reach the surface indicated the distance between the underlying rock and the surface, enabling geologists to draw a profile of the rock.