Hunting gas is local man's challenge

Thu, Jun 25, 2009

Geologist Alan Hinks uses a 15-pound gravity meter to predict the type of rock underground in the search for gas and oil.

The $70,000 machine is set on a tripod in fields and other terrain "to help figure out the hidden geology from the glacial drift 10,000 to 20,000 years ago in Michigan," Hinks explained.

Hinks said he both enjoys and is challenged by the treasure hunt of his profession.

One of three geologists with Westshore Consulting of Muskegon and Grand Haven, his territory is northern Michigan.

Bob Schulz of Grand Haven is also one of the geologists at Westshore Consulting; with engineers, scientists, surveyors and planners on staff.

Hinks pointed out Michigan is 12th in the country for natural gas production and 18th for oil production.

"There is a lot of gas and oil left to find in Michigan," he said. "While most of my work has been in the northern portion, there is drilling in most regions of the Lower Peninsula."

Hinks said drilling in Michigan is called unconventional in shale rock where gas and oil is found. A six-man crew drills to 2,000 feet at the most in three or four days for gas, and there is a lot of speculation. It's costly drilling for oil at low output in barrels per day, but profitable at today's high crude oil prices, Hinks said.

"We've taken a half-million gravitation readings in Michigan where winds have blown sand, gravel and clay over shale rock for thousands of years," he said. "By measuring the variations in gravity with the meter, we can locate the hidden shale. Soil must be very stable about us when the meter is at work and wind is tough for getting readings. Even roads some distance away and animals in the field can interfere with the meter at work."

Hinks said a gravity meter can measure down to about three parts per billion of the Earth's gravity field.

"Gravity varies slightly because of the different densities of rock in the ground," he explained. "A modern meter can measure small changes in gravity and predict the type of rock underground. Knowing the type of rock improves the chance of finding oil and gas."

Hinks and his wife, Nancy, have two sons: Don, 17; and Sean, 12. Don is a varsity lacrosse player and skier at Grand Haven High School.