ESG Solutions20 Hyperion Court , Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Founded in 1993, ESG Solutions (Engineering Seismology Group or ESG) provides industry leading microseismic solutions for the oil and gas, mining and geotechnical industries.  ESG helps operators improve safety, optimize production, reduce costs and mitigate risk associated with hydraulic fracturing, thermal enhanced oil recovery, underground and open-pit mining, waste-water injections, natural gas storage, carbon sequestration and geotechnical applications.   ESG is headquartered in Kingston (Canada), with operations in Houston, Denver and Calgary and sales offices in Dallas, Pittsburgh, Beijing, Brisbane and Dubai.     ESG Solutions is dedicated to high quality products and services, customer satisfaction and continual improvement of our processes.  ESG maintains high standards of equipment manufacture, and can provide clients with ISO 9001:2008, ANSI, CSA and MSHA approved instrumentation when requested.  ESGs values are represented in our Code of Business Ethics.  ESG is in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.  

Company History

ESG Solutions was founded in 1993 as Engineering Seismology Group Canada Inc.  Today, the company is active in microseismic monitoring projects in the oil and gas, mining and geotechnical industries but its roots lie in microseismic monitoring for the Canadian mining industry.  The group was loosely formed out of a research lab at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario that was looking at a form of seismology called microseismics, or passive seismic. 

 Our Rich History - 20+ Years of Microseismic Monitoring

Microseismic science is literally the study of very small scale earthquakes that are induced by industrial processes such as mining or oil production.  In the 1980s, many mines in northern Ontario were experiencing increased seismic activity, including a large rockburst which killed 4 miners in Sudbury 1984. In response to this accident, a consortium of mining companies was established with government support to determine whether monitoring microseismic activity could have prevented this tragedy.  The research lab at Queens University then set out to develop instrumentation, software and processing routines to locate the source of microseismic activity in mines, and when the lab disbanded in the early 1990s, ESGs founders continued this important work in a commercial capacity.  From here, ESGs work expanded to include microseismic monitoring at mines all over the world, including in the USA, Canada, Australia, Chile, Peru, Romania, Indonesia, India and China.  

Retsof Salt Mine, New York

ESGs first permanent seismic system installation took place at the Retsof Salt Mine in the Genesee Valley near Retsof, New York. In 1994, the Retsof Salt Mine was the largest salt mine in North America, and the second largest in the world. Mining activities had caused the collapse of a 500 by 500 foot piece of the mine celing at a depth of 1,200 feet below the surface. The collapse of the shale celing rock compromised the caprock layer separating the mine from overlying ground water, and the mine began to flood. The failure caused a magnitude 3.6 earthquake that was felt on the surface, as well as release of natural gases, declining aquifer levels and surface subsidence.[4] An ESG seismic system was installed using boreholes and surface-based sensors to evaluate the integrity of the mine as it flooded and track the sinkhole generated at the surface.

Oil & Gas

With the most advanced microseismic acquisition, processing and analysis services in the oil and gas industry, ESGs complete passive seismic solutions help operators optimize production in unconventional formations.

Hydraulic Fracture Monitoring

ESGs FRACMAP® service collects, images and interprets microseismic data during hydraulic fracturing to optimize completions.  Take advantage of ESGs suite of innovative acquisition methods and expertise in advanced microseismic analysis to gain a greater understanding of stimulation effectiveness.

Reservoir Monitoring

ESGs RESMAP® service successfully delivers continuous, real-time feedback on reservoir conditions in response to injections.  Monitor EOR operations, ensure caprock and well casing integrity, track steam chamber growth, evaluate fault activation and assess induced seismic hazard. 

Mining & Geotechnical

ESGs microseismic monitoring systems and services provide a continuous stream of real-time information that help engineers understand how a rockmass responds to mining or geotechnical operations. Spectris Advance provides ESG access to an even broader range of monitoring systems and services.