Uruguay Round II: BP, BG, Total and Tullow Oil awarded offshore blocks 30 March 2012—ANCAP received 19 offers for offshore oil exploration and production in eight of the 15 offered blocks, by nine of the 11 oil companies qualified for the bidding process. There was competition between three or more companies in five of the blocks offered. More than 50% of the area from the bidding process will have exploration projects by the four new companies (the British companies BP and BG, the French company Total and the Irish company Tullow Oil) that adds to the work already being done by Petrobras, YPF, and GALP in the Uruguayan offshore. Blocks from the three Uruguayan offshore basins were awarded. They were the del Plata, Punta del Este and Pelotas basins; the last received particular interest from the oil companies. After the assessment of the winning bids and the approval of the Uruguayan government ANCAP will sign the contracts with the winning companies with a deadline of September 2012.
Satellite mission promises renaissance in gravity data for petroleum exploration 4 April 2012—GETECH, a UK-based petroleum and minerals consultancy, has begun an industry-funded research study to enhance the resolution of satellite-derived gravity data used in the search for hydrocarbon-bearing structures under the world's oceans and seas. The nine-month R&D study will determine how, and to what degree, the advanced ocean measurements from the three cycle polar geodetic mission (2011–13) of the CryoSat-2 satellite (with data provided by the European Space Agency, ESA) can improve the accuracy, resolution, and reliability of satellite-derived gravity. The success of the R&D study will pave the way for a global study by GETECH, commencing in early 2013, to map all the world's continental margins out to 500 km from the shore lines. This global study will include data from the NASA Jason-1 oceanographic satellite, subject to it going into geodetic mission mode in 2013. One year of data from CryoSat-2 will provide ~50% additional data on top of that available from previous satellite missions. The near-polar orbit will generate tracks with different orientations that will infill existing data coverage. GETECH believes that its specialized processing methodology will be particularly suitable for extracting high-resolution gravity data from this combined data set. In addition, CryoSat-2 is acquiring data with a new SAR (synthetic aperture radar) system, which promises improved accuracy over some key areas of the world. The R&D study will refine the methodologies and algorithms used previously on the GeoSat and ERS-1 data to handle the two altimeter data types being collected by CryoSat-2. Four test areas have been agreed in the Caspian Sea, Barents Sea, north Brazil margin and north Colombia/Venezuela margin to check on the resolution of the data by comparison with high quality terrestrial shipborne data.
Further agreement signed to acquire additional NWAAM data 4 April 2012—Dolphin Geophysicalhas signed a further agreement with the AGC Authorities to acquire additional 2D multiclient survey over recently designated deep-water blocks soon to be offered to industry for licensing. These new long-offset 2D data will form part of the ongoing NWAAM project commenced last year. Data will be processed in the UK by Dolphin's Partner in the project,TGS, which will also integrate these new lines with the regional interpretation work already in progress. Following the completion of this, road-show seminars are being scheduled in London and Houstonlater this summer. Acquisition of these new AGC lines is already underway and scheduled for completion by Mid-April. These additional data of about 1800 km will make the total for the NWAAM project to date around 17,000 km from northern Senegal to southern Guinea Conakry.
WesternGeco announces expansion of international multiclient data library 9 April 2012—WesternGeco announced the expansion of its portfolio of multiclient data for offshore Angola. The library holds the industry's only multiclient prestack 3D depth-imaged seismic products for the presalt Kwanza Basin and includes Block 21, for which a significant presalt discovery was recently announced. Following a four-year acquisition and reprocessing depth-merge program that illuminated the presalt section of the Kwanza Basin, WesternGeco offers 31,000 km2 of prestack multiclient data. This database is now expanding with a new 7000-km2 long-offset survey over Blocks 19 and 20 being conducted with Q-Marine point-receiver technology. The survey will be completed in the second quarter of 2012, and the data are expected to be available in 2013. Development and processing will be performed in collaboration with Sonangol E.P.
Schlumberger expands core analysis capabilities with Houston Geoengineering Laboratory 9 April 2012—Schlumberger inaugurated its new Houston Geoengineering Laboratory. The state-of-the-art, 30,000 ft2 facility is the latest addition to the Schlumberger global network of laboratories, offering a wide variety of reservoir core analysis services for the oil and gas industry. The new Houston facility features a conventional core analysis laboratory for the measurement of porosity, saturation, and permeability. It also houses a special core analysis laboratory for performing tests of a more complex nature covering capillary pressure, relative permeability, electrical properties, nuclear magnetic resonance, enhanced oil recovery evaluation,s and more. Additionally, the Houston laboratory performs a number of TerraTek rock mechanics and core analysis services, primarily geomechanics, for unconventional reservoirs. Schlumberger also operates core analysis laboratories in Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, Venezuela, and Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Curtin University receives Petrosys software grant 10 April 2012—The Department of Applied Geology at Curtin University Sarawak Campus, Malaysia was supplied with Petrosys software licenses in early 2012 under the Petrosys Educational Software Grant Program. The program aims to support the on-going development and education of future geoscientists by providing access to effective, proven mapping and modeling software technology.
Dolphin Geophysical signs new 3D multiclient agreement 11 April 2012—Dolphin Geophysical signed a new agreement with the government of Senegal, Petrosen, for the acquisition, processing, and marketing of a new 3D multiclient survey over designated deep-water acreage where additional equity is potentially available. The 3D survey is substantially prefunded. These new long-offset 3D data have been designed to image potential submarine turbidite fan plays that have become the focus of industry throughout West and northwest African. This 3D data set will complement the recently acquired NWAAM Regional 2D multiclient survey already fully processed and available over the area. Data acquisition of this 3D survey is currently about 40% complete and a high-end, onboard processed fast-track volume will be post-stack time migrated and available to prefunding clients within weeks of completion of the acquisition. This is designed to assist in initial 3D interpretation and further enhance evaluation of the acreage. Full PSTM processing will be undertaken onshore in the UK and jointly quality controlled by Dolphin and their clients representatives. Dolphin will make available sample data from this 3D survey at the Road-Show Seminars currently scheduled in London and Houston later this summer. TGS is Dolphin's partner in the NWAAM 2D regional survey. |
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