Satellite mapping

MAPPING AFRICA’S ENERGY FUTURE IN A CHANGING WORLD

Geoscience firms have been adapting to a changing energy landscape in a year where change has been the only constant. Martin Clark looks at the ways the latest advances in satellite mapping and seismic technology are giving operators the edge.

LEADING GEOSCIENCE FIRMS have long played a role in defining Africa’s oil and gas potential, identifying fields and drill sites through satellite mapping and seismic imaging. That includes playing a part in opening up some of Africa’s newest oil basins.

TGS has completed its flagship Jaan 3D seismic survey covering the MSGBC Basin in North West Africa, acquired in partnership with PGS and GeoPartners. Covering more than 28,000 sq km, the vast survey spans offshore Senegal, Gambia, AGC and Guinea-Bissau − all territories that have excited drillers in recent years.

The new survey was designed to map the Cretaceous Palaeo Shelf-Edge Trend and to shed light on untapped Jurassic potential − this has been the setting for the FAN and SNE discoveries, Africa's most successful play of recent times.

It is the setting for anticipated and ongoing bid rounds, including the Senegalese 2020 License Round, which offers acreage on-trend with the FAN and SNE finds. This core role in helping oil companies better understand what lies beneath the surface continues as ever, but there’s no doubt the times are changing, as geoscience firms position themselves for an energy sector in transition.

CGG this year ended its land

Satellite mapping is growing in importance in the oil and gas exploration sector.

based seismic data acquisition business, after completing its final contract in Tunisia, North Africa. It signals the end of its

Satellite and seismic imaging technology is playing an important part in opening up some of Africa’s newest oil and gas basins”

seismic data acquisition business entirely, amid planned exits from seabed and marine-based data acquisition. In February, the company unveiled a final 3D seismic dataset from its 15,400 sq km multi-client survey of the outer Zambezi Delta in the Mozambique Basin, another area that has emerged as an exploration hotspot following a wave of offshore discoveries.

Going forward, CGG is looking to tweak its business to better respond to the evolving needs of its clients. It wants to transition to an “asset-light people, data and technology company” supporting a wide range of clients along the exploration and production chain. Like its rivals, it has experienced massive shifts in the past couple of decades, with the arrival of big data and increased dependency on technology.

CGG has acquired a stake in AMBPR, a start-up which designs autonomous robots for repairing large metal structures used in the maritime and energy industries. It points to the direction of the industry, where technologies can perform tasks more safely and cost-efficiently than via human interventions. 