SPECIAL TOPIC Digitalization / Machine Learning
EAGE NEWS Remembering Enders Robinson
INDUSTRY NEWS Norway becomes Europe’s largest gas supplier
TECHNICAL ARTICLE Potential of geothermal energy on the island of Ireland
VOLUME 41 I ISSUE 2 I FEBRUARY 2023
cgg.com/earthdata SE E THINGS DI FF ERE NT LY ALL-ROUND BETTER SUBSURFACE IMAGING Scan the QR code to see for yourself.
FIRST BREAK ®
An EAGE Publication
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• Hamidreza Hamdi, University of Calgary (hhamdi@ucalgary.ca)
• Clément Kostov, Freelance Geophysicist (cvkostov@icloud.com)
• John Reynolds, Reynolds Geo-Solutions Ltd (jmr@reynolds-geo.com)
• James Rickett, Schlumberger (jrickett@slb.com)
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FIRST BREAK ON THE WEB www.firstbreak.org
ISSN 0263-5046 (print) / ISSN 1365-2397 (online)
57
How reusing trained machine learning models accelerates and improves the work of operational geoscientists
Special Topic: Digitalization / Machine Learning
45 Motion sensor noise attenuation using deep learning Bagher Farmani, Yash Pal, Morten W. Pedersen and Edwin Hodges
53 Derivation of rock’s geomechanical parameters while drilling by combining surface drilling data, gamma ray data, and machine learning techniques in carbonate formations
Ivo Colombo and Eliana R. Russo
57 How reusing trained machine learning models accelerates and improves the work of operational geoscientists
Paul de Groot and Hesham Refayee
63 Seismic AVO attributes and machine learning techniques characterise a distributed carbonate build-up deposit system in the Salawati Basin, eastern Indonesia
Yudistira Effendi and Lilik T. Hardanto
69 Harnessing machine learning in the subsurface to promote operational efficiency
Chris Hanton
73 A machine learning workflow for log data prediction at the basin scale
Keyla Gonzalez, Olga Brusova and Alejandro Valenciano
81 How can machine learning be used in log analysis?
Carl Fredrik Gyllenhammar
94 Calendar
cover: Industrial engineer uses augmented reality to digital tablet to scan large metal construction.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 1 Editorial Contents 3 EAGE News 17 Personal Record Interview 18 Monthly Update 20 Crosstalk 23 Industry News Technical Article
An
geothermal energy and its potential
English,
English,
Dunphy,
Raine,
A. Vafeas
Rodriguez Salgado
33
overview of deep
on the island of Ireland Joseph M.
Kara L.
Rory B.
Sarah Blake, John Walsh, Robert
Nicholas
and Pablo
Near Surface Geoscience Division
European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers Board 2022-2023
Esther Bloem Chair
Andreas Aspmo Pfaffhuber Vice-Chair
Micki Allen Contact Officer EEGS/North America
Adam Booth Committee Member
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Wolfram Gödde Liaison First Break
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Panagiotis Tsourlos Editor in Chief Near Surface Geophysics
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Oil & Gas Geoscience Division
Lucy Slater Chair
Yohaney Gomez Galarza Vice-Chair
Michael Peter Suess Immediate Past Chair; TPC
Erica Angerer Member
Wiebke Athmer Member
Juliane Heiland TPC
Tijmen Jan Moser Editor-in-Chief Geophysical Prospecting
Adeline Parent WGE SIC Liaison
Matteo Ravasi YP Liaison
Jonathan Redfern Editor-in-Chief Petroleum Geoscience
Giovanni Sosio DET SIC Liaison
Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer
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2 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023
Caroline Le Turdu Membership and Cooperation Officer
Peter Rowbotham Publications Officer
Pascal Breton Secretary-Treasurer
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Esther Bloem Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division
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Edward Wiarda Vice-President
Jean-Marc Rodriguez President
Maren Kleemeyer Education Officer
Vienna Annual to introduce major Strategic Programme discussion series
This year at the Annual Meeting in Vienna from 5-8 June, we are excited to be launching the Strategic Programme, a series of discussion panels on major issues affecting the geoscience and engineering community, which will run throughout the week in parallel to the Technical Programme sessions.
plenary session (midday) as in previous years, but in addition delegates will have the opportunity to attend two further panel sessions on a variety of topical themes to be explored by leading players in their field.
The full Strategic Programme can be found below. Watch out for the details about the participants in each of the panels which we will be announcing in the coming weeks.
Securing a sustainable future together
Monday 5 June 2023 | 16:00 - 18:00
The initiative builds on the success of the daily plenary forums introduced three years ago designed to bring together leading authorities to consider some of the big topics of the day focused mainly on global energy developments and the impact on the industries and institutions in which EAGE professionals serve.
We are now broadening the concept to allow more detailed consideration of a wider range of subjects of interest to delegates, led by experts from industry and academia. Each day there will be one
We have been witnessing a dramatic shift in the energy priorities of countries around the world with energy security and affordability rising to the top of the agenda over environmental sustainability concerns. The geopolitical tensions arising from this reshaping of the global energy landscape make more apparent than ever the challenge of meeting energy supply consistent with climate change mitigation. The Opening Session discussion will invite our expert panel to outline the major factors influencing energy policies around
the world and where this may lead. Two key questions will be: how can we progress urgent climate action while ensuring energy remains affordable and accessible for all? and how will today’s energy crisis affect the pace of energy transition?
Bringing frontier exploration back into the spotlight
Tuesday 6 June 2023 | 10:00 - 11:00
While capital discipline remains strong, frontier exploration is once again attracting interest with potentially giant developments in prospect, notably offshore Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Namibia and South Africa. Our panel will discuss the background to this shift in oil industry exploration strategy and its implications. These regions are said to promise ‘advantaged oil’, i.e., large discoveries characterised by lower production costs, quality reservoirs and lower carbon intensity per barrel. The panel will consider how these emerging opportunities can fit into national development and energy transition ambitions with the focus on the likely role to be played by NOCs and governments in developing these resources.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 3
Field trips at Vienna Annual 06
Enders Robinson remembered 13
HIGHLIGHTS
Digital 2023 discussion programme
14
Plenary forum session at EAGE Madrid 2022.
Redefining exploration success in the energy transition era
Tuesday 6 June 2023 | 11:45 - 12:45
The path ahead for exploration remains difficult as the drive towards net zero accelerates. However, exploration still has a key role to play in meeting future demands for lower cost and lower carbon intensive hydrocarbon resources. During this panel we will look at the factors which will define success for future resources including lead time, proximity to market and emissions intensity. In addition, the increasing scrutiny from stakeholders in shaping exploration strategies will be discussed, along with the increasing emphasis on long term planning for the use of offshore fields in the context of CCS, hydrogen storage and offshore wind.
take a deep dive into the energy system of the future and the potential technological and innovation pathways that must be realised to meet the urgent challenges ahead.
Filling in the blanks: Conditions for sustainable net zero business models
Wednesday 7 June 2023 | 11:45 - 12:45
The oil and gas industry has benefited from decades of highly profitable operations with enviable rates of return that investment in alternative energy has yet to match. The panel will address the urgent issue of how companies and regulators can work together to create the conditions for a profitable economic environment to accelerate development of non-fossil fuel and climate change mitigation technologies. What are the legislative, regulatory and financial conditions necessary for success are questions to be answered and, more fundamentally, should oil companies in particular see investment in low carbon businesses as their obligation to operate in society?
Thinking big on hydrogen: Challenges and opportunities in scaling
Wednesday 7 June 2023 | 13:45 - 14:45
Near-field exploration strategies and successes
Tuesday 6 June 2023 | 13:45 - 14:45
Infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) will continue to dominate the near future of exploration as companies seek to offset declines while managing risk and capital. This session will feature success stories of selected ILX campaigns followed by a panel discussion on ILX strategies, opportunities and limitations.
Innovating to a Net Zero future: A technological perspective
Wednesday 7 June 2023 | 10:00 - 11:00
The oil and gas industry is facing increasing stakeholder scrutiny over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with core oil and gas operations. If the E&P sector is to maintain its prominent role in the global energy mix and protect its licence to operate, the pressure is on to substantially lower its carbon profile. Digitalization and broader forms of technical innovation are very much at the heart of these efforts. This panel will
Many believe that hydrogen will play a major role in the future energy mix. It has the potential to solve intermittency and storage issues associated with renewables such as solar and wind energy while also allowing the decarbonisation of heavy industries and large transport. This panel session will be tasked to review the challenges and opportunities presented by scaling hydrogen production and storage to industrial levels. In doing so, the potential hydrogen energy, both produced and natural, will be considered along with what part they may play in the global decarbonisation journey ahead.
Road ahead for critical minerals supply — data, policy and strategies
Thursday 8 June 2023 | 10:00 - 11:00
The demand for critical minerals and metals is set to explode in the next decade due to the new materials required for energy transition technologies such as EVs, battery storage and electrical power grids. At this critical moment, our panel will discuss the available and emerging technology pos-
sibilities within the evolving national and international regulations regarding exploitation of minerals both onshore and offshore. The role of geoscience and associated data will be one question. But the big issue is the ability of the mining industry to adapt its approach and operations to win over communities and governments sceptical about the potential environmental hazards which the new opportunities present.
Repairing the social contract to deliver a sustainable energy transition
Thursday 8 June 2023 | 11:45 - 12:45
In this session our panel will be debating one of the crucial issues of our times, namely defining the role of the oil and gas industry in the era of ongoing energy transition. This is a question which goes beyond the scope and scale of technology and economic investment which the industry is making now and the potential for much more. Most energy supply scenarios already acknowledge the value of natural gas production as a bridge to a fossil fuel-free world, and CCS, geothermal and hydrogen are obvious sectors where the skills, concepts and experience of the oil and gas industry should be invaluable. However, governments, regulators, and public opinion worldwide still have to be persuaded that the industry can be a vital part of the solution to achieving a sustainable energy transition and not the basic problem. How a more positive narrative can be created will be the main focus of the panel’s discussion.
Geoscience at a crossroads: Preparing the workforce and skills for the future
Thursday 8 June 2023 | 13:45 - 14:45
The session will investigate one of the key questions facing the geoscience and engineering community, namely, how to provide a new generation with the skills to meet the needs of a world in rapid energy transition and where necessary retool the existing professional workforce. Our panellists will approach this major topic through the lens of three interrelated perspectives − industry, academia and government − to provide a holistic view of the issues and challenges offering their conclusions with a focus on attracting young talent and adapting the capabilities of senior professionals.
4 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
Minerals and mining was the topic of this discussion.
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Variety of field trips to savour at Annual Meeting 2023
A wide range of interesting field trips will be on offer at the 84th EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition in Vienna in June. It is a great opportunity for geologists and engineers in the oil and gas industry to gain a better insight into the geology of Austria, exchange knowledge and learn from each other. The four planned field trips will be held on Monday 5 June and Friday 9 June 2023 with the choice up to you as to which ones suit you.
Before the main conference programme, on Monday 5 June, Field Trip 1 takes you on a tour of the OMV Innovation and Technology Centre − OMV TECH Centre and Lab in Gänserndorf. There you will have a chance to learn about some exploration and production technologies employed by Austria’s leading industry player. The focus will be on disciplines like geology and geophysics, drilling technology, artificial lift, smart oil recovery, material and corrosion saltwater treatment and nanotechnology.
Field Trip 2 on the same day invites you to appreciate the geology of historical buildings in the city centre of Vienna as well as a visit to the Imperial Geological Survey, founded in 1849 (now part of GeoSphere Austria) which played a key role in the development of the city. This field trip is concluded with a visit to the
The field trip programme for the EAGE Annual 2023 offers a broad range of topics, recognising the increasing attention for renewable resources. Some of the highlights are an outcrop excursion focusing on the Neogene Geology of the Vienna Basin, a visit to a geothermal plant supplying an organic vegetable producer, a geology-walk through the historic centre of Vienna and a tour through OMV’s Innovation and Technology Centre.
Ute Satt ler
geophysical and geothermal test field in the institution garden.
After the main conference programme, on Friday 9 June 2023, there are two full-day field trips. Field Trip 3 explores the Neogene of the Vienna Basin, a major fault-controlled basin situated in the transition zone between the Eastern Alps (Central and Northern Calcareous Alps) and the Western Carpatians. This also contains one of the largest oil and gas fields in onshore Europe, the Matzen Field. The southern part of the Vienna Basin is where the main reservoirs are well-exposed in quarries.
Field Trip 4 travels to the Styrian Basin, one of Austria’s most promis-
ing areas considering its potential for geothermal energy utilisation. The trip offers the unique opportunity to visit the facilities of Frutura, an organic vegetable producer whose key success is its energy autonomy secured by a geothermal doublet producing hot water from Paleozoic carbonates, followed by a visit to outcrops of Plio-/Pleistocene volcanic rocks.
If you are interested in joining one of our field trips, visit our website eageannual.org for more detailed information and register. New for this year, we have introduced the All Access Pass – one pass for your full EAGE Annual experience. Opting in for an All Access registration, you can participate in field trips, workshops, short courses and hackathon, as well as the full conference and exhibition – all for one reduced rate. You can save even more if you reserve your attendance before the Early Bird deadline of 15 March 2023.
6 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
Vienna Basin.
Geophysical and geothermal test field in the garden of the Geological Survey. Riegersburg Castle.
Senior geologist at OMV and member of the 2023 Local Advisory Committee
LC Netherlands ends year with in-person meeting at last
Joeri Brackenhoff writes: EAGE Local Chapter Netherlands end-of-year meeting on 14 December was our first in-person get together in two years. The event covered the topic of geothermal energy as well as a review of 2022.
Diego Rovetta, the president of the Chapter since its founding, offered a recap of facts and figures from the past year, with special attention to collaborations with other organisations and the transition from online events to in-person events. He reflected on the many challenges the Chapter has faced and the continued interests of the community. The event also marked Rovetta’s official handover ceremony to Florencia Balestrini, who will lead the group going forward. Rita Streich, who served as vice-president, has been succeeded by Joeri Brackenhoff. The entire Chapter would like to thank both of them for their hard work and look forward to seeing them again at future events.
Two excellent speakers then dived into the topic of the evening. Dr Marit Brommer (IGA) discussed the current state of the geothermal energy sector and future plans to grow the industry. She especially focused on the need for greater development in the field, the recruitment of talented scientists and engineers and equality of the workforce. She demonstrated where the potential for the field
lies, what the challenges are and how these relate to society.
Associate Prof Phil Vardon (TU Delft) presented the TU Delft campus geothermal project (which will be owned by the GTD consortium and known sometimes as DAPwell). It involves a geothermal well being drilled and used on campus, leading to a great deal of potential research. The well will not only be used to study the actual geothermal application, but also to do measurements and monitor the surrounding area, including seismic monitoring, ElectroMagnetic monitoring, coring and more. Furthermore, the project will serve for commercial geothermal exploitation, as the well can be used for actual heat recovery. This is one of the main advantages of the project: all results will be directly relevant to a full-scale geothermal energy application. Vardon showed how important it is that this research is performed in a responsible way and how many interesting avenues for research there are in this topic.
In the Q&A session many of the questions focused on the feasibility of the industry. Brommer named Turkey as an example of how quickly a geothermal project can be founded and executed. There were also questions on the use of deep geothermal, compared to shallow geothermal and which is more promising.
EAGE Online Education Calendar
Both speakers mentioned that this is very dependent on the area and local geology. Following the discussion, there was a social dinner organised by the Chapter, which gave plenty of opportunity for further discussion and networking.
Overall, the event was a great way to close an eventful year. The Chapter would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the events and the organisation over the past few years and has its sights set firmly on 2023, with new goals and aspirations.
Stay informed about the chapter activities through the their Linkedin page https:// www.linkedin.com/groups/13690220/ or the website www.eagelcnetherlands.org and become a member by sending an email to eageLCNetherlands@gmail.com.
WEBINAR ON DEPTH DOMAIN INVERSION: A LEAST-SQUARES MIGRATION APPROACH TO QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION BY CLAUDIO LEONE
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 7 EAGE NEWS
FOR
CALENDAR,
INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG. * EXTENSIVE SELF PACED MATERIALS AND INTERACTIVE SESSIONS WITH THE INSTRUCTORS: CHECK SCHEDULE OF EACH COURSE FOR DATES AND TIMES OF LIVE SESSIONS 17 JAN17 FEB DEVELOPING DEEP LEARNING APPLICATIONS FOR THE OILFIELD: FROM THEORY TO REAL WORLD PROJECTS BY BERNARD MONTARON EXTENSIVE ONLINE COURSE 16 HRS (INCL. 5 WEBINARS OF 1-2 HRS EACH) 1-3 FEB IOSC ON CASE STUDIES AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN GEOPHYSICAL ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING METHODS BY LUCA DE VINCENZI ONLINE 09:00 - 13:00 CET 7-10 FEB IOSC ON LAND SEISMIC SURVEY DESIGN BY PAUL RAS ONLINE 09:00 - 13:00 CET 20 FEB E-LECTURE ON AUTOMATED TOP AND BASE SALT INTERPRETATION USING MACHINE LEARNING BY ODDGEIR GRAMSTAD ONLINE 40 MIN + Q&A 22 FEB E-LECTURE
40 MIN + Q&A
THE FULL
MORE
PLEASE
ONLINE
A new team takes the lead of the Chapter in January 2023.
Stay current by renewing your membership
EAGE member, you can actively participate in these dialogues, attending with the benefit of discounted registration rates! And if you have submitted an abstract and are looking for financial support, you may apply for our PACE Support Programme.
9:00 CET. Go to learninggeoscience.org to sign up.
EAGE’s push into understanding and promoting the latest digital developments is coming with next month’s EAGE Digital 2023 in London. To make the most of this prestigious meeting, be sure to update your EAGE membership if you haven’t done so already.
With the theme ‘Technology Driving Innovation for the Future’, the event gathers geoscientists, engineers, data scientists, academic authorities, and industry leaders to discuss pressing questions around digitalisation in the oil and gas sector. As an
Remember that EAGE members are continuously updating their knowledge, taking advantage of the discounted fees in our education programmes. For example, you are invited to join the data science courses ‘Machine Learning for Geoscientists with Hands-on Coding’ by Dr. Ehsan Naeini (Earth Science Analytics) or ‘Geophysical Data Analysis in Julia, including Machine Learning’ by Rajiv Kumar (Schlumberger). The courses’ upcoming editions will be announced soon!
Free learning content is also available for you, such as the E-Lecture Webinar ‘Automated Top and Base Salt Interpretation Using Machine Learning’ by Oddgeir Gramstad, taking place on 20 February at
With your online subscription to one of our scientific journals, Basin Research, Geophysical Prospecting, Near Surface Geophysics or Petroleum Geoscience, plus the free one-year online subscription to Geoenergy, you can explore the latest machine learning and artificial intelligence applications in various fields. Find your favorite publications in EarthDoc, along with our recent event’s proceedings.
Last but not least, don’t forget that First Break, our monthly flagship magazine, is also included in your membership to keep you informed with industry news, technical articles and the latest EAGE updates.
Renew your membership here!
EAGE Student Chapter’s renewal period is closing soon
Heads up, all students! Until 28 February 2023 you may apply for your EAGE Student Chapter’s renewal. Don’t forget to submit the Chapter’s annual report and renew your credentials at eage.org, to keep the uninterrupted access to your EAGE Student member benefits. Let’s give them a quick look.
EAGE Student Chapters provide you the opportunity to increase your scientific and technical knowledge, gain new skills beneficial for your future career, and network with professionals and company recruiters. This means that you will go a step ahead in your professional development by participating in the most critical discussions of the sector and developing your own high impact projects.
Our Chapters have access to 15 student membership grants each year, allowing you, as a member, to participate
in EAGE’s global events with special registration fees; to take advantage of discounts in our education programmes, and to receive an online subscription to one of our scientific journals: Basin Research, Petroleum Geoscience, Near Surface Geophysics, Geophysical Prospecting, and a free one-year online subscription to Geoenergy, a newly launched journal focusing on research in subsurface geoscience, critical for this new era of sustainable energy.
Additionally, you can enhance your research skills by having the opportunity to publish material and get exposure, as well as accessing the latest developments in the field at EarthDoc, the world’s most significant database of geoscience and engineering papers.
As an EAGE Student Chapter member, you may also test your knowledge and teamwork skills at the exclusive
EAGE Online GeoQuiz. You compete with your peers from all around the world by answering 20 questions related to geoscience, geology, geophysics, petrophysics and more. The three best teams will win a free registration for three of its members to the 2023 EAGE Annual in Vienna, Austria, where they will participate at the EAGE Global GeoQuiz final round and win.
Renew your student chapter and don’t miss the opportunity to participate in the EAGE Online GeoQuiz; we want to meet the best teams at the EAGE Annual 2023. If you have any questions, you can reach us at students@eage.org.
If you would like to create your EAGE Student Chapter you can find more information at:
8 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
EAGE members are at the vanguard of the industry’s digitalisation trends.
STUDENT CHAPTER
Time to consider a mine in your backyard
strong local mining history, unproblematic mining liabilities, strong economic dynamism, transparent communication on the work and the results obtained, plus participation of the population and local stakeholders (administrations and elected officials) in the dialogue through a local association (e.g. Centre Permanent d’Initiatives pour l’Environnement - CPIE Loire-Anjou).
Like so many others, the Variscan Mines project came to an end in the summer of 2018 when the Australian investor abandoned the PERM. This was due to a lack of interest in the mining title, lengthy administrative procedures, and the absence of support from the French government.
In December EAGE Local Chapter Pau had the pleasure of welcoming Jérôme Gouin from Pôle AVENIA (the French competitiveness hub for the subsurface industries) at the Auditorium of the Hélioparc Technopole.
Title of the hour-long lecture was ‘A future for the development of mining projects in France? Feedback from the territorial approach in the Centre-Ouest: focus on the PERM Saint-Pierre (Maine-et-Loire)’.
The presentation focused on the implications of the ‘rare earth metals crisis’. Since 2010 the French government has become increasingly alert to the issue evidenced by the creation of the Committee for Strategic Metals (COMES) and the implementation of a strategic watch on rare earth elements and rare metals.
Between 2013-2017, aware of the metal potential of the metropolitan subsoil, several overseas companies
with French subsidiaries (Variscan Mines, Cominor, SGZ France, Cordier Mines) and French mining companies (Sudmine, Garrot-Chaillac, Imerys) had asked for exclusive mining permits (PERMS) to explore local subsoil resources.
Although some territories have shown opposition to mining exploration, others have been more open (Loire-Atlantique, Mauges, Vendée).
In Saint-Pierre-Montlimart, this strong societal acceptability has several origins:
This experience shows that a concerted approach with the territory has every chance of allowing the development of new mining projects in France, and this within the framework of energy transition and France’s energy independence. A critical question arises: what are politicians waiting for to support sustainable mining integrated into land development perspectives as they are starting to do for geothermal energy?
The EAGE Pau Local Chapter is looking forward to generating continued and new activities that create a great valuable interaction between all members. We would like to thank TotalEnergies for its financial support which allows us to continue our activities.
Do not hesitate to follow us on LinkedIn!
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 9 EAGE NEWS
20 FEB FIRST ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION LAURIE DAKE CHALLENGE ONLINE 22 FEB WEBINAR ON DIGITALIZATION & MACHINE LEARNING ONLINE 28 FEB EAGE STUDENT CHAPTER RENEWAL ONLINE EAGE
Calendar FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE CHECK THE STUDENT SECTION AT WWW.EAGE.ORG
Student
Jérôme Gouin’s lecture expanded the discussion of Local Chapter Pau into France’s energy independence withing the energy transition.
Saint-Pierre-Montlimart has a long history of mining.
Czech Local Chapter celebrates winners of student thesis competition
initiative, which is aimed at supporting recent graduates with Bachelor and Masters thesis works focused on geophysics with emphasis to applied geophysics. Students from Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Austria participated in the 2022 competition which generated excellent submissions.
received an annual EAGE membership and a course of her choice from EAGE’s Learning Geoscience library. Francesco Colosimo from Charles University (Faculty of Natural Sciences) received an honorary mention for his Bachelor thesis on real-time magnitude estimation using MEMS-based accelerometers.
The Student Prize competition organised by EAGE LC Czech Republic ended in December with an award ceremony held in Prague. This marked the 11th year of the
Sophie Authried from the University of Vienna and Comenius University in Bratislava emerged as the winner with her Masters thesis on the ‘Investigation of effects of poroelasticity on seismic wave speed in Argostoli, Greece’. Authried joined the ceremony remotely from Phuket, Thailand, but managed nonetheless to capture attention with an excellent presentation. As part of her prize, she
LC Czech Republic would like to acknowledge the support of Seismik and G Impuls, which contributed to the cash prize. It was announced that from 2023 the competition will be dedicated to Prof V. Červený, a former honorary member of EAGE, who died at the age of 90 in 2022 and devoted a large part of his life work to teaching young generations of geoscientists.
Conference on subsurface issues in offshore wind operations to feature at Near Surface Geoscience 2023 in Edinburgh
This year our iconic Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition will come for the first time to Edinburgh, UK, between 3-7 September, and there will be something complete new.
We are excited to be announcing the 1st Conference on Sub-surface Characterisation for Offshore Wind. It will be held alongside the 29th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics as the main event, as well as the 3rd Conference on Geophysics for Infrastructure Planning, Monitoring and BIM, and the 2nd Conference on Hydrogeophysics.
Globally, countries are now witnessing unprecedented expansion and growth in the offshore wind farm industry in their attempts to meet climate targets. A thorough understanding of the near/ shallow subsurface is the first critical step for any/all offshore wind farm foundation designs. The 1st Conference on Sub-surface Characterisation for Offshore Wind will address both of these growing
needs, delving into topics ranging from seismic acquisition and imaging to data interpretation and integration. We will also focus on the recent advancements and innovations in both qualitative and quantitative geo-modelling techniques along with the use of AI (and machine learning) and the future role of autonomous vessels in addressing the challenges in offshore wind.
Without doubt, our package of four simultaneous conferences cover topics that are of major relevance not just to our near-surface geoscience community but to society as a whole. We hope this will be reflected in the Call for Abstracts to these conferences which remains open for submissions until 25 April 2023. If you would like to be part of this year’s technical programme, go to eagensg.org, check the topics of each conference and start working on your abstracts today! We look forward to a fruitful exchange among academics and research institutions,
governmental organisations, service and engineering companies, and end-users.
If you’re interested to learn more about the other three meetings, more details are available in First Break January 2023.
10 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2023 Student Prize competition.
Petroleum geostatistics conference headed for Porto in November
Leonardo Azevedo (University of Lisbon) and Jo Eidsvik (NTNU) invite participation at the upcoming EAGE Petroleum Geostatistics Conference “Towards a sustainable era of geoenergy” to be held on 27-30 November 2023, Porto, Portugal.
arena for exposing new trends in machine learning and spatial data science methods, as well as current developments in the more traditional methodologies like stochastic spatial simulations, inverse problems and spatio-temporal data analysis.
Posters as well as oral presentations can include modelling, methodologies and case studies with real datasets. The conference aims to have a great synergy between senior and junior scientists, as well as between academia and the energy industry sector.
Following the successful meetings in Toulouse 1999, Cascais 2007, Biarritz 2015 and Florence 2019, researchers, developers and practitioners in geostatistics for energy resources will gather in Porto (Portugal) in November 2023. As a dynamic community, what once started as an eight-years interval event, changed to four years (a sort of Olympic Games of Geostatistics), and it will now take place for the fifth time.
In a time of change, we expect to hear about recent advancements in petroleum geostatistics, but we are also ambitious in broadening the scope of the conference, moving towards a wider range of subsurface energy resources. We welcome new topics including CO2/H2 geo-storage, geo-thermal applications, near-surface applications, and other energy resources. We hope this edition will spark new waves of geostatistics capabilities addressing the challenges related to carbon neutrality and energy transition, while leveraging on the strong expertise in petroleum geostatistics.
Geostatistics has traditionally aimed to build spatial models of the subsurface by integrating geological knowledge and other sources of information such as geophysical observations and fluid flow
data via statistical methods. Results of geostatistical analysis are predictions of properties at locations not sampled by direct observations or some volumetric measure. Key to this community is analysis which further assesses the uncertainty associated with the predictions, enabling coherent decision support.
Presentations at the conference will highlight theoretical developments and application examples for the new era of geo-energy resources, covering different parts of the workflow from geological modelling to data assimilation. This is the
Porto, the beautiful city where the Douro river flows into the Atlantic Ocean, has been chosen to host the event. This historic city is one of the oldest European centres and its core is proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Port wine is named after the city and is one of Portugal’s famous exports.
The conference starts with an icebreaker reception on Monday 27 November, and continues with three days of exciting presentations and fruitful discussions. The call for papers opens on 17 January, with submission deadline 15 August. The early registration deadline is 1 October. For updated information, please go to the conference website: www.petroleumgeostatistics2023.org.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 11 EAGE NEWS
Geostatisticians discussing during one of the breaks at the 4th Petroleum Geostatistics conference in Florence, 2019.
Porto, the venue for the conference.
How you can support the next generation of geoscientists and engineers
The mission of the EAGE Student Fund is to help students bridge the gap between their studies and the start of their careers. It does so by providing them learning and networking opportunities, as well as promoting the development of grassroot student activities. Last year, more than 1400 students worldwide benefited due to your kind contributions. Thank you for your support!
When Ilius Mondal was pursuing his Master’s degree at the Indian School of Mines (now Indian Institute of Technology), the EAGE Student Fund provided him with financial support that allowed him to present his paper ‘Analysis of Ionospheric Perturbation and Pre-estimation of Epicenter of the Recent Earthquakes Using Global Anomaly Map’ at our Annual Conference.
Mondal now works as a petrophysicist at the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in India. He says, ‘Participating in various sessions and activities… gaining insights and diving deep in the oil and gas industry, as well as in recent developments, gave me valuable knowledge which helped me a lot in my further career’ He also highlighted the opportunity to showcase his work, participating in the industry’s trending conversations,
and the great networking options he had access to, meeting with other professionals and industry representatives.
If you want to back up our student’s initiatives and keep encouraging their passion for geoscience and engineering, you are cordially invited to donate to the EAGE Student Fund and Green Fund. With your contributions you are also helping us develop more student activities such as the Minus CO2 contest and the Laurie Dake Challenge, various student programmes as well as being able to offer student membership grants and student chapter support.
Last year, we also started a campaign to support the continuous professional development of Ukrainian students and academic community, as well as the community of Ukraine professionals involved in career development activities aimed at Ukrainian students in the fields of geoscience and engineering. Please consider donating to the EAGE Ukraine Professional Development Fund, via the Student Fund, at this time of crisis.
How can you contribute?
You can donate when registering or renewing your 2023 EAGE membership, or by visiting the EAGE Student Fund web page.
If you represent a company or organisation interested in learning more about supporting the mission of the EAGE Student Fund, please let us know. You can become one of our corporate donors who have greatly contributed to our student cause over the years.
Setting up a legacy fund is another option as we would be honoured to be included in any planned giving. If you are considering including the EAGE Student Fund in your trust or will, please contact us directly so we can advise you on the options and possible arrangements.
You can also donate your instructor fee. If you are an EAGE short course instructor, it is also possible to donate your instructor fee to the EAGE Student Fund. Simply select the option when confirming your short course and we will sort out the rest.
Let’s come together and contribute to the advancement of the geoscience and engineering community by supporting the geoscientists of tomorrow, today!
Donate here:
ADDITIONS THIS MONTH
2022 proved to be a constructive year for EarthDoc! More than 2000 new abstracts and journal articles have been added, while our technical teams are working on finalising and uploading several more. A selection of 41 e-Books published by EAGE has also become available on EarthDoc.
In early 2023, on 1-3 March, the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2023 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. Approximately 400 abstracts will be hosted on EarthDoc. On 6-9 March, the 5th Asia Pacific Meeting on Near Surface Geoscience & Engineering will be held in Taipei, Taiwan. 85 abstracts will be presented and will become available on EarthDoc two weeks in advance of the event.
New issues of Geophysical Prospecting , Petroleum Geoscience, Basin Research and Near Surface Geophysics will be issued in February.
12 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
Enders Robinson, 1930-2022
Enders Robinson, who has died aged 92, was called the ‘first modern geoscientist’ and ‘the father of deconvolution’. His research in the 1950s led directly to the digital revolution in geophysics several decades later. Robinson introduced digital signal processing at a time when computers took up an entire room and input and output was only on paper; he remained involved in the digitisation of the industry all the way to today’s supercomputers.
The Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens was his hero and using Huygens’s principle for reconstructing unknown subsurface geology from seismic data was his central credo.
Dividing his time between oil field exploration and universities, Robinson was the founding director of the Geophysical Analysis Group (GAG) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1952, which was funded by several oil majors and pioneered digital analysis of seismic data.
Sven Treitel, a research assistant at GAG at the time, recalled: ‘Few of us had heard of time series analysis nor of Norbert Wiener’s fundamental contributions to this field. Enders convinced the GAG sponsors that he could digitally implement what is now called the least squares Wiener filter by programming the new “MIT Whirlwind” computer to predict and attenuate multiple reflections on manually digitised marine seismograms. Under his steady hand our group developed the software that resulted in one of the earliest applications of Wiener’s work to seismology. Robinson’s PhD thesis in 1954 soon became one of the most widely quoted references in exploration geophysical literature.’
John Sherwood, a colleague at Digicon, recalled: ‘Long tedious days had been spent by Enders on hand digitisation of seismic “wiggle” traces for “statistical” deconvolution inno-
vations on the Whirlwind computer. My particular agony was three months with a Monroe mechanical calculator evaluating “causal” expressions for elastic wave displacement composed of trigonometric functions with complex arguments.
co-authored by Dean Clark, he told the story of Einstein’s theory of relativity and wrote another book about an ancestor who was accused at the Salem witch trials. Among his many other books were Basic Geophysics; Basic Wave Analysis; and Random Wavelets and Cybernetic Systems .
He was awarded the EAGE’s Erasmus Award in 2010. The Association called him a ‘Living Legend’.
Enders Robinson was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1930 to Doris Goodale Robinson and Edward Arthur Robinson Sr. He began studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1949 and graduated with a PhD in geophysics in 1954.
‘At Chevron from 1958 I rapidly became utterly fascinated with Ender’s thesis on Deconvolution, which helped me to derive the minimum phase nature of vertical transmission of an acoustic pulse through a horizontally layered earth, published in 1965 ’.
That year Enders co-founded Digicon with six partners, to model, interpret and process seismic data from oil fields. He returned to academia in 1972 and went on to hold professorships at the University of Wisconsin, Uppsala University, MIT, the University of Tulsa and Harvard. In 2000 he retired as professor emeritus at Columbia University, where he held the Maurice Ewing and J Lamar Worzel Geophysics chair.
Enders was an outstanding communicator. In an entertaining novel
He had an eclectic range of interests including genealogy, philosophy, art, history of science, poetry, water sports and taking his grandchildren to the beach. He also relished travelling the world for work and pleasure, taking an avid interest in the history, culture and food as well as the geology. He is survived by his wife, Joyce and children, Anna, Erik and Karin.
Robinson was affectionately remembered within the geoscience community as a warm and charismatic man with a great sense of humour. His final piece of work on the life of Huyghens, co-written with the editor of Geophysical Prospecting , TijmenJan Moser, is expected to be published soon.
For a great lover of Shakespeare it was fitting that he quoted from Henry VI Part I to explain wave propagation: ‘Glory is like a circle in the water, Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, Till by broad spreading it disperse to naught.’ On polarisation he quoted the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley: ‘And perpendicular now, and now transverse. Pierce the dark soil and as they pierce and pass, make bare the secrets of the Earth’s deep heart.’
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 13 EAGE NEWS
Enders Robinson.
Join the discussion at EAGE Digital 2023
Day 1 — Leadership and the Business Case for Innovation
Panel Discussion – Redefining competition: Business models of the future
The energy industry is under significant pressure to move faster than ever before and to find ways to improve efficiency and decision-making while facing unprecedented disruptions to traditional business models. How can we collaborate while maintaining individual competitive advantages? What are the changing relationships between producers and other players in the ecosystem? And in what ways can we translate our strength in technology innovation to reinventing our business models?
Roundtable Discussion –Overcoming cultural and organisational barriers
Digital transformations are often hindered by cultural and organisational barriers. These can range from a lack of focus on value creation, legal and cyber-security concerns and challenges in changing behaviour and incentives. Successful technology transformations must therefore also include a focus on transforming the people who interact with these solutions. This roundtable will discuss the crucial barriers that must be addressed for the industry to successfully embrace digital technologies, unlock trapped value and drive critical innovation.
Roundtable Discussion –Transforming talent approaches for a new energy era
The oil and gas industry must remain resilient for decades to come in order to secure affordable and sustainable access to energy even as we transition to more decarbonised sources. However, the industry faces a major challenge in
attracting a new generation of tech forward and data science talent due to hiring competition from big tech, concerns over career longevity and negative social perceptions. This roundtable will focus on the ways in which the industry can meet the specialised digital talent demands required for a more vibrant future. We will also address approaches for upskilling existing workforces, restructuring teams and organisational approaches.
Interactive Session – Accelerating the pace of energy innovation
Start-up companies can play a crucial role in accelerating the pace of energy innovation. By leveraging lessons from the tech industry, energy start-ups can bring fresh ideas, agile approaches, and a culture of innovation to the sector. During this interactive session we will invite companies to share their journeys and discuss ways in which start-ups are driving innovation in the broader energy ecosystem. We will also ask how the oil and gas industry can collaborate with start-ups to usher in the next generation of energy innovation.
Day 2 — Innovative and Digitally Enabled Workflows
Panel Discussion – The integration of the subsurface and the surface data domains
As energy companies expand their portfolios into new energies, a broader approach to geoscience and engineering data is required. Combining geoscience and engineering insights with other business and environmental data to break down workflow silos within traditional and new businesses. This will allow companies to make better analyses of their portfolios and maximise assets across organisations. The panel will focus on ways in which an integrated geoscience approach to digital transformation can lead to risk reduction,
optimised production and more effective and efficient decision making throughout the entire integrated energy value chain.
Roundtable Discussion –Addressing the urgency in redefining our business models
Energy companies must change their business models to meet the challenge of bringing affordable advantaged hydrocarbons quickly to market while simultaneously investing in the energy transition. These challenges are becoming increasingly urgent as the industry is challenged with going faster and cheaper while maintaining trust. Digital investment can impact cost, productivity and emissions while attracting talent and capital. The roundtable discussion will examine the focus areas for digital and business model innovation required to enable future energy supply and energy transition.
Roundtable Discussion – Are we pushing the envelope on digital innovation?
The energy industry has the opportunity to achieve massive innovation gains by embracing new technologies and workflows along digital transformation initiatives. How can we leverage technologies to drive step changes in current operations and workflows? What are the emerging technologies converging to create opportunities for game changing innovation? And are we setting our sights high enough?
Roundtable Discussion – Digital: From pilot to broad–scale rollout
Digital innovation has the potential to transform entire ways of working allowing us to do more and better, with less resources. While there is no lack of digital initiatives or concepts, the industry still struggles in multiplying the benefits of digital technologies when compared to other sectors. This roundtable will high-
14 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
The Plenary Panel and Strategic (Roundtable, Dedicated and Interactive sessions) Programme at EAGE Digital 2023 (20-22 March, London, UK) will address a broad range of organisational and leadership issues influencing the digital transformation of the energy industry. These are the details.
light successes in scaling digital proof of concepts and address the challenges the industry faces in driving value and return on digital investments at scale.
Dedicated Session – Bringing OSDU into operations
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015. The Agreement includes commitments from all countries to reduce their emissions and work together to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Our geoscience field has a very important role to help achieving these commitments by providing solutions to energy sector. Understanding the use of data will play the key roles in this process. To succeed, the OSDU will need to meet the challenges of modern energy industry and its operational requirements. In this dedicated session, our panellists will elaborate on their recent experiences, solutions to operationalize the OSDU environment.
Day 3 — Enabling the Energy Transition Through Digital Innovation
Panel Discussion – The role of digital in energy system integration
Hydrocarbons will remain an essential part of the global energy mix for years albeit in a decarbonised form. In many progressive energy basins this decarbonisation of hydrocarbon production will happen alongside rapidly scaling offshore renewables and the integration of energy storage technologies. The panel will discuss the transformation of the vast network of legacy oil and gas assets and infrastructure into a more integrated energy system and the role of digital to enable more efficient, smarter and sustainable energy systems.
Roundtable Discussion – Digital opportunities in energy transition
Technological innovation can play a critical role in enabling and accelerating the transition to a net zero energy future. The convergence of digital technologies such as sensors, digital twins, blockchain and AI has the potential to reshape existing energy operations, enable the scaling of new solutions and track and monitor emissions transparently. What innovations
and systems look set to change the energy landscape? And what are the environmental and commercial opportunities emerging in sustainable energy and decarbonisation efforts as a result of digital advances?
Interactive Session – Digital innovation and the path for a net zero future
Following a week of dialogue and ideas around digital innovation the programme will end with an interactive session focused on sharing learnings towards a net zero future. What do we think could be our next set of business models? What are the things we need to solve as an industry? Participants will be encouraged to enter solution mode, share ideas and contribute to a digital innovation roadmap for enabling the energy transition.
Dedicated Session – How digital can be the key to successful carbon capture & storage (CCS) and energy transition
With the promise of a carbon neutral future, CCS together with energy transition has become a key focus of today’s energy industry. It’s a challenging time for all of us, as we need to provide the energy needed for today, and at the same time ensure we have a sustainable plan for a balanced planet in future. It’s a race against time, and with conventional ways of working, it seems an impossible goal to meet. At the same time the energy industry is going through digital transformation and digital brings the possibility of increasing efficiency through smart collaboration, optimisation, automation and insight generations. In this session we discuss how digital can contribute towards successful CCS and energy transition through:
• Improving efficiency through ‘new ways of working’
• Help optimise the trade-off between profit vs sustainability
• Apply the learning of conventional E&P business into CCS and new energy
• What lessons can we learn from the existing CCS project?
Interested in addressing the roundtable and panel issues? Then send us email to europe@eage.org to discuss speaking opportunities.
Geophysical Prospecting (GP) publishes primary research on the science of geophysics as it applies to the exploration, evaluation and extraction of earth resources. Drawing heavily on contributions from researchers in the oil and mineral exploration industries, the journal has a very practical slant. A new edition (Volume 71, Issue 2) will be published within February, featuring 12 articles.
Editor’s Choice articles:
• Diffraction separation and imaging using ensemble empirical mode decomposition and multichannel singular spectrum analysis — Peng Lin
• Seismic data interpolation using deeply supervised U-Net++ with natural seismic training sets — Yang Liu
Petroleum Geoscience (PG) transcends disciplinary boundaries and publishes a balanced mix of articles that drives the science to enhance sustainable development covering all aspects of the petroleum system. The journal content reflects the international nature of the research. A new edition (Volume 29, Issue 1) will be published in February, featuring 8 articles.
Editor’s Choice articles:
• Jasmine: the challenges of delivering infill wells in a variably depleted HPHT field — Brian A. MacLeod
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 15 EAGE NEWS
CHECK OUT THE LATEST JOURNALS
GP PG
OUR JOURNALS THIS MONTH
Look out for our Community Hub programme at EAGE Digital 2023
If you are joining us in London, UK, for the 3rd EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition, then be sure to visit the EAGE Community Hub to discover EAGE’s digital world and enjoy all the activities planned for you!
For example, you can maximise your time by connecting with another conference participant in our Speed Mentoring programme. Whether an experienced senior, mid-career, young professional or a student, mentoring is a two-way journey that can enrich us all. Sign up on eagedigital.org and meet your mentor or mentee at our Hub.
If you are also interested in sharing your personal research with a wider audience, you can ask us about our scientific journals and how to publish your work with EAGE. Our flagship publications, Basin Research, Geophysical Prospecting, Near Surface Geophysics, Petroleum Geoscience, Geoenergy and First Break, always welcome contributions aimed at advancing knowledge in the geoscience and engineering fields.
From machine learning for geophysical applications to deep learning, from cloud for geosciences to hands-on coding, EAGE’s Learning Geoscience library also offers ample choice for
strengthening your digital skills. Come by the Hub to talk about programmes, formats and packages.
The EAGE Artificial Intelligence Technical Community is the powerhouse behind many of our initiatives in the digitalization sphere. You are welcome to stop by and learn more about their work and upcoming initiatives, as well as how you can get involved.
Finally, why not extend your professional network even further with the opportunity to volunteer and get engaged with our communities in the area, e.g., our London, Aberdeen or Ireland Local Chapters.
16 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 EAGE NEWS
Participate in our Community Programme and enrich your EAGE Digital 2023 experience.
DONATE
The EAGE Student Fund supports student activities that help students bridge the gap between university and professional environments. This is only possible with the support from the EAGE community. If you want to support the next generation of geoscientists and engineers, go to donate.eagestudentfund.org or simply scan the QR code. Many thanks for your donation in advance!
TODAY!
STRATEGIC PROGRAMME
JOIN THE DIGITAL LEADERS OF THE OIL AND GAS AND ENERGY INDUSTRIES AS WE DISCUSS KEY TOPICS RELATED TO DIGITAL AND BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION.
ENGAGE WITH LEADING DIGITAL PLAYERS
DIGITALIZATION, EAGE AND 2023: WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
HOST CO-HOST
SPONSOR
Leadership and the Business Case for Innovation
• Redefining competition: Business models of the future
• Accelerating the pace of energy innovation
• Overcoming cultural and organisational barriers
• Transforming talent approaches for a new energy era
Innovative & Digitally Enabled Workflows
• Integration of the subsurface and the surface domains
• Digital: From pilot to broad–scale rollout
• Are we pushing the envelope on digital innovation?
• Accelerating geoscience learning through digital tools
Enabling the Energy Transition through Digital Innovation
• The role of digital in energy system integration
• Digital innovation and the path for a net zero future
• Digital advances for managing emissions
EXHIBITORS
Discover how EAGE can help your company with the digital journey at the Digital Transformation Area (DTA) at the upcoming EAGE Annual in Vienna, 5-8 June 2023.
WHILE IN LONDON, WE INVITE YOU TO STOP BY THE COMMUNITY HUB FOR A FULL IMMERSION IN EAGE’S CURRENT AND UPCOMING OFFERING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.
Browse education programmes
From machine learning for geophysical applications to deep learning, from cloud for geosciences to hands-on coding, and more!
Join the AI technical community
Discover the group leading the way for geoscientists in the digital transformation
Try speed mentoring
Find your mentor or mentee to exchange digitalization-related career advice and dive into the conference programme together
Opportunity to get published
Consider submitting your research on digitalization and technological innovation in one of our journals. Stay tuned for the launch of pertinent special issues.
LEARN, SHARE AND CONNECT THROUGH THE EAGE’S DIGITALIZATION HUB WEBSITE
EAGE.ORG/DIGITAL
PANEL & ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
KEYNOTES AND CASE STORIES
EMAIL CORPORATERELATIONS@EAGE.ORG FOR MORE DETAILS
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS
“Great disruptive ideas, at the core of every key industry innovation, are usually made of several smaller good ideas that came together. Your participation in the conference is a critical step in furthering the discussion and generating insights on how our community will continue to innovate and thrive in the future.”
REGISTER NOW TO CLAIM YOUR SPOT
A DIVERSE TECHNICAL PROGRAMME COVERING
INTERESTED IN PRESENTING YOUR WORK AT EAGE DIGITAL 2023?
You can still submit your late-breaking abstracts before 20 February 2023 to be considered for poster presentations.
Gabriel Guerra
Vice President Digital Ventures, Shell Exploration
Immerse yourself in thought provoking discussions during our Dedicated Sessions exploring topics from:
• Digital Technologies Convergence
• Bringing OSDU into Operations
• Digital as a Key Enabler for CCS and Energy Transition
TECHNOLOGY DRIVING INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE
EAGE’S FLAGSHIP EVENT HIGHLIGHTING DIGITALIZATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN THE SUBSURFACE REGULAR REGISTRATION ENDS ON 20 FEBRUARY 2023 20-22 MARCH 2023 LONDON I UNITED KINGDOM
JOIN
EAGE DIGITAL 2023 CONFERENCE CHAIR
WWW.EAGEDIGITAL.ORG
PARTICIPANTS DIGITALIZATION AS A LEVER FOR ENERGY TRANSITION DIGITALIZATION AND INSIGHT GENERATION MACHINE LEARNING
PRESENTATIONS
Personal Record Interview
A rocky start led to career choice
Carla Martín-Clavé is a prize-winning engineering geologist who joined UK-based Jacobs after 10 years of study/research in her native Spain and overseas. Her principal focus is on subsurface storage of hydrogen, subject of her doctorate thesis. She is co-chair of EAGE’s Decarbonization and Energy Transition Community.
Picking up rocks got you started, the Moon too?
I have always been interested in geology. When I was young my Mum used to ask me why my backpack was so heavy. It was full of rocks I had picked up. I also used to dream about space exploration. Even now I like to look up from time to time, but keep my feet firmly on the ground! Having said that, I did register on the NASA website for my name to be sent to Mars with the InSight Geophysical Monitoring Station.
Why Barcelona University?
I took geology and geophysics at the University of Barcelona because I am originally from there and it is a great place to study with amazing professors. Although it feels a long time ago, I like to keep in touch with my professors and visit the university when I am back home.
You took a break in Paris?
Well, it wasn’t actually a break. I did my Erasmus Exchange in Paris, specifically at the Université Paris-Saclay, and in the end had to do a lot of work. Getting deeper into geophysics I realised that I wanted to keep working in rock physics and geomechanics. Obviously, I also got some time to enjoy the city and all it has to offer.
How was your intern experience at Repsol?
As student, it was very exciting to put into practice everything you have learned at university and, for me, the first time working in geology exploration surrounded by
top-notch professionals. I got to learn a lot not only about geology exploration but also about the real labour world.
What made you change course to environmental engineering?
After completing my MSc in geophysics, I decided I still would like to be in the energy sector but found myself more interested in exploring alternative and more sustainable sources of energy production. I also realised that I wanted to work in industry, not academia. After some research I discovered it was possible in the UK to do an industry-related engineering doctorate (EngD) with the British Geological Society/University of Nottingham. This was how I ended up researching underground energy storage in salt caverns for my doctorate and getting interested in the role of hydrogen in energy transition.
What do you do at Jacobs?
Since joining in February 2021 I have been working with a series of different projects from supporting advanced numerical modelling for RWM by providing rock parameters to energy transition projects such as underground hydrogen storage. I also support the sales team when they have queries about hydrogen storage or CCS.
What did the Glossop Prize involve?
My boss encouraged me to apply for the Geology Society of London 25th Glossop Award as the year’s topic was the role
of engineering geology in the energy transition. A number of candidates were shortlisted to discuss their work in front of a committee. It was therefore a great honour to be selected as the winner and to present my work at the Royal Institution.
Is pace of transition fast enough?
Although big change has been seen in the last years from increased governmental efforts on energy challenges in response to the recent geopolitical conflicts in Europe, I consider we as a society should be putting more pressure to speed energy transition up. The transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources will require not only a large financial investment but also time to build a new energy infrastructure. Although I know this is not the most popular of actions, maybe more policies are needed to tax carbon emissions released into the atmosphere, investing the revenue into public funding. This might encourage corporations to invest more resources in cutting down emissions. We are living in decisive years to make a change in the world future generations will have to face.
Do you have time for anything other than work?
Yes, I always find time for anything! Before the pandemic I used to do theatre, play squash, hike in the Peak District and paint. Now, post-pandemic, I am working at Jacobs. I do keep painting, go to the gym and hike once in a while. This year I would love to try pottery.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 17 PERSONAL RECORD INTERVIEW
Carla Martín-Clavé
FIND OUT MORE ON EARTHDOC 18 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 FEBRUARY 2023 Make sure you’re in the know EAGE MONTHLY UPDATE 20 February 2023 Regular registration deadline 3rd EAGE Digitalization Conference & Exhibition 15 March 2023 Early registration deadline 84th EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition 15 March 2023 Call for abstracts Seventh EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop 14 April 2023 Call for abstracts Third EAGE Pre-Salt Reservoir Conference IMPORTANT DEADLINES
ONE PASS FOR YOUR FULL EVENT EXPERIENCE! Gain access to the full conference & exhibition, social events, workshops, field trips, short courses and hackathon ALL FOR ONE REDUCED FEE!
3 ongoing special issues: - The Earth as a thermal battery - Hydrogen as a future energy source - The energy-critical metals for a low carbon transition Submission deadline: 31 May 2023 New POWERED BY www.learninggeoscience.org START YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY TODAY! Local Chapter Paris EAGE Young Professionals For questions and applications, write to communities@eage.org VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES EAGE communities looking for new team members! SUBSCRIPTIONS FREE ACCESS DISCOUNTS ENJOY FURTHER BENEFITS THROUGH THE Membership Recognition Programme AND ENJOY EAGE’S BENEFITS! RENEW YOUR 2023 MEMBERSHIP!
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CROSSTALK
BY ANDREW M c BARNET
Putting nuclear energy to the test
The need for more nuclear power seems to be creeping back into the conversation as an option to meet future energy supply in the transition period to a post fossil-fuel world. However, in western industrialised countries, significant new investment still looks problematic. The upfront capital cost and long lead construction times have made nuclear uncompetitive, hence deterring investment in the sector however beneficial its long-term efficiency and reliability.
Governments know to tread carefully. Public sentiment still remains fearful almost to an irrational extent despite the many successfully operating nuclear power plants around the world and the multiple positive uses of radiation in medicine, industry, agriculture and academic research.
Yet two high-profile accidents, Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the Three Mile Island near disaster seriously mar the industry’s safety record in the public mind, even though on any normal industrial measure its safety record is exceptionally good compared with fossil-fuel electricity generation. For Brits, the Windscale nuclear facility, now Sellafield, in Cumbria and the Dounreay fast reactor research centre (now defunct) in northern Scotland have both earned their share of notoriety for safety lapses.
Concerns over nuclear waste disposal continue. Currently radioactive waste material worldwide is for the time being stored in various forms of dry containers, silos or vaults the safety and longevity of which have often been questioned. Geoscientists will be aware that European organisations are playing a prominent role in researching the geological conditions for deep subsurface repositories for high-level radioactive waste, regarded as the best long-term answer. Germany (BGR, with a commitment to find a suitable repository by 2031), Switzerland (NAGRA), Sweden (Aspö rock laboratory), France (Andra), UK RWM), Finland (Onkalo), and the Czech Republic are all at various stages of searching for a solution in which crystalline rock is the favoured host rock with rock salt and clay rock other possibilities.
The really deep-seated apprehension about anything nuclear is the unavoidable association with atomic weapons, no more so than now as President Putin persists with threatening statements during Russia’s war on Ukraine (where nuclear power plants are daily at risk). Nuclear proliferation fears were also the nominal cause of the war in Iraq, and Iran is under constant international scrutiny.
Albert Einstein, unfairly linked to the making of the ‘bomb’, would have understood community disquiet. The author of E=mc2 never actually uttered the frequently quoted ‘nuclear power is a hell of a way to boil water’. More mundanely, it was probably coined by an environmental journalist Karl Grossman in his 1980 book Cover Up: What You are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power
What is known is that Einstein, a lifelong pacificist, never forgave himself for lending his signature to a letter to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 warning that Germany could develop atomic bombs. It was prompted by the newly published discovery that year of nuclear fission in uranium by scientists in Germany, Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman and Lise Meitner. The letter penned by Leo Szilard, in consultation with two other Hungarian physicists Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner, suggested that the US should initiate its own nuclear programme. This eventually led to the birth of the Manhattan Project and the making of the atomic bomb to which both Teller and Wigner contributed. Einstein was officially excluded on security grounds, but he wanted nothing to do with it.
In his lifetime Einstein (1879-1955) had little to say about the civil use of nuclear power. He told The Atlantic magazine in 1945 ‘To give any estimate when atomic energy can be applied to constructive purposes is impossible. ... Since I do not foresee that atomic energy is to be a great boon for a long time, I have to say that for the present it is a menace.’
Einstein did not live to see the widespread adoption of nuclear power to generate electricity particularly in the 1960s up to the 1990s, notably in the US, the Soviet Union, UK, France and
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BUSINESS • PEOPLE • TECHNOLOGY
‘Concerns over nuclear waste disposal continue.’
Canada followed by something of a hiatus in construction of new capacity until a recent surge in Asia.
Nuclear energy powered about 10% of the world’s electricity in 2021, a fall from a peak of 17.5% in 1996, according to Statista. As of May 2022, there were 439 nuclear reactors in operation in some 30 countries around the world. The US had the largest number of operating nuclear power reactors at 92 units but this amounted to less than 20% of electricity generated in the country. By contrast nearly 70% of France’s electricity comes from nuclear power. Other European countries such as Ukraine (55%), Slovakia (52.3%), Belgium (50.8%), Hungary (46.8%) and Sweden (30.8%) depend on nuclear but up until recently little new capacity has been planned; in fact plant closures have been more the order of the day.
Indications are that the nuclear enthusiasm needle may be moving more positive. Most significantly, the continuing turmoil in the energy sector is changing attitudes in Europe.
For example, Sweden’s new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in January announced proposed legislation to end the cap on 10 nuclear reactors in the country by 2024, honouring an election pledge to change Sweden’s energy strategy from 100% renewable to 100% fossil-free. Currently there are currently six nuclear reactors at Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals.
Last year in the run-up to his successful re-election campaign, President Emmanual Macron touted a renaissance of the French nuclear industry with the construction of a possible 14 more reactors to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and meet its carbon neutral objectives by 2150.
The European Parliament last July did not object to the Commission’s Taxonomy Delegated Act to include specific nuclear and gas energy activities, under certain conditions, in the list of environmentally sustainable economic activities covered by the so-called EU Taxonomy. The European Commission has stated its belief that there is a role for private investment in gas and nuclear activities in the green transition.
According to the UK’s latest strategy, there will be a significant acceleration of nuclear, with an ambition of up to 24GW by 2050 representing up to around 25% of the country’s projected electricity demand. So called small modular reactors (SMRs) will form a key part of the nuclear project pipeline.
The impending energy crunch as a result of uncertainty over Russian gas supplies prompted Chancellor Olaf Scholz to order Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations to continue operation until April 2023, but this is likely to be a short term reprieve for the plan to close down all nuclear facilities originally scheduled for end of 2022.
Elsewhere, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates may be having an influence as a result of his very public espousal of SMRs for power stations that can store electricity to supplement grids increasingly supplied by intermittent sources such as
solar and wind power. His company TerraPower and its partner GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (not to mention Warren Buffet money in the mix) have in the works a demonstration project in Wyoming for Natrium, the company’s sodium-cooled reactor solution.
A degree of media excitement was also generated in December with the claim of a breakthrough in the elusive development of fusion energy. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California briefly generated a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers. However, any scaling up to commercial power plant was said to be decades away and subject to substantial research and investment. Critics argue that time and research already spent suggests this is a blind alley.
To date the International Energy Agency (IEA) calculates that nuclear power has avoided about 55 Gt of CO2 emissions over the past 50 years, nearly equal to two years of global energy-related CO2 emissions. What worries the IEA is the ‘nuclear fade’ scenario. It says the nuclear fleet in advanced economies is 35 years old on average and many plants are nearing the end of their designed lifetimes. Given their age, plants are beginning to close, with 25% of existing nuclear capacity in advanced economies expected to be shut down by 2025.
Under one pessimistic IEA scenario, nuclear capacity operating in advanced economies could decline by two-thirds by 2040, from about 280 GW in 2018 down to just over 90 GW in 2040. The largest decline would be in the European Union with the share of nuclear in electricity generation falling to just 4%. The share in the US could drop to 8%, and in Japan the share would fall to 2%, well below its 2030 target of 20-22%. IEA says without additional nuclear, the clean energy transition becomes more difficult and more expensive, requiring $1.6 trillion of additional investment in advanced economies over the next two decades.
This bleakish outlook contrasts with the extraordinary nuclear power expansion in Asia. There are already 55 nuclear plants in China, second only to the US in production capacity, and 15 more planned with a mean construction time of six years. Japan is restarting seven nuclear energy plants shut down after Fukushima bringing its total to 17 this summer. India, Iran, Pakistan, and South Korea are also actively building new nuclear power plants.
On other continents, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have minimal nuclear generating capacity in Latin America, and Africa has just one operating unit in South Africa with Egypt the next to join the party and many more African countries at least considering the possibilities most likely with Chinese or Russian technology.
Just where this all leads is anyone’s guess. Bill Gates has encapsulated the nuclear advocates’ pitch – ‘Nuclear is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day. The problems with today’s reactors, such as the risk of accidents, can be solved through innovation’. The question is how far the world in general will buy the proposition.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 21 CROSSTALK
‘The nuclear enthusiasm needle may be moving more positive’
Views expressed in Crosstalk are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com.
Pearl changes the rules of Ocean Bottom Seismic, offering better survey designs for exploration, appraisal, development, production optimisation and monitoring.
shearwatergeo.com
Norway replaces Russia as Europe’s largest supplier of gas
continue to be a reliable supplier of energy to Europe,’ said NPD director general Torgeir Stordal.
The authorities received 13 plans for new developments (PDOs), as well as several plans for projects aimed at increasing recovery near existing fields, or extending field lifetimes, in 2022. Decisions have also been made to approve major investments on existing fields.
make development profitable, alongside investments in infrastructure to solve the transport challenge.’
In December, Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 came on stream in the North Sea. Nova has commenced production and Njord in the Norwegian Sea has started up after modification work.
The disappearance of Russian gas on the European market has led to Norway becoming the largest supplier in Europe by the end of last year, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.
Norwegian authorities granted permits to increase production from several fields and Snøhvit also came back on stream after a lengthy shutdown.
Gas production was 9 billion Sm3 higher in 2022 compared with the previous year. Gas now accounts for more than half of production from the Norwegian Shelf – a total of 122 billion Sm3 of gas was produced.
Numerous investment decisions for new projects were also submitted in 2022 that will help to ensure that gas production remains at around 2022 levels for the next four to five years.
‘These remarkable investments for the future will help to ensure that Norway can
According to figures provided by the licensees, this entails total investments of around $30 billion. This amounts to a growth in reserves of 252 million Sm3 of oil equivalent, half of which is gas.
The largest new project is Yggdrasil (previously called Noaka) in the North Sea, where investments are projected to reach $11.5 billion.
Thirty two exploration wells were completed last year, resulting in 11 discoveries, several of which are smaller than expected. ‘At the same time, it’s gratifying that the companies have shown a willingness to drill exploration wells that carry greater risk when it comes to finding oil or gas. This is typical in parts of the shelf or the subsurface where no discoveries have been made previously,’ said Stordal, who added that the Lupa gas discovery in the Barents Sea, announced in December, is ‘exciting’.
‘A lack of infrastructure to export the gas has meant that the industry has been less eager to explore for gas in this area. More discoveries like Lupa could
A total of approx. 230 million Sm3 of oil equivalent was produced in 2022 –which corresponds to about four million barrels per day from 93 producing fields on the shelf.
In January 2022, 53 new production licences were awarded in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2021, and there has been ‘substantial interest’ in APA 2022, said the NPD.
In the carbon capture and storage sector, two injection wells were completed in the Northern Lights project and the authorities awarded three exploration licences for storage of CO2, one in the Barents Sea and two in the North Sea.
Options are being explored for mineral extraction on the seabed on the Norwegian Shelf to help secure a supply of metals needed for the transition to a low-emission society.
The NPD has made a resource assessment based on data collected from its own and other scientific surveys over a decade. It has assisted the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy with starting the process for exploration seabed minerals.
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Shearwater wins work offshore Brazil
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Petronas doubles oil and gas finds
31 HIGHLIGHTS INDUSTRY NEWS
Sinopec drills deepest well
Norwegian offshore gas platform.
Seismic data companies’ revenue continues to rise
Big seismic data companies PGS, CGG and TGS are all expecting to report healthy increases in fourth quarter revenue as they released statements ahead of their official results.
PGS expects to report fourth quarter revenues of $217 million, compared to $210 million in Q4 2021.
The company will report revenues on a percentage-of-completion basis for Q4 2022 of approx. $251 million, compared to $174.3 million in Q4 2021.
to $60 million in Q4 2021. Estimated multi-client pre-funding measured on percentage-of-completion basis in Q4 2022 was $43 million compared to $24 million in Q4 2021.
‘Our Q4 Produced revenues increased 44% year-over-year and are another confirmation of an improving marine seismic market. Multi-client late sales were strong in the quarter, driving full-year 2022 late sales to approximately $327 million, which is the second-best year on record, and almost 50% higher than 2021. Contract rates continue to improve, and our Q4 contract revenues are the highest since Q4 2014. Multi-client Produced pre-funding revenues reflect strong industry support of ongoing projects, as well as good sales from projects where imaging is not yet completed,’ said president and CEO Rune Olav Pedersen.
Earth Data segment sales are expected to be around $147 million, up 137% sequentially and up 29% year-on-year. After-sales are expected to be around $81 million, up 48% year-on-year.
Sensing and Monitoring segment sales are expected to be around $104 million, up 21% sequentially and up 11% year-onyear due to higher-than-expected deliveries of equipment in December 2022.
CGG anticipates full-year 2022 segment revenue at around $931 million, up 3% year-on-year.
It expects Q4 2022 positive net cash flow around $61 million, including the sale of its US land seismic library. Its cash liquidity at the end of December 2022 is expected to be $298 million, excluding $100 million undrawn RCF.
Finally, TGS expects fourth quarter revenues of $164 million, compared to $105 million in Q4 2021.
Contract revenues ended at $111 million in Q4 2022, compared to $64 million in Q4 2021. Multi-client late sales revenues were $92 million, compared to $81 million in Q4 2021.
Multi-client pre-funding revenues were $9 million in Q4 2022, compared
Meanwhile, CGG is expected to report Q4 2022 segment revenue at around $321 million, up 48% sequentially and up 8% year-on-year, driven by strong aftersales, especially in the US Gulf of Mexico and Scandinavia, and higher deliveries of equipment in December 2022.
Geoscience segment revenue is expected to be around $69 million, stable sequentially and down 22% year-onyear with Q4 2021 driven by significant Geovation software sales.
Late sales accounted for $136 million, 157% above the $53 million reported for Q4 2021.
Kristian Johansen, TGS CEO, said: ‘I’m pleased to see that the strong momentum in sales accelerated in the quarter. Late sales in Q4 2022 are the best fourth-quarter late sales since 2014. In addition, we have seen solid growth in order inflow related to new investments lately, meaning that the multi-client backlog increased significantly in the quarter.’
Shearwater shoots two 4D surveys offshore Brazil
Shearwater GeoServices has won two contracts for 4D seismic surveys with Petrobras for the Jubarte and Tartaruga Verde fields in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.
The first contract is for a second 4D monitor survey over the Jubarte (Humpback) and Baleia Ana fields, expected to start in the third quarter of 2023.
The second contract covers acquisition of a high-resolution baseline 4D survey, together with gravity and mag-
netic measurements, over the Tartaruga Verde (Green Turtle) field. The survey is expected start early 2024.
‘Shearwater has a strong track record in Brazil and a well-established relationship with Petrobras. We look forward to applying our time-lapse geophysical survey capabilities to these large projects,’ said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater.
The two surveys together add eight months to the company’s order book.
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Eight months vessel time has been added.
PGS Ramform Titan.
CGG and TGS win OBN mult-client contract in the Norwegian North Sea
and Utgard fields, as well as surrounding infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) areas for potential tiebacks to existing infrastructure.
TGS will be the operator throughout the acquisition phase. CGG will apply its proprietary OBN processing and imaging technology, including time-lag full-waveform inversion, to create a high-quality 3D volume that will enhance the resolution and structural definition of the complex geology and reservoirs in the region.
CGG and TGS have been jointly awarded the acquisition and imaging of a dense ocean bottom node (OBN) multi-client seismic survey in the Sleipner Area of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
The Sleipner OBN survey, located directly south of the Utsira OBN in the North Sea, will span an additional 1201 km2 area under receivers (AUR) to increase the contiguous multi-client OBN coverage in the region to 3278 km2 AUR. The survey area covers a mature part of the North Sea that includes the Sleipner East, Sleipner West, Gina Krog, Volve
The acquisition will commence in June 2023, with final processed deliverables to be completed by the end of Q3 2024.
Meanwhile, CGG has sold its US land seismic multi-client library encompassing 52,000 km2 of 3D seismic data to Bon Ton Seismic for $63 million in cash.
Sophie Zurquiyah, CGG CEO, said: ‘The sale of our US land data library is part of a continuous process of business portfolio management that was initiated in 2018. Earth Data will continue to focus on key prolific offshore hydrocarbon basins, CCUS, minerals & mining, and digital.’
EMGS to report Q4 multi-client revenues of $2.5 million
EMGS expects to record $2.5 million in multi-client revenues for the fourth quarter of 2022, $2 million of which is related to the fully pre-funded multi-client survey in East Canada.
It has also secured $1.7 million in late sales related to its multi-client library in the Barents Sea.
At the end of the fourth quarter it had one vessel on charter, the Atlantic Guardian. During the quarter, the vessel completed a survey in Trinidad and Tobago before transit to Norway and will be in warm-stack until backlog is secured.
Utilisation for the fourth quarter was 46% compared with 44% for the fourth quarter 2021.
Atlantic Charter remained the only vessel in operation and recorded 2.9 vessel months in the quarter. In the fourth quarter 2021, the company recorded three vessel months.
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All sensors Processin g 3D modelling 3D inversion Visualisation Analysis Utilities Minerals Petroleum Near Surface Government Contracting Consulting Education ModelVision Magnetic & Gravity Interpretation System Tensor Research support@tensor -research.com.au www.tensor-research.com.au Tensor Research1021.indd 1 03/09/2021 08:18
Sophie Zurquiyah, CGG CEO.
Atlantic Guardian.
Petronas doubles oil and gas discoveries in 2022
Petronas and its petroleum arrangement contractors (PACs) made 10 hydrocarbon discoveries in Malaysia in 2022. Eight oil and gas discoveries were made off the coast of Sarawak, and one each off the coast of Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. The largest oil discovery was in Block SK306 within Sarawak’s Balingian province. Discoveries were also made in Sarawak’s Central Luconia, Western Luconia and Baram provinces, which are among Malaysia’s most prolific basins.
Within Central Luconia, Shell had discoveries at the Inai-1 and Temu-1 wells in MLNG Block, while Mubadala Energy found more gas in Block SK320 at the Cengkih-1 well. In the emerging province of Western Luconia, ConocoPhillips drilled three exploration wells in Block WL4-00 and discovered gas at the Gagau-1 well while the Salam-3 and Benum-2 wells confirmed the extension
of oil and gas accumulations in adjacent fault blocks. In the matured Baram province in Northern Sarawak, PTTEP made another gas discovery in clastic reservoirs in Block SK410B.
In ultra-deepwater Sabah, TotalEnergies made an oil and gas discovery at the Tepat-2 well in Block N within the emerging Sabah Trough province.
Off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Hess found a new gas reservoir in Block PM302 within the North Malay Basin.
Petronas’ senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), Mohamed Firouz Asnan, said, ‘Sixteen wells were completed, with two more in progress, doubling the 2021’s figure. Our 60 per cent success ratio validates the prolific nature of the Malaysian basins. Most of the discoveries can be quickly monetised at a lower cost given their proximity to the extensive network of existing infrastructure.’
Petronas’ senior general manager of resource exploration at MPM, Azmir Zamri added, ‘Our vast multi-client dataset covering emerging and frontier areas will continue to be the key in accelerating the time to drilling. Enabled by MPM’s long-term rig sequencing plan, our PACs are gearing up to drill as many as 30 exploration wells next year.’
There was also an increased uptake in the Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2022 with PSC signings planned for this month, followed by the launch of MBR 2023.
TGS and SLB shoot 2D survey offshore Bangladesh
TGS has started a regional multi-client 2D seismic programme offshore Bangladesh in partnership with SLB and Petrobangla.
The initial phase will comprise a minimum programme area of around 11,000 line km of multi-client seismic data acquisition and aims to provide consistent, high-resolution broadband seismic data on a regional scale to enhance the geological
understanding of the prospective Bengal Fan. The new data will support future licensing rounds under the soon-to-berevised fiscal terms.
The overall programme will encompass around 32,000 line km of multi-client seismic data covering most of offshore Bangladesh. The new data will be acquired using long offset and long record lengths to image the deeper sections, which
historically have not been well-imaged. and are also areas where seismic data has not previously been recorded. The seismic data will be processed through modern high-end broadband Pre-Stack Time and Depth migrated (PSTM/PSDM) workflows.
TGS CEO Kristian Johansen, said: ‘This multi-phase seismic programme will provide a much-needed regional framework for understanding the Bengal Fan, considered one of the most-extensive remaining unexplored frontier basins in the world. Following the successful completion of our extensive East Coast India 2Dcubed reprocessing project, we continue to provide a seismic-fuelled boost across the Bay of Bengal to support offshore exploration in this region and augment licensing round decision-making.’
The acquisition was due to commence in early January 2023, with final processing deliverables anticipated in Q1 2024.
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Plan for multi-client 2D seismic survey in the Bengal Fan (Courtesy of TGS).
Ten hydrocarbon discoveries were made in Malaysia during 2022.
PGS launches big 3D survey offshore Malaysia
PGS is expanding its multi-client 3D coverage in the prospective Sabah platform province offshore Malaysia. The survey will cover approx. 3500 km2 and Ramform Sovereign is scheduled to commence acquisition in January 2023. The project is expected to complete in March. The survey is the sixth phase of multi-client acquisition in the prolific Sabah region. First phase commenced in 2016 and since then more than 47,000 km2 of 3D data has been acquired. The multi-phased Sabah project is one of the world’s largest multi-client acquisition projects
‘The Northwest Sabah basin is a proven petroleum system with producing fields such as Kikeh, Gumusut Kakap and Malikai with enormous potential, yet this is still ranked as one of the least explored basins in the world. By combining all the phases of the Sabah multi-client programme, we can offer a regional data set that improves understanding of the petroleum systems. In addition, the data
sets allow for prospect scale AVO analysis and leads within the entire offshore Sabah basin,’ said PGS president and CEO Rune Olav Pedersen.
Meanwhile, PGS has won a significant 4D production contract from Petrobras over the Barracuda-Caratinga field in
the Campos basin offshore Brazil. Mobilisation is scheduled to start in Q2 2023 and acquisition is expected to complete early 2024.
Ramform Victory will acquire the Barracuda-Caratinga 4D survey, supported by PGS Apollo as a source vessel.
Nigeria launches 2022 Mini Bid Round
Nigeria has announced the Mini Bid Round 2022 offering seven offshore blocks focusing on offshore north-western Nigeria.
They cover an area of approx. 6700 km2 in water depths of 1150 m to 3100 m Blocks PPL-300-DO, PPL-301DO and PPL-302-DO are located in the Nigerian Transform Margin area. Blocks PPL-303-DO, PPL-304-DO, PPL-305DO and PPL-306-DO are within the deepwater Niger Delta Basin. Interested companies were asked to submit their pre-qualification applications by 31 Jan 2023.
The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Committee has made available extensive 2D and 3D seismic data coverage covering the blocks, including multi-beam and analog data. Additionally, a 3D Mega Survey Plus reprocessed Pre-stack Time Migration (completed October 2022), with angle stacks and gathers is also available to prospective bidders.
The Niger Delta Basin is dominated by up to 12 km of Late Cretaceous to Quaternary-aged clastics deposited in an upward coarsening regressive deltaic sequence. The main source rocks are Akata Formation marine shales and Lower Agbada Formation paralic shales. Proven reservoirs in the basin are dominated by unconsolidated sandstones of the Agbada Formation deposited as stacked turbidite channel and fan complexes.
Two main plays are proven in the Nigerian Transform Margin area; the syn-transform Lower Cretaceous and post-transform Upper Cretaceous. Cenomanian-Turonian marine shales provide an oil-prone source rock in the region, with potential reservoirs deposited as shallow and marginal marine sandstones in the Lower Cretaceous, and deep-marine sandstones in the Upper Cretaceous.
The last bid round was held in April 2007 during which 45 blocks, drawn from the inland basins of Anambra, Benue and Chad; the Niger Delta Continental Shelf;
Onshore Niger Delta and Deep Offshore were offered.
PGS has assembled some 10,000 km2 of 3D data to support the Mini Bid Round. It has assembled a data package to license over the blocks, comprised of ~10,000 km2 of merged 3D seismic data. This is composed of various input surveys which have been matched, merged and re-binned onto a common grid resulting in a single, continuous volume of full-stack seismic data in the time domain.
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Orange polygon marks phase 6 of the multi-phased Sabah multi-client project, one of the world’s largest multi-client acquisition projects.
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
CGG and TGS launch 3D multi-client project offshore Brazil
TGS and CGG have launched the second phase of the Foz do Amazonas 3D multi-client survey in the offshore Brazil Equatorial Margin.
The survey, covering 11,425 km2, will broaden the region’s 3D coverage and deliver additional high-quality data essential for the exploration efforts in the basin, said TGS.
Existing 2D data and adjacent 3D data indicate the presence of reservoir depositional fairways in this location which overlay a source interval contemporaneous with the Guyana Basin petro-
leum system. Basin model studies predict a mature Early Cretaceous petroleum system with extensive regional reservoir distribution. The nearby Zaedyus discovery in French Guiana and the Narina and Venus wildcat discoveries on the conjugate margins of Liberia and Sierra Leone support resource potential in the Foz do Amazonas Basin.
Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS said, ‘For TGS, this project further strengthens our data library position in the Equatorial Margin and will be instrumental in enabling exploration companies to have a robust subsurface understanding in advance of future permanent offer rounds.’
Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO at CGG, said: ‘Our geoscientists will apply their deep regional insight and cutting-edge imaging technologies such as time-lag FWI and least-squares migration to provide the high-resolution, high-fidelity data and images necessary to better understand this frontier basin.’
Early-out PSDM products will be available in Q4 2023, with final products available from Q3 2024.
Meanwhile, CGG has started the Foz do Amazonas 3D seismic reimaging project, aimed at supporting Brazil’s Permanent Offer initiative in the Equatorial Margin. The project is expected to complete by the end of 2023, with fast-track products available by June.
The project will merge more than 7700 km2 of existing public 3D seismic data in the Foz do Amazonas basin. The area has a rich network of turbiditic fans and channels made attractive by its geologic proximity to Guyana and Suriname and the recent success stories along the South Atlantic conjugate margins of West Africa, said CGG.
Dechun Lin, EVP, Earth Data, said: ‘The Fozdo Amazonas 3D reimaging project will benefit from our in-depth knowledge of the Equatorial Margin and further expand our 3D data library offshore Brazil, which is already the most comprehensive in the industry. By applying our exclusive time-lag FWI, our Rio subsurface imaging centre will deliver ultramodern high-resolution images for a better understanding of the untapped potential of the vastly underexplored Equatorial Margin.’
Searcher releases East Coast India reprocessed data
Searcher Seismic has released its East Coast India Rectified and Reprocessed 2D Dataset after the announcement of the India Offshore Bid Round OALP9 2022/3.
The Offshore India Licensing Round includes nine blocks East of India in the Krishna Godavari, Mahanadi and Bengal basins. These blocks are in both shallow and deep water and largely unexplored with ‘incredible potential’.
To support the licensing round, Searcher has released its East Coast
India Rectified 2D project, which consists of 28,000 km of seismic data. Searcher has applied its proprietary post-stack reprocessing method which rectifies navigation, metadata, amplitude, phase and time to create a regional dataset that allows for an extremely cost-effective ranking of the acreage.
To complement the rectified 2D data Searcher has reprocessed a 9650 km subset of this data through a 2022 de-ghosting processing sequence to highlight both the source rock AVO and
reservoir sedimentary systems. Reprocessing was undertaken by Shearwater GeoServices.
‘The East India 2D Reprocessing and Rectification datasets provide an essential guide to block evaluation, ranking and basin understanding. Early participation of the rectified and reprocessed datasets is designed to be extremely cost-effective for any explorer serious about evaluating the East Coast of India Licensing Round,’ said Neil Hodgson, VP geoscience for Searcher.
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Foz de Amazonas Phase II extends coverage from existing 3D data into deeper water over prospective acreage identified by basin modelling, which is on-trend with other discoveries in the region.
CGG to reprocesses Utsira OBN survey in the Norwegian North Sea
CGG has announced an agreement with Carbon Transition to reprocess the Utsira ocean bottom node (OBN) seismic survey in the Norwegian North Sea. The reprocessing project has significant industry support and leverages strong demand for high-definition seismic imaging in this highly prospective area, said CGG.
achieved on a proprietary reprocessing of a sub-set of the Utsira survey. The result was so well received that the clients decided to commit to reprocessing of the complete survey.’
Nils Haugestad, interim CEO of Carbon Transition, said: ‘Together with CGG we will deliver a product that will significantly improve imaging of the area. We are confident that this new product will maximise our clients’ prospects for making new discoveries as well as optimising existing production.’
The Utsira area holds several significant oil and gas fields, including Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen, Balder, Gina Krog, Gudrun and Johan Sverdrup, along with a number of undeveloped discoveries and prospects.
Finally, Carbon Transition has entered into an agreement with a big oil company for significant additional prefunding for the Utsira OBN reprocessing project.
ENERGY TRANSITION BRIEFS
Getech has signed a collaboration agreement with Eavor Technology to locate and derisk closed-loop geothermal projects in Latin America. Getech will deploy its geoscience gravity and magnetics database, and its proprietary Heat Seeker software package. Eavor will deploy its closed-loop geothermal energy production system, Eavor-Loop.
Horisont Energi has agreed with Haugaland Næringspark to locate the land-based CO2 terminal for the Errai carbon capture and storage project at an industrial area in Gismarvik in Rogaland. The terminal will receive CO2 from both European and Norwegian customers, including from the planned CO2 terminal in the Port of Rotterdam.
The company will reprocess the Utsira survey, which is the largest ultrahigh resolution OBN survey conducted in the North Sea and covers approximately 2000 km2. The reprocessing will apply CGG’s latest advances in OBN processing and imaging technology, including time-lag full-waveform inversion. This will significantly improve the velocity model, overall image resolution and frequency content for fault interpretation and reservoir characterisation workflows. The reprocessed product will substantially advance the Utsira OBN survey and better assist clients with existing petroleum production and reservoir management. Scheduled to start in November 2022, the project will deliver a priority area in the third quarter of 2023 and final data for the complete survey in 2024.
Dechun Lin, EVP, Earth Data, CGG, said: ‘The agreement recognises CGG’s ability to provide superior OBN imaging results. This was recently demonstrated by the significant uplift in quality that we
‘The reprocessing will be realised with significant pre-funding from the leading actors in the area and will not limit the sale of licences from our existing data library,’ said Carbon Transition. ‘The reprocessed data will be an additional product only available to customers who have already acquired the underlying data. We believe the quality of the reprocessed product will improve late sales from the original data set and will result in significant additional late sales from the reprocessed data,’ the company added.
Former Lundin Norway CEO and board member of Carbon Transition, Torstein Sannes, said: ‘This type of continuous geophysical work and reprocessing is what made Lundin able to identify the Johan Sverdrup and Edvard Grieg reservoirs. It is reasonable to expect the Utsira area to contain considerable undiscovered resources, and the addition of new and improved advanced geophysical processing is a critical step in optimising oil recovery in the area.’
Equinor and RWE have agreed to develop large-scale value chains for low carbon hydrogen. They will develop hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants in Germany, and produce low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in Norway that will be exported via pipeline to Germany. They will build facilities in Norway to produce low carbon hydrogen from natural gas with CCS. Some 95% of the CO2 will be captured and stored under the seabed offshore Norway. They will develop offshore wind farms that will enable production of renewable hydrogen.
Azuli International, an independent carbon capture and storage company, has been launched in the UK. Azuli has been formed by the team that set up Lapis Energy in the US. With offices in London, Houston and Perth, West Australia, Azuli will help develop a portfolio of CCS opportunities in Australia, the UK, Continental Europe and the US.
Norway and France have agreed to cooperate on the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). ‘Norway will facilitate the development of CO2 storage on our continental shelf for industrial companies, French companies included,’ said Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 29 INDUSTRY NEWS
Nils Haugestad, interim CEO of Carbon Transition.
Fugro and Enviros win wind turbine mapping projects offshore Norway
Fugro and Enviros have won contracts from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate for mapping the shallowest strata under the seabead to locate wind turbine sites.
Fugro, using the vessel Fugro Searcher, is mapping the Sørlig Nordsjø II area where it has already done some previous mapping, while Enviros, using the vessel Kommandor Iona, will map Utsira Nord.
The companies will acquire seven different measurements: MBES (multibeam echosounder) will deliver key data sets for bathymetry, acoustic backscatter and water column data. They will also collect 2D high-resolution seismic,
sub-bottom profiler echo-sounder (SBP), side-scanning sonar (SSS) data, as well as magnetometer data. According to the plan, this will take place from late April to early September.
‘Layers 100-200 m below the seabed are where the wind turbines will be placed, and that’s why we need to know more about the geological and geotechnical properties here. Seabed conditions on the Norwegian shelf are complex and vary between different locations, which is why detailed examinations are needed,’ said geophysicist Lars Jensen, who is managing the project for the NPD.
The geological challenges include shallow gas, large boulder blocks that fell to the seabed when the ice melted, channels, sinkholes, landslides and faults as well as soft and ‘weak’ deposits that extend down into the depth, said the NPD.
Arne Jacobsen, assistant director for technology, analyses and coexistence, at the NPD, said: ‘The NPD has many years of experience and extensive knowledge when it comes to operating and acquiring seismic data from the oil and gas industry. It’s positive that this experience can be used to help support the energy transition.’
UK guidance urges seismic data assessment of CCS
The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has released its Carbon Storage Permit guidance document that recognises the value of seismic data for the locating and characterisation of carbon storage sites.
The guidance states, ‘Seismic data is essential to characterise the geological site and storage complex.’ The NSTA also notes that it expects licensees to use high-quality seismic data to determine the
level of uncertainty associated with a site and storage complex. Should that data not be of sufficient quality, the licensee will have to outline what further data will be required and how they plan to acquire it.
Nick Lee, PGS’ new energy subsurface manager said: ‘PGS’ experience is that leading CCS operators know the value of high-quality seismic data for the development and monitoring of their sites.’
sites
In 2022 PGS acquired high-resolution 3D data over the key saline aquifer CO2 stores currently under development in the North Sea – Endurance, Northern Lights and Smeaheia.
In 2023 it will deliver the multi-client SNS Vision reprocessing project designed to enable the dual-purpose evaluation of both CCS and hydrocarbon targets in a mature basin.
Vattenfall trials large uncrewed vessels for seabed windfarm surveys
Vattenfall has conducted the first largescale seabed survey with uncrewed surface vessels. ‘The results were very positive, both from a climate and a safety aspect,’ said the company.
In the late summer and early autumn of 2022, Vattenfall conducted at several of Vattenfall’s offshore wind farms in Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
‘Having observed their deployment in small-scale trials elsewhere, we were curious to understand how successful their deployment would be on a larger scale. This technology consumes much less fuel
than a traditional crewed survey vessel, and because the vessel is controlled from an onshore operations centre instead of having a crew onboard, personnel aren’t exposed to the same challenges as working offshore,’ said Rasmus Juncher, senior lead geophysicist at Vattenfall.
The uncrewed vessel is significantly smaller (4.5 m total length) than crewed vessels, which explains the big fuel saving, in some cases up to 90%.
Vattenfall aims to expand the use of uncrewed vessels in future operations. ‘We want to pursue further opportunities,
for instance for visual inspections of our assets both above and below water and in-site investigations on a broader scale to support the wind farm design. The possibilities are endless,’ Juncher added.
In the summer and autumn of 2022, uncrewed vessels were used for seabed surveys across Vattenfall’s Horns Rev 1, Horns Rev 3 and Krieger’s Flak in Denmark as well as Lillgrund in Sweden and Thanet in the UK. The service was provided by ocean data acquisition company XOCEAN, who has used uncrewed survey services since 2019.
30 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 INDUSTRY NEWS
Sinopec drills deepest well in Sichuan Basin
China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has announced that its Yuanshen-1 exploration well in the Sichuan Basin has reached a depth of 8866 m, beating the previous record in the Sichuan Basin set by its Rentan-1 well.
Yuanshen-1 well reached the deepest oil and gas formation in the Sichuan Basin as Sincopec hailed the potential of ancient carbonate rocks in the region.
To date, Sinopec’s deep natural gas resources in the Sichuan Basin in areas with mineral rights have reached 15 trillion m3
Sinopec has discovered the Puguang, Yuanba and Chuanxi gas fields, and to date its annual conventional gas production capacity from deep marine carbonate reservoirs has exceeded 12 billion m3 Meanwhile, Sinopec has published the China Energy Outlook 2060, its first publicly released medium and long-term energy outlook, which includes the Chinese Government’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
China’s primary energy consumption is expected to peak at approx. 6.03 billion tonnes of standard coal between 2030
BRIEFS
The US has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for two upcoming Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sales, Lease Sale 259 and Lease Sale 261. The statement includes an expanded greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis, including ‘monetised impacts’. The Inflation Reduction Act mandates Lease Sale 259 to be held by 31 March 2023, and Lease Sale 261 by 30 September 2023.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale 258 on 30 Dec generated one bid for one tract. The $63,983 bid was submitted by Hilcorp. Lease sale terms include stipulations to mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species, and avoid potential conflicts associated with other inlet users.
The Philippines and China have resumed talks on oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea at an ‘early date’. They have also agreed to co-operate on solar power, wind energy, electric vehicles and nuclear energy for electricity generation.
The Yuanshen-1 well has reached the deepest hydrocarbon reservoir in the Sichuan basin – the mound-shoal complex of the platform marginal facies in Dengying Formation. During the exploration, the ultra-deep carbonate rock, buried at a depth of more than 8700 m still showed positive hydrocarbon evidence in the porous reservoir.
‘The large upper casing weighs 517 tonnes at ground level, which is a challenge to the rig’s lifting and casing capabilities,’ said Sinopec. ‘The ultra-high temperature in the deep earth also makes it challenging to maintain the drilling fluid’s stability and anti-pollution capability; coring at such depths is difficult and time-consuming. To combat these challenges, Sinopec has developed key technologies for ultra-deep drilling to support oil and gas exploration in deep and ultra-deep carbonate reservoirs.’
and 2035, and reduce to about 5.6 billion tonnes of standard coal in 2060. Energy-related carbon emissions are expected to peak at around 9.9 billion tonnes by 2030 after excluding the carbon sequestration of raw material energy use, and drop to 1.7 billion tonnes in 2060, achieving carbon neutrality through carbon capture usage storage (CCUS) technology and carbon sinks, among other methods.
The report details China’s energy consumption and carbon emission projections of stages leading to 2060.
Zhao Dong, president of Sinopec, said: ‘We hope to work with all partners to further strengthen academic exchanges and deepen all-round cooperation to promote more high-quality energy research and results, and contribute to accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy system and safeguard national energy security.’
ADNOC has allocated $15 billion to progress the world-scale decarbonisation of its operations. The money will be used to advance an array of projects, including investments in clean power, carbon capture and storage (CCS), further electrification of its operations, energy efficiency and measures to further restrict gas flaring.
Egypt has launched an international tender for oil and gas exploration rights in the Nile Delta and Mediterranean Sea. The tender comprises 12 blocks, split between offshore and onshore, and the deadline for bids is 30 April 2023. Find out more at bidround@eug.petroleum.gov.eg
Barbados has postponed its 2022 Offshore Licensing Round, which was scheduled to commence on 1 December 2022.. Companies have requested additional time to evaluate acreage and data. The licensing round will now be launched in Q1, 2023.
FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 31 INDUSTRY NEWS
Yuanshen-1 well has been drilled to a record depth of 8866 m in the Sichuan Basin. Credit: SINOPEC/ PRNewswire.
PGS plans big 3D survey in the Norwegian Sea
PGS has secured pre-funding for a large multi-client survey in the Norwegian Sea. The survey will be acquired by a Ramform Titan-class vessel over two seasons with mobilisation for the first season in Q2 2023. The survey will be completed during summer 2024.
‘We acquired the first phase of NWS GeoStreamer X this summer and have now secured pre-funding for a larger second phase. The survey covers approximately 12,500 km2 of new GeoStreamer
data in a second azimuth over existing GeoStreamer multi-client data in the region, yielding a dual azimuth product, or what we call GeoStreamer X. The combination of multi-sensor broadband fidelity and dual azimuth illumination provides clients with higher-quality data for their renewed exploration interest on the Norwegian continental shelf,’ said President and CEO in PGS, Rune Olav Pedersen.
The project has contributed to an improved backlog, said PGS.
Oil and gas round-up
Vår Energi has found gas in the Vår Energi-operated 7122/9-1 T2 (Lupa) well in the Goliat area, Barents Sea, the largest discovery on the shelf in 2022. Preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 57-132 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent (9-21 billion Sm3 recoverable gas resources). The primary exploration target for the 7122/9-1 T2 Lupa well was to prove hydrocarbons in the Havert formation of Triassic age. The well encountered a gas column of 55 m in sandstones with moderate-to-good reservoir quality. The gas-water contact was not encountered in the well. The total depth was called in the Ørret formation. Extensive data acquisition took place, including sampling, and the discovery will now be further assessed and matured. Vår Energi holds a 50% stake in the PL229E licence, with Aker BP (50%).
Conrad Asia Energy has signed production sharing contracts for the Offshore North West Aceh (‘Meulaboh’) and Offshore South West Aceh (‘Singkil’) offshore northwest and southwest of the Aceh Province of Indonesia. The deeper water areas are underexplored, but recent seismic surveys have delineated prospective leads with gas potential. Existing seismic data shows flat spots and gas chimneys, indicating hydrocarbons.
Indonesia has approved the first plan of development for the Tuna offshore gas field with total estimated investment of
$3.07 billion up to the start of production. The gas field is operated by London-based Harbour Energy, which holds a 50% operated interest in the Tuna offshore block close to the Indonesian Vietnam maritime border. The 100 mmboe Tuna field was discovered in April 2014.
Talos Energy has discovered ‘commercial quantities’ of oil and natural gas at its Lime Rock and Venice prospects in the Gulf of Mexico during sequential drilling operations in the fourth quarter of 2022. Some 78 ft and 72 ft of net hydrocarbon pay were found in the primary targets at Lime Rock and Venice, with excellent geologic qualities. Expected combined gross recoverable resources are in-line with pre-drill estimates of 20-30 million barrels of oil equivalent, averaging approximately 40% oil and 60% liquids. First production from both wells is expected by the first quarter of 2024. Talos holds a 60% working interest in the two deepwater discoveries.
Jersey-based Predator Oil and Gas is drilling the MOU-2 well in the Guercif Licence, onshore northern Morocco. The well will be drilled to 1500 m TVD below ground level. The primary gas target is anticipated to be reached within 10 days.
OKEA and DNO Norge have signed an SPA through which OKEA enters into the Brasse licence (PL740). DNO and OKEA will each hold 50%. The partnership will undertake a review to assess
whether a development concept can be found for the estimated 30 mmboe recoverable volumes at the Brasse discovery in the Northern North Sea, which is 13 km from the OKEA-operated Brage field and 13 km southeast of the Oseberg Field Centre. Water depth is 120 m. The discovery was made in 2016 and delineated by four wells in the period from 2017 to 2019. The reservoir contains oil with a gas cap in the Upper Jurassic Sognefjord Formation. The transaction is executed at zero cost to OKEA.
Marathon Oil has completed acquisition of the Eagle Ford assets of Ensign Natural Resources for $3 billion in cash. The assets acquired from Ensign Natural Resources (99% operated, 97% working interest) span Live Oak, Bee, Karnes, and Dewitt Counties across the condensate, wet gas, and dry gas phase windows of the Eagle Ford. Marathon Oil has pledged to deliver maintenance level production from the acquired asset of 67,000 net boepd (22,000 net bopd of oil) with approximately one rig and 35 to 40 wells per year.
Indonesia has granted a 20-year extension of the Tangguh production sharing contract (Tangguh PSC) to bp and its Tangguh PSC partners. The Tangguh PSC, which consists of the Berau, Muturi and Wiriagar PSCs and was due to expire in 2035, will be extended to 2055.
32 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023 INDUSTRY NEWS
PGS’ project covers some 12,500 km2
Special Topic
DIGITALIZATION / MACHINE LEARNING
Acquisition, monitoring, modelling, imaging, interpretation and processing are being transformed by machine learning and artificial intelligence to produce faster results and render data more accessible and more integrated with other disciplines. Geoscientists are utilising machine learning to do the work that was once done by human minds. They are therefore liberated to focus more on the bigger picture and the overall quality of the geoscience industry is greatly enhanced.
Bagher Farmani et al present a workflow consisting of deep learning noise attenuation and curvelet addback to attenuate the noise from motion sensor records.
Ivo Colombo et al present a field application of an effective and reliable methodology for geomechanical parameters evaluation, using surface logging drilling data and well log data to feed a model characterised by the combination of different machine learning algorithms.
Paul de Groot et al show examples of trained machine learning models that are applied ‘AS IS’ to solve similar problems on unseen datasets.
Yudistira Effendi et al demonstrate that seismic volume-based unsupervised facies classification associated with advanced visualisation and detection helps delineate the prospect’s potential.
Chris Hanton demonstrates where opportunities still exist across the industry to apply machine learning towards some of the time-intensive non-productive work in geoscience workflows such as data wrangling and data set-up.
Alejandro Valenciano et al describe a machine learning (ML) workflow to predict missing data in well logs at the basin scale.
Carl Fredrik Gyllenhammar gives an overview of the use of AI and ML in oil and gas prospect evaluation.
Submit an article
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Special Topic overview
January Land Seismic
February Digitalization / Machine Learning
March Reservoir Monitoring
April Unconventionals and Passive Seismic
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July Modelling / Interpretation
August Near Surface Geo & Mining
September Reservoir Engineering & Geoscience
October Energy Transition
November Marine Acquisition
December Data Management and Processing
More Special Topics may be added during the course of the year.
44 FIRST BREAK I VOLUME 41 I FEBRUARY 2023
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
20-22 MARCH 2023
Third EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition
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February 2023
19-21 Feb Middle East Oil, Gas and Geosciences Show 2023 www.meos-expo.com
March 2023
1-3 Mar International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2023 2023.iptcnet.org
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May 2023
16-18 May Energy Geoscience Conference 2023 www.energygeoscienceconf.org
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16-18 Aug First EAGE Conference on Deepwater Equatorial Margin: New Energy Frontier for South America “From exploration to Production with social sustainability” www.eage.org
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September 2023
3-7 Sep Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition 2023 www.eagensg.org
10-15 Sep IMOG 2023
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12-13 Sep EAGE Conference on the Future of Energy - Role of Geoscience in the Energy Transition www.eage.org
18-20 Sep Seventh EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop www.eage.org
18-20 Sep Second EAGE Seabed Seismic Workshop www.eage.org
20-22 Sep First EAGE Conference on Offshore Energy Resources in the South Atlantic www.eage.org
October 2023
Oct Fifth EAGE Borehole Geology Workshop www.eage.org
Oct Hydrocarbon Prospectivity of the Northern Emirates www.eage.org
2-4 Oct AAPG/EAGE Workshop on New Discoveries in Mature Basins www.eage.org
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November 2023
Nov Fourth SPE/EAGE Geosteering and Well Placement Workshop www.eage.org
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11-16 Nov Second EAGE Workshop on Geothermal in Latin America www.eage.org
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