First Break August 2021 - Near Surface Geo Mining

VO L U M E 3 9 I I S S U E 8 I A U G U S T 2 0 21

SPECIAL TOPIC

Near Surface Geo Mining EAGE NEWS NSG 2021 in Bourdeaux will be vintage year INDUSTRY NEWS BP Review of Energy CROSSTALK Reinvention of geoscience companies

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FIRST BREAK® An EAGE Publication

CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD Peter Rowbotham (Peter.Rowbotham@apachecorp.com) EDITOR Damian Arnold (editorfb@eage.org) MEMBERS, EDITORIAL BOARD • Paul Binns, consultant (pebinns@btinternet.com) • Lodve Berre, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (lodve.berre@ntnu.no) • Satinder Chopra, SamiGeo (satinder.chopra@samigeo.com) • Anthony Day, PGS (anthony.day@pgs.com) • Peter Dromgoole, Retired Geophysicist (peterdromgoole@gmail.com) • Rutger Gras, Consultant (r.gras@gridadvice.nl) • Hamidreza Hamdi, University of Calgary (hhamdi@ucalgary.ca) • John Reynolds, Reynolds International (jmr@reynolds-international.co.uk) • James Rickett, Schlumberger (jrickett@slb.com) • Dave Stewart, Dave Stewart Geoconsulting Ltd (djstewart.dave@gmail.com) • Femke Vossepoel, Delft University of Technology (f.c.vossepoel@tudelft.nl) • Angelika-Maria Wulff, Kuwait Oil Company (AWulff@kockw.com)

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Versatile solution for high-quality UAV fluxgate magnetic acquisitions

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

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Personal Record Interview

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Crosstalk

EAGE EDITOR EMERITUS Andrew McBarnet (andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com)

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Industry News

MEDIA PRODUCTION Saskia Nota (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

Special Topic: Near Surface Geo Mining

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ivana Geurts (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

37 Contribution to the understanding of specific signatures in the interaction of surface waves with underground voids

A. Bitri and K. Samyn

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES corporaterelations@eage.org EAGE EUROPE OFFICE PO Box 59 3990 DB Houten The Netherlands • +31 88 995 5055 • eage@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE RUSSIA & CIS OFFICE EAGE Russia & CIS Office EAGE Geomodel LLC 19 Leninsky Prospekt 119071, Moscow, Russia • +7 495 640 2008 • moscow@eage.org • www.eage.ru EAGE MIDDLE EAST OFFICE EAGE Middle East FZ-LLC Dubai Knowledge Village Block 13 Office F-25 PO Box 501711 Dubai, United Arab Emirates • +971 4 369 3897 • middle_east@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE ASIA PACIFIC OFFICE UOA Centre Office Suite 19-15-3A No. 19, Jalan Pinang 50450 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia • +60 3 272 201 40 • asiapacific@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE AMERICAS SAS Calle 93 # 18-28 Oficina 704 Bogota, Colombia • +57 1 4232948 • americas@eage.org • www.eage.org

43 The efficient acquisition of high-resolution 3D seismic surveys for shallow open-cut mining Tim Dean, Matt Grant and Margarita Pavlova 51 Use of distributed independent receivers for 3D deep electrical resistivity and chargeability surveys Federico Fischanger, Alberto Rosselli, Filippo Barsuglia, Gianfranco Morelli, Stefano Del Ghianda and Alessio Ferdeghini 57 A versatile solution for high-quality UAV fluxgate magnetic acquisitions Jeanne Mercier de Lépinay, Tristan Fréville, Bruno Gavazzi, Baptiste Kiemes, Luis Miguel Sanabria, Marc Munschy and Hugo Reiller 63 Characterization of seafloor mineral deposits using multiphysics datasets acquired from an AUV Lucy MacGregor, Peter Kowalczyk, Christopher Galley, Karen Weitemeyer, Steve Bloomer, Nigel Phillips and Alison Proctor 71 New insights from a multi-method geophysical investigation on a very large, slow-moving landslide (Hell Bourg, Reunion Island) C. Rault, P. A. Reninger, K. Samyn, A. Britri, M. Delatre, Y. Thiery and B. Aunay 79 Detection and localization of ferrous underground objects and buried utilities using airborne magnetometers and metal detectors Alexey Dobrovolskiy 87 Integrated seismic exploration for open-cut mining: the importance of the near surface Claudio Strobbia, Simone Re, Tim Dean, Matthew Grant, Martin Bayly, Megan Nightingale and Denis Sweeney 94 Calendar

EAGE MEMBERS CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTIFICATION Send to: EAGE Membership Dept at EAGE Office (address above) FIRST BREAK ON THE WEB www.firstbreak.org ISSN 0263-5046 (print) / ISSN 1365-2397 (online)

cover: Survey conducted with an UAV drone equipped with an Echo Sounder (image courtesy of SPH Engineering).

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European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers

Board 2021-2022

Dirk Orlowsky President

Jean-Marc Rodriguez Vi c e-President

Near Surface Geoscience Division Alireza Malehmir Chair Esther Bloem Vice-Chair George Apostolopoulos Immediate Past Chair Micki Allen Contact Officer EEGS/North America Hongzhu Cai Liaison China Albert Casas Membership Officer Eric Cauquil Liaison Shallow Marine Geophysics Deyan Draganov Technical Programme Officer Hamdan Ali Hamdan Liaison Middle East Vladimir Ignatev Liaison Russia / CIS Andreas Kathage Liaison Officer First Break Musa Manzi Liaison Africa Myrto Papadopoulou Young Professional Liaison Koya Suto Liaison Asia Pacific Catherine Truffert Industry Liaison Panagiotis Tsourlos Editor-in-Chief Near Surface Geophysics Florina Tuluca Committee Member

Pascal Breton Secretary-Treasurer

Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

Caroline Le Turdu Membership and Cooperation Officer

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 Francesco Perrone Member Matteo Ravasi YP Liaison Philip Ringrose Editor-in-Chief Petroleum Geoscience Giovanni Sosio DET SIC Liaison Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Colin MacBeth Education Officer

Peter Rowbotham Publications Officer

SUBSCRIPTIONS First Break is published monthly. It is free to EAGE members. The membership fee of EAGE is € 50.00 a year (including First Break, EarthDoc (EAGE’s geoscience database), Learning Geoscience (EAGE’s Education website) and online access to a scientific journal.

Companies can subscribe to First Break via an institutional subscription.

Every subscription includes a monthly hard copy and online access to the full First Break archive for the requested number of online users.

Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Alireza Malehmir Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division

Orders for current subscriptions and back issues should be sent to EAGE Publications BV, Journal Subscriptions, PO Box 59, 3990 DB, Houten, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0)88 9955055, E-mail: subscriptions@eage.org, www.firstbreak.org.

Lucy Slater Chair Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

First Break is published by EAGE Publications BV, The Netherlands.

However, responsibility for the opinions given and the statements made rests with the authors.

COPYRIGHT & PHOTOCOPYING © 2021 EAGE All rights reserved. First Break or any part thereof june not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying and recording, ­without the prior written permission of the publisher.

PAPER The publisher’s policy is to use acid-free permanent paper (TCF), to the draft standard ISO/DIS/9706, made from sustainable ­forests using chlorine-free pulp (Nordic-Swan standard).

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HIGHLIGHTS

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Learning opportunities at EAGE Annual 2021

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Sclocchi Awards for Italian students

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Time to take up Minus CO2 Challenge

A president prepared for the energy transition era New EAGE president Dirk Orlowsky reviews the challenges ahead as he begins his term of office.

A career in near surface geophysics Dirk Orlowsky is a senior geoscientist and project manager with DMT, the German global engineering services and consultancy group based in Essen, Germany, which he joined 30 years ago. He obtained his MSc in geophysics (1991) and PhD in natural sciences (1996) at Ruhr University of Bochum. In his work he focuses on exploration and engineering geophysics and is responsible for planning, processing and interpretation of geophysical measurements as well as for the application of new combinations of different geophysical methods. He has led numerous research and service projects, including collaborations with both industry and academia, is joint author of dozens of scientific papers and mentors MSc students. Throughout his career, he has also served in key roles in both national and international professional associations.

What have been the highlights of your career to date?

Near surface has been my area including exploration projects for mining and oil and gas as well as in the deep geothermal industry.

My first completely self organized, recorded, processed and interpreted in-seam seismic project was in the early Nineties while finishing my PhD. I made a presentation of the results during the EAGE conference in Geneva in 1997 and this led to an invitation to become active in the EEGS-ES Board. Establishing the geophysical techniques, developed in my PhD, has served me well at DMT for over two decades of near surface geophysics.

I would also mention some other highlights of my working life including a VSP-programme for the investigation of a storage site for radioactive waste in Switzerland in 2000; developing a VSP and high-resolution reflection seismic program with processing and interpretation for the investigation of a salt deposit in Scotland; geophysical investigations of karst formations to detect cavities in the planned location of a new railway track between Nürnberg and Ingolstadt (Germany); detection of more than 20 old shafts and underground roadways in the Ruhr Area applying geophysical methods; project management of several 2D and 3D seismic investigations for deep geothermal projects in depths up to 3500 m FIRST

Dirk Orlowsky, new EAGE president.

around Molasse, southern Germany and in 2009-2014 managing the exploration and engineering geophysics department of DMT. What are some of the volunteer roles with EAGE and other professional societies that you have fulfilled during your career?

There have been a number of roles of which I am proud. I was president of EEGS-ES when we joined EAGE, became first chair of the EAGE Near Surface

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EAGE NEWS

Division (2002-03), and was again chair in 2014-2016. I have been involved in organizing meetings on carbon capture and storage for the German Geophysical Society (DGG) with SEG, deep geothermal (DGG-EAGE) and the first EAGE Sustainable Earth Conference in 2011.

new people from around the world with different perspectives. Making new friends and looking forward to meeting them once or twice a year at different places in the world is always fun. It’s really all about generating your own small family within your field of activity.

Discussing strategies at a Board meeting.

Recently I have been active on the board of DGG, joint organizer of the 2014 Near Surface annual meeting, co-chair of the GET2020 event in 2020 and member of the scientific advisory committee of the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics Hannover (LIAG). But of course I am most proud of taking on the role of EAGE president.

What inspires you to get involved in volunteer work?

My first thought is solidarity – our ideas, worries and hopes whether we are manufacturers, service providers or technicians.

Influence is also important. A well-established association like EAGE can represent the diverse fields of activity in our industries with its publication, education, programmes and event organization.

It does this in exemplary fashion.

For me, involvement means I have, and have had, the opportunity to contribute my opinions and ideas to the work of the Association and participate in committees and events. At board level this of course brings extra responsibility. It includes the need to communicate but also facilitate networking between colleagues and members.

That’s why the opportunity to have fun is such a big part of the deal for me. It’s fun to meet with colleagues and discuss topics of mutual interest. It’s fun to get to know 4

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As the energy transition accelerates, does the EAGE’s division between the Oil & Gas and Near Surface still make sense?

The composition of the Association’s membership is in the process of rapid change, especially with regard to the oil business, with transition top of the agenda.

The line between the two divisions is becoming increasingly blurred. We have therefore begun discussions about the implication of these developments on our current structure. EAGE has already reflected its strategic direction with a new event on Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition (GET21). In addition, a new journal on energy transition issues is in the pipeline and of course the technical special interest group on Decarbonization and Energy Transition is already well established.

Are you confident that EAGE has a robust business model for its future activities?

Definitely, yes! The EAGE strategy for the next five years is to build on the following robust pillars and objectives: a) Globalization and multi-disciplinary, b) Membership and career, c) One-stop-shop for knowledge, d) Support from a broader industry, e) Recognition in the political

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community (European Union), and f) Acceptance by the public. Furthermore, we can lean on many EAGE activities like the organization of financially successful events, publications, educational programmes cooperating with sister societies as well as our associated societies. Meanwhile developing more special interest groups will broaden the industry and academic base of EAGE. During the Covid era we proved that events and education programmes can be organized for the benefit of members, online and hybrid, with a more positive financial outcome than we anticipated.

Meanwhile our publications including First Break are extending their scope of technical interest to accommodate changes in the professional interests of members.

Are there any special initiatives/projects which you would like to highlight during your year of office?

As we were not able to travel during the past year, a priority will be to visit our partners, sister societies, and associated societies primarily at events, especially those associated with near surface and energy transition. I also think it is important to place more emphasis on the influence that EAGE can exert outside the geoscience and engineering community, for example, working with the United Nations on the 17 prescribed sustainable development goals (SDGs) starting perhaps with input on clean water. Based on my career experience, I would personally like to see nuclear waste issues taken up more by the EAGE, maybe through a technical special interest community.

Looking ahead, what is your vision for EAGE in five years time?

In summary, first I expect EAGE to become one of the most innovative geoscience associations worldwide. In the coming years EAGE should continue to embrace the energy transition as a new main business to provide opportunities for our members. Digital innovation will also feature prominently going forward.

Basically our strategy is to position EAGE as a global society, anchored in Europe and respected inside and outside of the geoscience world.

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We’re looking for experienced and dynamic sales professionals in all international markets, plus a world-class Global Head of Sales to lead us into the future. More details available at https://careers.dug.com/jobs

Apply today careers.dug.com/jobs

EAGE NEWS

NSG21 in Bordeaux should be a vintage meeting The Grand Cru of Near Surface meetings is almost upon us. From 29 August to 2 September, Near Surface Geoscience 2021 (NSG21) will bring together the community in Bordeaux, France, like never before. With three parallel conferences, a lively exhibition, and an exciting complementary programme, this is destined to be a vintage meeting worthy of French wine country.

Those familiar with the Near Surface Conference series will know about the parallel conference structure offered by EAGE - a tried and tested method to stimulate interaction between scientific research groups and exhibitors. In addition to the 27th European Meeting on Environmental & Engineering Geophysics we’re including the second edition of the well-re-

Plenary session.

ceived Conference on Infrastructure Planning, Monitoring and BIM. Last but not least we are proud to include a brand new parallel conference topic on hydrogeophysics.

Poster presentation.

Exhibition.

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The combination of the three meetings allows for an engaging programme with a large variety of companies, universities and research institutes. With over 240 presentations coming from 40 different countries, there’s a lot to explore. It is particularly encouraging to see a large range of research included from France itself, with over 25 different institutions included in the programme of three conferences. Connecting local, regional and international communities it gives delegates a perfect opportunity to (re)connect.

Whilst we’re keen to welcome you in Bordeaux, we realize not everyone may be able to travel to France just yet.

For those unable to attend the meeting in person we are therefore organizing NSG2021 as a hybrid meeting. This means key aspects of the conference, including the technical programme, will also be available as an online meeting. We may not be able to take you with us on our field trips, but you will have a chance to tap into the latest NSG research and technology.

Prospective delegates keen to learn more are invited to explore the programme and registration opportunities today at www.NSG2021.org. We hope to see you in ‘La perle d’Aquitaine’ later this month!

EAGE NEWS

Series of our plenary sessions planned for Annual discussing the major issues facing geoscience and engineering community The main forums at the EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam this year are going to be a little different. We will be having an introductory forum at the Opening on Monday 18 October but then for the three days following, there will be further plenary sessions on different but related topics.

The idea is that the discussions can be followed as a series dealing with the big issues, challenges and opportunities facing the geoscience and engineering community in this time of great uncertainty. The top names in the industry being invited include representatives from the International Energy Agency, WoodMackenzie, IHS Markit, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Amazon, Schlumberger, CGG, and TGS, plus leading figures in the academic community.

The full programme will be announced shortly, but this is an exceptional opportunity to get the most

authoritative view possible of how the development of tomorrow’s energy needs will evolve. Each day will cover a different topic in a logical sequence from an overview of world energy trends to the education and careers of the next generation of geoscience and engineering professionals. Questions from the in-person and online audience will be encouraged.

Monday 18 October, Opening Session Forum

Wednesday 20 October, Forum Session 2

Energy Transition – Will great expectations be realized?

Focus of the first forum will be on global energy transition issues and the pace of change in the balance of supply and demand for traditional fossil fuels and renewables. Just some of the questions arising include: What impact has Covid-19 pandemic had on transition momentum? How quickly can we reduce our dependence on oil and gas? What role will decarbonization initiatives play?

Should oil and gas companies be taking the lead?

Role of geoscience and engineering in meeting decarbonization goals The forum will review how geoscientists and engineers can support many decarbonization and renewable initiatives. This starts with the oil and gas industry itself where cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly E&P is a major priority.

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is another obvious application for industry expertise. But the panel of specialists can be expected to broaden the range of discussion to consider many other energy sources (geothermal, wind turbines, solar, tidal, hydrogen, nuclear, biomass, etc) and their relevance to geoscience and engineering in the future.

Tuesday 19 October, Forum Session 1

Discussion underway at an EAGE forum.

Panellist makes his point.

How the oil industry is addressing the energy mix to meet the goals of the transition era This will be an opportunity for participants to hear first hand from industry leaders from the oil and service sector and energy analysts how oil/energy companies are taking the initiative in addressing energy transition issues whilst acknowledging that global oil and gas demand will still have to be met for some time to come. How these challenges are going to be resolved is of crucial interest to the future of the geoscience and engineering community, its business and technology.

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Thursday 21 October, Forum Session 3

Great Career Challenge – the changing education and opportunities for tomorrow’s energy professionals The forum series ends with a discussion on how the changing energy landscape will affect education, training, qualifications, and career structures of geoscientists and engineers. This is an increasingly urgent issue for both academia and an energy industry structure undergoing rapid change.

Watch for the full announcement coming soon.

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A wealth of learning opportunities awaits you in Amsterdam This October in Amsterdam, we will be bringing you great, in-person learning opportunities at the 82nd EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition. Next to the multi-disciplinary Technical Programme covering 1400 presentations, we have a full schedule of short courses, workshops and field trips suitable for participants at all stages of their careers.

The programmes held on Sunday, Monday and Friday, before and after the main event, aim at providing a range of learning experiences so that participants can acquire new knowledge or update their existing skills in the development of their academic or professional profile.

Make sure to check out what is available and register today so you won’t miss out on any opportunity while in Amsterdam.

In-person courses will take place again.

Short courses As in previous years, EAGE offers some fantastic short courses. This year you can choose from three topical short courses presented by acknowledged experts in the industry.

We have two two-day courses on Sunday and Monday (17-18 October 2021). ‘Machine Learning for Geoscientists with Hands-on Coding’ by Dr Ehsan Naeini (Earth Science Analytics) is for entry-level practitioners and involves hands-on coding. The course lays out the reality of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and big data in geoscience. It shows various examples in which machine learning algorithms have been implemented for well- and/ or seismic-based applications. You will 8

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code up a classification and a regression algorithm for lithology/facies and well log prediction to become familiar with the flexibility of coding machine learning in Python (although we do not intend to teach Python in detail in this course). You will also be able to familiarize yourself with publicly available Python libraries for machine learning and analytics.

‘Seismic Diffraction, Modelling, Imaging and Application’ by Dr Tijmen Jan Moser (Moser Geophysical Services) is designed for a general audience of geophysicists, geologists and reservoir engineers. The course covers both the forward and inverse problems of seismic diffraction, providing detailed and up-to-date understanding of the physics of diffraction, diffraction modelling and imaging from the early work in the 1970s up to the present state of the art.

It will put emphasis on key components for successful diffraction imaging case studies in the E&P industry, covering examples for both structural and stratigraphic targets.

We are also including a one-day EAGE Education Tour (EET) course on Monday 18 October 2021. ‘Operational Geomechanics’ by Dr Mohammed S. Ameen (geomechanics and rock fractures expert, retired from Saudi Aramco) presents the impact of natural fractures on fluid transmissivity/permeability and fluid storativity/effective porosity of rock masses. Understanding the process is crucial to hydrocarbon assets (both conventional and unconventional reservoirs), geothermal, and water reservoirs and nuclear waste repositories, cap seal and fault seal integrity and seismic hazards.

Workshops Our Annual Workshop Programme is designed to address some conference topics in more depth and give you a chance to actively discuss and debate with presenters in the field of your choice. This year you are sure to find a workshop that suits your needs from a total of 13

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topical one-day workshops, with over 200 interactive presentations.

Among the workshops, one is initiated by SPE (Workshop 12) to discuss new ideas, trends, and experiences covering all phases of an EOR project: research, planning, field implementation, and surveillance. Another one is prepared by the EAGE Artificial Intelligence (AI) special interest community (Workshop 16) to demonstrate the development of machine learning solutions in the production environment and the challenges such as incorporation of ML/AI workflows into production toolboxes, continuous training-deployment cycle, implementation issues relating to deployment, cloud computing, etc.

All the workshop programmes are now available on the Annual website. If you find more than one of our workshops of interest, you can sign up for the Workshop Package, which allows you to register for one workshop per day (Sunday, Monday and Friday) at a discounted fee.

Field Trips If you are looking for some real experience in a relaxed environment while spending some time outdoors, then our one-day field trips are the perfect choice for you. The field trips this year are planned to provide some special geoscientific points of interest throughout the Netherlands.

You can kick off your stay in Amsterdam with the Sunday evening tour ‘Building Stones of Amsterdam. A Geological Walk’ taking in several monuments and statues of natural stone. During the walk we will take a closer look at the mineralogy, the fossil content and the colour texture of the different stone types, as well as discuss the weathering phenomena and the durability of the natural stone in the urban environment.

Then you can choose between two field trips on Monday to explore how energy transitions have taken place in the Netherlands. ‘Energy Transition in the

EAGE NEWS

View from a field trip.

Province of North Holland’ will track the past and future energy transitions through a number of sites in the North Holland province, including a geothermal project where hot water is produced from 2.5 km depth and used for greenhouse heating, a former gas production site which is now planned to be redeveloped for geothermal energy production, a major onshore wind farm developed in the Wieringermeer area, the underground gas storage facilities near the city of Alkmaar and a local plant that incinerates waste and uses the residual heat from the incineration to

heat a number of districts. A solar energy park and a small wind farm are also on the schedule.

Meanwhile ‘Dinantian Carbonates: A new geothermal play?’ will provide

a better understanding of the Dinantian carbonates and the possible application in the geothermal industry. You will visit the Stolberg area (Germany), where the Dinantian carbonates are exposed and end the day with a visit to a local Dutch winery where you’ll get the chance to taste wine from Dutch soil.

And you can end your week at the Annual 2021 with a ‘Site Visit to the Open Innovation Centre for Well Technology’ in Rijswijk. The centre focuses on reducing the total cost of ownership of wells for the economic success of geo-energy applications in general and geothermal in particular, and addresses the safety of subsurface activities and the societal acceptance of these activities.

To read more details and book these short courses, workshops and field trips, head to our website www.eageannual2021.org.

Secure your registration by 15 September to benefit from our discounted fees.

New EAGE membership fees announced EAGE is introducing a new fee structure for 2022 memberships onwards, as announced at the Annual General Meeting for Members (AGMM) in June. Membership dues for regular members will be €80, with membership for our retired members increased to €40 per calendar year. Student membership fees will remain the same at €25.

Caroline Le Turdu, EAGE’s membership & cooperation officer, explains the increase. ‘The last time the fees were changed was over 20 years ago. Not only have costs and inflation risen over the years, but the number of services provided by the Association have also expanded.

This includes membership benefits like EarthDoc, offering digital experiences, as well as services meant for our global community, such as enhanced education, individual support programmes and the

continuous assistance we provide to local chapters, communities and associated societies. These services are important for our international community and we therefore do not want to reduce them. The new membership fees are key to ensure these global activities can be maintained and continuously improved.’

The new fees do not come as a standalone change. Several measures are in place to alleviate the possible impact of the fee increase. ‘We understand that not everyone can easily afford these new dues.’ Le Turdu says, ‘and for that reason we made a couple of important provisions. Membership fees for students will, for starters, not be increased. Secondly, we will be launching a new element of the EAGE Economic Hardship Programme where (prospective) members can apply for a 50% discount

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on the annual dues.

Regular, retired and students community members can all apply for this support. Additional information on Caroline Le Turdu. how to do so can be found on the EAGE website.’

The new fees will be in effect from 2022 membership onwards. Members renewing their membership will therefore see these new dues included once the membership renewal window opens. This will also be the case for new membership applications received from 1 October 2021 onwards.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our membership team at membership@eage.org.

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EAGE NEWS

Azerbaijan Chapter busy again with post pandemic activities Since the beginning of 2021, EAGE LC Azerbaijan has been back in business following the disruption to its activities last year due to the Covid pandemic.

Along with the Azerbaijan Society of Petroleum Geologists (ASPG) 25th Annual International Conference of Students and Young Researchers was held online in collaboration with French-Azerbaijani University (UFAZ) on 23-24 April 2021.

Some 30 presentations from Azerbaijan, Italy, and Ukraine were submitted to the conference including contributions from Baku High Oil School (BHOS), Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU), Western University, Institute of Geology and Geophysics of ANAS, and Institute of Oil and Gas of ANAS. Good quality presentations were delivered and great interest shown by students and their respective advisors which encourages us to continue cooperation in the coming years.

There were prizes for the best presentations which went to Isayev

Cavid, Gakhramanov Farid (BHOS), Humbatova Maysara, Bashirov Bashar (ASOIU) and Eldar Asgarov (BHOS), Shakhnazarov Elshad (ASOIU), Shikhakhmedova Nazrin (ASOIU), Agayev Zulfugar (Institute of Oil and Gas of ANAS).

In addition this year, the XXI Republican Conference in memory of academician A. Alizade was held on 15 May 2021 on the topic ‘Genesis, migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons’.

The conference was held at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of ANAS. Participants, some online, were treated to 20 reports from various departments of SOCAR, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU), and Scie ANAS. The plenary sessions featured talks

by A. Javadova (BP) on ‘Geochemical characteristics of oils of western Azerbaijan’ and G. Nasibova (ASOIU) on ‘Determining the optimal direction of exploration work on the basis of the depth structure of the South Caspian basin, the assessment of structural-tec-

tonic, paleotectonic and geodynamic factors of the sedimentary layer’.

Best student presenters received special awards including an ancient tower painted in oil, called the Maiden Tower.

The reports of the winners of the student papers and the best from the conference in memory of academician Alizade will be published in the journal Geologist of Azerbaijan.

EAGE LC Azerbaijan expresses its gratitude to the sponsors of the conferences – BP, Total, Equinor, and SOCAR AQS. Upcoming events scheduled for 2021 are the SPE international conference on ‘Geology of the Caspian Sea and adjacent areas’ on 16-18 October and the XXII Republican Conference in memory of academician Sh. Mehdiyev on 15 December 2021.

Also, a series of events for conference participants will be held within the conferences, e.g., seminars and workshops by Schlumberger, Halliburton and Gulf Drilling, as well as a field trip to the Altiagach mountains.

Read our energy transition stories to help navigate your future career Welcome to the Energy Transition Stories by the EAGE Decarbonization & Energy Transition community, a series of live interviews with experts sharing their path and advice for those wondering how to futureproof your career in the energy transition.

Our first episode took place on 25 June with Philippe Montagnier, vice president, geoscience discipline, TotalEnergies.

Montagnier is responsible for leading the mid-to-long-term studies and projections of the discipline in terms of activities, technologies and skills. He has a key role in the recruitment of geoscientists and oversees the career development of 1300 geoscientists in TotalEnergies at headquarters and affiliates across all departments.

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In the first part Montagnier talked about the ideal profile of geoscientists in the energy transition and future opportunities for those interested in developing their career in this field. According to Montagnier, an ideal geoscientist working in the energy transition should be ‘creative and courageous, on both the technical and business side’ and know ‘how to handle uncertainties and assess risks’. He said the energy transition will take time, so there will be a need for subsurface oil and gas geoscientists for many years to come. This means there will be plenty of opportunities for a career in the industry, for both new graduates and experienced geoscientists.

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Montagnier then discussed how to build a smart multi-career track and the skills set needed to navigate this rapidly evolving domain. Energy companies are looking for geoscientists with ‘forward-looking spirit, agility and resilience’ and ‘an ability to always listen to different ideas and have constant energy’. He illustrated his talking points with the career story of two employees at TotalEnergies.

The interview ended with an interactive Q&A with the online audience. We would like to thank Philippe Montagnier for his sharing and Philip Ringrose, adjunct professor at NTNU, for moderating.

Missed it? No worries, the full interview is published on the EAGE website.

EAGE NEWS

London Chapter hears view from the seabed — OBN processing in shallow to deep water

Graphic from processing talk.

London Chapter’s evening talk in June was delivered online by Simon Baldock, Chief Geophysicist at TGS UK. During his presentation, Baldock illustrated how modern processing and model building techniques applied to seismic data form Ocean Bottom Nodes (OBN) generate stunning images of subsurface.

Efficient acquisition of largescale OBN surveys is now a reality,

delivering data that are long-offset, azimuth-rich and high-density.

These data provide an opportunity to apply advanced pre-processing and model building techniques to create high-resolution velocity models that enable detailed images of the subsurface targets. The method reveals high-resolution models of cemented sand structures in the North Sea to imaging of deep pre-salt structures in the Gulf of Mexico.

In his talk, Baldock demonstrated the potential of OBN data. The key technologies including pre-processing (deblending, PZ calibration and demultiple) and depth imaging, focusing on the advantages of dynamic matching FWI (DM-FWI) and these technologies were examined alongside how they vary from shallow to deep water. The view from the

seabed has never been richer nor more exciting.

The presentation was followed by the Q&A session and interactive online communication between the speaker and the audience, where practical and technical challenges of the data processing were discussed. The formal part of this technical evening was concluded by an informal open mic and video-on chat briefing, where we had a chance to catch up with other members of our London community and discuss ongoing and forthcoming activities, news and non-geoscience related aspects of life.

EAGE Local Chapter London acknowledges Artem Kashubin of PetroTrace, Bingmu Xiao of CGG, Yulia Biryaltseva of Equinor and, of course, Azza Salem of TGS for arranging this event.

EAGE Online Education Calendar START AT ANY TIME

VELOCITIES, IMAGING, AND WAVEFORM INVERSION - THE EVOLUTION OF CHARACTERIZING THE EARTH’S SUBSURFACE, BY I. F. JONES (ONLINE EET)

SELF PACED COURSE

6 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

5-6 AUG

CLOUD BASICS FOR GEOSCIENCES, BY G. HOLMES

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

9-12 AUG

INTRODUCTION TO DATA ANALYSIS: CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES,

BY R. GODFREY

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4HRS

10-13 AUG

ROCK PHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS, BY J. CARCIONE

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4HRS

16 AUG

RESOLUTION, RESOLUTION, RESOLUTION - AN ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION SEISMIC CASE STUDY FROM THE BARENTS SEA, BY M. GARDEN

DLP WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

17-20 AUG

CASE STUDIES AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN GEOPHYSICAL ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING METHODS, BY L. DE VINCENZI

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4HRS

23-30 AUG

3D PRINTING AS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN GEOSCIENCES,

BY F. HASIUK AND S. ISHUTOV

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

25 AUG

NEAR-FIELD MEASUREMENTS VERSUS FAR-FIELD ESTIMATIONS OF AIR GUN ARRAY SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS, BY P. FONTANA

DLP WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

26-27 AUG

NEW TOOLS AND APPROACHES IN RESERVOIR QUALITY PREDICTION,

BY D. CANTRELL

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

2-3 SEP

INTRODUCTION TO HEAVY OIL: GENESIS, PROPERTIES, DISTRIBUTION, RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES AND UPGRADING, BY A. SHAFIEI

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

3 SEP

MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM DISCRETE SHOT RECORDS TO CONTINUOUS WAVEFIELDS, BY T. KLÜVER

DLP WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

FOR THE FULL CALENDAR, MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG.

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EAGE NEWS

Congratulations to winners of the 28th Sclocchi Awards The 28th Sclocchi Awards competition has been a great edition! More than 70 professionals and researchers applied for the Theses Awards from all around Europe. This has been for us an impressive achievement.

The awards, co-sponsored by EAGE, are assigned to the best theses in geosciences and petroleum engineering presented by any university and diploma graduates and PhD students from Italian universities as well as by Italian nationals graduated abroad. Beyond the traditional disciplines, also renewable energy, alternative feedstocks for green refinery, energy economy and management are part of the award categories.

This year three prizes for Master & PhD (€2400 and certificate), one prize for Bachelor & 2nd Level Master (€1200 and certificate), and ten special mentions (certificate) were awarded.

Information and references to the award-winning theses will be published on the Italian Section SPE Bulletin, on the Assorisorse website and on the EAGE-SEG Italian Section website. A recording of the award ceremony is available on YouTube.

Award winners were: Master & PhD Award Roberto Scaccabarozzi PhD, Politecnico di Milano - Thermodynamic Optimization of the Allam Cycle and Thermo-Fluid Dynamic Design of the Cooled CO2 Tur-

Award ceremony online.

Bachelor & 2nd Level Master Award Giulia Mingardi BSc, Università degli Studi di Pavia - P and T conditions inferred from zircon in garnets from Dora-Maira, UHP Unit, Western Alps.

Bachelor & 2nd Level Master Special Mentions Marco Ballarin BSc, Università degli Studi di Padova - Power to gas: effetto della cavitazione ultrasonica sulla concentrazione di gas in un liquido; Elena Cojocariu 2nd Level Master, Politecnico di Torino - Numerical dynamic – geochemical modeling for CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS).

Roberto Scaccabarozzi, Mattia Martinelli, Federico Parolin and Giulia Mingardi.

bine; Mattia Martinelli PhD, Università di Milano Bicocca - From outcrop to fracture model: a multi-disciplinary approach to characterize fracture networks from outcrop analogues in carbonates affected by extensional tectonics; Federico Parolin MSc, Politecnico di Milano - Development of a georeferenced model for the optimal design of a hydrogen supply chain infrastructure.

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Master & PhD Special Mentions Mattia Bonazzi PhD, Università degli Studi di Pavia - Elastic Geobarometry Methods: Validation Through Synthesis and Characterization of Host-Inclusion Pairs by Means of Raman Spectroscopy; Tiziana Daniele MSc, Università di Pisa Esperienze di Rock Physics e Modelling a scopi di inversione sismica Time Lapse; Lorenzo Faini MSc, Bocconi University

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Statistics of applications received and awards granted over the years.

- The impact of portfolio players on LNG markets and European gas hubs: an analysis of the last decade; Giancarlo Gentile MSc, Politecnico di Milano - Thermal and Creep-Fatigue Analysis of External Receivers for Solar Tower Plants; Alberto Gerri MSc, Politecnico di Milano - Integration of a data-driven classifier trained by adaptive sampling with neural networks for the online prediction of the cooldown time in a subsea pipeline after an unplanned shutdown; Cristiano Segatori MSc, Politecnico di Milano - Ducted Fuel Injection: a Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis of soot formation mitigation mechanisms; Leonardo Stracca MSc, Università di Pisa - Comparison of object functions for the inversion of seismic data and study on the potentialities of the Wasserstein Metric; Daniela Teodor PhD, Università degli Studi di Torino - Initial S- wave and P- wave velocity models for full-waveform inversion from surface wave dispersion curves analysis.

EAGE NEWS

Netherlands Chapter talks about development of a wavescope Hannes Kutscha writes: Ivan Pires de Vasconcelos, assistant professor of applied geoscience at Utrecht University, was guest of EAGE Local Chapter Netherlands on 24 June when he presented ‘Toward a Wavescope – AI driven, Bayesian imaging and monitoring of subwavelength microstructures with finite-frequency waves.’

The goal of this method is the retrieval of quantitative micro-structural information – physical parameters and geometry - of materials in the subsurface at scales below conventional wavelength resolution.

It is crucial to realize that different types of micro-structure geometries have a negligible effect on the effective wave speed, but they have a prominent effect on the effective attenuation.

This was showcased on a CO2 sequestration example, where water in the pores of subsurface rock was replaced with CO2 gas. It became clear, that the travel time information did not change significantly at all, but the changes in the waveform of the signals were very prominent – carrying crucial information about changes to pore geometry at the microscale. Interestingly, the dependency of the attenuation with respect to micro-structure seems to be limited to certain frequency ranges.

These findings could be important for sustainable subsurface monitoring (CO2, H2, geothermal). Pires de Vasconcelos’s idea is to create a ‘wavescope’, which allows the retrieval of microscale information from long-scale waves. In order to accomplish this, a good understanding of scale-dependent physics, like waves, and an efficient description of heterogeneities in the subsurface is needed.

It seems that Statistical Microstructure Descriptors (SMDs) are a very powerful tool for this purpose, as those functions are mathematically well-defined, but at the same time are capable of describing highly complex materials.

He showed that because they have fixed geometric shapes and fixed orientation, polytope functions are suitable descriptors for capturing high-order spatial correlations in microgeometry. Because their scaling is

controlled by a single degree of freedom, they are computationally very efficient, while able to capture complex geometric information, like anisotropy.

In the next step SMDs are then utilized in combination with the ‘effective wave properties’ in order to capture micro heterogeneities. Here, strong contrast expansions are used, which utilize the greens functions of the actual wave equations. This means that effective properties can be provided that are frequency-dependent and capture true wave behaviour. Again we saw that very different microstructure/geometry had little to no effect on the effective wave speed. Hence, this property is not very useful for extracting material geometry, e.g., permeability which is related to geometry.

On the other hand, the effective attenuation does have a dependence on the geometric pattern.

In the final and most important step of this approach, conclusions about the statistical geometry are derived from

frequency, we could not only resolve parameter contrast and volume-fraction, e.g., porosity, but also infer geometric information about the material. This is possible, because Pires de Vasconcelos’s finite frequency theory uses the statistics of materials instead of actual realizations.

This is crucial to solve an otherwise intractable inverse problem due to far too many degrees of freedom, while naturally leading to information about the statistics of materials – instead of single realizations – together with corresponding uncertainty estimates.

Pires de Vasconcelos concluded his talk by mentioning that SMDs are useful for reconstruction problems (creating new samples of effective material) and for analyzing rock physics and different changes to digital rock materials. But their true potential lies in their utilization for inverse problems. It is key to note that attenuation is crucial if we are after geometric information of the material.

measurements from AI-driven Bayesian Inference. In this context, the fact that the SMDs cannot have any arbitrary functional dependence, but are instead physically constrained to certain functions and combinations, is used to train a random forest predictor (supervised machine learning scheme).

It seems that by measuring wave speed and attenuation as a function of

If you missed this talk you can re-watch it on the YouTube channel of EAGE. Did you get curious about our activities? Stay informed through our Linkedin pages https://www.linkedin. com/groups/13690220/ and https://www. linkedin.com/groups/13661165/ and become a member by sending an email to eageLCNetherlands@gmail.com.

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EAGE NEWS

This year’s Minus CO2 Challenge is anything but a carbon copy

Challenge will focus on the carbon sequestration potential of the Scotian Margin, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Popularly known for its maple syrup and ice hockey, Canada could soon be celebrated for its great carbon sequestration potential. And it is that potential which we are challenging students to explore in the 2021 EAGE Minus CO2 Challenge, focusing on the Scotian Margin, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The application window for teams to register is open until 30 September, so make sure to get your team sorted today and participate in the competition.

The Minus CO2 Challenge was launched in 2018 to have students as the next generation of experts to work together on carbon-reduction projects.

The first two contests involved carbon-neutral field development in the North Sea. This year, however, we’re moving to the Atlantic, asking students to deal the issue of subsurface CO2 sequestration.

‘This is very much a real world challenge,’ explains Mr Bill Richards, member of the EAGE Student Affairs Committee and adjunct professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

The potential for carbon storage at the Scotian Margin, offshore Nova Scotia, was already identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2005 . Even so, very little technical analysis has been published to date, making the work extra exciting for students. ‘It is basically a window into the future for students’, Richards 14

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says. ‘The work done by students helps to address one of the major challenges we are facing - capturing greenhouse gas emissions.’

Part of the challenge will be the way students utilize the available data.

Contrary to previous years, there will be no prescribed dataset provided by an energy company. Instead, students will use the open access online database of petroleum geoscience data and studies on the Scotian Margin, completed by provincial and federal agencies. Key maps, selected wells and seismic lines as well as a small field model will be provided to help students along the way. Students will be able to assess the potential of the margin and place it in a continental and even global context anticipating how the energy transition unfolds in the 21st century.

This does not means they will be thrown into the deep end without any guidance. Student teams will have access to experts helping to advise them on the various aspects of the challenge.

Furthermore, participating teams will be encouraged to make the most out of their EAGE membership because a lot of information on the energy transition and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) has been published through the EAGE over the years. That being said, we’re looking for diverse teams to participate, according to Richards. ‘The core skills of understanding the physics, geol-

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ogy and engineering of carbon storage are paramount, but students should also also consider technological, economic and political solutions to make their proposal viable’.

Intrigued? Great! We’re welcoming student teams from around the world to get involved in this year’s challenge. The first round consists of a written motivational letter, with selected teams progressing to the actual challenge itself. The motivational letter should address why the team thinks they are well-positioned for the challenge, and what their approach will be. A big part of the challenge will be how teams try to deal with uncertainty, such as economic changes and technological advancement. Students are advised to identify such issues in their letter.

‘Don’t limit your thinking’ is the final word from Richards. ‘Honour the fundamental scientific principles, but also plan for the future in your economic predictions. The world changes fast, after all, and what may be a major cost right now may become a profit centre in the future.’

You can find all the latest information on the Challenge, as well as the timeline and application form on the EAGE student pages.

Join the Minus CO2 Challenge

EAGE NEWS

German Chapter opens with geothermal talk Report from newly formed Local Chapter (LC) Germany.

The Board of the newly established Local Chapter (LC) Germany started life with a dry run for the first event with Dirk Orlowsky, now EAGE president.

What was supposed to be a quick preliminary meeting ended in a great chat about the wider geoscience community including reference to a previous local chapter in Germany. We talked about the rejuvenation of the relationship of Germany’s geoscientists and engineers community with EAGE. Next day Hannes Kutscha, our new president of the LC who is also involved in EAGE the Netherlands LC, hosted the online meeting and introduced Dirk Orlowsky. He emphasized the importance of local chapters for the wider EAGE community. Beyond oil and gas, Germany’s diverse geoscience community focuses on topics such as geothermal and the shallow subsurface area, thus, an ideal fit EAGE’s current mission to support the ongoing energy transition.

Germany’s LC intends to provide a broad spectrum of topics, including E&P activities, CO2/waste storage, renewable energy, mining, UXO and geo-engineering. Additionally, collaboration with other German geoscience

communities is already being actively pursued. Beyond the usual monthly events, we envision yearly meetings to bring the scattered German geoscience community together.

To stress the on-going changes in the energy sector, the main evening talk covered geothermal energy, presented

by Marit Brommer, executive director of the International Geothermal Association (IGA). Before transitioning into the geothermal domain, she spent 15 years at Shell.

Brommer’s talk ‘Welcome to the World of Geothermal’ covered the use of this technology for both power generation and for heating purposes.

She emphasized the need to increase geothermal’s popularity, which falls short compared to solar and wind. It has lots of potential whether in the agricultural sector such as heating of greenhouses or fish farms, tourism like spas and the possibility to extract lithium from brines. However, one of the challenges of the geothermal industry are the inherent (exploration) risks and low public perception, similar to the challenges the E&P sector is facing.

The ‘not in my background’ meme is also popular in the geothermal domain.

However, compared to oil and gas, the internal rate of returns (IRR) is lower in the range of 10% to 15%, but still higher than solar projects.

Additionally, geothermal power generation does not suffer from intermittency. Brommer mentioned that one day geothermal might be done offshore, depending on cost reduction measures.

On the flipside, raising capital for geothermal exploration activities such as drilling and seismic is challenging.

She said it is crucial to accelerate the understanding of geothermal reservoirs, increase the energy generation per well, and re-deploy technologies developed in the oil and gas sector for geothermal purposes. This means there is lots of space for innovation and plenty of exciting opportunities. The 2021 world geothermal congress will be held in Reykjavik to discuss current and future activities. A lively Q&A session followed this stimulating talk.

EAGE Student Calendar 29 AUG 2 SEP

NEAR SURFACE GEOSCIENCE 2021

BORDEAUX, FRANCE AND ONLINE

29 SEP

STUDENT WEBINAR: CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGES OF REAPPRAISING LEGACY SEISMIC DATA, BY MICHAEL WESTGATE

ONLINE

18-21 OCT

82ND EAGE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION (STUDENT ACTIVITIES)

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS AND ONLINE

23-25 NOV

2ND GEOSCIENCE & ENGINEERING IN ENERGY TRANSITION CONFERENCE

STRASBOURG, FRANCE AND ONLINE

JAN 2022

MINUS CO2 CHALLENGE FINAL ROUND

ONLINE

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE CHECK THE STUDENT SECTION AT WWW.EAGE.ORG

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EAGE NEWS

Saint Petersburg 2022 will reflect industry change on the event’s tenth anniversary

Spring in St Petersburg.

The invitations are out to attend the International Oil & Gas Conference ‘Saint Petersburg 2022: Geosciences – Time for Chance, Time for Change’ on 11-14 April 2022 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This will be the tenth meeting of the event. It first took place in 2003 as a joint EAGE/ EAGO/SEG conference and exhibition, but is now organized exclusively by EAGE. Scientific debate and round-table sessions plus an exhibition will once again be the basic format. Conference papers are being invited with a deadline of 1 November. Consideration of paper submissions will be headed by committee chairs Yury Masalkin, head of geological exploration and resource base

development, Gazprom Neft and director general, Gazpromneft-GEO, and Tatiana Kiryanova head of seismic research department, LUKOIL-Engineering.

The focus of the programme can be expected to be very different from that first event in 2003. Since then, Russian engineers have learned how to perform 3D high-density wide-azimuth seismic surveys and how to process and interpret their results. Seismologists and geologists are steering the drilling of horizontal wells and microseismic is being used for the assessment of fracking results. A large spectrum of new studies is being performed using core and wellbore data.

We are developing complex 3D geological and hydrodynamic models.

The industry has survived oil prices plummeting from $143 to $25 and been working under the harshest decline in oil output imposed by the OPEK+ agreement. Now a supercycle of high oil prices is possible.

There are numerous questions around the main challenges of digitalization and energy transition for both oil & gas companies and the service sector. Meanwhile the discussion on more traditional questions will be resumed, for example, HC prospecting; new algorithms and approaches in data processing and interpretation; reserves estimation; geological risks; drilling planning, and reservoir development; machine learning and big data.

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!

D O N AT E T O DAY !

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PERSONAL RECORD INTERVIEW

Matt Lamont

Personal Record Interview

Being a park ranger was part of the process Matt Lamont, based in Perth, is a proud Western Australian who has experienced building a global technology business from scratch. The now publicly-listed company is evolving beyond its oil and gas roots to service the computing needs of a wide range of industries. This was not in the stars when he headed for the Australian bush as a teenager.

People may be surprised by your formative years. Can you talk us through the period after you left school at 16?

My parents were outraged when I told them I was quitting high school at 16.

However they probably weren’t that surprised because I had been quite a handful as a teenager. I was looking for a bit of excitement and headed ‘out bush’ and found work on a cattle station. A few years on, I had become a qualified forest ranger and was supplementing my meagre income by playing for a local Aussie Rules footie team.

What made you decide that university might be a good idea after all?

When I was 27 I spent a couple of weeks in Europe on holiday…. and while visiting an Irish dairy farm with a mate, I met my wifeto-be! That set me thinking that I needed to turn my mind towards getting a ‘real job’. I originally enrolled at Curtin University to study general sciences with the intention of becoming a teacher. (I would have made a terrible teacher!). Geology and geophysics captured my interest and that was what I specialized in.

What persuaded you to leave a flourishing career working as an oil industry geophysicist?

I guess that at heart I am an entrepreneur.

Even as a teenager I had tried my hand at running a window cleaning business and a few other ventures, none of them outstanding successes. I guess it was when I was working as a geophysicist in Houston

seeing a lot of start-ups at that time. I thought ‘hang on, I could do this too.’ So once back in Perth I set about starting my own business, DownUnder GeoSolutions (DUG).

Tell us about the early years in the ‘shed’ and how DUG broke into the seismic processing world.

Things gelled when I met up with Troy Thompson, who is still my partner in the business. At the time, in 2003, I was one of his PhD supervisors at Curtin and he was a star student. He took a big risk joining me in trying to establish a niche seismic services business. We started our fledgling business in the ‘shed’: the top floor of my garage with a pool table and bar downstairs so our early staff members could share my philosophy of having a little fun along the way.

Did you ever get planning permission for the shed?

No, but fortunately we were moving into proper offices when the local authorities threatened to visit!

DUG must have one of the most distinctive marketing images in the business. How did that come about?

Troy and I can’t take too much credit for that. We have a great in-house team who had a bit of fun with our marketing and gave us a distinctive image. Our ads definitely got us noticed in the early days and we have been building on them ever since.

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How have you managed to grow the company in the last few challenging years?

The edge we had when we started was keeping our costs down and prices competitive compared with the big companies and that has always been a key driver.

Along the way we have also introduced innovative and cost-saving technologies, like our ‘DUG Cool’ immersion cooling system for our supercomputers. This patented technology not only gives us some of the greenest datacentres on Earth but also reduces our power consumption by around half.

Has the gamble to invest in the huge supercomputing facility in Houston with its patented green cooling system paid off?

The timing of the launch shortly before Covid hit was unfortunate. However, work generated from our offices in Perth, Kuala Lumpur, London and Houston has helped to keep the computers busy. Now the sheer processing power of the facility, which is accessed via our DUG McCloud platform, is gaining traction - and not just in the oil and gas sector.

How is DUG’s diversification working out?

Turns out that all our high-performance computing (HPC) has the potential to be leveraged by other research and scientific endeavours. We are already involved in the worlds of astronomy, meteorology and medicine and I can’t wait to see where this leads next.

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CROSSTALK

BY AN D R E W M c BAR N E T

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Mind that writing on the wall Question of the day: what do the following have in common? Vessel In modern day terms writing on the wall implies foreboding management for port authorities, support for new battery technolabout the future, but not necessarily with the drastic consequences ogy, the world’s first carbon-free high-performance computing depicted in the biblical story. So we can say without too much hesi(HPC) campus, infrastructure monitoring services, and technology tation that PGS has got the message that the days of the oil and gas for ex-President Trump’s US-Mexican border wall project. business are numbered concluding that alternative strategies need to be explored. This revelation emerged in July when the company The unsurprising answer is that these are among many business initiatives by leading geoscience companies previously focused announced the setting up of a new energy business unit with a plan more or less exclusively on the oil and gas industry. They have seen to build on its geophysical and operational capabilities as a leading the writing on the wall and taken action accordingly. Diversification marine seismic contractor to ‘develop solutions internally, and build has become the order of the day as prospects for the long-term external partnerships to support energy transition as a preferred sustainability of seismic-related services for hydrocarbons E&P partner to the industry’. seem increasingly marginal.

The avenues PGS intends to pursue are already on the radar of This is just as well because the original biblical tale of the many of its competitors. These include involvement in carbon capwriting on the wall (which conflates legend with fact deduced from ture, utilization and storage (CCSU), development of offshore wind archaeological findings) ends badly for the principal protagonists, turbine locations, harvesting seabed metals/minerals for improved battery technology, and geothermal site identification and viability. very badly in fact. The Old Testament Book of Daniel recounts the story of the notorious feast held by Belshazzar, the co-regent of BabIn every case there is the promise of potential demand for seismic ylon, son of King Nabonidus (556-539 BCE). subsurface investigation technology, analysis Belshazzar’s fatal error was to offend God by ‘The original biblical and in some cases long-term monitoring. recklessly allowing the assembled guests to At the moment it is a waiting game. None of tale ends badly … imbibe from vessels looted from a temple. Durthese industrial activities with a likely need for ing the festivities ominous writing mysteriously subsurface imaging data is sufficiently develvery badly in fact.’ appeared on the wall of the banqueting hall. The oped for seismic companies to map out a proper court’s wise men were unable to interpret. On the recommendation business plan. There are way too many unknowns. They have also of the queen, the visionary Daniel was brought in to translate and learnt a lesson the hard way from the oil and gas business over deliver the bad news. The writing accurately predicted the imminent several decades that product differentiation by heavy investment end (that very night) of the Babylonian Empire at the hands of the in research does not always pay off. It would be extremely risky to invading Medes and Persian armies. try to establish any technology leadership role in a new transition Belshazzar’s predecessor, the all-conquering tyrant Nebuchadbusiness if significant research funding was needed. In any case, nezzar II (605-562 BCE), notorious for the sacking of Jerusalem, the service sector is still struggling mightily from the effect of the also experienced the wrath of God. Legend has it that a dream, long period of low oil prices and the Covid era. The main priority interpreted for him again by Daniel, railed against his vainglorious of geoscience service providers will be to capitalize on any recovery despotic rule. The subsequent punishment was a seven-year period in oil and gas demand that results in some new oil company E&P of madness in which he wandered the wilderness like an ox and fed spending, however modest. All that being said, no company can off grass. Then, apparently humbled by the experience, Nebuchadafford to be left behind when the energy transition bandwagon really nezzar resumed his reign. starts rolling, as surely it will. It is a difficult balancing act.

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CROSSTALK

With the continuing lack of clarity, seismic companies underSercel recently linked up with the international risk management standably remain cautious about how they will fit into the transition group Apave to launch AP’Structure. This is a structural health monitoring (SHM) solution, said to be the only one of its kind in era technology and business. About the only company that has basically thrown its stack of chips into exploiting the potential business the European market. It enables operators to monitor the integrity ahead is the marine geophysical company SeaBird Exploration. In of entire buildings and infrastructure in real time, receive warnings about irregularities and prolong the life cycle of the infrastructure.

May the company renamed itself Green Energy Group. The existing marine seismic operations will continue as a subsidiary alongside AP’Structure deploys S-lynks, a fully connected and autonomous its new Green Minerals subsidiary, which is where the future action wireless solution from Sercel for measuring structural vibration. It incorporates its ultra-sensitive QuietSeis sensor first introduced for will be. The company is working on a complete mineral mining proseismic data recording in 2014. duction system so that it can enter the bidding for participation in the A further illustration of enterprising diversification is how first mineral mining licensing round offshore Norway. This is under DownUnder Geosolutions (DUG), coincidentally featured on p. 17, consideration by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate possibly as has changed with the times since its modest beginnings as a start-up soon as 2023. In March, Green Minerals indicated it means business seismic data processing company in Perth, Western Australia. In by announcing a letter of intent with a consortium led by Oil States the last 15 or so years it has grown into a major global contender, Industries (UK) to collaborate on a FEED study for a turnkey invested in high performance computing (HPC) and now finds itself harsh environment deep sea mining system (HEDSMS) against a venturing outside the oil and gas business with potentially limitless long-term contract for exclusive use within Norwegian jurisdiction. opportunities. One cornerstone of this continuing, if unintended, The company said it anticipated first ore under its planned pilot in diversification was the company’s decision to build in Houston 2026. The recovered ore is expected to contain significant grades of a giant new data centre, believed to be one of the most powerful minerals needed for the ‘green shift’, such as copper, cobalt, nickel supercomputers on earth, home to the company’s geophysical cloud and rare earth elements (REE). service, and originally targeting oil industry For some geoscience companies doubts data processing demand. The facility also boasts about the sustainability of their oil and gas ‘At the moment it is green credentials with patented immersion coolrelated operations have prompted moves to a waiting game.’ ing technology. diversify outside the energy resources industry What DUG has found is that its global HPC into something completely different. There have capacity can appeal to customers in other fields. It has been working been some success stories but nothing as yet that has been enough with astrophysicists to search through five years of data from the to change the core business. For example, ION Geophysical has Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope in Western found a new application for Marlin, its software for the ‘command Australia for the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big and control’ management of marine seismic vessel acquisition Bang almost 13 billion years ago. The company has also been operations. Marlin has now been adapted to monitor and manage involved in medical and meteorological projects and has plans to vessel movements in ports and harbours. Focused on safety, Marlin build a massive multi-use HPC centre in Western Australia that one provides an optimized digital solution visible to port authorities, day may run entirely on renewables, namely wind and solar power transport and shipping companies, terminal operators, and other serplus a hydrogen-powered battery system. vice providers who need to plan, visualize, schedule, communicate Finally, we come to Geospace Technologies. The company is and optimize all activities during a port call. usually associated with its range of marine seismic streamers, its In a recent contract UK-based CalMac Ferries agreed a deal to permanent seabed reservoir monitoring system and its land and implement the Marlin SmartPort management information system ocean bottom nodes for seismic recording. This entire business at 17 of its harbours, including the major ferry port at Oban and has taken a big hit as oil companies have stopped spending. As a the commercial cargo port at Perth (both offshore Scotland), over result the company has been eyeing more seriously its adjacent an initial four-year term. CalMac Ferries is the UK’s largest ferry and emerging markets. This was first signalled by the purchase operator, managing 29 routes to more than 50 destinations across in 2018 of Quantum Technology Sciences, a tactical security and 200 miles of Scotland’s west coast, and operates 27 ports and surveillance systems solutions provider and subsequently by the harbours across Scotland. appointment of two new directors with a background in defence Despite this foray into the wider maritime world and some contracting. defence-related work, ION still looks to its multi-client and seismic An early contract, which apparently greatly improved the processing activities for oil companies as the mainstay of its Geospace quarterly results, was providing a surveillance system business – for how long, who knows? for the wall between the US and Mexico partially built during the In the case of CGG, the company has seen an opportunity Trump Administration. It seems to have been an effective response for its Sercel subsidiary. It now seems prescient in the light of the to the writing on the wall … recent catastrophic collapse of an apartment building in Florida that

Views expressed in Crosstalk are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com.

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HIGHLIGHTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

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Norway advances offshore wind plan

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GC Rieber sells Shearwater shares

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TGS develops Scotland wind model

PGS increases seismic vessel speed with landmark solution PGS and Cognite have systemized data to increase PGS vessel speed without jeopardizing the seismic acquisition operation or the vessel integrity.

The solution cuts production time for PGS’ current fleet by more than 15 days, saves the company some $2 million a year and reduces manual reporting by approximately one month.

A PGS Ramform vessel with a full streamer spread deployed is among the world’s largest moving objects. Steering the vessel through waves and currents while at the same time allowing for sufficient recording of the seismic data means there are several different factors restricting production speeds.

Through its vessel digitalization initiative, PGS Proteus, PGS aims to increase operational efficiency by using and combining available data. In this case, PGS saw an opportunity to combine the factors that influence a vessel’s optimal operating speed into a single vessel speed optimization tool.

‘For the project planning and bidding process, it is of great importance to know the potential for daily revenue, as well as the planned duration for a survey. With better tools in place to document historical achievements, better, data-driven decisions can be made more quickly,’ said PGS. PGS and Cognite have worked together to streamline data ingestion pipelines between Cognite Data Fusion and the

systems containing data relevant to connector and self-service training provided

by Cognite Academy, PGS’ subject-matter experts developed Power BI reports combining vessel sensor and operational data.

These reports have given unprecedented insight into the details of vessel production performance, said PGS. PGS has also developed an onboard vessel speed dashboard, building and iterating with vessel crews to create the best visualizations for their use. The dashboard combines data from the most relevant systems representing the various restricting factors. The different inputs are transformed and presented to the vessel crews, indicating whether a further speed increase is recommended. The speed-related data is automatically transmitted to shore, for ingestion into Cognite Data Fusion.

‘With the vessel dashboard in place, the crews’ job has become easier, removing

parts of the manual process and supporting decision-making,’ said PGS. ‘The input data for further analysis has also improved in consistency.

PGS said it had seen a marked improvement in the maximum acquisition speeds since implementing the vessel speed dashboard. In the autumn of 2020, PGS’ three fastest surveys showed an average speed increase of 5.5% compared with the three fastest surveys in 2019.

PGS said it is planning further improvements, moving towards machine learning and automated speed control.

One of the company’s main focuses for 2021 is to work reliably at level four on the 10-point Sheridan-Verplank scale of automation, where the computer suggests optimal bottom speed. Once this is in place, PGS aims to reach level seven, where the computer executes the speed control and reports to the crew.

Speed increases in PGS’ Ramform vessels will cut production time by some 15 days.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Renewable energy use continues to grow despite pandemic, says BP review of global consumption BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy showed that energy use and carbon emissions in 2020 fell at their fastest rate seen since the Second World War, while wind and solar power had their largest ever annual increase recorded.

Primary energy consumption fell by 4.5% in 2020 – the largest annual decline since 1945. This fall was driven mainly by oil, which accounted for almost three quarters of the net decline. Global oil demand fell 9.3%, with the larg-

The share of natural gas in primary energy continued to rise, reaching a record high of 24.7%. At the same time, global natural gas consumption declined by 2.3%. This marked the largest decline in natural gas demand on record, and only the third annual decline since 1965.

Despite the fall in overall energy demand, wind and solar capacity increased by a colossal 238 GW in 2020 – 50% larger than at any time in history.

est falls in the US (-2.3 million b/d), the EU (-1.5 million b/d) and India (-480,000 b/d). China was the only major country where consumption increased (220,000 b/d).

Global oil production fell by 6.6 million BPD in 2020. About two-thirds of the decline came from Opec countries.

US oil production fell by 600,000 BPD, which was the largest annual decline recorded since the fracking boom began.

However, oil still accounted for nearly a third of the world’s energy consumption at 88.5 million barrels a day – approximately equivalent to 2012 oil consumption levels.

Renewable energy (including biofuels but excluding hydro) rose by 9.7%, slower than the 10-year average (13.4% p.a.) but the absolute increment in energy terms (2.9 EJ) was similar to increases seen in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Solar electricity rose by a record 1.3 EJ (20%). However, wind (1.5 EJ) provided the largest contribution to renewables growth.

Solar capacity expanded by 127 GW, while wind capacity grew 111 GW – almost double its previous highest annual increase. Wind and solar energy now have a global capacity of 1441 GW; in 2020 capacity was 221 GW.

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China was the largest contributor to renewables growth (1 EJ), followed by the US (0.4 EJ). Europe contributed 0.7 EJ to the rise.

The share of renewables in power generation increased from 10.3% to 11.7%, while coal’s share fell 1.3% to 35.1% – a new low in BP’s data series.

Coal consumption fell by 6.2 exajoules (EJ), or 4.2%, led by declines in the US (-2.1 EJ) and India (-1.1 EJ). OECD coal consumption and US coal demand fell to their lowest levels in BP’s data series back to 1965 China and Malaysia were notable exceptions, with consumption of 0.5 EJ and 0.2 EJ respectively. China remains the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal with a more than 50% share in both categories.

Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist, said: ‘Encouragingly, 2020 was also the year the share of renewables in global power generation recorded its fastest ever increase – a growth that came largely at the expense of coal-fired generation.

These trends are exactly what the world needs to see as it transitions to net zero – strong growth in renewables crowding out coal.’

Nuclear consumption fell in 2020 by 4.1% after a record increase from the previous year. The US remains the world’s largest consumer of nuclear power, with a 31% share of the global total. South Africa (13.7%), South Korea (9.1%), and China (4.3%) had the fastest growth rates in nuclear power in 2020, but China’s consumption increase was the world’s largest.

LNG supply grew by 4 bcm or 0.6%, well below the 10-year average growth rate of 6.8%. US LNG supply expanded by 14 bcm (29%).

By country, the US, India and Russia experienced the largest declines in energy consumption. China saw the largest increase (2.1%).

Carbon emissions from energy use fell by more than 6% in 2020, the largest decline since 1945. www.bp.com/statisticalreview.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Norway awards four licences in 25th bidding round

TGS announces tie in with machine learning specialist to enhance data

Will Ashby, EVP of Eastern Hemisphere at TGS.

TGS has announced a collaboration agreement with analysis and machine learning company Earth Science Analytics to promote innovation in data-driven geoscience. The partnership has already delivered insight through a range of derivative datasets for the TGS Utsira Ocean Bottom Node (OBN) survey, created through artificial intelligence (AI) analysis.

The project is the first example of AI geological interpretation on a largescale, densely sampled OBN exploration dataset covering more than 1500 km2.

The objective was to deliver a new suite

of derivative seismic products to provide enhanced exploration insights through AI, especially in areas where infrastructure-led exploration (ILX) is drawing increased focus from the E&P industry. With human training, ground truth well data anchoring, and blind testing, the combination of high fidelity seismic with AI technology provides accurate predictions, said TGS. As a cloud-native application, Earth Science Analytics’ EarthNet software is installed into TGS’ cloud environment to create high-value derivates from the world’s largest library of subsurface data.

The properties produced from seismic and well data analysis include porosity, lithology and water saturation, in addition to seismic interpretations of faults and geobodies, such as injectites.

Will Ashby, EVP of Eastern Hemisphere at TGS, said, ‘The collaboration with Earth Science Analytics is an opportunity for TGS to maximize extraction of the subsurface data insights within our energy data library with integrated, AI-powered workflows. Application of these workflows on our Utsira OBN dataset has already produced startling results.’

Norway has offered Shell, Equinor, Idemitsu, Ineos, Lundin, OMV, Petoro and Vår Energi four areas in the 25th licensing round. One is located in the Norwegian Sea and three in the Barents Sea. Ineos (60%) and Shell (40%) have won blocks 6204/2 and 6204/3 in the Norwegian Sea. Var Energi (70%) and OMV (30%) have won blocks 7118/11 and 7118/12 in the Barents Sea. Equinor (50%), Lundin (20%), Petoro (20%) and Idemitsu (10%) have won block 7234/4 in the Barents Sea and will carry out G&G studies as well as a 3D CSEM inversion and modelling study and a 3D seismic survey. Equinor (50%), Lundin (30%) and Petoro (20%) have acquired blocks 7323/2,3; 7324/1; 7423/12; 7242/10,11,12; and 7425/10 in the Barents Sea. They will acquire and reprocess 3D seismic data and perform G&G studies (minimum 600 km2 of TGS HFC11 and 200 km2 of TGS HF13). If they decide to drill, they will acquire a new 3D seismic study and G&G studies.

Companies were invited to apply for licences in nine different areas; eight in the Barents Sea and one in the Norwegian Sea. Meanwhile, Norway has announced this year’s licensing round for the Awards in Predefined Areas 2021. APA 2021 predefined areas have been expanded by 84 blocks.

Four of them are in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea and 70 in the Barents Sea. The application deadline is 8 September. Production licences are expected to be granted at the beginning of 2022.

PXGEO buys Fugro’s Seabed Geosolutions business PXGEO has completed acquisition of the Seabed Geosolutions OBN business from Fugro The deal includes a substantial ocean bottom node inventory, handling equipment, related technology, intellectual property and project backlog. A ‘significant’ number of personnel responsible for delivery of more than 44,000 km2 of OBN projects will join PXGEO. Duncan Eley, CEO of PXGEO, said: ‘This is a key milestone for PXGEO, enabling us to provide both towed streamer and OBN geophysical services to our global client base. The acquisition brings an important portfolio of propri-

etary OBN technology to the company.

PXGEO is currently engaged on two flagship projects: an OBN crew and assets deployed in South America; and the PXGEO 2, our 14-streamer seismic vessel, acquiring data on a 4D project in East Asia. Both projects have mobilized.’

Meanwhile, PXGEO has agreed with TGS to provide 12 months of towed-streamer seismic acquisition services. TGS has committed to utilizing the vessel PXGEO 2 ‘or any other capable vessel that PXGEO introduces to its fleet for 12 months of marine seismic acquisition services over a two-year period from October 2021’.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Norway announces plan to advance offshore wind Norway is planning to make more offshore areas available for wind power development after putting out several offshore wind proposals for public consultation.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru, said the government will identify new areas for offshore wind production and conduct an impact assessment of these areas.

The process is expected to take two years.

Bidders will be able to apply for concessions for offshore wind projects within the opened areas Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II. The government is proposing to award at least three areas for up to 500 MW each at Utsira Nord.

The industry has advocated for hybrid solutions in Sørlige Nordsjø II, combining

offshore wind farms and interconnectors, enabling import and export of electricity.

As soon as the assessment of hybrid projects has been completed, the government will announce an auction for two or three project areas in Sørlige Nordsjø II in the second quarter of 2022.

In cases where there are several users of the offshore grid, the government will appoint Statnett as system coordinator at sea.

Bru added that the industry had shown so much interest in Sørlige Nordsjø II that she expected projects to be developed on a commercial basis – with no state aid.

Norway is also proposing to award at least three areas for up to 500 megawatts each, at Utsira North with the process starting by the end of the year.

‘Because the challenges are different, the process for granting licences will be different at Utsira Nord, said Bru. ‘Considering the current cost of floating wind, any large-scale project at Utsira Nord will require state aid. With this in mind, we do not think auctions are the right approach for this area.

‘We believe the best way forward is to develop projects through the licensing process. When projects have matured

sufficiently, we will assess the timing and level of support for floating wind projects.’

‘If the assessments show that a grant will contribute sufficiently to technology development of floating offshore wind, that the projects are sufficiently mature and that the project is expected to be profitable for society, the government will consider increasing support in the state budget process.’

Norway will establish an offshore wind collaboration forum to reduce potential conflicts. The forum will include industry leaders, public authorities, the research community, industrial clusters, users of the ocean space and additional relevant stakeholders. It will address important issues such as co-existence, supply chain development and export opportunities.

The first stakeholders meeting will be in early September.

‘We will also assess and possibly propose necessary legislative changes and more detailed rules for efficient access to, and use of the offshore grid,’ said Bru. ‘We need to facilitate a more interconnected offshore grid, with the possibility of new connections and future expansions of the grid.’

TGS to acquire 3D onshore survey in Canada TGS has announced the Hipp Creek 3D onshore multi-client 3D seismic survey within the Montney Basin of Northeast British Columbia, Canada.

Hipp Creek 3D will add nearly 200 km2 of seismic data tying into existing TGS 3D seismic coverage within its core area of the Montney Basin.

‘The acquisition enacts a dramatic reduction in environmental footprint using advanced acquisition design and recording technology,’ said TGS. Phase III of TGS’ low-impact source testing will also be applied throughout the project. Total fuel consumption for all equipment will be measured throughout the Hipp Creek 3D programme and used to drive down emissions for future projects.

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘Onshore Canada remains a priority for TGS, and the Hipp Creek 3D is a great addition to our extensive coverage in the region – further expanding our comprehensive onshore data library in the Montney basin.’

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Hipp Creek 3D will add some 200km2 of seismic data.

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS reprocesses 3D data offshore Brazil PGS has reprocessed 3D data over the Bauna field in southwest Santos Basin and its surrounding area ahead of Brazil’s upcoming permanent offer round.

The reprocessing of survey BM-S-40 started from field tapes and applied the latest workflow for data conditioning, noise, and multiple suppression to create a 2500 km2 dataset.

‘The results can be inputted into model building and imaging workflows, allowing a quicker evaluation of opportunities in the area. This is good news for companies that would like to nominate

blocks in an area that is part of Brazil’s Permanent Offer Bid Round,’ said PGS Using a subset of the data, PGS has also produced a high-resolution PSTM over the Bauna field.

PGS is also screening datasets to allow the evaluation of all 35 open blocks in the Gabon shallow and deepwater licensing round. Packages covering north and south areas include 2D and 3D seismic data.

The West African country extended the closing date for submission of tenders to the Gabon 12th Shallow and Deepwater

Licensing Round to 30 June 2021. Acreage on offer includes 12 shallow water and 23 deepwater blocks.

PGS has won a 4D acquisition contract from ExxonMobil for work offshore Guyana. A Titan class vessel is scheduled to mobilize for the project in Q4 2021 and acquisition is planned to be completed in Q1 2022. ‘We acquired the 4D baseline of this area and consider it strategically important for us to be awarded a repeat survey for parts of the initial programme,’ said president and CEO of PGS, Rune Olav Pedersen.

Ikon Science upgrades RokDoc software

CGG wins imaging project from Lundin in the Barents Sea CGG has been awarded a big project by Lundin Energy Norway for the seismic imaging of an innovative simultaneous node and streamer 3D survey currently being acquired over a 3700 km2 area of the Nordkapp basin in the Barents Sea. The survey combines TopSeis, the source-over-spread seismic technology developed by CGG in collaboration with Lundin, with the deployment of sparse ocean-bottom nodes. This configuration is designed to obtain a high-definition image of the sedimentary basins and accurately image the numerous salt flanks to improve the understanding of trap mechanisms, deformation and faulting near salt-sediment interfaces.

Using CGG’s expertise in TopSeis and OBN imaging, the data will be processed at CGG’s Massy subsurface imaging centre in France where its proprietary velocity model building and depth imaging technologies, including CGG’s time-lag full-waveform inversion and full-waveform inversion imaging, will be deployed to derive a velocity model.

Meanwhile, CGG has closed the sale of its multi-physics business, except its processing and multi-client library, to Xcalibur Group.

3D view of oil probability geobody from 3D pre-stack seismic data in RokDoc.

Ikon Science has released RokDoc and iPoint version 2021.3 which features an upgraded seismic time-shift estimation function in RokDoc. Other improvements include an updated version of Python for use with the RokDoc external interface, and an MTM simulator for the facies-aware inversion technology, RokDoc Ji-Fi. Enhanced well set generation means that sets can now be generated from multi-well views, Vernik conventional and unconventional shale models have been updated, wavelet manipulation has been improved and bulk editing of well and log properties has been enhanced.

For iPoint, development has been focused on a web platform allowing users to access and interrogate data using key workflows including geospatial displays and searches for wells and seismic data; awareness and download capabilities for attached documents; a multi-scale well viewer that can be quickly created within the web browser via easy drag and drop controls; multi-well correlation views with linked geospatial displays and contouring of logs and/or markers within a selected geospatial area of interest.

Acquisition will commence in Q4 2021, with data delivery expected in April 2022.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CGG integrates reservoir characterization software CGG has launched version 11.0 of its portfolio of reservoir characterization and petrophysical interpretation software solutions.

GeoSoftware 11.0 integrates Jason, HampsonRussell, PowerLog, RockSI, InsightEarth and VelPro into a single platform. The software suite runs on both Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms. Enhanced cloud compute resources allow geoscientists to generate tens of hundreds of geostatistical inversion realizations concurrently.

The new cloud-enabled Jason multi-realization capability reduces the project cycle time while geoscientists can use the additional geostatistical simulation data to improve reservoir characterization and risk assessment.

Enhanced machine learning capabilities in version 11.0 include WellGen, a new HampsonRussell application that

facilitates deep learning workflows linking geological and geophysical interpretations for more accurate reservoir property estimates in complex reservoirs.

Improved automation and analytics in PowerLog significantly reduce log editing time so that petrophysicists can focus on interpretation.

Advances in computing performance include Jason AVO Inversion which provides multi-threaded QCs and sensitivity testing for greater confidence in reservoir characterization. HampsonRussell GPU processing speeds up run time, reduces cycle time and enables geoscientists to work with larger, more detailed models.

HampsonRussell automated multi-well correlation affords fast well-ties and QC analysis for wells. HampsonRussell also improves depth-time domain conversion, velocity modelling and depth synthetic modelling, enabling the inte-

gration of seismic assets with geological and petrophysical depth domains. Interactive AVO Fluid Factor crossplotting enables faster interpretation of reservoir properties. Automated parameter setting in Jason also enables geoscientists to get results faster, while an intuitive new interface and templates in AVO Inversion provide easier parameter testing and QC of inversion results. A new rock physics tool in RockSI equips users to better investigate the fluid substitution effect on reservoir elastic properties.

Kamal al-Yahya, senior vice president, GeoSoftware & Smart Data Solutions, said: ‘GeoSoftware 11.0 is the culmination of five years of intense software development to deliver an integrated GeoSoftware platform linking geophysics, geology and petrophysics for optimum workflows that drive greater reservoir understanding.’

GC Rieber sells half its shares in Shearwater Geoservices GC Rieber Shipping has agreed to sell its shares in Shearwater Geoservices reducing its ownership from 17 to 8.5%.

Gross proceeds from the sale will be $50.5 million. The sold shares had a book value of $41.6 million on 31 March 2021.

After the transaction, GC Rieber Shipping will not hold rights in the shareholder agreement and the remaining shares will be booked as financial assets at fair value.

‘The sale increases GC Rieber Shipping’s investment capacity and positions the company to build a diversified portfolio of investments based on our experience and competence of developing maritime projects,’ said Einar Ytredal, CEO of GC Rieber Shipping.

“Shearwater was established in 2016 and has since grown into a world leader within marine seismic acquisition and is

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well positioned to benefit from an increase in activity within the segment. Through its remaining ownership, GC Rieber Shipping will continue to take part in the further value creation of Shearwater,’ Ytredal added.

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Meanwhile, Shearwater Geoservices has completed the sale of the seismic vessel Western Trident (pictured) for recycling as part of the company’s fleet renewal strategy.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Norway uses machine learning and AI to find missed pay in the North Sea

Seafloor Minerals:

ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE STUDIES

Multiphysics data for characterizing the water column and shallow sub-surface

Map on the left shows all the wells included in the study. The map on the right shows wells with potential missed pay. The height of the columns indicates the thickness of the overlooked intervals.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has reported the results of two studies showing that machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to study logs from existing wells to find hydrocarbons that were potentially overlooked.

The NPD contributed to a study commissioned by British authorities that was completed in 2020. The study showed that there are numerous wells with potential missed pay.

Earth Science Analytics (ESA) has followed up this study, on assignment from the NPD, and reviewed 545 wells in the North Sea. Most of the 1250 exploration wells in the North Sea, more than half of which were dry, have now been analysed and the project identified and classified about 350 potential missed pay intervals.

‘By releasing the analyses and underlying data from the studies, we want to challenge the industry to use this to discover new resources and gain new geological insight,’ said Torgeir Stordal, director technology and coexistence at the NPD. Well analyses can be very time-consuming, and are therefore only conducted in areas of particular interest, said the NPD. With digital tools that use machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence, industry players can now conduct well analyses for vast volumes of data in a short amount of time, it added.

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‘New technology allows us to use existing data from the shelf to provide insight that would previously have required significant investments. The industry can use the analyses, and we hope that the new methods will inspire innovation and, over time, yield increased value creation,’ says Stordal.

ESA also integrated seismic with well data in the Fram area in the northern North Sea. It has created several three-dimensional datasets with the following reservoir properties: lithology, porosity and water saturation.

Initially, the intent has been to test a new technology that enables faster and less expensive integration of well and seismic data. However, the NPD said that the technology has the potential to provide new information about the subsurface that can improve the value of the underlying data.

‘The result can be used to improve our understanding of the petroleum systems in the North Sea and can hopefully lead to new discoveries,’ Stordal added.

The NPD will release the data from the analysis. including well logs prepared for machine learning and other analysis, lithology, porosity, water saturation, as well as intervals of potential missed pay.

The three-dimensional data sets from the Fram area will initially only be used for internal analyses.

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Systems for AUV, ROV & deep tow data acquisition Electromagnetics

Self-Potential

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SMS survey campaigns completed globally

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Diverse data to drive decisions.

INDUSTRY NEWS

TGS images 6000 km2 of seismic data in Gulf of Mexico

Sophie Resolve comprises 6175 km2 of reprocessed 3D seismic data.

TGS has announced an OBC and NAZ imaging programme in the US Gulf of Mexico.

The Sophie Resolve 3D programme includes approx. 6175 km2 of reprocessed 3D seismic data to provide a regional product, helping E&Ps further explore new and existing plays over the mature,

hydrocarbon-producing areas of South Timbalier, Grand Isle and Ewing Bank.

By utilizing its proprietary dynamic matching FWI imaging technology, TGS will further illuminate the key subsurface structures and provide insight into the prospectivity within the deeper sub-salt section. Additionally, reprocessing the

dataset provides a sustainable improvement to subsurface knowledge in the region.

The project started in Q2 of 2021 and final data will be available in Q3 2022.

Meanwhile, TGS expects net IFRS revenues for the second quarter of 2021 to be approx. $65 million, compared to $66 million in Q2 2020. Net segment revenues are expected to be approx. $54 million, compared to $96 million in Q2 2020.

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘Market conditions for multi-client seismic data continue to be very challenging, and there are no signs of substantial improvements in the near-term. However, based on dialogue with our largest customers we remain confident that we will ultimately see a recovery of the market.’

PGS reprocesses West of Shetland data PGS is reprocessing data in a prolific petroleum production area West of Shetland in the UK North Sea The company is merging and reprocessing some 16,000 km2 of data covering nine conventional and GeoStreamer 3D seismic surveys. The processing on FSB Vision will include a suite of noise and

artifact removal steps, as well as full waveform inversion (FWI) based depth conversion. The imaging of subtle traps hosting Paleocene sand reservoirs at the Flett Basin flank and the Cretaceous section of the Corona Ridge is expected to improve substantially and provide new insights into these plays.

‘The area is characterized by a complex structural and geological history, which gives rise to multiple petroleum plays but also creates several features obstructing subsurface imaging based on reflection seismic data,’ said PGS. Data will be ready in the summer of 2022.

SeaBird wins contract work for Fulmar Explorer Seabird Exploration has won a contract in the western hemisphere with a leading operator. The operator has specifically requested the vessel Fulmar Explorer for the four-month contract which is expected to start in Q4 2021.

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winning contracts for the Geo Barents (later changed to Veritas Viking) for OBN work.

‘With a steadily increasing number of tenders against a backdrop of strong oil prices, the company sees a continued positive market outlook for OBN and 2D work and intends to continue improving its position in these segments,’ said SeaBird in a statement.

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Veritas Viking is winning contracts for OBN work.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Indonesia reopens oil and gas round Indonesia has reopened its oil and gas bid round that was postponed in 2020 due to

Oilfield in Indonesia.

the world crude oil price fluctuation and the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has improved the terms and conditions such as contractor’s profit split.

Six blocks on offer comprise four working areas using a direct proposal tender mechanism and two working areas using a regular tender mechanism.

The areas using a direct proposal tender are the onshore South CCP block in Riau, where the work commitment includes 500 km of 2D seismic data and 50 km2 of 3D seismic data; the onshore Sumbagsel block in South Sumatra where the work commitment includes G&G studies; the onshore Rangkas block in Banten and West Java where the work

commitment includes G&G studies and 300 km of 2D seismic data; acquisition and the onshore and offshore Liman block in East Java where the work commitment includes G&G studies and 400 km of 2D seismic data acquisition.

The areas using a regular tender are the onshore Marangin III block in South Sumatra and Jambi where the work commitment includes G&G studies and 100 km2 of seismic data; and the offshore North Kangean block in East Java where the work commitment includes G&G studies and 200km2 of 3D seismic data.

The deadline for direct offer bids was 30 July. Deadline for regular tender bids is 12 October.

Liberia offers 33 offshore blocks for direct negotiation

Liberia has opened 33 offshore blocks for direct negotiations after cancelling the country’s licensing round.

Direct negotiations for the blocks covering the offshore Harper and Liberia basins will run to 31 May, 2022. During this period, exploration companies can express their interest in any of the offered blocks. Applicants are requested to demonstrate their technical, and financial capacities before submitting their best offers.

The Government of Liberia decided to offer blocks through direct negotiation because of ‘the recent investment climate and the latent impact of the energy transition, Covid-19 and its cascading effect on the sector.’

‘While the 2020 bid round yielded positive and strong interests, the government believes that companies were challenged, based on numerous factors, in competition for offshore acreage.

Therefore, the Government of Liberia, FIRST

through LPRA, following a six-month extension, has indefinitely suspended the 2020 bid round and opted for direct negotiations to extenuate the current hurdle faced by international exploration and production companies and to offer an attractive opportunity for investment in Liberia.’

Big geological discoveries have been made offshore Liberia with a range of multi-client data across this acreage including 50,487 km of 2D and 31,350 km2 of 3D seismic, gravity and magnetic data, and well data. In addition, syn-rift and post-rift traps (both stratigraphic and structural) can be identified over much of the area, which offers multi-level prospectivity, with direct analogues to producing fields in neighbouring basins. Also, modelling predicts the source rock maturity and expulsion postdates the main tectonism in the basin, and regional seal presence is evident as in other West African Transform Margin analogues. Lastly, volumetric assessment of these features suggests field sizes of more than a billion barrels of oil in place could be present.

Find out more at https://info.tgs.com/ liberia-license-round-2020.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Stryde wins four seismic surveys in geothermal market Stryde has claimed a breakthrough in the seismic surveys market for geothermal projects after providing nodes for four surveys at unnamed locations in Europe for realtimeseismic.

Using Stryde’s nodal system, realtimeseismic shot a city-based 3D study in one month. ‘It would have taken 6-10 months with traditional cabling systems due to the flexibility of the nodal system and speed at which data can be processed once the nodes are harvested,’ said Stryde in a statement.

‘Realtimeseismic was able to demonstrate that, through the use of high trace density acquisition and modern

data analytics, irregularity of data due to restricted access in a city could not only still be used to generate an image of the subsurface, but even help to reveal the true geology of the subsurface,’ the company added.

Mike Popham, chief executive officer, Stryde, said: ‘By increasing productivity, reducing resource requirements, enabling rapid project delivery, our collaboration has been able to unlock opportunities for geothermal, which has the potential to be one of the most powerful energy sources in the world.’

Meanwhile Stryde has won a competitive tender to supply more than

80,000 of its nodes to a leading Far East Geophysical contractor during 2021.

Clients have now deployed or purchased more than 170,000 Stryde nodes for use on geothermal, oil and gas exploration, mining, archaeology, and the monitoring of seismic risk projects.

Nodes have been deployed in 13 different countries across five continents.

Earlier in 2020, the contractor performed two field trials using 1620 Stryde nodes which were deployed in mountainous regions of Southern China, comparing Stryde’s system with other leading nodal and cable acquisition systems.

UK and Norway agree closer links on energy The UK and Norway have agreed to closer links on energy issues, including linking up the two countries’ electricity grids and more cooperation on wind power and carbon capture, utilization and storage.

Norwegian minister for oil and energy, Tina Bru, and UK secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, met in Oslo to discuss the interconnector North Sea Link, which will become operational in the autumn.

The UK and Norway are close to concluding a bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection, aimed at maximizing the benefits of efficient electricity trading.

The treaty will also set out co-opera-

tion on electricity infrastructure which combines cross-border transmission with offshore wind in the North Sea. This includes the development of carbon capture and storage – underpinned by the bilateral agreement signed in November 2018 – the development of hydrogen technologies, and offshore wind power.

‘We are close to finalising the agreement on power exchange. The agreement will contribute to predictable framework conditions for the exchange of power between our two countries. In addition, we have agreed to cooperate on development of offshore wind power and related infrastructure in the North Sea,’ said Bru.

Tina Bru, Norwegian minister for oil and energy.

Trading over the North Sea Link interconnector is scheduled to start later this year.

Fugro develops tool to monitor floating wind turbines A Fugro-led consortium has designed a mooring line fatigue tracker that monitors offshore floating wind turbines.

The consortium has won funding from the Scottish Government to develop the tracker, which fuses the motion and position measurements of floating hulls with a simulation model to monitor fatigue.

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Drawing on their existing satellite positioning, structural and metocean monitoring systems, Fugro worked with AS Mosley and the University of Strathclyde to combine a physics-based simulation model with fatigue analysis to develop a streamlined methodology. Instead of the current conventional five-year subsea inspection regime, mooring line fatigue

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will be tracked so that inspection activities – which require vessels and remotely operated vehicles – are only carried out when necessary. Another benefit is that the monitoring is continuous and can be used to detect any problems or failure scenarios, such as anchor drag or trawler snagging, as they happen for quick resolution.

INDUSTRY NEWS

US to identify areas for offshore wind in the US The US Department of the Interior is assessing potential opportunities for offshore wind on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published a Request for Interest (RFI) which is focused on the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico offshore the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. Although the primary focus of the RFI is on wind energy development, BOEM is also seeking information on other renewable energy technologies.

To date, BOEM has leased approx.

1.7 million acres in the OCS for offshore wind development and has 17 commercial leases on the Atlantic, from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.

The RFI has opened a 45-day public comment period to solicit interest and additional information on potential environmental consequences and other uses of the proposed areas.

As part of this process, BOEM has formed the Gulf of Mexico Intergovern-

mental Renewable Energy Task Force to help coordinate planning, solicit feedback, and exchange scientific and process information. The task force comprises members representing federal, tribal, state and local governments from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.

Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is conducting an environmental review for a potential wind project offshore Virginia Beach.

Located approximately 23.5 nautical miles offshore Virginia, the project calls for the construction and operation of up to 205 turbines capable of generating up to 3000 megawatts of electricity.

The project proposal includes three offshore substations with one possible cable landfall location in Virginia Beach.

Dominion Energy already operates a research offshore wind project located near the proposed CVOW-C project, consisting of two test turbines in federal waters off the coast of Virginia Beach,

which will provide data to help inform the commercial-scale project.

Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are jointly planning and reviewing renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

USACE will provide BOEM with scientific and technical resources needed to evaluate offshore wind projects on the OCS. While the scope of the agreement covers all renewable energy activities in the Atlantic, the initial focus will be on the USACE supporting the review of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial project and the Kitty Hawk project, offshore North Carolina.

The agreement gives BOEM access to USACE technical expertise while planning new leasing in the Atlantic and reviewing National Environmental Policy Act documents, construction and operations plans, facility design reports and fabrication and installation reports.

TGS develops wind energy weather model for offshore Scotland TGS has released a comprehensive numerical weather prediction (NWP) model to enhance wind energy knowledge and operations offshore Scotland, including the current ScotWind lease round.

This wind energy model has been produced in collaboration with Vaisala, a specialist in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, to create a higher resolution dataset than publicly available with coverage over the entirety of offshore Scotland.

Meteorological conditions have been reconstructed over the last 10 years at a spatial resolution of 1 km with an hourly temporal resolution, providing operators with a data resource that can evaluate wind conditions at various

scales. Crucially, these model results are being validated by publicly available measurements to increase confidence and improve data quality compared to other industry datasets.

Katja Akentieva, VP new energy solutions at TGS, said: ‘Initial analysis indicates higher average wind speed than predicted by currently available models in the market, further emphasizing the need for additional wind energy assessment in this region. Our next step is to collect more observational data in order to improve the knowledge.’

The Vaisala method relies on a combination of advanced mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) computer modelling, microscale wind modelling and proprietary algorithms.

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Floating turbine operated by Scotwind.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Schlumberger sets out net zero target Schlumberger has announced its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. With minimal reliance on offsets, the plan is focused on reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across the oil and gas value chain.

Using 2019 as a baseline year, Schlumberber will reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions 30% by 2025; Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% and Scope 3 emissions 30% by 2030.

Olivier Le Peuch, chief executive officer, Schlumberger, said: ‘Our net-zero

target is inclusive of total Scope 3 emissions; this is a first in the energy services industry.’

In verifying its targets, Schlumberger said that it will ensure transparency in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Sustainability Accounting Boards (SASB) frameworks.

The decarbonization plans are focused on operational emissions; customer emissions; and carbon-negative actions. Currently, 75% of Schlumberger’s baseline

Baker Hughes plays key role in Norwegian carbon capture project

Borg CO2 will capture carbon from industrial sites in the Viken region.

Baker Hughes and Borg CO2 are working together on a carbon capture and storage project to serve as a hub for the decarbonization of industrial sites in the Viken region of Norway.

The Borg CO2 project aims to capture and store emissions from industrial facilities located in the cities of Fredrikstad, Sarpborg and Halden. The combined industrial cluster is currently responsible for approximately 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. After being captured, the CO2 will be liquified, shipped and eventually stored underneath the seabed of the North Sea. In April 2021, Borg CO2 announced a deal with Northern Lights JV, who will provide shipping and storage of CO2 as a service provider for Borg CO2.

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Borg CO2 and its partners are carrying out an extended feasibility study to be completed by the end of 2021 which Baker Hughes will support with its carbon capture technologies and engineering services. In addition, Baker Hughes and Borg CO2 will jointly evaluate the optimal structure for implementation of the carbon capture plants and pursue grant and incentive opportunities both in Norway and at the EU level.

Baker Hughes will test and scale its carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies portfolio on several types of processes including its Chilled Ammonia Process (CAP) and Compact Carbon Capture (CCC) solutions.

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GHG footprint comes from the technologies its customers use.

The company’s Transition Technologies Portfolio will address fugitive emissions, flaring reduction, electrification, well construction emissions, and full field development solutions. To quantify the impact of these technologies, Schlumberger has developed a framework that enables standardization of measurement, benchmarking through net-footprint comparisons, and ultimately better-informed technology selection during planning.

Fugro builds geo-data model for wind project offshore US Atlantic Coast Fugro has completed the first phase of a two-year contract with Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind to build and manage a centralised, cloud-hosted geo-data repository for the company’s lease development off the coast of New Jersey in the US. The web-based engagement platform utilizes Fugro’s Gaia technology to provide Atlantic Shores with a single source of updated geo-data and documentation.

To develop the geo-data repository, Fugro is integrating public datasets and historical project data with real-time field data, including information from Fugro’s metocean, geophysical, geotechnical and environmental programmes. The approach is facilitating real-time tracking of the site characterization effort, along with an updated ‘digital twin’ ground model of the lease area.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Equinor to cut carbon intensity 40% by 2035

Anders Opedal, president and CEO of Equinor.

Equinor is accelerating the company’s energy transition by setting a target to reach a 40% reduction in net carbon intensity by 2035, on the way towards net zero by 2050.

The company is stepping up investments in renewables and low carbon solutions to more than 50% of gross annual investments by 2030.

Equinor has already set a target to become a net zero energy company by 2050 but has now set interim ambitions, aiming to reduce net carbon intensity 20% by 2030 and 40% by 2035.

Anders Opedal, president and CEO of Equinor, said: ‘This is a business

BRIEFS TGS has acquired three 3D multi-client seismic surveys from the recently bankrupted Polarcus covering a total of 12,200 km2 offshore Australia. In addition, Polarcus has permanently waived its 50% revenue sharing rights associated with the multi-client library that TGS acquired in 2015.

strategy to ensure long-term competitiveness during a period with profound changes in the energy system, as society moves towards net zero.

Significant growth within renewables and low carbon solutions will increase the pace of change towards 2030 and 2035.’

Equinor expects gross investments in renewables of around $23 billion from 2021 to 2026, and to increase the share of gross capex for renewables and low carbon solutions from around 4% in 2020 to more than 50% by 2030.

It expects to reach an installed capacity of 12-16 GW by 2030.

By 2035, Equinor’s ambition is to develop the capacity to store 15-30 million tonnes of CO2 per year and to provide clean hydrogen in 3-5 industrial clusters.

Organic capital expenditure is estimated at an annual average of $9-10 billion for 2021-2022 and at around $12 billion for 2023-2024. Production growth from 2020 to 2021 is estimated to be around 2%.

Bidding is open for Australia’s 2021 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release, with around 80,000 km2 of acreage available for exploration in Commonwealth waters. The licensing round comprises 21 areas across six basins: Bonaparte and Browse Basin, North Carnarvon Basin, Otway and Sorell Basin and Gippsland. The deadline for submitting bids is 3 March 2022.

EMGS has secured an additional $1.2 million in prefunding for the upcoming Utsira High North Sea multi-client survey.

The company has also secured £0.8 million in late sales related to the North Sea multi-client data library.

Block Energy has signed an agreement with Baker Hughes to support drilling operations in Georgia. Baker Hughes will assess and potentially develop geothermal, carbon capture, and hydrogen applications across the Samgori, Patardzeuli and West Rustavi fields. The initial project will drill a horizontal well targeting a recoverable volume estimated to be 2.1 MMboe at the WR-BA well target location in West Rustavi. Block Energy recently acquired 3D seismic data across the area.

Norway releases historic data from wildcat wells The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is releasing prognosis and result data from wildcat wells from the period between 1990 and 2000. Such data will be regularly made available via the FactPages on npd.no.

This is in keeping with the NPD’s philosophy that as much data as possible should be available to everyone, and that competition between companies is a matter of who makes best use of the data.

In 1996, the NPD initiated the industry project Evaluation of Norwegian Wildcat Wells. One of the objectives was to compare the prospect parameters and resource size in the operator’s forecast with the result after drilling. Another goal

was to assess why exploration wells that did not yield discoveries were dry.

The project included wildcat wells drilled during the period 1990 to 1997, when the dataset showed that there was a general tendency to overestimate volumes before drilling.

After the studies, a decision was made to make the reporting of such data a permanent arrangement; licensees must report the forecast for and result of wildcat wells six months after drilling.

Data more than 20 years old can be released. The file with enclosed data sets will be updated every year and will next be updated in the first quarter of 2022.

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Risk manager DNV has signed an agreement with Keppel Offshore & Marine for collaboration on the hydrogen value chain. They will work with governmental agencies to promote hydrogen as an energy source in the Singapore market.

DNV and Keppel will collaborate on infrastructure requirements for hydrogen storage, local transportation and offshore applications for hydrogen technology.

Safety studies and pilot activities will be carried out within Keppel’s Floating Living Lab.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Oil and gas round-up Equinor and partners Vår Energi and Aker BP have struck oil in production licence PL 554 in the Northern North Sea. Recoverable resources are estimated at between 1.3 and 3.6 million standard cubic metres, corresponding to 8-23 million barrels of oil equivalent. Two exploration wells on the Garantiana West prospect were drilled some 10 km north-east of the Visund field, and 120 km west of Florø.

The primary target for exploration well 34/6-5 S was to prove hydrocarbons in the Cook formation from the early Jurassic period. The secondary exploration target was to examine the hydrocarbon potential in the Nansen formation from the early Jurassic/late Triassic period. Well 34/6-5 S encountered a total oil column of 86 m in the Cook formation. A 60-metre effective medium-good quality sandstone reservoir was found.

Exploration well 34/6-5 S also encountered sandstones in the Nansen formation, but the reservoir is auriferous,

and the exploration target is classified as dry. Well 34/6-5 S was drilled to a vertical depth of 3952 m below sea level and completed in the Nansen formation from the late Jurassic period. Well 34/6-5 ST2 was drilled to a vertical depth of 3750 m below sea level, and completed in the upper part of the Amundsen formation.

Eni has announced a significant oil discovery on the Eban exploration prospect in CTP Block 4, offshore Ghana.

Preliminary estimates place the potential of the Eban–Akoma complex between 500 and 700 Mboe in place. The Eban – 1X well is approx. 50 km off the coast. It was drilled to a water depth of 545 m, reached a total depth of 4179 m and proved a single light oil column of approx. 80 m in a thick sandstone reservoir interval of Cenomanian age with hydrocarbons encountered down to 3949 m. The new discovery has been assessed after comprehensive analysis of extensive 3D seismic datasets. The CTP Block 4 is

operated by Eni (42%). Partners are Vitol (34%, GNPC (10%), Woodfields (10%), GNPC Explorco (4%).

Turkey has shared data on its Black Sea discovery with US energy majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil ahead of possible cooperation in extracting the gas. The estimated 540 billion m3 field was one of the world’s largest discoveries last year.

Turkey has discovered 135 billion m3 of additional natural gas in the southern Black Sea with the Amasra-1 well in the Sakarya gas field, raising the total discovery in the region to 540 billion m3.

ExxonMobil made a discovery at Longtail-3 in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. Drilling at Longtail-3 encountered 70 m of net pay, including high quality hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs below the original Longtail-1 discovery intervals. The well is 3.5 km south of the Longtail-1 well. It was drilled in more than 1860 m of water.

Searcher releases data to support Australian licensing round

New look for seismic data.

Searcher Seismic has released angle stacks and velocities on its sAIsmic on-demand data platform in support of the 2021 Australian Gazettal Round.

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For each 3D survey that intersects one of the 21 released acreage release blocks, Searcher has made available the corresponding angle stacks and velocities

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to complement the full stack survey data that is already available on the sAIsmic platform.

These new data types will allow explorers and interested parties the opportunity to easily view and assess the subsurface data located within each of the blocks on offer and to download SEGY data for easy ingestion into interpretation packages, said Searcher.

In addition, Searcher has also made available seismic survey acquisition and processing reports for each of the 3D surveys. ‘sAIsmic allows our clients to view enhanced open-file seismic data instantly online, through their browser without delays associated with data centre deliveries and internal data QC protocols,’ said Alan Hopping, vice-president operations at Searcher.

INDUSTRY NEWS

TGS and PGS start new surveys offshore Canada PGS vessel Ramform Titan has begun acquisition of the Cape Anguille programme, in partnership with TGS, covering existing lease blocks and open acreage offshore Canada. Acquisition is expected to complete mid-September 2021. PGS will deliver fast-track results in November 2021, and final imaging and interpretation products in Q1 2022.

The programme expands the PGSTGS joint venture with another 10,000 km2 of GeoStreamer 3D coverage in Newfoundland’s prospective Orphan Basin.

Meanwhile, Ramform Atlas is steaming towards Canada where the vessel will start another multi-client campaign in the first half of June. PGS plans to keep the Ramform Atlas in Canada until mid-September 2021.

Rune Olav Pedersen, president and CEO of PGS said: ‘Canada remains a good investment for explorers and for the 11th year we experience solid industry interest for expansion of our high-quality multi-client library offshore Newfoundland. We will deploy two Ramform Titan-class vessels for the full season with GeoStreamer technology, a tailored

Australia tenders oil and gas licences in Northern Territory Australia’s Northern Territory Government has announced two areas available for oil and gas exploration in the 2021 Northern Territory Petroleum Acreage Release.

The onshore areas cover some of the most prospective regions of the southern part of the Georgina Basin, which is a frontier area with known thick organic-rich shales and widespread documented oil and gas shows.

The release areas are supported by existing well and seismic data together with regional geological data. Previous exploration work includes 2D seismic surveys and 12 exploration wells, some of which have undergone hydraulic fracture stimulation and testing. The deadline for submissions is 16 November.

Ramform Titan will acquire 10,000 km2 of data offshore Newfoundland.

towing configuration and advanced imaging workflows to deliver data that can provide significant insights to help derisk the prospects and plays offshore Canada.’

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘The Cape Anquille 3D survey will be instrumental in assessing potential prospects that have initially been identified from our comprehensive 2D library in the

region. Leads have been identified from seismic and work supported by amplitude variations (AVO).’

Finally, TGS and PGS have launched the Lewis Hills 3D multi-client phase 2 offshore East Canada. Phase 2 includes the acquisition of 947 km2 of additional 3D data, tying into the existing project’s 2811 km2 to create one contiguous dataset.

South Sudan launches first bid round South Sudan has launched the country’s first oil licensing round offering five onshore blocks.

According to the analysis commissioned by the Ministry of Petroleum, approx. 90% of South Sudan’s oil and gas reserves remain unexplored.

Sudan said that it is hoping to attract interest from a ‘diverse’ group of foreign investors after ‘significant progress’ in returning to peace and stability.

The available blocks range between 4000 and 25,000 km2, with most comprising between 15,000 and 20,000 km2.

Currently there are three consortia operating producing blocks in South Sudan, with another four oil exploration companies having acquired production sharing contracts. Oil and gas majors from China and Malaysia are active there.

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A consortium of DAR, CNPC, Petronas and Nile Petroleum operate blocks 3 and 7. Greater Pioneer, CNPC, Petronas and Nile Petroleum operate blocks 1, 2 and 4; and Sudd, Petronas and Nile operate block 5A. Oranto and Nile have recently been awarded block B3, Ascom and Nile have won block 5B and Strategic Fuel Fund and Nile have won block B2.

Bidders have until 23 August 2021 to request information from the Ministry of Petroleum.

The Lewis Hill 3D volume is positioned in the highly prospective Orphan Basin, with recent discoveries in the Flemish Pass and connecting further south to the productive Jeanne D’Arc Basin. ‘ Fully processed stacks are expected to be delivered by Q3 2022.

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Special Topic

NEAR SURFACE GEO MINING Near surface geoscience ranges from ground penetrating radar techniques to time lapse ERT, seismic micronization and modelling algorithms. The field embraces mining, testing the stability of buildings and water seepage analysis as well as oil and gas exploration. Some of these papers will be presented at the EAGE’s Near Surface Geoscience event.

A. Bitri et al analyse surface waves behaviour and set out their role in detection of voids.

Tim Dean et al show examples of the impact of high-resolution survey parameters on processed datasets and describe how such datasets can be acquired in an efficient manner.

Federico Fischanger et al make use of small autonomous and independent devices synchronized by GPS for the monitoring of electrical potentials to be flexibly distributed on the terrain and coupled to high power transmission systems.

Jeanne Mercier de Lepinay et al propose an unmanned aerial system dedicated to magnetic surveying in a variety of contexts ranging from small and shallow objects or pipelines detection to large-scale geological mapping.

Lucy MacGregor et al explain efficient geophysical and geochemical mapping required to find and characterize seafloor massive sulphide deposits.

C . Rault et al describe how they combined different geophysical approaches (airborne electromagnetics, passive and active seismic data) to investigate the structure of a landslide.

Alexey Dobrovolskiy presents the results of test surveys using three types of magnometers as well as the results of a time domain metal detector.

Claudio Strobbia et al present an overview of the role of geophysics in the mining sector.

Submit an article

Special Topic overview January

Land Seismic

First Break Special Topics are covered by a mix of original articles dealing with case studies and the latest technology. Contributions to a Special Topic in First Break can be sent directly to the editorial office (firstbreak@eage.org). Submissions will be considered for publication by the editor.

February

Reservoir Monitoring

March

Modelling / Interpretation

April

Unconventionals and Passive Seismic

May

Global Exploration Hotspots

June

Geoscience & Engineering in the Energy Transition

It is also possible to submit a Technical Article to First Break. Technical Articles are subject to a peer review process and should be submitted via EAGE’s ScholarOne website: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fb

July

Digital Transformation in Geoscience

August

Near Surface Geo Mining

September

Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering

October

Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow

November

Marine Seismic & EM

December

Data Management and Processing

You can find the First Break author guidelines online at www.firstbreak.org/guidelines.

More Special Topics may be added during the course of the year.

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 29 AUGUST ‑ 2 SEPTEMBER

Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition 2021 Bordeaux, France and online www.eage.org

August 2021 4-6 Aug

Data Science in Oil and Gas 2021 www.eage.ru

Novosibirsk and Online

19‑20 Aug

First EAGE Workshop on Geothermal Energy in Latin America www.eage.org

Online

22‑28 Aug

9 th International DHC+ Summer School

Karlshamn

24‑25 Aug

First EAGE Workshop on Faults in Groundwater, CO2 and Hydrocarbons in Asia Pacific www.eage.org

Online

29 Aug ‑ 2 Sep

Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition 2021 www.nsg2021.org

Bordeaux and online

Russia

Sweden

France

September 2021 6‑7 Sep

EAGE Workshop on Computational Sciences for New Energy and Oil Recovery www.eage.org

Online

6‑8 Sep

Fifth EAGE Workshop on High Performance Computing for Upstream www.eage.org

Online

6‑10 Sep

Geomodel 2021 23 rd conference on oil and gas geological exploration and development www.eage.org

Gelendzhik and online

7 Sep

First EAGE Guyana-Suriname Basin Seminar www.eage.org

Online

8-10 Sep

Second EAGE Conference on Pre-Salt Reservoir www.eage.org

Online

9 Sep

Geothermal Energy — New Opportunities for the Middle East www.eage.org

Online

10‑11 Sep

ISZA 2021 — The Meeting of Young Geoscientists www.isza.hu

Zalakaros

12-17 Sep

30 th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (IMOG 2021) www.imog2021.org

Online

12-17 Sep

Third EAGE Geochemistry Workshop www.eage.org

Online

14-15 Sep

Asia Energy Forum - The Role of Geoscience Through the Energy Transition www.eage.org

Online

EAGE Events

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Russia

Hungary

CALENDAR

20‑23 Sep

Third EAGE Workshop on assessment of landslide hazards and impact on communities www.eage.org

Odessa and Online

Ukraine

23‑27 Sep

CLEEDI Workshop Hackathon Week

Foix

France

27‑29 Sep

Fourth EAGE Borehole Geology Workshop www.eage.org

Online

October 2021 4‑6 Oct

International Conference of Young Professionals «GeoTerrace-2021» www.eage.org

Lviv and Online

Ukraine

4‑7 Oct

14th Middle East Geosciences Conference & Exhibition (GEO2021) www.geo-expo.com

Manama

Bahrain

5‑7 Oct

Sakhalin 2021 6th Workshop on Hydrocarbon Potential of the Far East www.eage.org

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and online

Russia

10-14 Oct

BGS Congress 2021 www.bgscongress.org

Online

12-13 Oct

EAGE Conference on Seismic Interpretation using AI Methods - Going Beyond Machine Learning www.eage.org

Online

18 Oct

Third Young Professionals Summit yp-summit.org

Amsterdam

Netherlands

18-21 Oct

82 nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition www.eageannual2021.org

Amsterdam and online

Netherlands

25‑27 Oct

Third EAGE Conference on Offshore Exploration and Development in Mexico www.eage.org

Merida

Mexico

Russia

November 2021 1‑3 Nov

ProGREss’21 www.eage.org

Sochi and online

2‑4 Nov

Third EAGE/SPE Geosteering Workshop www.eage.org

Online

3‑5 Nov

First EAGE Conference on Near Surface in Latin America www.eage.org

Online

8‑10 Nov

Third HGS/EAGE Conference on Latin America www.eage.org

Houston and online

United States

8-11 Nov

Africa Oil Week 2021 www.africa-oilweek.com

Dubai and online

United Arab Emirates

9‑11 Nov

Sixth EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop www.eage.org

Dubai and online

United Arab Emirates

15-17 Nov

Second EAGE Workshop on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles www.eage.org

Online

15‑17 Nov

First EAGE Workshop on East Canada Offshore Exploration www.eage.org

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and online

Canada

17‑19 Nov

Monitoring 2021 www.eage.org

Kyiv and online

Ukraine

23‑24 Nov

AAPG/EAGE Joint Workshop on High CO2, High Contaminant Challenging Fields and Alternative Energy - Impact and Monetization www.eage.org

Online

23‑25 Nov

Second Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference (GET2021) www.eage.org

Strasbourg and online

23‑26 Nov

EAGE/Aqua Foundation Second Indian Near Surface Geophysics Conference & Exhibition www.eage.org

Online

29 Nov 1 Dec

AAPG/EAGE Hydrocarbon Seals Workshop www.eage.org

Muscat

Oman

30 Nov 2 Dec

Fourth Asia Pacific Meeting on Near Surface Geoscience & Engineering www.eage.org

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

EAGE Events

France

Non-EAGE Events

FIRST

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VOLUME

39

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AUGUST

2021

95