First Break February 2019

VO L U M E 3 7 I I S S U E 2 I F E B R U A R Y 2 019

SPECIAL TOPIC

Reservoir Monitoring TECHNICAL ARTICLE The role of thermal stress in near wellbore instabilities CROSSTALK Education faces crisis of confidence

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The data will be processed through an advanced broadband workflow. This will not only increase resolution and improve characterization of the turbidite systems, it will also provide deep penetration of low frequencies to help describe the nature of the deep crust.

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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) • Patrick Corbett, Heriot-Watt University (patrick_corbett@pet.hw.ac.uk) • Tom Davis, Colorado School of Mines (tdavis@mines.edu) • Anthony Day, PGS (anthony.day@pgs.com) • Peter Dromgoole, Statoil UK (pdrum@statoil.com) • Rutger Gras, Oranje-Nassau Energy (gras@onebv.com) • Hamidreza Hamdi, University of Calgary (hhamdi@ucalgary.ca) • Ed Kragh, Schlumberger Cambridge Research (edkragh@slb.com) • 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) MEDIA PRODUCTION MANAGER Thomas Beentje (tbe@eage.org) ACCOUNT MANAGER ADVERTISING Amy Townsend (atd@eage.org) ACCOUNT MANAGER SUBSCRIPTIONS Jack McClean (jmn@eage.org) PRODUCTION Saskia Nota (layout@eage.org) Ivana Geurts (layout@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

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A 2D PSDM seismic dip section

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

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Crosstalk

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Industry News

Technical Articles

27 The role of thermal stress in near wellbore instabilities and its implications: a case study from the HTHP well, offshore East India

Ajesh John, Manoj Gaur, Hari Krishna, V.R. Sunder and V. Kothari 37 Seismic waveform classification based on Kohonen 3D neural networks with RGB visualization

I.I. Priezzhev, P.C.H. Veeken, S.V. Egorov, A.N. Nikiforov and U. Strecker

Special Topic: Reservoir Monitoring

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S-Wave azimuthal anisotropy: an effective tool for stress monitoring Thomas L Davis and Steven L Roche

51 How big is a small earthquake? Challenges in determining microseismic magnitudes J-Michael Kendall, Antony Butcher, Anna L. Stork, James P. Verdon, Richard Luckett and Brian J. Baptie 57 Value of Information (VOI) from continuous monitoring and digitization of the wellbore using chemical tracers

M.V. Bennetzen and G. Hviding 63 Observed link between folded Seaward Dipping Reflectors (SDRs) and large-scale morphology and architecture of the Early Cretaceous carbonate build-up and platform in the Orange Basin

Anongporn Intawong, Paolo Esestime and Karyna Rodriguez 69 4D seismic opportunity: from feasibility to reservoir characterization — a case study offshore West Africa Bruce Webb, Catia Rizzetto, Francesca Pirera, Enrico Paparozzi, Vincenzo Milluzzo, Daniela Mastellone, Marco Marchesini, Nazzarena Colombi, Michele Buia and Massimiliano Bertarini 78 Calendar

EAGE LATIN AMERICA OFFICE Carrera 14 No 97-63 Piso 5 Bogotá, Colombia • +57 1 4232948 • americas@eage.org • www.eage.org 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: Ariel view of the Armada Olombendo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which has started production for Eni offshore Angola. Inside, Eni tells the story of its 4D time lapse survey of the area on p. 69.

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European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers

Board 2018-2019 Jean-Jacques Biteau President

Near Surface Geoscience Division George Apostolopoulos Chair Alireza Malehmir Vice-Chair Micki Allen Contact Officer EEGS-NA Riyadh Al-Saad O&G Liaison Xavier Garcia Committee Member Peter Bergmann Technical Programme Representative Esther Bloem Technical Programme Representative Albert Casas Membership Officer Ranajit Ghose Editor in Chief Near Surface Geophysics Musa Manzi Committee Member Andreas Kathage Liaison Officer First Break Koya Suto Liaison Asia Pacific Musa Manzi Committee Member Jiangha Xia Liaison China

Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

Peter Lloyd Vice-President-Elect

Michael Pöppelreiter Vi c e-President

Colin MacBeth Education Officer

Caroline Jane Lowrey Chair Caroline Lowrey Chair Michael Peter Suess Vice-Chair John Brittan Past chair Rick Donselaar TP Representative (Geology) Xavier Garcia NSGD Liaison Julianne Heiland TP Representative (Geomechanics) Francesco Perrone YP Liaison Ann Muggeridge IOR Committee Liasion Aart Jan Wingaarden Technical Programme Officer Martin Widmaier TP Representative (Geophysics) Michael Zhdanov NSGD Liaison Philip Ringrose Editor-in-chief (Petroleum Geoscience) Tijmen-Jan Moser Editor-in-chief (Geophysical Prospecting) Conor Ryan Resource Evaluation Committee liaison Sebastian Geiger Resource Evaluation Committee liaison

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.

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Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

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George Apostolopoulos Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division

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Caroline Jane Lowrey Chair Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

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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

EAGE MEMBERS

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Freiberg students appreciated excursion to OMV in Austria

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East Mediterranean prospects come under scrutiny

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Machine learning event generates interest and enthusiasm

Launching the EAGE Membership Recognition Programme A new initiative is being launched to recognize the loyalty of our members and the value they bring to the Association. Starting this year, the EAGE Membership Recognition Programme will offer a number of extra benefits to those renewing their membership based on the number of years they have been with the Association.

Even after one year the benefits begin to kick in. Those joining EAGE for the first time are accorded Green membership status, which gives them the standard package, already excellent value: • Access to EarthDoc, EAGE’s online geoscience database • Event discount based on your recognition level • Every month a new issue of First Break (online and print) • Free online subscription to one of EAGE’s scientific journals • Discounts on additional journal subscriptions • Free access to online learning through the Learning Geoscience portal • Member discounts at the online EAGE Bookshop Those renewing after one year become Bronze members. In addition to the standard benefits they will be eligible for reduced registration fees for all EAGE events worldwide.

Those with five to nine years of membership move to Silver status. In addition to the benefits already enjoyed, they will also receive an invitation to an exclusive member event organized at the EAGE Annual, the first of which will take place this year in London, UK. Gold status is reserved for those who have been members for 10 to 14 years. An extra benefit will entitle them to access the VIP registration desk at the Annual Conference (for easy collection of conference pass and items) Platinum status is reserved for those who have been members for 15 years or longer. As well as all the other benefits, platinum members will be able to claim the early bird registration fee for all EAGE events, including the Annual (up to a week prior to the event).

For those of you who have renewed your membership or have just joined the Association, you will receive your customized 2019 EAGE membership card soon.

The newly designed personal card will clearly show your membership status.

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If you have not yet renewed your annual EAGE membership for 2019, make sure to do this as soon as possible to ensure you can enjoy all the new benefits available.

Even better, opt for some peace of mind and renew for three or five years in one go. You can renew through eage.org/membership.

If you have any questions regarding your membership, don’t hesitate to contact us at membership@eage.org.

What makes EAGE special With approximately 19,000 members active in more than 100 countries around the world, EAGE is one of the largest multidisciplinary geoscience associations in the world.

EAGE’s mission is to promote the development and application of geosciences and related engineering subjects, to promote innovation and technical progress and to foster the communication, fellowship and cooperation between those working in, studying or otherwise being interested in these fields.

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EAGE NEWS

Nigeria starts a new chapter

A new Chapter is born!

Months of preparation paid off when Local Chapter Nigeria was officially inaugurated on 21 November 2018 during the annual conference of our associated society, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.

The inauguration meeting started with a welcome address and introduction by Dr Mayowa Afe, member of the CMC Committee of EAGE, and included talks by Jean-Jacques Biteau, EAGE president, Caroline Le Turdu, membership and cooperation officer, and Raymond Cahill, regional manager for Middle East and Africa. A total of 65 academia, industry professionals

and students were in attendance with over 150 already committed to joining and volunteering for the Local Chapter in Nigeria.

The event was chaired by Professor Idowu Olayinka, the vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, who warmly welcomed the EAGE representatives and the founders of the new LC. He commented on Nigeria’s current position in oil and gas industry and mentioned the need for collaboration and cooperation between EAGE and professional associations and institutions in the country. Jean-Jacques Biteau, then took the floor to make his presentation, in which he gave an overview

of EAGE, its history, worldwide presence and activities. He mentioned the low percentage of EAGE members in Africa and looks forward to the growth of members in Nigeria and Africa at large. Caroline Le Turdu followed with a summary of her career and how her association with EAGE started. She encouraged everyone to improve their network and shared ideas for future Chapter activities. In her final words, she welcomed everyone to EAGE and thanked the organizers for the inauguration and the take-off of EAGE LC Nigeria.

In the discussion that followed, some key points included the need to break the barriers and build bridges to connect countries in Africa, for example by organizing field trips; and the importance of expanding the Chapter’s network by renewing memberships and inviting others to join. A final technical presentation by the EAGE president on petroleum systems concluded the meeting. Networking continued over lunch and at a courtesy visit organized at the Total E&P Nigeria Management Team office. After this promising start, LC Nigeria looks forward to planning its next activities in 2019. Join it via LinkedIn or Facebook to learn about all upcoming events!

EAGE Education Calendar 26 FEB

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 13

DOHA, QATAR

17 MAR

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 7

PORTLAND, US

19 MAR

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 13

HARSTAD, NORWAY

1-5 APR

EDUCATION DAYS BUENOS AIRES: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

6 MAY

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 5

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

8 MAY

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 5

LIMA, PERU

10 MAY

EAGE EDUCATION TOUR 5

SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA

19 JUN-2 JUL

EDUCATION DAYS BEIJING: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

BEIJING, CHINA

24 JUN-2 JUL

EDUCATION DAYS KUALA LUMPUR: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

27 JUN-9 JUL

EDUCATION DAYS PERTH: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

PERTH, AUSTRALIA

26-30 AUG

EDUCATION DAYS RIO DE JANEIRO: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

17-20 SEP

EDUCATION DAYS LONDON: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

LONDON, UK

23-27 SEP

EDUCATION DAYS MEXICO: MULTIPLE SHORT COURSES PROGRAMME

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG.

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EAGE NEWS

Freiberg students appreciated excursion to OMV in Austria EAGE Student Chapter Freiberg recently planned an excursion to better understand seismic hydrocarbon and geothermal exploration operations using vibrator trucks. The trip began on Sunday 25 November when 15 students from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg set out for Vienna to visit OMV in Austria.

The students, mainly upcoming geo-

Freiberg students on survey site.

physicists in the Bachelor or Master programme, made use of the opportunity to see for themselves how industry surveys work and, furthermore, to establish personal contact with OMV indivuals and ask specific questions.

The study trip started in Strasshof.

After an introduction and safety instructions there was a visit to a workshop where defective geophones are repaired or simply recharged. As the geophones do not transfer data in real time they have to be brought from the field to the workshop and then manually read out. Each day quite a few terabytes of data are recorded so lots of memory space is required.

A company presentation on a current project in Austria was next. It was explained that to ensure the security of gas supply in the future, OMV performs seismic measurements north of Vienna as an extension of the survey area already covered via 3D seismic earlier this year in Schönkirchen. Covering an area of 1100 km2 it represents the largest seismic exploration in Austria so far.

Following the presentation, the group was transported to a geophone station consisting of 12 or 24 in-line geophones that are permanently recording during working hours, connected to a flash drive.

In total, 720,000 geophones are placed around a perimeter of several kilometres.

Even at a distance of 4 km they are able to detect seismic waves generated by the fleet of vibro-trucks which was the next stop on the visit.

Students found the most fascinating part of the field trip was witnessing the power that the vehicles can release into the earth. Standing close by, it felt like an earthquake was rattling the ground beneath their feet. Maximally four troops of three vibrators operate at least 400 m apart with a time delay of 20 s. Using the slip-sweep technique almost 8 km2 can be measured daily. The targets of this measurement are the geological formations containing gas or hydrothermal fluids, which are located at a depth between 4 and 6 km. At the same time, peak particle velocity measurements ensure destruc-

tion-free exploration without damaging buildings. OMV emphasizes health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) and respects the choices of landowners.

After a lunch break, a stop was made at the recording truck. Each vibrator transmits its exact position to the truck, so the coordinators know where the exploration crew is located and can give proper instructions. Each measurement point is registered in their system so progress can be monitored.

The trip concluded with a visit of the noise monitoring truck. On a fixed line, several geophones record the noise triggered, for example by a storm. These geophones transmit the data instantly to the truck. That way a measurement can be put to a stop at once if the background noise exceeds a certain level.

In the end the students say they left OMV having experienced a very exciting day. All in all, there was a lot of new information presented, they could ask specific questions and got an impression of what it involves to work for OMV. As a part of their course of study in Freiberg, students regularly participate in smaller scale seismic surveys and they say that it was impressive to experience a seismic survey at such an enormous scale.

Many thanks to OMV for this interesting excursion and to sponsors: EAGE Student Fund, Verein Freunde und Förderer der TU Bergakademie (VFF) and TU Freiberg’s Institute of Geophysics!

EAGE Student Calendar 11-13 MAR

2ND MIDDLE EAST GEOSCIENCE STUDENT CONFERENCE

MUSCAT, OMAN

25-29 MAR

GEONATURE 2019 STUDENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

TYUMEN, RUSSIA

19 MAR

STUDENT LECTURE TOUR EUROPE

CARDIFF, UK

24 APR

STUDENT LECTURE TOUR EUROPE

BERLIN, GERMANY

25 APR

STUDENT LECTURE TOUR EUROPE

FREIBERG, GERMANY

26 APR

STUDENT LECTURE TOUR EUROPE

CRACOW, POLAND

2-6 JUN

81ST EAGE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

LONDON, UK

2 JUN

LAURIE DAKE CHALLENGE FINAL

LONDON, UK

3 JUN

MINUS CO2 CHALLENGE FINAL

LONDON, UK

4 JUN

GEO-QUIZ 2019

LONDON, UK

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

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EAGE NEWS

East Mediterranean prospects come under scrutiny Fruitful discussions between geologists and geophysicists were the highlight of the first EAGE conference on East Mediterranean exploration held on 6-7 December in Malta with participation from oil and gas companies, service companies and universities.

This is the report.

The workshop started with geophysics session on velocity model building scenarios.

The use of the most advanced algorithms such as reverse time migration (RTM) and full waveform inversion (FWI) when possible was discussed and deemed necessary to achieve a detailed model. It was considered important to differentiate the velocity variations between clean, medium and ‘dirty’ salt in respect to the rock and mineral content in the thick parts of the Messinian evaporites of the Mediterranean.

All of these simulations are necessary due to a lack of available log data in the area.

Lebanon. Wells in the coming months will be key to unlocking the understanding of these areas.

Large reprocessing of 2D data SPAN and conventional offshore Libya and Egypt is also being carried out.

The first day ended with presentations looking into the post exploration cycle with the use of gravity data as a 4D monitoring tool for fields during production.

The second day of the workshop was dedicated to presentations on exploration opportunities and regional prospects in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean.

Geophysics session gets Day 1 started.

Other discussions arose out of the reprocessing of existing 2D lines, some which may be old. Very good examples were shown with reprocessing of data from the 80s and 90s achieving a very good result for interpretation purposes using the latest technologies in processing and imaging.

Quantitative interpretation below Messinian was presented using a wave equation-based method where primaries, multiples, and converted waves are being used in forward modelling at the reservoir in order to predict and update the properties.

A keynote speaker gave an overview of exploration in the East Mediterranean as seen from a contractor’s perspective.

Much interest was shown in the Israel acreage with a high potential trend towards

The region has seen renewed interest in the past decade following discoveries in Libya, the Tamar and Leviathan fields in offshore Israel, Zohr in offshore Egypt and most recently in Cyprus.

The keynote speech was delivered

by Dr Yannis Bassias, president and CEO of Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resource Management (HHRM). He presented the challenges and opportunities in the deep and ultra-deep frontier waters of offshore Greece. Other speakers from HHRM presented in more detail ongoing projects including seismic characterization as a tool in the identification of geo-tectonic units in offshore South Crete, a description of structural elements of the Western Peloponnese and their differences compared with the Northern Ionian tectonic domain and FIRST

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the tectonic-stratigraphic evolution of the Eratosthenes carbonate platform along the Mesozoic Tethyan margin.

The thick Messinian salt deposition, halokinesiss and the coeval deposition of clastic sediments southwest of Cyprus were described in another presentation with particular emphasis on the role these elements play in the active petroleum system in the Herodotus Basin.

New opportunities in the frontier basins offshore Lebanon and Egypt’s West Mediterranean were presented based on the interpretation of extensive high quality 2D and 3D datasets that are currently available or will be made available shortly. Exciting developments in this part of the Eastern Mediterranean include the possibility of a new exploratory well (Lebanon) and a new bid round in 2019 for Egypt’s West Mediterranean.

A study on a Cretaceous isolated carbonate platform and the search for Zohr analogues in the Mediterranean was presented with a specific focus on the Bagnolo carbonate platform in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The Matera carbonate structural high in Southern Italy was presented as a classic outcrop to understand the complexity of carbonate reservoirs with their vertical and lateral facies variability and complex fracture network.

The workshop concluded with two back-to-back presentations on exploration opportunities in Malta, one focusing on petroleum systems modelling of Triassic/ Liassic Noto/Streppenosa source rocks and the other on the petroleum prospectivity of offshore Malta. The uplift in re-imaging seismic data using modern processing techniques as applied to a carbonate build-up trend offshore Malta was presented as a poster during the workshop.

The delegates had an opportunity to meet and network informally at the workshop reception kindly sponsored by the Continental Shelf Department of Malta.

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Machine learning event generates interest and enthusiasm Co-chairs Guido van der Hoff and Duncan Irving report on the First EAGE/PESGB Workshop on Machine Learning held in London on 29-30 November.

This highly successful workshop focused on the latest developments in machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformations, data analytics, big data and cloud computing, showcasing approaches, challenges and business impact in the upstream E&P domains.

data from the perspective of value and quality. After this ‘state-of-the-art’ review, Sam Genway (Tessella) gave valuable perspectives on the uptake, maturation and subsequent normalization of AI and ML techniques in other industries, notably the science-driven world of biopharmaceutical

Delegates learning about the latest developments in machine learning.

The workshop was co-hosted and co-organized with PESGB as part of the bi-annual PETEX event. The keynote session was held on the last afternoon of PETEX and delivered a broad set of perspectives on ML and digitalization. As this session was open to all PETEX delegates it swelled the audience to well over 200 for this part of the proceedings. The second day was equally well attended with over 130 registrations and it was filled with four thought-provoking technical sessions and posters.

The keynote session was opened by Yves Le Stunff (Total) who described the vision and strategy developed for the digitalization of Total’s upstream business. He described early successes in blending the physics-driven and data-driven mindsets and workflows, and he underlined the importance of reviewing an organization’s 8

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manufacturing. This theme was referenced back to the oil industry by Steve Freeman (Schlumberger). He showed how Schlumberger was digitalizing both its own activities and processes, and the services and capabilities that it provides to its clients, and how the adoption of ML is already proving to show real value in the E&P domains.

Matt Hall (Agile Scientific) and Jo Bagguley (UK OGA) addressed the problems around re-skilling the upstream workforce to use and extend digital capabilities. They showcased recent Hackathons and talked about the need for collaborative disruption at all scales from the individual to the enterprise if the data-driven skill sets are to add value. Eirik Larsen (Earth Science Analytics) closed the session with a walkthrough of technology building blocks required in the context of geoscience, and

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organizational and cultural changes around data and work process that must happen if the industry is to become truly data-driven.

The keynote session was finished off with a lively panel discussion triggered through questions from the audience.

While the panel expressed a general sense of optimism that the industry has embarked on the journey of adopting ML and the value it brings, it is clear there remain challenges. It is not so much about the algorithms, but more about cultural changes; how to get ML capabilities into the hands of end-users; building trust and removing the fear factor; reviewing data management practices; more openness and sharing of data; and benchmarking of algorithms and explainability.

The main objective of the second day was to share a wide variety of real-world examples from service companies, operators, and academia, as well as the lessons learned in delivering ML in the oil and gas sector and how it can make a difference in daily operations by delivering project efficiencies and increased insights. The first session of the day was an introduction to types of ML and deep learning and their application. It was started off by showing the computational efficiencies achievable in pre-stack seismic inversion through the application of deep neural network methodologies (Y. Zheng).

An application of the deep feed forward neural network method was presented to predict reservoir properties in a seismic reservoir characterization study (T. Colwell) with comparisons to multi-linear regression and probabilistic neural network approaches. A simple and robust ML technique that is an unsupervised clustering method known as Gaussian mixture models was shown to automate signal detection and analyze recorded microseismic data as an application in real-time microseismic monitoring (A. Shamsa).

In the second session of the morning we were presented with a nice set of different case studies. The first presenta-

EAGE NEWS

tion was focused on the automation of the seismic interpretation process. An automation method was presented that first classifies seismic facies and then interprets seismic horizons through local binary pattern segmentation, unsupervised clustering, supervised classification and dynamic time warping applied to a 3D seismic data set in a structurally complex area from the Barents Sea in Norway (A.J. Bugge).

This was followed by a presentation of principal component analysis and self-organizing map methods as good ML candidates for thin bed exploration as it allows for stratigraphic pattern recognition below conventional seismic tuning (D. Sacrey). The right selection of input seismic attributes is key here. The final presentation of the morning showed how a generic ML system for text detection can be successfully applied to automatically index documents faster and with equal or better quality compared with the indexing done manually (H. Blondelle).

After a very stimulating set of discussions with a lunch buffet and more

than 10 quality poster presentations as the backdrop, we resumed with the second set of case studies. Semi-supervised classification of rock properties from well and seismic data using reinforcement training was presented (Y. Nishitsuji) along with a good comparative study of various deep learning approaches. Next, we saw how Gaussian mixture modelling applied to SEM imagery improved petrological classification of grains and pore space in North Sea chalks and automated a large part of a traditionally manual approach (J. Dremsch), again with a very good discussion on the various techniques available and relative merits of each. The last case study (C. Zerafa) extended the original work of Tarantola by applying deep neural networks to pseudo-spectral FWI. This achieved promising levels of accuracy for synthetic data, although not fully reconstructing the model.

The final session showcased what the committee felt was the cutting edge in the development and application of ML techniques. A compelling and robust approach to production forecasting using

deep learning with history matching (K. Loh) incorporated liquid loading, scaling and a reliable prediction of production rates. The forward modelling was achieved using an impressive stacked long shortterm memory neural network and the clear description of this technique was an added bonus. Next, the suppression of blending noise using convolutional neural networks showed some game-changing approaches to seismic QC and acquisition de-noising (R. Baardman) that had immediate application in the acquisition and processing domains. Finally, we were treated to an eloquent tour de force (L. Mosser) that applied the complex field of generative adversarial networks (GANs) to seismic waveform inversion and placed them into a Bayesian framework for inversion and posterior sampling.

Following the success of the workshop, EAGE is looking at plans for the next workshop in 2019. We were truly amazed by the standard of presentations that were made on the day and it sets a high bar for similar future meetings. Stay tuned at www.eage.org for updates.

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EAGE NEWS

Another career development event planned for London Annual The ‘Your Career’ Symposium will be returning at the 2019 Annual Meeting in London next June, once again organized by the EAGE Young Professionals (YP) community. This is the dedicated event for professionals under the age of 35 as well as recent graduates where they can learn more about developing a career in the geoscience and engineering world.

In 2018 the YPs organized a pilot event at the EAGE Annual in Copenhagen, which turned out to be a well attended success. The idea was to produce a highly interactive format and invite speakers to lead sessions focused on specific skills that are key to navigating the early stages of a career.

The topic chosen for 2018 was soft skills: speakers and participants worked together on team building, leadership, communication, and the ‘dos and don’ts’ of the work environment.

Some of the talks dealt with specific issues. Anders Rossland (Aker BP) discussed ‘Principles of conflict management and communication’; Kit Chambers (Nanometrics) presented ‘The power of Power Point: Designing slides to get your point across to others’.

Others addressed the broader challenge of finding the right career path. Peter Suess (Wintershall) shared his advice on

‘Making a career in the E&P industry, analyze your opportunity’; Frank Aanvik (Equinor) gave a presentation with key concepts on ‘How to pave the way for your future career’; and Claudio Strobbia (Real Time Seismic) spoke about ‘Understand the rules, changing and adapting to changes. Perspectives on geoscience careers for operators, service companies, startups and the academia’.

Overall the programme presented a variety of profiles and relevant advice, which was much appreciated.

Participants described the event in these terms: ‘The insights offered from various perspectives were very refreshing […] Very inspiring motivational talks, diverse subjects that anyone at any time of their career may want to follow up with’, ‘The level of interaction was better than expected, but even more would be welcome’, and Extremely interesting topic which I would not usually have access to’.

The Symposium offered the possibility of discussing options in a direct and practical way. One of the attendees feedback was ‘I appreciated the very honest sharing of personal choices, which helps clear our mind in terms of thinking processing. I also appreciated the efforts made by the committee inviting guests

from various functions and different level of experiences in the oil companies. Exchanges within such a group is very energizing and refreshing’.

With this in mind, the YP organizing team – which acquired eight new members in September – is excited to present a second Symposium in London. This time the topic will reflect the current trend in the industry, namely, digitalization and digital skills necessary for a successful career. The symposium will feature speakers, including Ahmed Khamassi, vice president data science, Equinor, Patrick von Pattay, head of digitalization, Wintershall and Jon Rotzien, president at Basin Dynamics.

Young professionals are encouraged to join and learn more about what it takes to be successful in the digital transformation. The event will benefit from last year’s positive experience and great feedback from the participants, so if you are planning to build a career in geoscience or engineering that might make use of emerging digital technologies, do not miss this unique opportunity. The Symposium is also a fantastic occasion to network with your peers and future colleagues, so make sure to reserve your place and stay tuned for updates on the programme via the YP LinkedIn group!

ASEG rues loss of kangaroo EAGE has been alerted to the unlikely theft of a kangaroo during the recent Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, technically referred to as a roonapping.

The Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG) reports that one of its beloved kangaroos, which have featured on their stands at events around the world, went missing on the last day of the Copenhagen exhibition.

In its official statement on this devastating loss, ASEG said: ‘Inflatable kangaroos do not hop away from the booth 10

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on their own accord, so the implication is that a geoscentist is likely to have been involved. We believe that such heinous action stains the reputation of our whole profession. There is zero tolerance for theft as in plagiarism, so the same should apply here.’

No reward has yet been offered, but ASEG is appealing to the bounder responsible to do the right thing and return the kangaroo to ASEG, PO Box 576, Crows Nest, NSW, 1585, Australia with no questions asked.

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Meantime EAGE has set up a special roonapping taskforce and welcomes any information that may lead to the recovery of the now probably somewhat deflated kangaroo.

ASEG Booth with and without little kangaroo.

EAGE NEWS

Tyumen to host industry event for sixth time ‘Tyumen 2019’, being held from 25 to 29 March, will be the sixth EAGE scientific conference in a series which brings together professionals in the oil and gas sector to facilitate discussions on the science and technologies involved in the development of the Earth’s mineral resources.

The conference sessions will provide for discussions on the following topics: geological aspects of oil and gas-bearing basins and regional geology; non-seismic prospecting methods in search for oil and gas fields; integration of remote sensing methods; exploration and development of unconventional hydrocarbons in tight

reservoirs; petrophysical modelling, geomechanics, mechanical properties of rocks; seismic measurements, processing and modelling; seismic inversion, and other issues.

There will be a discussion on ‘Reliability of seismic reservoir prediction: main pitfalls and how technologies can overcome them’, moderated by Igor Kerusov, Lukoil-Engineering.

A short course on ‘Kinematic inversion as applied to seismic data acquired in a heterogeneous near-surface sedimentary section’ will be presented by Yury Dolgykh, Novatek.

There will also be special commercial presentations by several companies demonstrating new services and products.

As a part of the Tyumen 2019 conference, the International Conference Geonature 2019 will be held in parallel. This is an event for students and young professionals with a focus on oil and gas exploration technologies and geophysics. Students will take part in the technical programme, short courses and the social programme.

Please note that this is a Russian language event. For more details go to the EAGE App using event code tyum19 (available on iOS and Android).

WGE expands its horizons in North America Our communities are growing. In North America, the Women in Geoscience & Engineering (WGE) community has been attracting new members and started new activities for local professionals.

In December, WGE representatives were in Washington for a series of events in collaboration with the Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN) at the AGU Centennial Fall Meeting. This presented a fantastic opportunity for introducing the group and the Association, and for exchanging ideas and best practices to better support EAGE and WGE members in the region. The discussions that took place were particularly useful for gathering feedback so we can improve in the years to come.

It was great to meet face to face with so many new and existing members who came for the events. These started with a reception hosted by ESWN where a vibrant audience welcomed the WGE community and learned about its activities.

At a subsequent conference session on ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Equality in Geosciences’, Milena Marjanovic (WGE Committee 2017-2019) gave a talk on ‘We mind the gap: An Example from EAGE Women in Geoscience and Engineering Special Interest Community’. The presentation illustrated the results of the WGE e-mentoring programmes as one of the ways to increase women retention and reduce the gender gap. The panel discussion which followed raised great interest in the audience.

Later in the week, ESWN hosted a career development workshop on ‘Opportunities beyond academia’ where WGE members were invited to present their experience to young professionals who are considering alternative career paths. They pointed to the benefit of affiliation with a multi-disciplinary association, such as EAGE, stretching over both industry and academia. Gratifyingly, several participants later joined the WGE group on LinkedIn. The experience of these activities showed a positive collaboration and the potential benefits that the WGE community can bring to EAGE members in different countries. We look forward to more of these events and to continuing the discussions via the WGE LinkedIn group.

The EAGE Student Fund supports activities that help bridge the gap between the university and professional environments for students of geosciences and engineering. Thanks to our Student Fund contributors we can continue supporting students around the globe and through this securing the future of our industry. For more information to become a Student Fund contributor, please visit eagestudentfund.org or contact us at students@eage.org.

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An educational crisis of confidence As far as one can judge, the alarm bells don’t seem to be ringing. have been able to persuade students to pursue the geoscientific But from the outside looking in, there would seem to be a lot to applications. Young recruits often state that one of their aspirations worry about when it comes to geoscience education and laying out is to help the industry become more environmentally acceptable. a clear career trajectory for science-minded students considering Even so the evidence suggests that with every generation the appeal geoscience as their chosen topic. of working in an industry poorly regarded in the community is Currently academic institutions in most western industrialized taking its toll. countries are experiencing a significant decrease in the number of Up to now geoscience curricula have been weighted towards students opting for geoscience especially at the postgrad level of instilling the knowledge and skills needed for oil and gas/minfurther degrees when career choice is pretty eral exploration and production. This is not much settled. This could be dismissed as a tem‘The global energy and to discount the geoscience required in other porary blip. Traditionally geoscience student geological and geophysical studies, geochemisintake has tended to mirror the fortunes of the environment landscape try, hydrology, environmental and construction extractive industries. In 1999-2000, massive oil is changing, and so engineering, soil studies, archaeology, etc. company consolidations deterred many potenHowever, meeting the needs of the extractive are social attitudes’ tial geoscience and engineering candidates from industries has been the focus of academia: it is entering the industry. a matter of supply and demand.

Subsequently worry was often been expressed about the void in That economic model is now facing serious upset. Concern middle management this crisis generated and also the ‘great crew about climate change and the sustainability of the planet are driving change’, now in progress, in which the most experienced section a revolution in society, the outcome of which is unclear but has of the workforce would be retiring. Today, the industry’s need to major implications for geoscience as an academic study and for the replenish its workforce is apparently not being seen as an irresistible role of geoscientists in what may be the very near future. opportunity for aspiring young scientists, even though the salaries The much talked about energy transition away from fossil fuels are invariably the best available for geoscience-related employment. has taken hold for all to see, most obviously in the increasingly visThe current prolonged downturn in both the oil and gas business ible transformation of the automobile industry to electric vehicles, and mining is clearly a factor. It means fewer job opportunities alternative energy projects in solar and wind, and the desertion of especially when E&P budgets are stuck in neutral. The volatility of the coal industry. Meanwhile, major oil companies are redefining the industry is also highlighted. themselves as energy companies and beginning to seriously invest But the problem goes deeper. The global energy and enviin renewables. ronment landscape is changing, and so are social attitudes. Green A corollary to these developments is the reluctance of oil comis the new mantra, and try as it might the oil industry will never panies to open their wallets on a big spending exploration spending persuade people that its operations are environmentally or ethically spree which would stimulate the need to substantially increase friendly. Fracking, oil pollution, the threat to the well-being of ocean headcount, qualified geoscientists included. The conclusion from mammals, etc, not to mention price gouging at the gas/petrol pumps, international energy agencies, stock analysts, and polls of execuprovide continuous fodder for hostile coverage, even if misinformed. tives on likely oil company spending all suggest that the industry Up to now the excitement of oil industry science and technology, will continue to remain cautious about increasing exploration its value to society, and the career opportunities and remuneration budgets. This strategy seems to run contrary to the perceived need

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basis on which academic classes can be put together. For example, for companies to replace reserves. It is obviously influenced by the this spring the Colorado School of Mines is introducing a session wildly volatile price and the continuing abundance of oil, both of on the topic for students. which make large-scale new investments a risky proposition.

But the reality is that the science of climate change mitigation Importantly, there is also genuine uncertainty about the develophas scarcely got underway. Furthermore, it is far from evident ment of the energy market and the role of oil companies. This also how much geoscience as currently understood has to offer. Carbon applies to the education system involved in providing appropriate sequestration is obviously a method in which geoscience has courses for aspiring geoscientists of the future. No one seriously plenty to offer in terms of locating suitable sites and monitoring CO2 doubts that we as a society will be running on hydrocarbons for storage. However, as with numerous other environmental studies, many decades to come, and there are plenty of students who geoscience contributes only one dimension to a multi-disciplinary appreciate that this will fund jobs for at least another generation. collaborative solution. That implies a need for a different academic The issue is that the job description is changing. Energy/oil approach, not an easy ask given departmental vested interests, companies more than ever and for the reasons already stated are current funding arrangements, and professional focusing on low risk exploration and production with low overheads. That is why the conversa‘No one really knows rivalries to be found in most universities.

In an interview last year Vitor Correia, prestion is now all about extracting the most out of what will be expected of ident of the European Federation of Geologists, the available and any newly acquired data. The possibilities of artificial intelligence, machine tomorrow’s geoscientist’ said: ‘I have the impression that the majority of universities are not prepared to change the learning, and other predictive analysis are being way geoscience is being taught. We still see the classical separation taken seriously, some would say better late than never. Common between science fields and disciplines, with little integration between sense alone suggests that effective application of these potential aids them. And note that this is happening at the dawn of artificial intelto efficiency will require geoscientists with a different combination ligence, which will use algorithms and huge amounts of data. In my and level of skills. That package has still not evolved in higher opinion, and I recognize this might be polemic, if the geosciences education, let alone been marketed to potential students. want to offer positive and relevant contributions to help us cope It would be wrong to say that higher education institutions are with climate change, we should start teaching geoscience students unaware of the need to change course, so to speak, and ensure that more coding, statistics and data mining, and facilitating horizontal geoscience is relevant to the needs of the workforce and society. integration with other sciences (including social sciences) fields.’

This was clear in the deliberations of the Geological Society of This current unprecedented uncertainty caused by the energy London (GeolSoc) in its ‘Future of University Geoscience’ delibtransition, climate change, and sustainability issues affects profeserations in November. The forthcoming report ‘Earth Sciences in sional societies such as EAGE. The Association has shown comthe 21st Century being coordinated by the British Geological Survey (BGS), the National Environment Research Council and GeolSoc mendable leadership in promoting multi-disciplinary approaches is expected to come up with recommendations. A similar dialogue to geoscience and engineering, but we are now entering uncharted is taking place in the US where the National Science Foundation waters. The Board has for some time been mulling over how to (NSF) is sponsoring an initiative on the Future of Undergraduate enable the membership as a whole to collaborate on these key issues Geoscience Education. and avoid a silo approach to the new challenges.

To affect change, one mission for geoscience as a whole, whether However, with the best will in the world, the education comrepresented by educators, practitioners, employers or professional munity is working in a fog because no one really knows what will societies, is to better promote its current and potential value to society. be expected of tomorrow’s geoscientist. That is not a good place That probably has to start in schools. In this regard, Prof Chris King, to start in terms of preparing courses, making them attractive to emeritus professor of Earth Science Education, Keele University, first students and demonstrating a positive career ahead. Yet the concept chair of the International Geoscience Organization, and former chair of geoscientists being the stewards or caretakers of Earth’s resources of the UK Earth Science Teachers Association, has been a tireless and environment should be an exciting one, particularly when these advocate and activist in developing an internationally accepted are under threat. They can be in the position to provide essential geoscience curriculum for schools. It is the kind of initiative which information for establishing strategies for resource management, could provide geoscience with a much needed popular narrative. environmental protection, and public health, safety, and welfare.

Geoscience requires a persuasive story that holders of university The fact that nothing clear is emerging may also reflect society’s purse strings and students can buy into about how it helps to meet collective shrug of the shoulder when it comes to mega issues such the environmental and energy challenges facing society. This as climate change and sustainability. In theory geoscientists could would go a long way in reasserting the relevance of the disciplines be helping to make more of a difference with the right skills set and involved and hopefully inspire some creative directions for study training. The science of climate change is officially settled and there in the future. is no going back. That is certainly the popular assumption and the

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

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News Release

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HIGHLIGHTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

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Breakthrough in seismic imaging drives BP expansion in US Gulf of Mexico A breakthrough in advanced seismic imaging and reservoir characterization at BP has has led to an additional 400 million barrels of oil in place being identified at its Atlantis field in the US Gulf of Mexico.

As a result, BP has approved a $1.3 billion Atlantis Phase 3 expansion at the Atlantis field and has highlighted further development opportunities around the production hubs it operates in the region.

The proprietary algorithms developed

by BP enhance the seismic imaging technique Full Waveform Inversion (FWI), allowing seismic data that would have previously taken a year to analyse to be processed in only a few weeks.

Application of the technology has now identified an additional one billion barrels of oil in place at the Thunder Horse field.

Elsewhere, two new discoveries near the Na Kika production facility could provide further tie-back development opportunities.

BP’s breakthrough comes as the energy analyst Wood Mackenzie predicted that exploration in the Gulf of Mexico would increase by 30% in the next four years.

‘BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil,’ said Bernard Looney, BP’s Upstream chief executive.

‘And these fields are still young – only 12% of the hydrocarbons in place across our Gulf portfolio have been produced so far. We can see many opportunities for fur-

BP’s Thunder Horse platform.

ther development, offering the potential to continue to create significant value through the middle of the next decade and beyond.’

Atlantis Phase 3 will include the construction of a new subsea production system from eight new wells that will be tied into the current platform, 240 km south of New Orleans. Scheduled to come onstream in 2020, the project is expected to boost production at the platform by an estimated 38,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) gross at its peak. It will also access the eastern area of the field where the advanced imaging and reservoir characterization identified additional oil in place.

After a successful field trial at the Mad Dog field, further advanced seismic imaging with ocean bottom nodes and BP’s proprietary Wolfspar seismic acquisition source is being planned for Thunder Horse and Atlantis to better understand the reservoirs.

Wolfspar uses ultra-low frequencies during seismic surveys, allowing geophysicists to see deeper below salt layers and enabling better planning of where to drill wells.

BP has also announced two oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, at the Manuel and FIRST

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Nearly Headless Nick prospects. The Manuel discovery is located on Mississippi Canyon block 520, east of the BP-operated Na Kika platform. The well encountered oil play in high-quality Miocene sandstone reservoirs.

BP is expecting to develop these reservoirs via subsea tieback to the Na Kika platform.

BP’s partner in the Manuel discovery is Shell, which holds a 50% working interest.

BP also has a stake in the Nearly Headless Nick discovery located on Mississippi Canyon block 387, operated by LLOG. The well encountered oil pay in high-quality Miocene sandstone reservoirs and is expected to be tied back to the nearby LLOG-operated Delta House facility.

BP’s partners in the Nearly Headless Nick discovery include LLOG, Kosmos Energy and Ridgewood Energy. BP holds a 20.25% working interest.

Over the last five years, BP’s net production in the Gulf of Mexico has increased by more than 60%, rising from less than 200,000 boe/d in 2013 to more than 300,000 boe/d today. BP has overtaken Shell as the top oil producer in the Gulf and anticipates its production growing to around 400,000 boe/d through the middle of the next decade.

Future potential developments at BP’s offshore fields in the Gulf include Atlantis Phase 4 and 5, further developments at Thunder Horse, Na Kika subsea tiebacks and Mad Dog field extensions.

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Saudi Arabia upgrades its oil and gas estimates Saudi Arabia has announced an increase in the kingdom’s proven oil and gas reserves, after an independent certification of oil and gas reserves in Saudi Aramco’s concession area by consultants DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M).

The kingdom previously announced on 31 December 2017 that the estimated proven oil and gas reserves in Saudi Aramco’s concession area were 260.9 billion barrels of oil and 302.3 trillion standard cubic feet of gas. After the certification, Saudi Aramco’s concession area oil reserves are 263.1 billion barrels of oil and 319.5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas.

In addition to Saudi Aramco concession area reserves, the kingdom also owns half of the oil reserves in the Partitioned Zone jointly owned by Saudi Arabia and

the State of Kuwait. the kingdom’s share of the Partitioned Zone oil reserves (onshore and offshore combined) is 5.4 billion barrels and the corresponding gas reserves is 5.6 TCF. D&M evaluated 54 major oil reservoirs operated by Saudi Aramco, out of 368 in Saudi Aramco’s portfolio. These 54 reservoirs alone make up approx. 80% of the Saudi Aramco’s reserves in the concession area 260.9 billion barrels oil reserves estimate. D&M’s certification confirms that, as of December 31, 2017, these 54 reservoirs contained 213.1 billion barrels of proved oil reserves – conventionally known as ‘1P’ – assessed on a full reserve life basis. This compares to a figure of 210.9 billion barrels of oil for the same reservoirs as estimated internally

by Saudi Aramco. D&M’s oil reserves certification being 1% higher (+2.2 billion barrels) than Saudi Aramco’s.

D&M evaluated gas reserves in 77 major reservoirs operated by Saudi Aramco that make up approximately 60% of the kingdom’s gas reserves estimate. D&M’s certification confirms that, as of December 31, 2017, these 77 reservoirs contained 204.9 tscf of proven gas. This certification is 9.2% higher (+ 17.2 tscf) than Saudi Aramco’s internal estimate for the same reservoirs.

D&M’s evaluation was limited to ‘booked’ oil and gas resources in the Saudi Aramco’s concession area and does not cover other hydrocarbon resources in the kingdom, such as the significant unconventional gas reserves recently discovered.

PGS survey for ExxonMobil in South America is scaled down PGS has been delayed in starting a 3D survey in South America while one of its vessels for the survey has been stood down.

The vessels Ramform Atlas and Ramform Tethys mobilized in early December 2018 for this survey. The contract had

an estimated total duration of approx. 13 vessel months and an estimated value in excess of $75 million.

Due to ‘unresolved issues affecting the survey’, both vessels have been on paid standby from 23 December 2018.

Smael Vagner, a Brazilian artist, has produced an abstract painting for PGS’ new Rio office.

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The client, ExxonMobil, has notified PGS that the Ramform Atlas is no longer required. PGS will receive payment for mobilization, work performed, standby and demobilization.

PGS expects to deploy the vessel on a multi-client programme or contract survey shortly, but will incur idle time relating to steaming and possibly standby before commencing an alternative project.

ExxonMobil plans to deploy the Ramform Tethys to acquire a 4D survey offshore Guyana. The vessel will continue on paid standby until she commences the redefined programme. PGS expects the vessel to be operating in the area for at least three months.

Meanwhile, PGS has opened an office in the heart of the oil and gas district downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, near the Lapa quarter. Smael Vagner, a local artist has produced a painting for the conference room, which is his interpretation of of the topography and energy of his home city.

INDUSTRY NEWS

UK plans another Geoenergy Observatory The British Geological Survey (BGS) has submitted a planning application to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWACC) to site a UK Geoenergy Observatory at Ince Marshes in Cheshire. The submission comes as the country’s top geoscientists complete drilling of its first 199m-deep borehole at the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow.

The Glasgow observatory will allow the UK’s earth science community to ‘see’ underground, probing whether warm water within the UK’s disused mine workings can generate a geothermal heat source that could become a sustainable part of the energy mix. Over the next 15 months in Glasgow, the drilling team will create 12 boreholes from 9 m to 199 m deep across a 2-km2 area, enabling research into underground water systems below one of the UK’s principal cities.

The same scientists behind the Glasgow observatory want to create a sister site in Cheshire to realise an even bigger science ambition — understanding how the whole underground system works.

To enable the most detailed study of any UK rock mass, the BGS would like to drill 50 boreholes from 50 m to 1200 m deep across a 12 km2 area. They would contain a network of 1800 seismic sensors and 5 km of fibre-optic cable transmitting data on earth tremors 1000 times more sensitive than you can feel. They would allow thousands of water samples to be taken over the next 15 years from 50 m to 400 m below the surface. Some 8 km of borehole drilling would generate 3000 m of rock core to be taken back for laboratory analysis.

All the data would be made free and open via a publicly owned website. The two observatories will facilitate STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and engagement programmes.

The UK’s main funder in environmental science, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), has commissioned the $31 million UK Geoenergy Observatories to keep the UK at the cutting edge of geoscience and energy innovation and to provide the important knowledge needed to move the UK towards a low-carbon

ModelVision Magnetic & Gravity Interpretation System

economy. The BGS, the UK’s principal provider of impartial geological evidence since 1835, will operate the observatories on behalf of the whole of the UK and the geoscience community.

Prof Mike Stephenson, chief scientist at the BGS, said: ‘This would be a world first in being able to observe the underground environment so closely and consistently. What we learn in Cheshire will lead the way in understanding the geological environment.’

NERC consulted with the UK geoscience community in 2015 to determine what new evidence would be required. Zoe Shipton, professor of geological engineering at the University of Strathclyde, chaired the group of scientists who worked with NERC to write the research agenda for the Geoenergy Observatory. He said: ‘Cheshire has a very particular geology. It has lots of the rocks found throughout the rest of the UK; they are in one location and close to the surface.

This means that Ince Marshes will enable scientists to build up a really good picture of natural conditions in a variety of rock types, how they respond to change, and apply this new understanding throughout the UK.’ The UK Geoenergy Observatory at Ince Marshes would enable research around a range of geoscience questions relating to techniques such as storing carbon, utilizing rocks as a battery store for solar, wind and tidal energy, geothermal energy, and shale gas. The Glasgow observatory would help to answer science questions on the geothermal heat within flooded mine workings below Britain’s towns and cities.

Mike Kendall, professor of geophysics at the University of Bristol, said: ‘The UK Geoenergy Observatories will improve our understanding of the connections and pathways and therefore identify what else we need to monitor from an environmental point of view. It will become a world-class showcase for how monitoring should be done.’

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Minerals Petroleum Near Surface Government Contracting Consulting Education

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Equinor launches centres to reduce CO2 emissions Equinor has reported that in its support centres established to reduce CO2 emissions from its installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) have led to good results from the first onshore-supported fields.

Equinor has set an ambition of increasing the value creation from NCS fields by more than $2 billion from 2020 to 2025 through measures such as onshore operations support.

This year monitoring of the energy consumption to reduce CO2 emissions from NCS operations will be improved by support of the digital centres. By 2021, all Equinor fields on the NCS will be supported by manned onshore centres in Bergen, Stavanger and Stjørdal.

‘So far, we see higher production and earnings from the Grane, Gina Krog and Åsgard fields, which have been supported by the integrated operations support centre (IOC) since September. After that the Aasta Hansteen and Norne fields have also been connected to the centre. This marks that we have just started phasing in our 40 installations to the IOC, revealing

a great potential,’ said Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

‘The good results are achieved by production optimization, improved condition monitoring and operations support for safe offshore operation. IOC will also be relevant for our onshore installations and international activities,’ says Nylund.

Since 2008 Equinor has reduced annual CO2 emissions on the NCS by almost 1.6 million tonnes so far. The company aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 3.2 million tonnes per year by 2030.

‘We have improved our operating efficiency, increased production, reduced our CO2 emissions and developed a highly profitable project portfolio. Digitalization, innovation and use of new technology will allow us to recover resources that are not profitable now,’ added Nylund.

Equinor said that the IOC will also improve its collaboration with suppliers and partners and increase the transfer of knowledge across the organization.

‘The IOC gives us new digital tools ensuring faster and better decisions

through close interaction between offshore operations and onshore support centre. Our main goal is to operate our installations safely and optimally every single day while identifying challenges and preventing shut-downs before they occur,’ said Kjetil Hove, head of operations technology on the NCS. Meanwhile, the newly opened Geo Operations Centre (GOC) will ensure more efficient and better geoscience control of drilling operations as well as higher cost saving and personnel safety. Monitoring and control of offshore well path drilling will be moved from offshore installations and the various onshore units to a joint geoscience operations centre. The GOC is expected to save $32 million per year.

‘This is a completely new way of working and represents one of the biggest changes we have made in petroleum technology and geology during the last 20 years. The GOC will utilize new technology and help form a digital future, where tasks are carried out and experience gained and shared in smart ways,’ added Hove.

PGS acquires 3D survey offshore Indonesia PGS has started a triple-source multi-client 3D survey in the Andaman Basin in North Sumatra, offshore Indonesia.

The survey, being acquired by the vessel PGS Apollo, will enable the company to gain a better understanding of current Miocene carbonates and Miocene/ Pliocene clastics plays and is expected to provide more clarity on the untested deeper syn-rift play.

It will feature multi-sensor GeoStreamer broadband acquisition and overlap shooting with iterative inversion in deblending. A triple-source configuration will be deployed for improved efficiency in the acquisition; shot overlap will be mitigated using a proactive approach of

PGS Apollo is acquiring a 3D survey.

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randomized shot firing times, followed by deblending with iterative inversion.

This project is the fourth in a series of new surveys by PGS supporting exploration offshore Indonesia.

Meanwhile, PGS has signed the vessel sale agreement for the Ramform Sterling to Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), an incorporated administrative agency of Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry in Japan, for $100 million. JOGMEC will take delivery of the Ramform Sterling late April 2019.

PGS will receive about 75% of the cash proceeds at delivery. The remaining cash will be paid in 2020. The vessel sale does not include seismic streamers.

INDUSTRY NEWS

US Gulf Mexico set for big year predicts Wood Mackenzie The US Gulf of Mexico will experience the first increase in drilling in four years, the first-ever production from a Jurassic play, key new project sanctions and an uptick in M&A, global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie said.

William Turner, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said: ‘We expect 2019 to be a strong year for the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to exciting new project sanctions, which could usher in more than $10 billion of investment into the region, a couple of historic firsts set to occur next year could set the stage for years to come.’

In its annual outlook, US Gulf of Mexico: Five Things to Look for in 2019, Wood Mackenzie said that after four years of steady decline, exploration activity is expected to increase next year by 30%. BP, Shell and Chevron will lead the way, but the actual growth in exploration will come from new entrants such as Kosmos Energy, Equinor, Total, Murphy, and Fieldwood.

Chevron’s Anchor project in Green Canyon Block 807 is expected to move forward. Anchor, which has an operating pressure of 20-ksi, would be the first ultrahigh-pressure project in the world to reach final investment decision (FID). FID at Anchor would be the culmination of more than a decade of multiple joint industry research and development projects to design kit that can safely produce at 20-ksi.

The current limit is 15-ksi.

‘Anchor will be an important one to watch,’ said Turner. ‘The sanction of Anchor will be a significant milestone for Chevron, Total and Venari, but also mark a crucial point for the offshore industry as it enters the final frontier in deepwater development.’

Success at Anchor will lead to the next wave of mega-investment in the Gulf of Mexico, as several 20-ksi projects are waiting to follow its lead. Wood Mackenzie believes that if Anchor moves forward, more than $10 billion of investment could flow into the region.

‘Proof of concept at Anchor, and more certainty around facilities to serve as hosts, will surely increase interest in discovered

Exploration in the US Gulf of Mexico could increase by 30% next year says the report.

fields,’ Turner said. ‘We expect it will also invite more exploration for ultra-high-pressure targets over the next couple of years.’

Shell’s Appomattox development, in Mississippi Canyon Block 392, is due on stream in 2019 – marking the first production ever from a Jurassic reservoir in the Gulf of Mexico.

‘If the Jurassic roars to life in 2019, it could give operators greater confidence in the play’s potential,’ Turner said. ‘However, if Appomattox disappoints, the Jurassic could continue to lie dormant. The wider region would also be missing an expected strong production growth contributor.’

M&A activity in the Gulf of Mexico is also expected to pick up as a lengthy list of assets for sale continues to grow. A healthy number of positions were sold in 2018, but WoodMac expects more assets will be added to the for sale list. Private equity players are likely to want to sell as their assets get closer to maturation, while established players may continue to shed non-core positions, says the report.

‘There appears to be plenty for sale in deepwater Gulf of Mexico,’ Turner said.

‘We believe the quality of the assets is high. If oil prices co-operate, we could see a thriving M&A market in 2019.’

Seismic surveys used to guide diamond drilling in Canada Westhaven Ventures has completed ground and airborne seismic surveys at its Shovelnose goldmine within the Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB) in British Columbia western Canada.

The aeromagnetic survey included a 2376 line km flown in a systematic low level grid pattern at 75m line spacings.

Ground magnetic and passive seismic surveys were then initiated.

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The surveys found that a series of prominent southeast trending magnetic flows situated east and southeast of the South zone are of similar trend to those found in the prospective Tower and East zones. This surveys suggest evidence of a significant mineralized vein system.

The data from the latest surveys will be used to target sites for diamond drilling in the South zone.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Norway forecasts big production increase from 2020

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate forecasts show that, after a minor decline in 2019, oil and gas production will increase from 2020 and up to 2023.

Overall production will then have a record year of 2024.

Exploration activity was considerably higher last year in than in the two previous years. A record 87 new production licences were awarded while 53 exploration wells were spudded last year, compared with 36 in 2017.

Companies’ plans show that this number will probably remain at the same high

level in 2019. Eleven discoveries were made, with a preliminary resource estimate of 82 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalents (o.e.). This is higher than each of the three previous years.

NPD Director General Bente Nyland warned: ‘Resource growth at this level is not sufficient to maintain a high level of production after 2025. Therefore, more profitable resources must be proven, and the clock is ticking.’

She notes that nearly two-thirds of the undiscovered resources are in the Barents Sea. This area will be important for main-

taining high production over the longer term.

At year-end, there were 83 producing gas fields on the Norwegian Shelf. One of these, Aasta Hansteen, came on stream in 2018. Simultaneously with start-up of Aasta Hansteen, the Polarled pipeline commenced operation to route gas into the process facility at Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal county. Aasta Hansteen and Polarled provide new infrastructure in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, thus opening up new opportunities in this part of the shelf.

The companies submitted plans for development and operation (PDOs) for three new projects last year, while nine plans were approved. Seven of the plans relate to field developments linked to existing infrastructure.

Last year, for the first time, reserve growth for oil exceeded the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s ambitious curve for reserve growth for the period 20132023.

Investments on the Norwegian Shelf in 2018 were at approximately the same level as the previous year, but several of the developments, led by Johan Sverdrup and Johan Castberg, will contribute to substantial growth in 2019.

EMGS reports full year vessel utilization of 56% EMGS has reported that vessel utilization for the fourth quarter of 2018 was 32% compared with 13% for the fourth quarter in 2017. For the full year 2018, vessel utilization was 33%, whereas the utilization for the full year 2017 was 56%.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the company’s vessels were allocated 32% to proprietary work and no time was spent on multi-client projects. In the comparable quarter of 2017, the vessels were allocated 13% to multi-client projects and no time was spent on proprietary work.

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EMGS had two vessels in operation and recorded 5.7 vessel months in the quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the company recorded six vessel months.

The Atlantic Guardian’s utilization for fourth quarter was 49%. It began the fourth quarter acquiring data on a small research survey west of Svalbard. On 21 October, the vessel started mobilizing to South America and was prepared for the $8 million contract, which the vessel started operating on from 20 November. This survey is expected to be completed in Q1 2019.

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The BOA Thalassa has had a yard stay and been idle this quarter. The company expects to record approximately $6 million in multi-client revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile, EMGS has entered into $4 million worth of multi-client licensing agreements. The majority of the revenue is related to late sales from the company’s existing multi-client library.

The company expects to recognize these revenues in the fourth quarter of 2018.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Shearwater reports big contract wins with Eni and ONGC Shearwater Geoservices has won a big contract to carry out a 3D survey offshore Oman.

Eni Oman in partnership with Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production has awarded Shearwater a seismic survey in Block 52, offshore Oman.

The 2500 km2 survey is being conducted by the Polar Empress and will take approx. three months to complete.

The project also includes an addition-

al 800 km of 2D acquisition and data processing.

Meanwhile, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has awarded Shearwater a 3D broadband marine seismic acquisition contract for the planned 2018/2019 field season. The surveys will take five months to complete, covering approximately 2000 km2, with the main streamer vessel mobilizing in Q4 2018.

Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater said: ‘These awards represent repeat business for Shearwater, and a further deepening of our client relationships. This will be the third consecutive year that Shearwater will work for ONGC, and the second for Eni. Together with the recent expansion of our fleet and technology offerings, we welcome this strong backlog which occupies our legacy Shearwater fleet through the winter season and into Q2 2019’.

Former Wireless Seismic CEO joins Down Under Geosolutions Down Under Geosolutions has appointed Mick Lambert to manage its new McCloud services.

A veteran of the seismic industry, Lambert has spent the past eight years with Wireless Seismic Inc most recently as the company’s president and CEO. Lambert is best known for the 16 years he spent with GX Technology (GXT), serving as president and CEO from 1997 until 2004 and then as president until 2006, after the company was acquired by ION. Lambert established GXT as a powerhouse in pre-stack depth imaging during the early 2000s and as a pioneer in developing basin-scale regional seismic programmes, nicknamed ‘Spans’.

DUG’s managing director, Dr Matthew Lamont. ‘We wanted someone with Mick’s track record to help us shake up the status quo in the geophysical community. Mick’s work with GX Technology and Wireless Seismic has earned him a reputation for

really making things happen, and we’re excited to have him bring these skill sets to DUG McCloud and our clients.’

Lambert said: ‘DUG McCloud is offering a wide range of companies the opportunity to significantly accelerate their oil and gas projects with cutting-edge geophysical software, stacked with extraordinary supercomputer power and services. I am looking forward to help bring this very compelling cloud-based offering to the geoscience community.’

Lambert will be focused on building the McCloud business, as well as managing the sales activities. In addition, Lambert will be managing DUG’s software licensing business, as a subset of the new McCloud offering.

Launched in October 2018, and due to be fully operational by Q2 2019, DUG McCloud will make broadly available, a huge 250PF geophysically-configured

Mick Lambert is appointed as manager for the new DUG McCloud service.

supercomputer in a purpose-built exascale compute facility in West Houston.

DUG McCloud will enable the delivery of high-frequency FWI and RTM, in addition to other high-end and compute-intensive algorithms.

TGS expects Q4 net revenues of $188 million TGS expects net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 to be approximately $188 million. ‘Q4 2018 was another strong quarter for TGS with 20% revenue growth,’ Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS. ‘This marks the end of a successful year characterized by strong

cash flow, industry-leading returns and year-on-year growth in revenues of 26%.’

‘While the oil price volatility had some impact on clients’ year-end spending, our diversified data library continued to deliver strong growth. With oil prices FIRST

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currently trading below $60 per barrel, there continues to be some uncertainty on 2019 E&P spending, particularly offshore. However, I’m confident that our quality data library and pipeline of new projects position TGS for another successful year.’

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UK releases seismic data on Greater Buchan Area The UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has made ten 3D seismic surveys publicly available in the Greater Buchan Area on the UK Continental Shelf.

In advance of the opening of the Supplementary 31st Offshore Round in Q1 2019, the OGA has released Well/Completion log data for 154 wells; 10 3D seismic surveys; 26 relinquishment reports and four promotional technical montages.

The OGA has initiated a new Area Plan to maximize economic recovery (MER UK) from the Greater Buchan area of the North Sea and is asking oil and gas operators to work together to develop the 150-300 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) estimated to be present in the area.

Situated in the Outer Moray Firth, the area features considerable open, currently unlicensed acreage, including a number of undeveloped discoveries. The OGA is encouraging companies to partner with each other and collaborate to progress

exploration and new developments in the area.

Scott Robertson, central North Sea area manager at the OGA said: ‘We are encouraging prospective operators to look beyond individual opportunities and adopt an area plan approach to their licence applications through collaboration and actively partnering with other companies to unlock this exciting opportunity.’

Meanwhile, the UK Oil and Gas Authority has issued its first Wells Insight report, after a period of two years collating and verifying well data.

The report found that more than 7800 wells have been drilled in the UKCS to date, delivering more than 44 mmboe.

E&A well activity has been declining steadily since 2008 and development and infill well activity has halved since 2015 after the oil price drop.

More than 600 wells, around 30% of existing active well stock, are currently

shut-in. Well abandonment activity has increased four-fold since 2016, with a similar forward trend predicted. More than 150 wells per annum have been plugged and abandoned.

There are 240 suspended exploration and appraisal wells, which require permanent abandonment, with 12 operators holding 70% of the well stock.

North Sea exploration will ‘bounce back’ this year says Wood Mackenzie

The Johan Sverdrup field.

Oil exploration in the North Sea is expected to bounce back over the coming year, says energy analyst Wood Mackenzie.

Drilling in the UK sector in 2018 was at its lowest level since the 1960s.

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Wood Mackenzie believes the figure will increase over the coming year with the Norwegian sector expected to experience the biggest growth. It is predicted that 60 wells will be drilled in waters of the UK, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Research analyst Kevin Swan said: ‘Norway will be at the heart of the uptick, with drilling expected to reach pre-downturn levels. We forecast more than 40 exploration wells will be drilled, up from 26 in 2018. Exploration is back in the UK too. It languished in 2018, with just eight wells drilled, the lowest number since the 1960s. ‘We expect the UK sector to see between 10 to 15 wells this year.’

Siccar Point’s Blackrock and Lyon wells, west of Shetland, carry the biggest potential, says Wood Mackenzie. Equinor is expected to drill around 20 wells in UK and Norwegian waters.

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Overall production is expected to remain flat with 6.3 billion barrels of oil and gas expected to flow.

Total’s Culzean field and Equinor’s Mariner project are scheduled to begin production in UK waters around the middle of the year. The biggest contribution is expected to come from Johan Sverdrup, one of the biggest oil fields ever discovered in Norwegian waters.

Development expenditure is also predicted to increase, principally driven by oil majors such as BP and Shell.

Mike Tholen, industry body Oil and Gas UK’s upstream policy director, said: ‘We have already seen the sector securing more project approvals in 2018 than in the last three years combined.

Our challenge is to build on our successes to generate increased exploration activity.’

INDUSTRY NEWS

Polarcus starts 2019 with five contract awards Polarcus has announced five contract awards for seismic surveys during Q4 2018 in addition to a combined towed-streamer and node seismic acquisition project.

The awards include a two-month contract for an XArray marine seismic acquisition project in West Africa that will commence in Q1 2019 and a contract with Sovocomflot to provide 4D marine seismic acquisition services in the Far East for a major energy company. The latter programme requires two Polarcus ICE-1A class vessels and will commence in Q2 2019, running for three months, a total of six vessel months.

Meanwhile, Polarcus has won a contract with Dubai Petroleum Establishment for a combined towed-streamer and ocean bottom node 3D seismic acquisition and processing project in the Middle East.

The project will commence in Q1 2019 and run for approximately three months. The towed streamer seismic will be acquired by the vessel Vyacheslav Tikhonov. The OBN acquisition services for the project will be provided by SAE Exploration.

BRIEFS Magseis has won a contract with an undisclosed client for a 4D seabed seismic acquisition survey in the North Sea. Magseis will mobilize a MASS-Modular crew for the project. The two-months contract will start during the summer season 2019.

Polarcus COO, Lars Oestergaard said: ‘We are delighted to be awarded a towed-streamer seismic project that will be acquired in unison with an undershoot OBN component to address imaging challenges in obstructed areas. We see OBN as an important complement to towed-streamer acquisition in certain environments.’

As a result of these awards, the Polarcus fleet is 90% booked in Q1; 85% booked in Q2; 55% booked in Q3; and 30% booked in Q4. Utilization for Q4 in 2018 was 96% and full year utilization for 2018 was 87% (82% contract seismic).

The company also reported improved pricing as well as a 25% increase in tender activity in 2018 compared to 2017.

As a result of these bookings Polarcus has taken early redelivery of the Vyacheslav Tikhonov, originally named Polarcus Selma. The vessel has been on bareboat charter to Sovcomflot (SCF) since delivery from yard in 2011. The current charter period was due to expire in October 2019.

Sercel has won a contract from a major data acquisition company to supply land seismic equipment for a large onshore 3D seismic survey in the Middle East.

The contract includes 100,000 Sercel 508XT channels equipped with strings of 12 SG-10 geophones. This large 3D project encompasses several diverse environments, including areas with limited access, such as industrial complexes, agricultural land and urban areas. The 508XT will operate at a 2 ms sample rate.

Seabird has won an award to acquire 2D seismic data for an international oil and gas company in the Americas region.The survey is due to commence during Q2 2019 and is estimated to run for approx. two months. The company will be using the Harrier Explorer for the work.

BGP Oman 8622 crew has set a new record in land seismic data acquisition by acquiring 956,885 vibrator points (VPs) in one month. BGP said it is now looking to improve its performance through the use of pioneering Ultra high productivity technology.

Tremors at UK fracking site are not dangerous says OGA The UK Oil and Gas Authority has reported that Cuadrilla’s fracking operations at the Preston New Road site in the north of the UK are continuing after a series of minor seismic events (the most recent on 11 December), which have exceeded the magnitude 0.5 limit. This threshold is set at a level well below what could be felt at the surface.

After any event that exceeds the threshold, the operator is required to immediately pause, reduce pressure and monitor for any further events. During these pauses, the OGA compares the location, magnitude and ground motion of these minor seismic events to the operator’s approved Hydraulic Fracture Plan (HFP).

‘To date the OGA has been satisfied that these events have been in line with the geological understanding set out in the HFP and that the risk of induced seismicity is being appropriately managed,’ it said in a statement. The UK government is not expected to bow to pressure to lower the 0.5 threshold.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester in the north of the UK is effectively banning fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the UK government over the controversial industry.

All of the region’s 10 local authorities are to implement planning policies which create a ‘presumption’ against drilling for shale gas in their areas, said Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

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Two seismic surveys have taken place on the Norwegian North Sea. Gardline Geosurvey has completed a 2D survey at a drill site for Neptune Energy. Fugro has completed a 384 km 2D survey for Wellesley Petroleum.

Gardline has appionted Christiaan Vermeijden as its new CEO, replacing interim CEO, Gerben Eggink. Vermeijden was previously CEO at EMGS and prior to that he was global offshore geotechnical director at Fugro. Vermeijden holds an MSc in physical geography from the University of Amsterdam and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

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Ikon Science acquires Perigon Solutions Ikon Science has acquired Perigon Solutions, specialists in wellbore data management and visualization solutions.

‘Perigon Solutions is a leader in the knowledge management of subsurface wellbore data, with a business model that has clear market, revenue and cost synergies with Ikon Science. The acquisition of Perigon Solutions brings Ikon Science deep expertise in the data and knowledge management space,’ said Ikon Science in a statement.

Marsh Bashforth, Ikon Science CEO, said: ‘By unlocking our customers’ legacy rock physics and reservoir work, they will immediately gain the ability to derive new quantitative data-driven insights from past projects, analogues and global teams.’

Stuart Thomson, CTO of Perigon Solutions, said: ‘Our customers, teams, and technologies will gain immediate

benefits from Ikon Science’s global reach and RokDoc client base. We are eager to leverage Ikon Science’s experience in

interpreting data and inroads into machine learning and AI to deliver richer, even more intelligent solutions.’

Exploration round up Total has started production on the Egina field, 150 km off the coast of Nigeria. The Egina field will produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

Equinor has started production from the Aasta Hansteen gas field in the Norwegian Sea, which at 1300 m water depth, is the deepest field development on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Equinor has completed its acquisition of Chevron’s 40% interest in the Rosebank project in the West of Shetland region of the UK Continental Shelf.

MOL Norge is drilling a wildcat well about 45 km east of the Valhall and Ekofisk fields and 20 km north of the Norwegian-Danish border in the Mandal High area.

The targets for the well were to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks in the Palaeocene and in the Permian (Intra Våle formation sandstones and the Rotliegend group).

The well encountered a 34-m thick sandstone layer in the Intra Våle formation with good reservoir quality. In the

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Rotliegend group, the well encountered 105 m with relatively tight sandstone.

Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. The well is dry.

Wellesley Petroleum has been given consent to drill exploration well 25/113 in production licence PL 871 in the North Sea. The well will be in the central North Sea, 42 km north of the facilities on the Jotun field.

ExxonMobil has begun drilling the Haimara-1 exploration well offshore Guyana, 31 km east of the Pluma-1 discovery in the southeast of the Stabroek Block. The Noble Tom Madden drillship is expected to drill the second well, Tilapia-1, about 5 km west of the Longtail-1 discovery. The Tilapia-1 well is located in the growing Turbot area.

Eni has agreed to acquire 70% and operatorship of the Oooguruk oil field in Alaska from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska. The Oooguruk oil field, located in the Beaufort Sea approx. 5 km off Alaska’s North Slope coast, has been

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in production since 2008, and current gross production is of approx. 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from 25 producing wells and 15 gas/water injector wells.

Vår Energy and Equinor have completed an appraisal well in PL 229 in the Barents Sea. The target of the well was the Lower Jurassic/Upper Triassic reservoir sandstones of the Tubåen and Fruholmen formation in the Realgrunnen sub-group.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 1240 m below sea level, and reached TD in the Upper Triassic Snadd Formation.

Two levels of hydrocarbon bearing sandstones were encountered in the Realgrunnen sub-group.

Total volumes in place are estimated to be between 2 and 7 Mscm (13-44 bbl).

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Aker BP a permit for a well in production licence PL 033, which borders on the Danish Shelf. The well will be drilled about 12 km south of the Valhall field.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Spectrum starts 3D survey offshore Brazil Spectrum has started a large 3D seismic survey in the Potiguar basin offshore the Equatorial Margins of Brazil. This survey comprises 10,700 km2 covering blocks that were recently awarded in the 15th licensing round and open acreage blocks scheduled for the 17th Round in 2020.

The survey is being acquired with a 12 cable long offset configuration in continuous recording mode. Seismic acquisition parameters are optimized for broadband processing which will assist in the high definition mapping of prospects and drilling targets. First products will be available in Q3 of 2019.

BRIEFS Lukoil is to set acquire 3D and 2D seismic surveys in Block 10 of the Eridu field, south of Iraq. Block 10, covering 5800 km2, is located 150 km west of Basra, 120 km away from West Qurna-2 field.

‘The Potiguar 3D survey is adding to Spectrum’s portfolio of projects in Brazil and it is in line with our growth strategy to place 3D projects based on extensive knowledge from our 2D database. Brazil is a core area for oil companies ranked as the largest oil producer in Latin America with one of the most promising oil reserves in the world. Spectrum will continue to work with oil companies and the Brazilian government to provide high-quality ahead of future licensing rounds,’ said Rune Eng, CEO of Spectrum.

ConocoPhillips has completed its sale to BP of a 16.5% interest in the BP-operated Clair Field for an undisclosed price. ConocoPhillips retains a 7.5% interest in the field.

Weatherford has agreed to sell its surface data logging business to Excellence Logging for $50 million in cash. The deal includes all of its surface data logging equipment, technology and associated contracts and personnel.

CNOOC has signed strategic cooperation agreements with Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor, Husky, KUFPEC, Roc Oil, Shell, SK Innovation and Total for exploration in the Pearl River Mouth Basin offshore China.

Area A is approx. 15,300 km2, with a water depth of 80-120. Area B is approx.

48,700 km2, with a water depth of 5003000 m.

Ineos wins right to carry out seismic survey in UK national park The UK National Trust has withdrawn its legal opposition to seismic surveying

by Ineos at Clumber Park but has vowed to fight to protect the site from fracking.

Ineos has pursued a high court action to gain access to the Grade I-listed country park in Nottinghamshire for surveying, as part of efforts to assess the area for shale gas.

The National Trust said it had taken the decision after ‘extensive legal efforts and carefully considering all the evidence available’, not to legally oppose the seismic surveys.

However, the charity urged Ineos to provide assurances it would not damage the ‘special place’, and warned that it remained completely opposed to fracking at Clumber Park.

Andy Beer, the National Trust’s director of the Midlands, said: ‘Our position has not changed: we oppose fracking at Clumber Park. Despite our best efforts to explain why Clumber Park is so sensitive and such an inappropriate site, Ineos is intent on pursuing access to survey at the site. We think it is wrong that we, or any other landowner,

should be compelled to admit surveys at a place as special and loved as this.

‘We have demanded that Ineos provides assurances that these surveys will not damage this special place, which is our main priority.’

He said the surveys must ‘absolutely minimize’ the risks of damaging wildlife and habitats or the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy Clumber Park.

‘It is important at this stage to make the distinction between carrying out seismic surveys to search for shale gas on the one hand, and fracking itself. We are still completely opposed to fracking at Clumber Park and will fight tooth and nail to protect the area.’

Large parts of the landscape, carved out of the ancient forest of Sherwood, are designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and a Grade I-listed park and garden.

The site has 600,000 visitors every year, and it is home to rare wildlife such as cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, marsh tits, yellowhammers and lesser redpolls, the National Trust said.

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OMV has closed the $578 million acquisition of Shell’s upstream business in New Zealand comprising joint venture interests in Pohokura (48%), the largest gas producing field in New Zealand, and Maui (83.75%).

Hague and London Oil has completed its acquisition of Third Energy Offshore Limited. Third Energy Offshore’s portfolio includes interests in the Greater Pegasus Area (45%), and the Andromeda prospect in the southern North Sea. Zion Oil & Gas has started designing the proposed 3D seismic survey at the company’s 400 km2 Megiddo-Jezreel licence in Israel. Zion plans to use autonomous wireless geophones to acquire the 3D data.

Qatar Petroleum is acquiring a 35% interest in Area 1, offshore Mexico, from Eni. Eni is already a partner with Qatar Petroleum in Block 24 in the Cuenca Salina Basin.

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Ikon Science goes full-depth on Ji-Fi technology Ikon Science’s flagship Joint Impedance and Facies Inversion (Ji-Fi) technology now provides a full depth domain, amplitude and kinematic inversion capability.

As part of the company’s RokDoc 6.6.1 release, users are now able to take depth domain pre-stack seismic data, seismic velocities and depth domain interpretations and solve directly for facies and elastic properties in true native depth. While the facies and impedance models are solved for in depth, the seismic matching is performed in TWT using an optimized velocity model.

‘Ask geoscientists and drillers, and they will tell you, unsurprisingly, that the subsurface is modelled and drilled

in depth, even though seismic inversion results are ubiquitously delivered in twoway time,’ said Michel Kemper, Ikon Science’s, chief scientist. ‘With more and more depth indexed seismic these days, we are leading the way to novel workflows for a fully depth native seismic to geomodelling to simulation workflow’’.

Delivery of facies and elastic properties in depth overcomes the challenges associated with conversion of time-based discrete properties to depth (a ‘lossy’ process) while also paving the way for a new paradigm in azimuthal and 4D inversion, both of which should be performed in the depth domain, as in the time domain there are alignment issues.

The release also includes enhanced seismic wiggle trace drawing and the ability to create difference gathers for the analysis of e.g. 4D time-lapse production related effects or to assess seismic data before and after pre-stack data conditioning workflows.

In the RokDoc 2D and Attrimod seismic modelling tools, users can now plan wells in both onshore and offshore environments with full control over datums.

The external interface now comes with an all-new ‘Plug-in creator’, significantly reducing the burden on the user to generate XML scripts to ‘wire-in’ their own proprietary code into the RokDoc platform.

The release includes a new series of certificated, online e-learning courses.

Report predicts growth in seismic equipment market The global seismic survey equipment market accounted for $1,157.86 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $1.984.10 million by 2026 growing at 6.2% during the forecast period, according to the report Seismic Survey Equipment — Global Market Outlook.

The report produced by Statistics Market Research Consulting, claims that the use of seismic technology in shale gas exploration and huge demand for oil, especially in emerging economies

are some of the key factors influencing market growth. However, factors such as regulation and monitoring of seismic surveys are hampering the market growth, it says.

Over the next few years North America is expected to grow at a faster rate due to increasing oil exploration and production activity across the region. The African market is also cited for providing huge opportunities for the growth of the market.

A seismograph from DMT.

CGG set for strong fourth quarter performance CGG anticipates Q4 2018 revenue of around $432 million, up 16% year-on-year and 54% sequentially.

The company anticipates segment geoscience fourth quarter 2018 revenue of around $108 million, up 16% sequentially; and segment multi-client sales of around $219 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, the highest quarterly segment

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revenue since Q4 2015. After-sales are expected to be around $114 million.

Strong multi-client sales in Latin America, North Sea, West Africa and US land drove multi-client revenue to this high level despite low Gulf of Mexico sales.

CGG anticipates Sercel fourth quarter 2018 external equipment sales of around $105 million, up 17% sequentially.

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CGG expects 2018 year-end net debt to come down to around $736 million, compared with $769 million at the end of September 2018.

The group’s liquidity is expected to increase to around $435 million at the end of December 2018, compared with $412 million at the end of September 2018.

CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 29 - 30 JULY 2019

EAGE/SPE First Borneo Deepwater Symposium – Managing Deepwater Assets through Geosolutions www.eage.org Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

February 2019 11-13 Feb

EGYPS www.egyps.com

Cairo

Egypt

14-15 Feb

GeoTHERM - Expo & Congress

Offenburg

Germany

18-21 Feb

First EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Modelling Workflows for Giant Carbonate Field Developments of the Middle East

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

www.geotherm-germany.com

www.eage.org

22-24 Feb

EAGE/SEG/SPG Joint workshop on “Foothills Imaging & Sub Basalt Exploration in Asia Pacific” www.eage.org

Dehradun

India

25-27 Feb

First EAGE Workshop on Big Data and Machine Learning for E&P Efficiency www.eage.org

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

4-7 Mar

DGG Annual Meeting http://dgg2018.dgg-tagung.de

Braunschweig

Germany

8 Mar

EAGE/DGG Workshop on Monitoring with Geophysical Methods www.eage.org

Braunschweig

Germany

17-21 Mar

SAGEEP 2019 www.sageep.org

Portland

United States

19-21 Mar

Second EAGE Workshop on Pore Pressure Prediction www.eage.org

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

25-29 Mar

6th EAGE Tyumen 2019 conference www.eage.org

Tyumen

Russia

26-28 Mar

International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) www.eage.org

Beijing

China

March 2019

EAGE Events

78

FIRST

BREAK

Non-EAGE Events

I

VOLUME

37

I

FEBRUARY

2019

CALENDAR

April 2019 1-4 Apr

Second EAGE Workshop on Practical Reservoir Monitoring www.eage.org

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

4-5 Apr

Second EAGE/PESGB Workshop on Velocities www.eage.org

London

United Kingdom

8-9 Apr

EAGE/SPE Workshop on Shale Science 2019 www.eage.org

Moscow

Russia

8-11 Apr

20 th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery (IOR 2019) www.eage.org

Pau

France

15-16 Apr

EAGE First Borneo Deepwater Symposium – Managing Deepwater Assets through Geosolutions www.eage.org

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei

22-26 Apr

Engineering and Mining Geophysics 2019, 15 th Conference and Exhibition www.eage.org

Gelendzhik

Russia

22-26 Apr

Marine Technologies 2019 www.eage.ru

Gelendzhik

Russia

24 Apr

EAGE/DGMK Joint Workshop on Underground Storage of Hydrogen www.eage.org

Celle

Germany

25-26 Apr

DGMK/ÖGEW Spring Meeting www.dgmk.de

Celle

Germany

28 Apr 2 May

Sixth EAGE Shale Workshop www.eage.org

Bordeaux

France

6-8 May

39 th Euroheat & Power Congress

Nantes

France

7-9 May

Second EAGE Workshop on Deepwater Exploration in Mexico: Knowledge transfer and collaboration from shelf to deepwater www.eage.org

Cancun

Mexico

13-17 May

GeoConvention 2019

Calgary

Canada

19-21 May

Second EAGE Workshop on Pore Pressure Prediction www.eage.org

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

3-6 Jun

81st EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2019 Embrace Change - Creativity for the Future www.eage.org

London

United Kingdom

17-19 Jun

EAGE/AAPG Workshop on Reducing Exploration Risk in Rift Basins www.eage.org

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

17-20 Jun

First EAGE Workshop on Assessment of Landslide and Debris Flows Hazards in the Carpathians www.eage.org

Lviv

Ukraine

EAGE/SPE First Borneo Deepwater Symposium – Managing Deepwater Assets through Geosolutions www.eage.org

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei

May 2019

June 2019

July 2019 29-30 Jul

August 2019 18-23 Aug

Goldschmidt 2019 www.eage.org

Barcelona

Spain

19-22 Aug

16th International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society & EXPOGEf www.eage.org

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

EAGE Events

Non-EAGE Events

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

37

I

FEBRUARY

2019

79

EAGE/AAPG Workshop on Reducing Exploration Risk in Rift Basins 17 - 19 J U N E 2 0 19 • K U A L A L U M P U R , M A L AY S I A

Call for Abstracts Deadline: 1 March 2019 W W W. E AG E .O R G

RRR19 V2H.indd 1

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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS DEADLINE:

15 APRIL 2019

2-6 SEPTEMBER 2019 - FLORENCE I ITALY www.petroleumgeostatistics2019.org

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15/01/2019 15:45

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