First Break November 2020 - Marine Seismic & EM

VO L U M E 3 8 I I S S U E 11 I N OV E M B E R 2 0 2 0

SPECIAL TOPIC

Marine Seismic & EM EAGE NEWS Annual Conference Online preview TECHNICAL ARTICLE Unconformity mapping in the Schoonebeek oil field INDUSTRY NEWS Will oil demand ever recover from Covid-19?

Vp

1/Q

Vp

1/Q

Legacy multi-client data

Reprocessed Cornerstone Evolution multi-client data

CORNERSTONE EVOLUTION De-risk 32nd Round Awards with over 50,000 km2 of reprocessed Central North Sea data Cameron Grant +44 1293 68 3340 Cameron.Grant@CGG.com

Paul Godwin +44 1293 683436 Paul.Godwin@CGG.com

cgg.com/cornerstone

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, Equinor UK (pdrum@equinor.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) • Angelika-Maria Wulff, Kuwait Oil Company (AWulff@kockw.com) MEDIA PRODUCTION MANAGER Thomas Beentje (tbe@eage.org) ACCOUNT MANAGER ADVERTISING Peter Leitner (plr@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 EAGE AMERICAS SAS Calle 93 # 18-28 Oficina 704 Bogota, 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)

69

The North Sea and West of Shetlands: evolution of prolific hydrocarbon basins.

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

20

Crosstalk

23

Industry News

Technical Articles

33 Unconformity mapping in the Schoonebeek oil field, the Netherlands Kees W. Rutten, Daan den Hartog Jager and Geert-Jan Vis 43 Rock physics-driven quantitative seismic reservoir characterization of a tight gas reservoir: a case study from the Lower Indus Basin in Pakistan Muhammad Zahid Afzal Durrani, Maryam Talib and Bakhtawer Sarosh

Special Topic: Marine Seismic & EM

55 Innovative OBN processing for high-quality 4D seismic imaging in a North Sea setting Ivan Gregory, Zsofia Dobo, Richard Jupp, James Sinden, Peter McDonnell and Andrew J.S. Wilson 63 Introduction to CSEM Kjetil Eide and Steve Carter 69 The North Sea and West of Shetlands: evolution of prolific hydrocarbon basins Adriana Citlali Ramírez, Bent Kjølhamar and Simon Baldock 77 Reservoir imaging-while-drilling with PRM arrays Alex Goertz, Brian Atkinson, Tatiana Thiem and Endre Vange Bergfjord 85 Rapid OBN survey design using a wave equation illumination study Jean Paul Gruffeille, Ayman Rehan, Salvador Rodriguez, Malcolm Lansley, Dave Ridyard, Iulian Musat 95 Revealing new opportunities with a cost-effective towed-streamer MAZ solution in the South Viking Graben, Norway Julien Oukili, Luca Limonta, Martin Bubner, Eric Mueller and Terje Kultom Karlsen

Feature: WhatsUp!

103 Whatever happened to VSP? Peter Rowbotham 104 Calendar

FIRST BREAK ON THE WEB www.firstbreak.org ISSN 0263-5046 (print) / ISSN 1365-2397 (online)

cover: The Gulf of Suez, where this month we feature an OBN survey using wave equation illumination.

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

1

European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers

Board 2020-2021

Everhard Muijzert President

Dirk Orlowsky Vi c e-President

Pascal Breton Secretary-Treasurer

Near Surface Geoscience Division Alireza Malehmir Chair Esther Bloem Vice-Chair George Apostolopoulos Immediate Past Chair Micki Allen Contact Officer EEGS/North America Riyadh Al-Saad Oil & Gas Liaison Hongzhu Cai Liaison China Albert Casas Membership Officer Eric Cauquil Liaison Shallow Marine Geophysics Deyan Draganov Technical Programme Officer Ranajit Ghose Editor in Chief Near Surface Geophysics Hamdan Ali Hamdan Liaison Middle East Vladimir Ignatief Liaison North America / Russia Andreas Kathage Liaison Officer First Break Musa Manzi Liaison Africa Myrto Papadopoulou Young Professional Liaison Andreas Pfaffhuber Liaison Infrastructure & BIM Koya Suto Liaison Asia Pacific Catherine Truffert Industry Liaison

Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

Caroline Le Turdu Membership and Cooperation Officer

Ingrid Magnus Publications Officer

Colin MacBeth Education Officer

Michael Peter Suess Chair; TPC Lucy Slater Vice-Chair Caroline Jane Lowrey Immediate Past Chair; TPC Erica Angerer Member Wiebke Athmer Member Juliane Heiland TPC Tijmen-Jan Moser Editor-in-chief Geophysical Prospecting Francesco Perrone YP Liaison Philip Ringrose Editor-in-chief Petroleum Geoscience Conor Ryan REvC Liaison Martin Widmaier TPC Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

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

Companies can subscribe to First Break via an institutional subscription.

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

Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Alireza Malehmir Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division

Michael Peter Suess Chair Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

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

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

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

COPYRIGHT & PHOTOCOPYING © 2020 EAGE All rights reserved. First Break or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying and recording, ­without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

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

2

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

HIGHLIGHTS

6

Where we’re at with Artificial Intelligence

12

Winners of this year’s annual photo contest revealed

19

Focus on career development

What you can expect from the Annual Conference Online We now have the definitive programme for our unique EAGE 2020 Annual Conference Online designed to deliver extraordinary value for all who partici­ pate. We are making it possible for our global community of geoscientists and engineers to focus together on technology developments, the serious challenges fac­

in terms of an annual meeting. We are planning a format that includes technical presentations and many of other familiar features such as the forums, honouring our award winners, student programme, and the opportunity for local chapters and special interest communities to get together. But the online dimension will

Everything accessible online.

ing our traditional disciplines, the energy transition underway, and the way forward for the Association and its members. All this on your screens wherever you are with no need to travel.

Introducing the event, Everhard Muij­ zert, president EAGE, said: ‘The impact of Covid-19 is felt everywhere in our personal and professional lives. It has caused havoc with our decision making, so we are very grateful to finally have certainty over what we can offer members

allow us to be creative in how we bring the meeting experience to you, so expect some surprises. I would commend in advance the huge efforts being made by our staff, venturing into new territory to make this a very special occasion. I also would like to thank our speakers, exhib­ itors and sponsors for showing flexibility and understanding for the changes this virtual format brings.’

As ever, the core of meeting will be the technical presentations. Contributors who FIRST

BREAK

already had their submissions accepted for the original Annual Meeting in June have been given the option to present online in December or wait until what hopefully will be a return of the in-person Annu­ al Conference and Exhibition on 14-17 June 2021 in Amsterdam. Either way we know we have a strong line-up of papers providing the latest in multi-disciplinary research and development initiatives plus case studies of current practice.

We are going to kick off the techni­ cal sessions after the Opening segment on Tuesday 8 December under easy to navigate themes so that participants can find their areas of interest. There will be adjustments to cater for online presenta­ tions. Each session will be scheduled for 55 minutes and will start with a stream of pre-recorded summaries of the presenta­ tions. This will be followed by a period for live Q&A and/or interactive discussion lasting around 20 minutes.

We have already employed a simi­ lar formula, for example, at our recent ECMOR XVII event and conference on seismic inversion. Both received very positive feedback.

Meantime we intend to make the Opening segment of the conference some­ thing which all Association members and visitors will find compelling. After some brief introductions and review of EAGE’s I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

3

EAGE NEWS

strategy going forward, we will be launch­ ing into a new feature, the Crosstalk Debate. This will be a meeting of three or four prominent figures broadly represent­ ing the perspectives of the oil and service companies, academia and environmental agencies, hosted by Andrew McBarnet, author of First Break’s monthly Crosstalk column. The theme and speakers will be announced shortly but you can be sure of a lively and frank discussion to answer the questions on everyone’s mind: how can geoscience and related engineering professions and businesses deal - now and in the future - with the impact of the

Covid-19 pandemic, the collapse of global oil price/demand and the challenge of energy transition.

We will be keeping the momentum going with a special online version of the traditional Awards Ceremony including brief interviews with some of those win­ ners. This will provide a close-up encoun­ ter with what it takes to be honoured by your professional peers.

We recognize that the Opening should be a chance for as many member voices as possible to be heard. This is why we will be introducing some extra features.

One we are particularly excited about is

the segment in which participants talk about the increasingly valuable role our community special interest groups are playing in the Association.

There is more. All will be revealed in due course on the EAGE website (www. eageonline2020.org), in our publications, through our regular e-mails to members and via social media. Make sure you stay connected and, most importantly, register for this meeting. This is your opportunity to catch up with latest technology, business and academic trends plus meet with your professional peers.

NSG2020 online: your deep dive into the shallow subsurface Clear your calendars and get ready for a memorable geoscience-filled week. Near Surface Geoscience Conference 2020 takes place online on 7-8 December, succeeded by the Annual Conference Online.

It has been quite a journey to arrive at this point, but we believe we can offer the near surface community an excellent event retaining as much as possible of the character and content of the usual in-per­ son gathering. The Covid-19 pandemic made the road to organizing Near Surface Geoscience 2020 a challenging one. It was originally scheduled for Belgrade last September, then rescheduled to Amster­ dam alongside the Annual Conference & Exhibition. In the end this arrangement did not work out for health and safety reasons.

But now finally, thanks to the hard work of our committees, chairpersons and speakers, we are ready to invite you to this special NSG 2020 Online Conference.

During the opening session, Jun Suga­ wara, director of Geotechnical Section at Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland Government, Australia will be providing the opening keynote lecture fol­ lowed by contributions from Wolff-Eckart Semm, lead geotechnical engineer, Ørsted Windpower and Valentina Socco, associate professor of geophysics, Politecnico di Torino and former chairperson of the Near Surface Geoscience Division. The opening session will close with a keynote by Mar­ cin Sadowski of the Executive Agency for 4

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at the European Commission.

Following the Opening Session, dele­ gates have the opportunity to join a series of sessions. Similar to other EAGE online conferences, the Technical Programme will consist of a combination of pre-re­ corded presentations and live sessions.

The videos will be made available to all registrants to the conference a week prior to the meeting, allowing delegates to explore the programme at their leisure.

During the conference itself a technical discussion will be organized with the sup­ port of our session chairs. All the details of the Technical Programme can be found and explored at www.NSG2020.org.

Four sessions will run in parallel to each other, two for the 26th European Environmental and Engineering Geophys­ ics meeting, and one each for the Applied Shallow Marine Geophysics and the Geo­ physics for Mineral Exploration & Mining meetings. On both days the programme will run from approximately 11:00-16:00 Central European Time to allow as many time zones as possible to sign in for the sessions at reasonable hours. Depending on your location, you may need that extra coffee though!

NOVEMBER

2020

Regulars of our Near Surface Geosci­ ence Conference and Mineral Exploration & Mining sessions may spot a couple of new elements. Integrated into the Tech­ nical Programme are the Best of KEGS, Canada, held in February 2020 (available 7 December p.m.) and Best of SAGA, South Africa held in October 2020, (avail­ able 8 December a.m.). These segments have been developed to provide interna­ tional insights into two key markets for mineral exploration. We want to thank the presenters and association representatives involved to help us make this happen. The collaboration between KEGS and SAGA shows the significant advantages of our online format: savings on travel and cost in order to participate in great meetings.

We hope all those interested will now easily be able to get involved in the collection of events accessible from their home location. The online format of the conference provides a great opportunity to explore the NSG conference series, maybe for the first time.

So make sure to be part of this unique online opportunity in December. Check out the Technical Programme and secure your registration at NSG2020 conference today at www.NSG2020.org.

4 MILLION REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE US A SHOT 4 MILLION SHOTS 140,000 UNIQUE NODE DEPLOYMENTS 130 BILLION TRACES 1.5 PETABYTES RAW DATA EQUIVALENT TO 520,000 km2 TOWED-STREAMER DATA

The Utsira 3D OBN survey, offshore Norway, is one of the largest OBN surveys ever acquired. It consists of approximately 4 million shots, 130 billion traces, and 1.5 petabytes of raw data. That’s equivalent to 520,000 km2 of typical towed-streamer data. Thanks to our powerful high-performance compute and industry-leading algorithms we can process, image, and deliver results in record time. We took good care of each and every one of those 4 million shots. Maybe it’s time you give us a shot too!

EAGE NEWS

What Artificial Intelligence can do for geoscience (Part 1) Barely a day goes by without a promise that artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize yet another aspect of geoscience. AI methods are being used for tasks of prediction, classification, modelling, quantification, etc. in our workflows, e.g., petrophysics, rock physics, seismic processing and reservoir characterization. In the first of a two-part article, members of the co-ordinating commitee for the recently formed EAGE Artificial Intelligence (AI) Special Interest Group share their views on the nature of AI, how it attracted their interest and the potential applications/value in geoscience.

Taking part in the discussion: Claire Emma Birnie (Equinor, Senior Data Scientist); Jan van der Mortel (Independent); Lukas Mosser (Earth Science Analytics, Geo/Data Scientist); Olivier Dubrule (Imperial College London, Professor); Paul Zwartjes (Aramco, Senior Research Geophysicist); Tianci Cui (Enverus, Predictive Analytics Associate); and Steve Freeman (Schlumberger, director, AI and ML). Part 2 will follow in the December issue of First Break.

From left to right: Claire Emma Birnie, Tianci Cui, Olivier Dubrule, Steve Freeman, Lukas Mosser, and Paul Zwartjes.

How did you first get introduced to AI? Birnie: During my PhD I used a varie­ ty of classical statistical methods to extract insight from passive seismic. I started to be very intrigued about new machine learning (ML) tools and how they could further enhance my workflows. At the end of 2016, I won one of Microsoft’s Codess scholarships to complete the Microsoft Professional Programme in Data Science.

This was a great kick-start and gave me a more solid background to work with.

Mosser: I was first introduced to ML in 2015/2016 in the course of the SEG ML contest for wire-line facies detection. I had worked on this together with Alfredo de la Fuente (now at Schlumberger). Develop­ ments in deep learning have been critical in developing solutions to the problems that I was trying to address during my PhD. The additional skills I’ve gained along with my previous experience in petroleum engi­ neering have become critical in my work as a researcher. The intersection of the geoscience and ML domains has become my main area of interest.

6

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

Dubrule: I was first introduced to AI thanks to Lukas Mosser’s PhD thesis, which I co-supervised. It focused on the use of generative neural networks for generating stochastic geological models at all scales. This work also showed that you could easily extend this with stochastic inversion. I was fascinated by the results he obtained.

Cui: I am a geophysicist by train­ ing and was mostly taught ‘traditional’ physics-based geoscience at school while being immersed in the world where AI was getting hotter and hotter. In fact I first applied AI in my MSc research by using dynamic time warping to automatically tie seismic data to the well logs. At that time, I came across a few papers introducing this technique from speech recognition to geophysical applications and I thought it was a great method to try. It turned out to be fast and automatic although human judgement was still required. It at least worked for my MSc thesis!

Van der Mortel: Back in late 2017 I was introduced to a small startup com­ pany developing AI/ML applications

NOVEMBER

2020

for various fields including O&G which I worked with them until early 2019.

Earlier a brief experience in 2005 had resulted in a mixed impression of the value. Looking back this had to do with the limitations at the time which, thanks to GPU-related developments, have since been resolved.

Zwartjes: During the 2014-2016 industry downturn, I was a geophysicist looking at all the lay-offs and the energy transition and wanted to bulletproof my CV. Data Science seemed a skill I could master with relatively little effort, i.e., not doing a four-year university course.

At university I was taught the basics of maths and programming and subsequently acquired the mindset of wrestling with data as a seismic processor. It has been successful for me as I am now an R&D geophysicist working on AI applications for seismic data processing.

Freeman: AI was all around. You couldn’t turn on the TV, go on the internet or listen to a podcast without everything talking about the promise of AI. So it was clear that I needed to understand more

EAGE NEWS

about what it could do and what value it could bring for subsurface and more broadly.

I gained knowledge through the inter­ net and particularly YouTube. There is so much fantastic content, and when you find something that looks relevant there are loads of code snippets out there so you can quickly get started. Within a couple of weekends I could see what was likely to work well and started to see some real value. Self-teaching really helped me. I could control my own destiny and look into things that interested me. I would recommend it if you have a passion to find out more.

What was your main challenge in transitioning to AI applications?

Birnie: There is a big gap between toy examples commonly used in online tutorials which use near-perfect data (or cleaned upfront by someone else) and the application of data science approach­ es to real geoscientific datasets that are often noisy and unlabelled. With far fewer online resources focused on these aspects of the ML pipeline, this is where I see myself spending most of the time and where I need to get the most inventive to succeed in the overall task.

Dubrule: My main challenge was to get up to speed on Python, as my last pro­ gramming experience was with Fortran. It was also a challenge to select from among all the existing publications which were the most relevant.

Cui: I would say I am still in the early stage of the transitioning. The biggest chal­ lenge for me so far has been to analyze the data in the first place, even before applying any AI technique. Unlike in geophysics where I got seismic data acquired from a pre-designed survey or generated by myself using a synthetic model, my current job involves a lot of public data with var­ ious qualities, e.g., oil and gas production, flaring records, satellite images, company financials, etc. A lot of time has to be spent on cleaning, visualizing and pre-processing the data so that a reasonable AI method can be applied.

Van der Mortel: There was no real challenge. It simply required (and still does) for me to learn some new concepts including recapitulation of some underly­ ing math; getting a working overview and

understanding of the main methodologies; dusting off some coding skills; and learn­ ing the latest tools. If there is a challenge, it’s the sheer number of technologies out there. This can be overwhelming and risks stretching oneself too thin. It pays to set up a plan/schedule, decide what first to learn, and then stick to it.

Zwartjes: The main challenge was not learning how to do it, but to get a chance to do it, to convince others that without an MSc or PhD in data science, a geoscientist can actually be really useful in the field.

Freeman: Much of the challenge with engaging with AI was learning the new language rather than any of the deep tech­ nical items. Many of the approaches are very similar to what we have always done in subsurface interpretation. It took quite a few sessions on YouTube and Google to really get to the bottom of what people were meaning when they talk about ‘mod­ els’, etc.

What lessons did you learn in your transition?

Birnie: Don’t throw the kitchen sink at a problem - start simple and continually benchmark. Neural networks are great fun, but sometimes a simple linear regres­ sion works just as well.

Mosser: Domain knowledge in an area outside of ML is key to developing value-adding solutions.

Dubrule: The main lesson for me was that everything was available for free online: datasets, programming languages, Arxiv papers, online teaching, etc. This is so refreshing.

Cui: First, I feel the AI community is so cool. I am amazed at how many opensource code, public data, learning and discussing platforms are available online.

Second, AI is not magic. Good data quali­ ty and human reasoning are required.

Van der Mortel: I don’t see it neces­ sarily as a major transition, but adding a major piece of knowledge to the reposi­ tory. The main lesson for me was a strong confirmation never to stop studying/learn­ ing new things.

Freeman: The main lesson was ‘have a go’. You normally can’t break anything and you can often find some really useful techniques pretty quickly. Also there is no nirvana. It’s a continuous learning process and search for more techniques, more ways of doing things and ever more useful FIRST

BREAK

solutions to problems. It’s a continuously evolving field and that makes it engaging.

What part of your transition turned out harder than you thought?

Birnie: The computer science ele­ ments require the development and deployment of robust, stable, and efficient data science products.

Mosser: While the ML community is often seen as a domain that preaches reproducibility and there are many good implementations of key publications to be found, it is still incredibly difficult for a large number of publications to reproduce the applications.

Dubrule: The coding bit!

Cui: Many problems I need to solve in my daily job do not really have a physical grounding as in geophysics. I feel I need to catch up with more mathematical/statistical knowledge/technique to analyze the data.

Van der Mortel: At some point it was a case of simple information overload as already mentioned. In my case I tried to learn/recap too many things at the same time, partly because I was so interested.

The solution has been to cut down the num­ ber of topics to the few considered most important/essential at any point in time.

Zwartjes: Well, nothing technical, to be honest. Not that I understand everything but that is more for lack of time. There is a lot of very good training and tutorial material out there. The most difficult part is getting access to data so you can actually use all that knowledge.

Freeman: One of the challenges was trying to find the right-level of challenge to go after and code to interact with this.

There is devilishly hard stuff out there that’s early stage. If you are a master ninja I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

7

EAGE NEWS

that’s all good, but for the people starting out, I suggest keep searching for the simple stuff. There is loads out there and its very powerful. Simple isn’t bad, simple is normally more mature.

How do you use methodologies derived from AI in your day-today job?

Birnie: As a data scientist, my daily tasks involve developing and deploying data science solutions to help the company produce safer, more efficiently, and more sustainably.

Mosser: I work in research and devel­ opment to develop practical applications to enhance and accelerate geoscience workflows. This typically involves adopt­ ing a mixture of traditional machine and deep learning methodologies as well as developing entirely new methods specifi­ cally adapted to geophysical applications.

Dubrule: In addition to generative networks, I use general methodologies based on convolutional neural networks, mostly for classification. I am also inter­ ested in the relationship between Gaussian processes and neural networks.

Van der Mortel: In short, as an addi­ tional, valuable complementary toolkit, NEVER to replace the entire workflow in it’s fundamental form.

Zwartjes: I am mostly on the lookout for ways to make seismic processing easier, faster or better. I think the ML vision toolbox is underutilized in seismic processing. There is still a lot we can do to automate and improve, for instance, visual QC of results.

8

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

Freeman: I use AI across everything I do. From data clean-up, to data pro­ cessing, to data interpretation, to data insights, QC and analysis of decisions and identification of analogs. It’s a vital second tool-box to go with my usual domain tool-box. AI isn’t the replacement of domain workflows, it’s a way to super­ charge them.

Where is your go-to place for learning about new breakthroughs in AI? Birnie: For an inspiring coffee-time read on new methodologies/applications or exciting new Python libraries to try, my general go to is: https://towardsdatasci­ ence.com/. I also closely follow arXiv to keep track of new publications.

Mosser: I’ve made a habit of follow­ ing arXiv as well as other more specific geoscience publications. I also follow key authors and research groups on Twitter. I find useful information from new publica­ tions, workshops, and lectures.

Dubrule: Definitely ArXiv and the major conferences from the worldwide AI community. There are also plenty of fan­ tastic YouTube presentations on virtually every AI topic.

Cui: I am not really current with the new breakthroughs in AI since I am still on the learning curve of the fundamentals.

I am taking AI courses on Coursera.

Van der Mortel: I have several online subscriptions (many send free newslet­ ters). Examples include Towards Data Science, AI Research, SuperDataScience, DataScienceCentral, Medium, and Kaggle; Apart from that, reading up on EAGE/ SEG/SPE publications looking at using AI to connect seismic to other disciplines.

Zwartjes: I have subscribed to a vari­ ety of newsletters, podcasts and video blogs on AI and interesting and actionable information sometimes appears there.

However, many breakthroughs in my field I pick up from the EAGE and SEG journals.

Freeman: The Web...

Do we need to prepare our geoscientists for the AI revolution?

Birnie: My belief is that AI meth­ odologies will become another tool in the geoscience toolbox. Everyone should

NOVEMBER

2020

have a basic understanding of how these methodologies work and their limitations, with a few of them focusing on pushing the boundaries on the use of AI in our daily workflows.

Mosser: Absolutely. While I don’t think every geoscientist needs to know the back propagation algorithm, I think we should aim to educate geoscientists in a digital skillset, such as programming. I believe any practitioner should be aware of the upsides and downsides, as well as the hidden assumptions of the methods they apply daily. Furthermore, this should include methods prominent in the AI revolution such as ML, where methods often fail silently and have many hidden assumptions.

Dubrule: Yes, but we also should avoid too much hype, as experience now shows that it can be hard to transition from a nicely demonstrated research idea (there are plenty of them) to a truly practical and operational application (there are not many of them).

Cui: I think so. The AI revolution is changing the way we are working, thinking and collaborating. It’s very likely that geoscientists are going to use very different techniquest from what they were taught at school. We need to keep our employability especially during this time of volatility in our industry.

Van der Mortel: Yes, developing ML literacy is as essential as computer literacy was years ago, and not just geoscientists.

Zwartjes: I think by now everyone is aware that training and staying up-to-date is essential during the energy transition, especially if you work in O&G. If you are and want to remain a technical person, you need to know how this AI stuff works and what it can and cannot do. If we have to prepare geoscientists for anything, it is probably that AI cannot solve everything.

Freeman: Yes and no. Yes, in that it will be all around you and its use will grow increasingly. It will enable you to do more and faster. No, in that its very similar to what you have always done as a technical expert who constantly evaluates methods to measure and pre­ dict. It’s good to get training because it demystifies the technology. But with relatively small amounts of training and effort, you should be able to accelerate quickly in this space.

TNG-Group: The Earth responds to us TNG-Group is a contemporary high-tech Russian company providing a full scope of geologic acquisition and geophysical services for oil producing and oilfield servicing companies.

Advanced technologies, in-house research and development and high-class experts – this is the potential which makes it possible to carry out operations in any climatic conditions and within optimum terms.

TNG-Group operates in almost all oil-producing regions of the Russian Federation, in Asia, Africa and Middle East, as well as conducts seismic acquisition in offshore areas and transit zones.

OUR MAIN ACTIVITIES: Prospecting and exploration of oil/gas and non-ore fields applying 2D, 3D, 3D-3C seismic acquisition methods, offshore seismic, electrical and magnetic prospecting, aero-space decoding Geophysical and geosteering support of drilling and well repair, oil and gas fields operation Well seismic acquisition Processing and interpretation of geophysical data, development and introduction of geophysical survey methods, software packages

EAGE NEWS

How our local chapters are adapting to Covid-19 We asked our local chapters (LCs) how life has changed in Covid-19 times.

Here’s a sample of the replies.

Houston Covid-19 continues to have a significant impact in the Houston area since the beginning of this pandemic. Recently there have been signs of improvement, with several important indicators (such as the seven-day average for daily new cases, test positivity rate and hospital­ ization rate) showing a positive and stable drop in recent weeks. However at the time of writing, the county’s threat level system is still in the severe cate­ gory and local authorities continue to urge Texans to remain vigilant.

In light of this, and to continue to safeguard the safety and well-being of our local members, the LC cancelled all in-person monthly technical talks since May. However, during the last three months, the LC team has been planning ahead and is preparing for monthly virtual technical talks. As a result, our first virtual talk was due to be held on 29 September 2020, with Dr Stephen Chiu from In-Depth Geophys­ ical, showcasing his latest application to attenuate aliased ground-roll noise on randomly-undersampled 3D land datasets.

Paris Covid-19 pandemic strongly affected our LC activities which were mostly made of conferences, field trips and networking sessions. It was challeng­ ing and it forced us to rethink the format of our events. We decided to continue our programme as planned by transforming our in-person events into virtual events. We were the first LC to react and go online. We transformed the 19 March event from face-to-face to virtual in just a few days thanks to our agile working mode. We even increased the number of events from one per month to six events between 19 March and 16 June thanks to our col­

10

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

laboration with DET, LC Netherlands and IFP student chapter. Our latest event was on 5 October.

We are glad we managed to propose these webinars and ‘lunch and learns’ to our members. People were delighted to connect online during lockdown and we received words of encouragement.

The positive side is that we could reach a bigger pool of participants, as people were connecting from all over Europe and even Asia and the USA. For the season 2020/2021 we are planning to continue mostly virtually as the pan­ demic is still ongoing.

Netherlands After getting used to the new situation (between March and April) we tried to reschedule all the planned events online. This implied finding proper digital platforms and IT support to host our meetings. We decided to use Webex Event for large audience meetings and Zoom for smaller ones.

We tried to maintain continuous communications with the LC members through our standard digital channels (LinkedIn and e-mail). The aim was to help them during this phase of social isolation by showing our presence and continuous efforts to provide our ser­ vices.

We organized our LC board meet­ ing online (through Zoom), discovering that it gives us superior results in terms of attendance and efficiency than a live board meeting. We are considering keeping our board meetings online even in the future. It allows us to have these meetings more frequently, since no one needs to travel.

We co-organized two virtual events in collaboration with LC Paris and the SIC on Energy transition and decarbon­ ization on ‘talents and competencies in the energy sector, during the months

NOVEMBER

2020

of May (part I) and June (part II).

The Covid-19 situation gave us the opportunity to tighten our co-operation with other LCs and SICs. We organized a major virtual event in July on ‘Artificial Intelligence in Oil & Gas’, inviting the LCs of Aber­ deen, London, Oslo and Paris. Again, during these difficult times, we learned that including a broad audience in our meetings (five LCs together in one virtual meeting was a first of its kind) is improving the level of knowledge sharing and it can be really done globally.

During the pandemic we also took some time to think how to improve our LC activities. We created and dis­ tributed a satisfaction survey to see what the LC members are thinking of our activities. We included a poll in the July virtual event for the AI SIC. We also hosted our last social event (September) online, as we discovered that social interaction can be achieved, up to a certain level, even during virtual events. Of course live social interaction and exchange are missing and hopeful­ ly will come back soon.

Tomsk-KrasnoyarskNovosibirsk Our experience has been an opportunity for closer collaboration between three cities online for evening lectures. Due to Covid-19 we can work from home in really comfortable conditions and save time on travelling to work for taking part in more educational events.

We are co-operating with other communities, local chapters and com­ panies to organize different webinars.

Exploring the online format for grand technical events with the Russian office resulted in a conference on machine learning ‘Data Science in Oil and Gas’ in Russian on 19-20 October 2020.

EAGE NEWS

Nigeria EAGE LC Nigeria had rolled out plans for various activities for the Chapter, which were mostly in-person. Since the advent of Covid-19, all activities were moved from physical participa­ tion to online meetings, in order to follow the regulations to flatten the curve set-up by medical institutions and the government. Thanks to our ever-dedicated team, the Chapter has continued to hold various programmes to keep members engaged with on-go­ ing/new knowledge and technologies in the industry. We used various online platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tele­ gram and YouTube.

We have held eight technical sessions/ webinars, five dedicated to young professionals (YPs). Total sponsored the technical session held in July titled ‘Seismic Monitoring: Total’s Experiences beyond the Gulf of Guinea’.

The training and development of YPs is very dear to LC Nigeria as we believe they are the future. We held four virtual classroom sessions which were aimed at keeping them engaged amidst the pandemic and restriction from physical meetings; one was an introduction to Python, two covered the use of Excel for various purpos­ es and the fourth was on accessing bypassed hydrocarbons. A record of all of these programmes was upload­ ed to YouTube enabling members to catch up on missed segments.

Dr Mayowa Afe making a presentation to Chike Nwosu at the close of the technical meeting.

L-R. Dr Mayowa Afe, president EAGE LC Nigeria; Chike Nwosu, CEO Waltersmith, Lagos, and July guest speaker; Modupe Awe, coordinator YP; Grace Amadi, corporate manager HSE, Waltersmith; and Irewole John, general secretary, EAGE LC Nigeria, at the end of the technical meeting in Lagos, 24 July 2020.

Live interactive sessions on var­ ious topics were also held, via Insta­ gram Live, to engage YPs during the pandemic to encourage them during this unprecedented time and keep them optimistic. There have also been sev­ eral quizzes and puzzles organized to help refresh their knowledge on topics in engineering and geoscience while winning prizes as well. To keep all groups active, we have also been hold­ ing weekly posts on past events in the oil and gas industry, topical articles and celebrations of global historic days.

London Here are some real life reflections on the pandemic work experience from some of our LC members.

Artem Kashubin, PetroTrace: Seis­ mic data processing life in PetroTrace did change since the lockdown. Since mid-March till June we worked strictly from home. It went fine most of the time with some minor hiccups with the Internet connection due to competition for the bandwidth with all the neigh­ bouring households. We discussed our current project actions and observa­ tions via Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp and e-mails. It went alright but took a bit longer to communicate even trivial points. Now we are working on stag­ gered schedule – half of the people are in the office Mondays-Tuesdays and another one Thursdays-Fridays to increase the distance between the occupied desks. Commuting schedule is also relaxed to avoid peak hours and to reduce interaction with other commuters.This workstyle has proved to work fine and the time in traffic and trains has reduced significantly. So far so good. No Covid symptoms either.

FIRST

Lok Lee, WesternGeco: Since mid-March I have been working from home and will continue to be doing so for the coming months. This has become a great opportunity for me to start tending to my garden and create a vegetable patch. At the start of lockdown, I sowed the seeds for some peas, courgette plants, carrots and planted some strawberries. Watching them grow over the months was a joy, protecting them from pigeons, squirrels and our neighbour’s cats was a tough job! Now they have started to produce fruit, I can reap the rewards and feel like a proud farmer.

Bingmu Xiao, CGG: Now reading the e-mail exchanges back in March, which were full of uncertainty, it’s surprising how fast we managed to ‘normalize’ the change. The transition from office to working from home took only a few days, and team com­ munication adapted quickly. In a way, although the virtual set-up distanced people physically, we get to meet their kids, pets and even plants! These per­ sonal touches are the silver lining.

I’ve started a routine of helping the neighbours to walk their dog as I’m around more often.

Kat Broadbent, Premier Oil: Like many, the adjustment to working from home has caused some amusing inter­ ruptions to meetings. Geophysicists have even had to make a quick exit from Zoom on spotting a herd of cows escape the nearby field and take over their back garden. Guessing what your colleague is munching on when forget­ ting to put their microphone on mute (a packet of quavers!). And is it okay to do fitness instructor Joe Wicks’ PE lessons, even if you aren’t at school?

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

11

EAGE NEWS

Winners of best images in PhotoContest 2020 declared

‘Anticline and the Town’ by Massimo Di Giulio Colimberti.

We can finally announce the results you have all been waiting for - winners of our awesome 2020 EAGE/EFG Photo­ Contest!

And the winner is Massimo Di Giulio Colimberti for his photo ‘Anti­ cline and the Town’ captured in De la Olla Fold-Aliaga Geology Park, Teruel, Spain. Second place went to Gordon Bromley for his photo ‘Adrift’ from Otway Massif, Antarctica. Third place went to Grisel Jiménez Soto for her photo ‘Torotoro Cretaceous Syncline at 3700 m.s.n.m.’ taken in Torotoro Nation­ al Park, Bolivia.

The winners will be awarded com­ plimentary registrations to join EAGE’s interactive online short courses of their

choice. The courses are hosted by author­ itative instructors from industry and academia and include CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points which can be used to claim or maintain Europe­ an Geologist (EurGeol) titles accredited

by EFG. The theme of this year’s PhotoContest continued to highlight ‘Legends of Geo­ science’, encouraging EAGE members and members of EFG affiliated national societies to capture extraordinary actions or aspects in all fields of geoscience. This could be expressed in three proposed categories: ‘Geosciences for Society’, ‘Women Geoscientists’, and ‘Landscape and Environment’. We received numer­ ous entries from 26 different countries. A

‘Adrift’ by Gordon Bromley.

12

FIRST

BREAK

I

selection of the most outstanding photos was admitted and opened for voting in two rounds, running from April to August. Winners were selected by mem­ bers of EAGE and EFG. The 12 photos from which the winner was selected were: ‘Skier 491 Arriving at Shackleton Glacier’, Transantarctic Mountains, Ant­ arctica – by Gordon Bromley; ‘Adrift’, Otway Massif, Antarctica – by Gordon Bromley; ‘Anticline and the Town’, De la Olla Fold-Aliaga Geology Park, Teruel, Spain – by Massimo Di Giulio Colimberti; ‘Dimension Stone in Infra­ structure Completion and Residential Homes’, Kporokpo Village, Nigeria – by Ndukauba Egesi; ‘Women in Geosci­ ence’, Lae Province, Papua New Guinea – by Annastacia Mandea; ‘Four Women Geologists at a Geothermal Drilling Site’, Bordeaux, France – by Aurélie Lageais; ‘Volcanology Fieldwork in the Fijian Islands’, Fiji – by Natasha Barrett; ‘Women Geoscientists’, Lapai LGA, Nigeria – by Ozoji Toochukwu Malachi; ‘Capricious Limestone Folds’, Cantabri­ an Mountain Range, Asturias, Spain – by Alberto Sanchez Miravalles; ‘Fracture Corridors’, Kilbaha - Ross, Ireland – by Bastian Steffens; ‘Torotoro Cretaceous Syncline at 3700 m.s.n.m.’, Torotoro National Park, Bolivia – by Grisel Jimén­ ez Soto; and ‘Atacama’s Mirror’, Laguna Altiplanica de Miscanti - San Pedro de Atacama, Chile – by Dario Chisari.

Congratulations to all and thank you for sharing the ‘Legends of Geoscience’ with us!

‘Torotoro Cretaceous Syncline at 3700 m.s.n.m.’ by Grisel Jiménez Soto.

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

EAGE NEWS

How EAGE’s geophysical monitoring technology conference can show the way ahead Dirk Smit (vice president research strategy, chief scientist, Shell) is local conference chair of GeoTech 2021, the EAGE’s first Geophysical Monitoring Technology Conference and Exhibition being held on 1-3 March 2021 in The Hague. He explains the significance of the event.

Society and our industry face a dual challenge: how to make a transition to a low-carbon energy future, while also extending the benefits of energy to everyone on the planet. This challenge requires change in the way energy is produced, used and made accessible to more people while drastically cut­ ting emissions and becoming more circular in the production of fuels and products.

Oil and gas will remain in the energy mix for many decades to come.

The role of geoscientists will not disappear in the near future, but I am certain that it will probably change.

For example, with the introduction of low-cost electricity from inter­ mittent sources, the need for large scale energy storage will increase.

Few options that are both affordable and effectively accessible may be in the subsurface, exploiting appropriate subsurface pressure and temperature conditions, for example in geothermal reservoirs.

Subsurface conditions may play a significant role in cutting back emis­ sions by the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS). More general­ ly, resource and land management, such as water in conjunction with the production of biofuels, will call upon skills sets in the domain of geoscientists.

Underneath these changes lies the need for more data driven ‘reservoir’ management. This ranges from energy to resources including hydrocarbons, deeply integrated with, for example, surface engineering facilities used to inject, produce or store and monitor resources.

Dirk Smit, GeoTech 2021 local chair.

Finally, we need to translate operational geophysical solutions into effective hazard and risk management used by regulators and local commu­ nities. Hence, I believe that in the future, geoscience skills sets would be needed for a broader spectrum of opportunities, better integrated with efforts to build a sustainable, safe energy system.

This is also true for the more conventional role of geoscientists in hydrocarbon reservoir management.

The predictability of production volumes and performance needs to increase, as competition from other investments such as in wind farms will rise. It may be possible to devel­ op more integrated workflows and become more data driven, exploiting artificial intelligence-based techniques to recognize subsurface conditions faster and with more certainty than is possible with just model-driven approaches.

The need for such workflows is further emphasized as the business becomes more value-driven and less

FIRST

BREAK

volume-driven. This increases the need for shorter cycle times from exploration to production in more mature heartlands, where exploration, development and production are all happening simultaneously in the same basin, sometimes in the same geology.

This means that we have access to more data that we could not access before. To maximize the opportunities that this brings, we need to go deep­ er in the integration of exploration, development and production.

EAGE’s GeoTech event offers an excellent opportunity to bring together leading experts in geoscience, res­ ervoir engineering, drilling and data science to tackle some of the major challenges and opportunities facing the industry. The integration between the different programmes is a great way to mix with other disciplines. It also provides a forum to discuss how we can effectively address specific energy transition challenges. Our inte­ grated subsurface discipline skills are needed more than ever to help solve these challenges!

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

13

EAGE NEWS

Continuing potential of Latin America E&P will be focus of December online conference The diversity of opportunity in Latin America’s exploration sector back on our agenda. It will be showcased at the Second Latin American Conference on 1-3 December 2020, once again hosted

by EAGE and Hoston Geological Society (HGS), this time online.

Latin America has become one of the hottest regions for explorers over the past decade with over 120 basins having been drilled, from wrenches to rifts to passive margins. These were some of the discussion points arising from the first conference held in November 2019. See­ ing this big potential, it is opportune to continue the meeting with a wider list of topics that will generate depth discussions to unlock more perspectives on how to take advantage of this great region.

Over the last two decades, the Latin American region has faced continuous development of its energy resources, opening up increased investment in the process. In recent years, the oil and gas industry has significantly increased explo­ ration and production activities in the southern Caribbean margin, the Andean foreland, Guyana-Suriname offshore, deep-water Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay offshore, unconventional exploration in Argentina and Colombia, and the opening of exploration areas on the Pacific margin

Geology of Latin America is one of the conference topics.

of South America. All this makes the second conference a perfect setting to keep up with the latest developments in petroleum geoscience for conventional and unconventional E&P, natural resourc­ es and ore geology, machine learning’s present and future role in exploration, and seismic imaging in E&P. The ideas is to contribute to a constructive dialogue on energy integration and prosperity for the region.

The Technical Committee has pre­ pared a flagship event that includes special sessions on the Caribbean Offshore and ‘Venezuela’s Upstream to Downstream - Past, Present and Future’, oral presenta­ tions, forum sessions, and poster sessions with the participation of industry experts and academic authorities. As an online event a global audience can be expected for this outstanding event, so be sure to check it out on the EAGE website.

EAGE Education Calendar 4-5 NOV

PETROLEUM EXPLORATION STRATEGY, BY JEAN-JACQUES BITEAU

ONLINE

9-12 NOV

FUNDAMENTALS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF SPE-PRMS FOR CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS, BY VICTOR ALEXEI HUERTA QUIÑONES

ONLINE

9-12 NOV

UNDERSTANDING SEISMIC ANISOTROPY IN EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION: HANDS ON, BY LEON THOMSEN

ONLINE

16-17 NOV

RESERVOIR MODEL DESIGN: HOW TO BUILD GOOD RESERVOIR MODELS, BY MARK BENTLEY

ONLINE

19-20 NOV

EET: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN STOCHASTIC RESERVOIR MODELLING, BY VASILY DEMYANOV

ONLINE

23-25 NOV

ROCK PHYSICS FOR QUANTITATIVE SEISMIC RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY TAPAN MUKERJI

ONLINE

24-25 NOV

EET: SEISMIC GEOMECHANICS: HOW TO BUILD AND CALIBRATE GEOMECHANICAL MODELS USING 3D AND 4D SEISMIC DATA, BY JÖRG HERWANGER

ONLINE

26-27 NOV

SEISMIC ACQUISITION PROJECT ESSENTIALS: FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION AND BEYOND, BY JAN DE BRUIN

ONLINE

PLEASE ALSO CHECK THE CALENDAR OF WEBINARS ON THE LEARNING GEOSCIENCE WEBSITE. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG.

14

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

Stream seismic from the best seat in the house

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Early Explorers Discount available for a limited time only. Offer expires 31 December 2020.

Contact us today for details.

Argentina | Australia | Ireland | Mexico | Norway | Peru | Philippines | Papua New Guinea | Timor-Leste

searcherseismic.com/sAIsmic sales@searcherseismic.com

EAGE NEWS

Big Loop in the spotlight at London Chapter meeting At a recent Local Chapter London evening lecture (online due to Covid-19) Camille Cosson (Emerson) presented an integrated reservoir engineering workflow that was developed at her company. This Big Loop automated solution accounts for multi-domain pro­ cesses including seismic imaging, veloc­ ity modelling, time-depth conversion, petrophysical, geological and seismic interpretation as well as lab-tests, and is aimed at reducing the risk and optimiz­ ing the cost of field development.

Uncertainties of reservoir structure, rock types, rock petrophysics and fluid properties are estimated and matched with production history using machine learning algorithms and contributions from the individuals of a multi-disci­ plinary asset team utilizing a true col­ laborative approach. Once established and optimized the loop can be run many times to sample the solution space and estimate the uncertainties and then assess the risks.

The reaction of the uncertainty on changes of the specific model parameters is fed into the machine learning algorithm for training. The trained algorithm is able

to produce an internally consistent reser­ voir model that will match the produc­ tion history. Once the suitable model is produced it can be used for predictions of possible scenarios of reservoir evolution.

This workflow is software agnostic and can be implemented as a combination of different independent packages that work in batch mode and simply exchange their outputs. Hence, it is suitable for clouds and clusters leveraging their enormous scalability.

The synthetic case study where the reservoir model was calibrated with pro­ duction history and 4D seismic illustrat­ ed the power of the presented workflow in narrowing the posterior uncertainty range in localization of the faults and

lithological contacts and obtaining the water saturation values. More details can be found in Taha et al. (2019) History Matching Using 4D Seismic in an Integrated Multi-Disciplinary Automated Workflow. Society of Petroleum Engineers. doi:10.2118/196680-MS. The presentation was followed by a Q&A session where specific aspects of the machine learning approach and pos­ sible incorporation of additional datasets were discussed.

EAGE Local Chapter acknowledges Artem Kashubin of PetroTrace, Bingmu Xiao of CGG, Lok Lee of Schlumberger, Celina Giersz of Shearwater and, of course, Camille Cosson of Emerson for arranging this event.

EAGE spreads the word with book donation ‘So many books, so little time!’ Frank Zappa’s quote is applicable to any avid reader, but can certainly also be applied to our EAGE Bookshop.

Bookshop at the Annual in Copenhagen 2018.

16

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

Our collection of works by distin­ guished authors in many disciplines keeps on growing and provides a treas­ ure trove of information, particularly for any aspiring geoscientist. However, with new titles keep coming in on a regular basis, we have to make room for the latest books in the store. We have found a way that means the discarded volumes don’t go to waste. The solution has been to donate a number of titles to our nearby EAGE students chapters at RWTH Aachen and Delft University of Technology. In consultation with the student chapter presidents, we were able to donate 225 books in total. We hope

NOVEMBER

2020

the students will make appreciate this addition to their libraries.

We are always looking for ways to support our student community, and welcome any initiatives from members.

If this is something you would like to do, one easy option if to make a contribution to the EAGE Student Fund. Through the Fund, we help students bridge the gap between academia and industry. See how you can donate today, or have a look at the other opportunities to support our students by going to eagestudentfund.org where you can find all the information on how to made a difference. Your help will be much appreciated.

d

u o l C

r e t a

rw a e

Sh

t

lli e t a

S

k

in L e

Monsoon is Shearwater’s digital cloud program. It covers the way we work with cloud to benefit our clients with flexibility, collaboration and data accessibility.

Flexibility We are using the flexibility of cloud along with our on-prem solutions to be nimble and quickly adapt to meet our customers and the market’s needs for HPC. With resources scalable according to demand it means we can be highly productive while retaining the flexible and competitive service Shearwater is known for.

Collaboration Monsoon enables us to collaborate on a global scale, better engaging our teams and our customer’s teams, working together, maximizing shared value of information to achieve the best results. This enables us to push further and add more value at earlier stages.

Access We are harnessing the power of cloud to give unprecedented access to project data securely. Whether it is access to Shearwater’s processing and imaging test results, or rapid access to final deliverables, we can simplify data exchange, minimizing data movement and avoiding duplication of data.

At Shearwater we aren’t pushing our customers to use our cloud or any other specific cloud for that matter. With Monsoon we take an approach that is agnostic of cloud provider, ready and able to operate on all major platforms to fit with our customers own internal programs.

t

en i l C

l e s es V r ta e t a Da w r a ring e Sh qui Ac

EAGE NEWS

Petroleum Geoscience thematic collection on fault and top seal analysis accessible online

Marine Acquisition A powerful fleet, equipped with modern technology, manned by experienced crews with advanced processing capacity. Able to operate safely and efficiently, in all operating conditions - delivering a cost-effective, high-quality service.

Processing & Imaging Agile teams of customer focused geophysicists offering a broad range of outstanding technical expertise in Towed Streamer, Ocean Bottom, Time Lapse and Land data processing and imaging. Shearwater P&I gives you high-quality data and build in flexibility at the heart of your project.

Reveal Software

For those who follow fault and top seal research associated with subsurface anal­ ysis in many different industries, there is a highly topical site for you online, thanks to Petroleum Geoscience (PG).

A thematic collection has been com­ piled by PG guest editors based on con­ tributions to the Fifth EAGE Conference on Fault and Top Seal Analysis held in Palermo, Italy on 8­12 September 2019.

The conference was highly successful in bringing together scientists from different industries (petroleum, CO2 storage and radioactive waste disposal) and academia, with a wide range of backgrounds (geolo­ gy, petroleum engineering, petrophysics, geophysics, modelling, geomechanics and geochemistry) to share experiences in this field. Predicting the behaviour of fault seals and top seals remains a major

A modern, powerful and intuitive solution for demanding seismic data analysis, Reveal is a full processing software suite that can scale to run on a laptop through to the largest data centre.

Technology Shearwater combines technology, innovation and collaboration at every step from sensor design to final image. We engineer marine acquisition equipment, processing & imaging technology and geophysical software in our dedicated research and development centres.

Fault lines and layers in sandstone.

Participants on a field trip at the Fifth EAGE Conference on Fault and Top Seal Analysis.

uncertainty, not just in the exploration, appraisal and production of conventional petroleum reservoirs but also in areas such as gas (methane and CO2) storage and radioactive waste disposal. Shared experi­ ences of both successful and unsuccessful applications of fault and top seal analysis helps in adapting our working practices to reduce this uncertainty.

Thematic collections are curated sets of papers that present a timely snapshot of research in a topic of high current interest and importance. Edited by experts in the field, invited contributions undergo peer review to the normal PG standards and are made available online upon acceptance.

The papers are collated on a dedicat­ ed collection webpage on an ongoing basis which ensures that this significant research is visible to the community at the earliest opportunity.

Guest editors for the fault and top seals thematic collection are: Quentin Fisher, University of Leeds, UK; Frauke Schaefer, Wintershall Dea, Germany; Leva Kaminskaite, University of Leeds, UK; Dave Dewhurst, CSIRO Energy, Australia; and Graham Yielding, Bad­ ley Geoscience, UK. Accepted papers are appearing on an ongoing basis at https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/fault­ and­top­seals­2019.

EAGE Student Calendar

Committed to Geophysics

2-4 NOV

NEAR SURFACE GEOSCIENCE & ENGINEERING CONFERENCE (REGIONAL GEO QUIZ)

CHANG MAI, THAILAND

16-18 NOV

1ST GEOSCIENCE & ENGINEERING IN ENERGY TRANSITION CONFERENCE

ONLINE

16-19 NOV

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

shearwatergeo.com

9TH INTERNATIONALGEOLOGICAL AND GEOSCIENCE CONFERENCE (STUDENT ACTIVITIES)

26 NOV

STUDENT LECTURE TOUR ON PROBABILISTIC SEISMIC INVERSION,

BY DR. PATRICK CONNOLLY

ONLINE

7-8 DEC

NEAR SURFACE GEOSCIENCE ‘20

ONLINE

8-11 DEC

EAGE 2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE ONLINE (STUDENT ACTIVITIES)

ONLINE

14-17 JUNE 2021

82ND EAGE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION (STUDENT ACTIVITIES)

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

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

18

FIRST

BR EAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

EAGE NEWS

Summer series provides pointers to career success

Speakers of the EAGE Summer Series, from left to right: Joseph Nicholson, Estella A. Atekwana, Nina Marie Hernandez, Andi Pfaffhuber, Peter Haffinger, and Mayowa Afe.

In a sign of the times, our webinar ‘EAGE Summer Series: Six Career Masterclasses for Geoscientists and Engineers’ proved a great success with over 100 partici­ pants interested in this hot topic.They were able to log on to hear some high profile professionals discuss their career trajectories For the webinar earlier this summer our EAGE team set themselves three goals: 1) to lift the spirits of our energy industry peers during the current downturn and global pandemic; 2) to demonstrate just how versatile a career in geology or engineering can be; and 3) to offer our members a ‘soft skills’ webinar where careers, personal development and unique stories could be described.

Six presentations were shown during the four-week series and each episode allowed time for questions to be asked by the audience. Dr Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Envi­ ronment at the University of Delaware kicked off the series with her fabulous career story. Believe it or not, her parents had no idea she was studying geology at Howard University, Washington DC until her graduation. They were under

the impression that Estella was studying medicine!

In the same first week Joseph Nichol­ son, COO, Osokey, presented a very tangi­ ble and practical soft skills talk where his three main discussion points were: know yourself, you are responsible for your own career, and relationships are key.

In the second week Dr Andi Pfaff­ huber, CEO, EMerald Geomodelling and Nina Hernandez, CEO, Iraya Energies provided our attendees with another 75 minutes of advice and feel-good-factor!

Dr Pfaffhuber discussed ‘three career/ life lessons’ in his talk and shared stories of his work in electromagnetic fields in Mongolia, the Arctic and at the NTI (Norweigian Technical Institute) in geo­ technical engineering.

Hernandez described herself as an ‘incidental CEO’ because during the oil cri­ sis of 2016 she was (as she put it), ‘pushed off the cliff.’ This loss of job security led her to take a risk, propelling her into the entrepreneurial world of artifical learning and machine learning and the setup of her own company. Hernandez interestingly also spoke of how important it is to some­ times take a break from your profession

and to perhaps opt to do some charity work or take yourself off on an adventure.

Displaying just how global an organ­ ization EAGE has become, episode three of our career masterclasses included presenters from both home and afar. Dr Peter Haffinger is the co-founder and managing director at DELFT Inversion, a next generation seismic reservoir charac­ terization technology. Dr Mayowa Afe is managing director, Danvic Petroleum in Lagos, Nigeria. Although living across the world from each other, it was interesting to see the similarities between each of the themes in their talks. Setting goals and sticking to them was one such theme. Dr Haffinger had the opportunity to pursue a career in football or something in science as that was where he recognized his strengths lay. Luckily for the geoscience industry he chose the scientific route!

The EAGE Summer Series culmi­ nated in a panel session hosted by Dr Ward, EAGE ex-president. All six pre­ senters joined the live session answering questions such as those on technology advancement: How does the panel feel about job opportunities in the future? Are machines threatening our job security?’

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.

SUPPORTED BY

SUPPORTED BY

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

19

CROSSTALK

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

B

U

S

I

N

E

S

S

•

P

E

O

P

L

E

•

T

E

C

H

N

O

L

O

G

Y

What’s the deal with US energy policy The outcome of the US presidential election may or may not be During the campaign the parties could be forgiven for side­ known on the night of 4 November when the polls were due to lining climate change policies in order to confront more pressing close. Such has been the confusion and misinformation voiced issues for the American electorate. A poll by Pew Research at the over the integrity of the polling process with the nation’s leader end of July found 42% of registered voters indicating that climate President Trump acting as cheerleader. At the time of writing in change would be an important issue in their ballot decision with 26% stating it was somewhat important. Responders were more mid October, Former Vice-President Joe Biden was being widely tipped to be winning the race to the White House, but so was concerned with the economy (79%), health care (68%) and the Hillary Cinton ahead of Election Day in 2016 (accurately in the Covid-19 crisis (62%). sense that she won the popular vote).

In fact the US is probably not that different from most other Regardless of the result, the presidential campaign was marked Western-style democracies in not putting climate change or indeed by a notable lack of attention to climate change and energy tran­ more general environmental protection policy at the top of its sition as an election issue. This was ironic given the devastating agenda. For example, the performance of Green parties in Europe fires raging in California and a frightening hurricane season, both and elsewhere has been uneven and largely inconsequential, phenomena attributed by many to the changing climate. However, achieving most success in wealthier countries with relatively low Republicans stuck to boasting about US oil independence thanks levels of unemployment. Bottom line: the vast majority of people expresses concern but popular momentum for the decisive, even to the espousal of a deregulated, free market for energy. They continued to be dismissive of government investment in climate drastic, measures required by individual governments to meet change mitigation, deeming this an the Paris Agreement goals have not yet materialized. over-reaction to unconvincing science ‘A presidential campaign and a threat to energy industry jobs.

A straightforward explanation for marked by notable lack of this inertia is that there is still no sense of Biden promised on day one of his presidency to return the US to the attention to climate change urgency in everyday life. From a politi­ 2015 Paris international agreement on cal standpoint, a clear-cut environmental and energy transition.’ reduction of CO2 emissions (from which issue has still to be framed that compares Trump first announced US withdrawal with something as basic as raising/low­ in 2017). He also proposed a nine-point Clean Energy Revolution ering taxes. This would certainly be true of this year’s electoral and Environmental Justice plan including a commitment to econ­ cycle in the US. Nonetheless the impact of US energy policies have omy-wide net-zero emissions no later than 2050. While in stark significant international as well as domestic implications. contrast to Trump’s laissez faire approach, Biden conspicuously The key to understanding the dynamics involved lies in the avoided endorsement of the full Green New Deal legislative pro­ role of US oil production. The Energy Information Administra­ posal introduced by the progressive New York representative Alex­ tion (EIA) reported that in November last year the US became andra Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts senator Edward Markey. a net petroleum exporter for the first time since records began The radical programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, also in 1972. The country is already a net exporter of natural gas. It addressed economic inequality and racial injustice. On the floor of is also predicted soon to be the world’s largest exporter of liquid the US Senate, the proposal which had no legislative implications, natural gas (LNG), the demand encouraged by countries wanting was unanimously rejected by the Republican majority. to break the stranglehold on natural gas of the so-called ‘Natural

20

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

CROSSTALK

Gas Triad’ of Russia, Qatar and Iran that accounts for 60% of the Clear daylight was obvious between the two parties during world reserves. the election if only because the Republicans offered no plan. A second Trump term would presumably continue the roll back of According to a pre-Covid-19 estimate in 2018 by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the US oil and natural gas industry was restrictions put upon the oil industry during the Obama era and supporting 10.3 million jobs and nearly 8% of the nation’s gross pursue an aggressive licensing strategy (but not off Trump’s new­ found homeland of Florida). Less clear is whether there would be domestic product. Even allowing for the likely optimistic picture painted by the API, these are numbers that politicians will tamper the appetite to prop up shale operations. These have been showing with at their peril. signs of frailty and the need for consolidation. No one is talking about a collapse, but some big bets on the business have not paid Ironically the increasing production of natural gas to power the off and Wall Street is now shunning further investment.

US is one reason that the Trump administration has had a get out Neither party in government looks likely to of jail free card on CO2 emissions. According to bring about a major change in domestic energy preliminary EIA data published in April, 32% ‘Clear daylight was policy at the Federal level that the free market of US primary energy consumption came from natural gas sustaining a pattern of continuous obvious between the would not accomplish. For instance, invest­ annual growth. Market forces, i.e., the low two parties during ment in renewables needs little encouragement because it is seen as profitable. Even major cost of natural gas and the switch from more the election.’ oil companies are showing more enthusiasm. costly coal, have driven this trend. But it helped Indeed, forecasts that renewals will increase Trump during the campaign to overlook the their current contribution from 11% to at least 30% of US primary US as the second largest emitter of CO2, second only to China. energy consumption by 2050 may well be conservative.

Instead, he could claim the US had reduced its emissions by more On the international front, the gradual weaning over the last than any other country, true in terms of quantity reduced but not by decade of US dependence on crude oil imports from the Middle percentage. For example, the US 2.9% between 2018 and 2019 was East emboldened the Trump administration in some of its foreign outshone by Germany (8%) and Japan (4.3%). policy initiatives. It could risk blow back from the Arab world in Given the emissions record, the Democrats were put on the relation to his unqualified support for the Israeli government of defensive when it came to the emotive topic of fracking. In the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, symbolized by moving the public arena the word has become synonymous with environmen­ US embassy to Jerusalem. The recent ‘Abraham Accords’ brokered tally unfriendly, even though most people would be hard pushed to by the US involving declarations of peace between Israel, the Unit­ explain what the process involves. The Republicans were able to ed Arab Emirates and Bahrain emphasized the change possible, taunt their rivals by claiming untruthfully that the Green New Deal although critics decried the absence of any progress in resolving called for a ban on fracking causing untold damage to the shale oil the Palestinian issue. More recently even Saudi Arabia has been and gas business, loss of jobs and a threat to energy independence. hinting that it may contemplate normalizing relations with Israel.

In fact the Deal made no mention of fracking. But Biden The same dynamic has been in play when the US put pressure was forced to make clear that the Democratic programme did not on Iran. Withdrawing from the nuclear agreement plus assassi­ include a ban. That couldn’t help sounding like an endorsement of nating Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani caused far fewer the status quo. repercussions than might have been expected.

Biden’s nine-point energy plan in summary, costed at around None of this is so surprising because recent US administrations $1.7 trillion, comprised: 1) Reversing the Trump administration have all been seeking to reduce their interest in the fractious Middle easing of some emission standards (oil and gas industry methane East. Getting troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq has been a priority. limits) and imposing new restrictions; 2) Legislating to advance One reason is ugly but simple. The need to protect potential sources the US to economy-wide net zero emission no later than 2050; 3) of imported crude from the region is no longer relevant. This is Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and supporting its objec­ thanks to the dramatic improvement in US domestic oil production. tives; 4) Spending of $400 billion over 10 years for clean energy The same factor has also put the US in an extraordinary position and innovation; 5) Reducing by 50% the carbon footprint of US of power in the determination of oil price, probably sickening building stock by 2035; 6) Addressing the disproportionate impact President Putin in the process. of climate change and air pollution on ‘communities of colour, One can speculate a Biden administration focusing on further tribal lands and low-income communities’; 7) Holding polluters efforts to bring about a solution to the Israel-Palestine situation and accountable; 8) Creating 10 million well-paid, middle-class, union trying for dialogue with Iran. But there will be no turning back jobs; and 9) Fulfilling ‘our obligation to the communities and from the diminishing presence of the US in the Middle East, such workers that have risked their lives to produce fossil fuels that is the real politik of the oil business as long as it is a crucial cog in made it possible for America to win world wars and become an international diplomacy. industrial power’.

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

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

21

HIGHLIGHTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

25

CGG completes Central North Sea OBN survey

26

PGS releases Central Viking Graben data

32

Searcher provides data for Australian wells

BP Energy Outlook suggests oil demand might never recover to pre-Covid levels BP’s 2020 Energy Outlook predicts that demand for oil might never recover from the fall caused by Covid-19. BP’s ‘Net Zero’ scenario predicts that demand for oil could be 80% lower by 2050, and 55% lower in its ‘Rapid’ scenario and 10% lower in its ‘Business-as-Usual’ (BAU) scenario.

‘In BAU demand plateaus in the early 2020s and in both Rapid and Net Zero oil demand never fully recovers from the fall caused by Covid-19,’ says the report.

BP’s prediction differs from Total’s Energy Outlook, published in October, which predicts peak demand for oil around 2030. Meanwhile, OPEC’s latest World Oil Outlook report, estimates that global oil demand will rise from nearly 100 million barrels a day in 2019 to 109 million in 2045.

BP goes on to say that its prediction is predicated on ‘significant increases’ in carbon prices to deliver a lasting reduction in emissions and big changes in consumer behaviour. ‘Delaying these policy measures and societal shifts may significantly increase the scale of the challenge and lead to significant addi­ tional economic costs and disruption,’ says the report.

BP’s Net Zero scenario is based on carbon prices increasing to $250/tonne of CO2 in the developed world by 2050

and $175/tonne in emerging economies. It also assumes significant shifts in societal and consumer behaviour and preferences towards low carbon energy sources. This increases the reduction in carbon emis­ sions by 2050 to more than 95%.

Its ‘Rapid’ scenario is based on car­ bon prices increasing to $250/tonne of CO2 in the developed world by 2050 and $175/tonne in emerging economies, but less progress in societal and consumer behaviour. Carbon emissions from energy use would fall by around 70% by 2050 from 2018 levels.

Its Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenar­ io assumes less progress in government policies, technologies and societal prefer­ ences. Carbon emissions from energy use peak in the mid-2020s but do not decline significantly, with emissions in 2050 less than 10% below 2018 levels. Carbon prices reach only $65 in developed econ­ omies and $35/tonne CO2 in emerging economies by 2050.

BP chief executive officer Bernard Looney said: ‘Even as the pandemic has dramatically reduced global carbon emissions, the world remains on an unsustainable path. However, the Outlook shows that, with decisive policy measures and more low carbon choices from both companies and consumers, the energy transition still can be delivered.’

FIRST

BREAK

In each scenario, global energy demand grows, driven by increasing living standards in the emerging world.

Energy demand plateaus in the second half of the outlook in Rapid and Net Zero as improvements in energy efficiency accelerate. In BAU, demand continues to grow, reaching around 25% higher by 2050.

The decline in oil demand is driven by the increasing efficiency and electrifi­ cation of road transportation. In all three scenarios the use of oil in transport peaks in the mid to late-2020s. The share of oil in meeting transport demand falls from more than 90% in 2018 to around 80% by 2050 in BAU, but to 40% in Rapid and to just 20% in Net Zero.

Global demand for gas peaks in the mid-2030s in the Rapid scenario and in the mid-2020s in Net Zero, and by 2050 demand will be around a third lower.

In BAU, gas demand increases through­ out the next 30 years to be around a third higher by 2050. Gas combined with CCUS accounts for between 8-10% of primary energy by 2050 in Rapid and Net Zero.

Renewables are the fast-growing source of energy over the next 30 years in all the scenarios. The share of prima­ ry energy from renewables grows from around 5% in 2018 to 60% by 2050 in I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

23

INDUSTRY NEWS

Net Zero, 45% in Rapid and 20% in BAU. Wind and solar power dominate this growth, underpinned by continuing falls in development costs, lower in 2050 by around 30% and 65% for wind and solar respectively in Rapid and by 35% and 70% in Net Zero. In Rapid and Net Zero the average annual increase in wind and solar capacity over the first half of the Outlook is around 350 GW and 550 GW respectively, compared to the annual aver­ age of around 60 GW since 2000.

Decarbonization of the energy system leads to increasing amounts of final ener­ gy use being electrified. By 2050 the share of electricity in total final consumption increases from a little over 20% in 2018 to 34% in BAU, 45% in Rapid and more than 50% in Net Zero.

Use of hydrogen increases in the second half of the Outlook in Rapid and Net Zero, particularly in activities which are harder or more costly to electrify. By 2050, hydrogen accounts for around 7% of final energy consumption (excluding non-combusted) in Rapid and 16% in Net Zero. By 2050, bioenergy accounts for around 7% of primary energy in Rapid and almost 10% in Net Zero.

PGS reaches agreement with lenders to defer loan payments PGS has reached agreement in principle with most of its lenders to renegotiate its debt repayments as the company attempts to preserve liquidity after a drop in business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has agreed terms with lenders on its ~$300 million export credit facilities (ECF), and a majority of the lenders under its $350 million revolving credit facility (RCF) and ~$520 million term loan B facility (TLB).

To date, the company has reached agreement in principle on main terms with 62% of its ~$520 million TLB facility lenders; lenders representing 81% of its $350 million RCF; and all of the ECF financing parties. The majority of lenders under the $135 million tranche of the company’s RCF have agreed to defer the repayment that was due in September.

The main terms agreed include no debt maturities and no scheduled debt

amortization until September 2022, when $135 million will be due. The $215 mil­ lion RCF due in 2023 will be combined with the TLB due in 2024.

‘A required majority of lenders under the RCF and TLB facilities have entered into a forbearance agreement undertaking not to take any enforcement action in con­ nection with this on-going default,’ said PGS. ‘The company is in dialogue with the ECF financing parties to obtain the same forbearance prior to any cross-de­ fault arising under the ECF agreement.’

PGS is continuing to work towards achieving support from the required lend­ ers under the RCF and TLB. If unsuc­ cessful, the company has agreed with the supporting lenders to seek implementa­ tion by use of available alternative legal restructuring procedures.

PGS said it will continue to operate as usual by performing its obligations, including payment of interest, as they fall due.

UK releases more historic seismic data Historic marine seismic data are to be made available by the UK Oil and Gas Authority after a consultation into the reporting and disclosure of such data.

Explorers, organizations research­ ing potential carbon capture and stor­ age (CCS) sites, and academics will be among those who will benefit from the greater availability of the data, spanning a time period from the 1960s to 10 years ago, added the OGA. The OGA has concluded that seis­ mic data acquired under an exploration licence and which are more than 10 years old, depending on the type of data, can be made available through application to the OGA, which may

24

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

publish the data via the National Data Repository (NDR).

In support of this, the OGA is publishing guidance which outlines the conditions under which geophysical survey data created or acquired under an exploration licence pre-2018 may be published. The publication of more recent, and future, geophysical survey data (i.e. those created or acquired post-2017) is also covered by similar guidance.

Scott Robertson, OGA director of operations, said: ‘The OGA has con­ sulted extensively on the reporting and disclosure of seismic data, building on the success of disclosure of other data via the NDR.

NOVEMBER

2020

‘These additional data will be extremely valuable to explorers and developers in meeting MER UK goals, and in supporting a net zero future by identifying potential carbon and hydrogen storage sites that are vital for the UK to meet its emis­ sions abatement targets for 2050 and beyond.

‘We expect to see a significant increase in the reworking and repro­ cessing of the legacy data which will be published and the opportunities identified by such analysis will lead to activity that should bring real benefits to industry, the wider UK economy and the UK’s transition to a net zero future.’

INDUSTRY NEWS

Iraya develops ML software to gain more insight from existing seismic data

Ion launches source technology to increase geophysical fidelity Ion Geophysical has commercialized its proprietary Gemini extended frequency source technology after a successful sur­ vey deployment in the Gulf of Mexico.

Developed with support from an E&P operator, Ion said the new source technology addresses industry demand for increased geophysical fidelity in complex geologies while providing both improved operational and envi­ ronmental performance. Ion said that Gemini is flexible across both seabed and towed-streamer data acquisition platforms and is immediately available as a plug-in component to existing source infrastructure.

‘Even in the current market, some of the most attractive E&P investment areas for appraisal, development and near-field exploration are amidst the world’s most complex geological set­ tings where more accurate imaging is essential for cost-effective oil and gas extraction,’ said Ion. ‘Gemini provides a broad source spectrum significantly

richer in low frequencies with a consid­ erably reduced environmental impact.

Low frequencies support more accu­ rate geological models and imaging by driving improved performance and automation of Full Waveform Inversion workflows.’

Ken Williamson, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Ion’s E&P Technology and Services group, said: ‘This product is designed for a market where significant capex is still flowing, and where our customers need to derisk decisions. We have been delighted with E&P customer support during Gemini’s development and their advocacy now for rapid industry adop­ tion to address challenging prospects in their portfolios. Our patent-pending design has been approved by the envi­ ronmental permitting authorities in the US and the UK, and based on these approvals, we expect permit timing in other jurisdictions to be equivalent to that of a conventional source array.’

Iraya Energies has received financial backing from a major energy partner to accelerate its global expansion.

The money will be used to develop ElasticDocs, a cloud-based proprietary machine learning software. ElasticDocs extracts information from unstructured and structured data in the geoscience and engineering space. The aim is to provide new insights from existing data that was not previously captured.

Nina Marie Hernandez, founder and CEO of Iraya Energies, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome our new partner as a strategic investor in Iraya Energies.

More and more oil and gas companies are realizing that ‘internal exploration’ of their massive existing unstructured databases is a cost-effective way of gaining knowledge and insight without incurring the cost of new data acquisition. The new capital available will be used to expand capacity at our ‘digital factories’ and accelerate development.’

CGG completes phase one of its UK Central North Sea ocean bottom node survey CGG has completed of the first phase of its multi-year programme to deliver the largest OBN multi-client survey ever acquired in the UK Central North Sea (CNS) and commenced the second acqui­ sition phase.

‘The Central North Sea is a highly prospective region of the UK Continental Shelf,’ said CGG. ‘With recent discoveries, including Glengorm and Isabella, there is increasing focus on the deeper, higher risk Jurassic and Triassic plays, typically under high pressure, high temperature conditions. Furthermore, the presence of complex structural processes associated with Permian salt movement has created significant challenges to imaging these deeper reservoir targets.’

The survey, with its long-offset, full-azimuth coverage and good low-fre­ quency signal in a shallow water environ­ ment, together with CGG’s OBN process­ ing and advanced imaging technologies, will provide new insights to help derisk these plays and aid continued develop­ ment of existing fields in the CNS region, added the company.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘The new data set will provide our clients with the best available information to derisk the awarded blocks from the UK 32nd Licensing Round and support the UK Oil & Gas Authority’s strategy for maximizing economic recovery.’

The survey started in March 2020 and first images are expected in Q1 2021.

FIRST

BREAK

CGG has started phase two of the survey.

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

25

INDUSTRY NEWS

Geotech Seismic Services launches MER nodal recording system Geotech Seismic Services (GSS) in Rus­ sia is launching an innovative molecular electronic receiver (MER) nodal recording system to replace standard electromagnet­ ic geophones.

The ‘Otkrytie’ (Discovery) system, built by the Russian geophysical equip­ ment manufacturer SKB SP, differs from other cableless recording systems due to the built-in molecular-electronic receiv­ er (MER) with high sensitivity (250 V/ (m/s)), a broad frequency band (1 to 300 Hz), and low instrument noise, said GSS. MER receivers have no moving mechanical parts. Instead, oscillations in the ground act on highly conductive working liquid filling a dielectric channel bounded by flexible membranes. The flow of liquid is converted into an electric cur­ rent. Variations in the current between the electrodes of the sensing element forms the output signal of the MER. This signal

can be proportional to the velocity or the acceleration of the ground oscillations due to the built-in electronics, so the MER can act as a velocimeter or accelerometer.

‘The main drawback of MER is its high energy consumption which has so far prevented its use in autonomous cable­ less systems. But the joint efforts of the geoscientists of GSS and the engineers of R-sensors have made it possible to adapt the design of MER and reduce its power consumption to an acceptable level,’ said GSS. A field trial was conducted in March in temperatures ranging from -21 degrees C by night to +1 degrees C by day. The exploration area was mostly covered by dense forest.

Vladimir Tolkachev, the president of GSS, said that the field trial confirmed the reliability and stability of the ‘Otkrytie’ nodal system in winter conditions, the

sensitivity of the MER, the performance of the internal batteries and the mechani­ cal rigidity of the nodes.

The trial compared the seismic data recorded by MER and those by standard geophones planted in the same receiver lines, with nodes planted along three receiver lines acquiring data over 10 days. The quality of preliminary time sections was comparable to the results obtained with a standard cable-based recording system, but the fold of cov­ erage was more than ten times higher in the latter case. Detailed analysis of the amplitude spectra has found that the data recorded by the ‘Otkrytie’ cableless system is characterized by a wider sig­ nal spectrum both in low-frequency and high-frequency bands.

GSS is manufacturing several thou­ sand nodes for 3D operations during the winter season.

PGS releases Central Viking Graben data

The dataset covers key UK producing fields.

PGS has released a newly reprocessed dataset targeting UK 32nd Round licens­ ing opportunities in the Central Viking Graben. PGS19M04VIK is a high-density, AVO-compliant seismic dataset that clearly defines stratigraphy and basin structures.

It covers key UKCS-producing fields such as Maclure, Beryl, Bruce, and Nevis, and highlights significant nearfield upside potential and exploration targets. Extending on to the East Shetland Platform, this data­ set clearly defines the basin configuration into the Triassic and images the transition to, and the structure of, the platform.

26

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

PGS19M04VIK covers existing fields ranging from Triassic-Jurassic structural closures to Eocene injectites in the dep­ ocentres. Eocene injectites have been the source of several recent successful drilling campaigns, said PGS. Paleozoic structures may exist at the margin and on the East Shetland Plat­ form and these are clearly imaged on the dataset.

Reprocessing of this legacy GeoS­ treamer data has included regeneration of P-UP with 2020 workflows and application of demultiple methods, including the sepa­ rated wavefield imaging (PGS SWIM) and focused pre- and post-migration processing techniques. PGS FWI, based on reflections and refractions, was used to construct a high-resolution, high-fidelity velocity model. Those deep velocity updates have resulted in improved subsurface images in a fully AVO-compliant, depth-migrated dataset that supports robust reservoir char­ acterization, said PGS. Meanwhile, PGS has released fasttrack images from its broadband 3D

NOVEMBER

2020

GeoStreamer survey of the East Shetland Platform. This survey covers frontier and mature areas relevant for the UK 32 Round with new broadband seismic data to enable reliable hydrocarbon assess­ ment.

The acquisition phase was completed in May 2020 and early seismic data is now available. Final processing will provide high-resolution PSDM seismic data to enable mapping of the fault systems and the Brent sandstone to evaluate the HC potential.

The main reservoir levels are the Tri­ assic Cormorant Formation and Jurassic Brent Group. The structural definition below BCU will be important to under­ stand the source migration pathways of the Kimmeridge Clay into the structural fault blocks, which are the principal trap­ ping mechanisms.

Data processing techniques include Complete Wavefield Imaging (CWI).

Targets in the basin and on the platform will be imaged using anisotropic TTI Kirchhoff PSDM.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Energy transition could push oil majors to trade assets worth $100 billion, says Rystad Energy A Rystad Energy study of eight oil majors predicts that to adjust to the energy transition, they will divest up to $68 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with an estimated value of $111 billion and spending commitments in 2021 totalling $20 billion.

Rystad’s study of ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Total, Eni, Chevron, ConocoPhil­ lips and Equinor, predicts the companies could exit 203 country positions in 60 countries and as a result reduce their number of country positions from 293 to 90. Their reduced commitment would vary from 6 to 16 countries per company.

‘Companies will look to expand in the prioritized countries through explo­ ration, acquisitions or asset swaps with other big players. However, to stay in a country, a company may instead seek to grow its local business more aggres­ sively to make sure the portfolio will

have a positive and more significant impact on overall performance,’ said Rystad Energy’s senior-vice president Tore Guldbrandsoy.

Rystad Energy’s study shows that all the majors are likely to keep a presence in the US, and most of them may also remain in Australia and Canada. It pre­ dicts quite a few countries being reduced to only one oil major present, including Argentina (BP), Ghana (Eni), Thailand (Chevron) and Guyana (ExxonMobil).

The companies will also buy port­ folios from each other to boost their position in a key country. For example, BP, Eni and ConocoPhillips could con­ sider acquiring the Indonesian portfolios of ExxonMobil, Total and Shell. Shell’s and Total’s portfolios could be of interest to BP if the company wants to enlarge its Indonesian LNG asset base and take on a new growth asset.

Indonesia is clearly a place to stay for gas assets, with a mixture of onshore, offshore shelf and deepwater assets across all lifecycles, says the report.

In recent months majors have put larger portfolios up for sale, such as ExxonMobil, which is planning several country exits, including from the UK, Romania and Indonesia, and Shell which was trying to exit a key LNG asset in Indonesia in 2019.

Rystad also sees several such opportunities for swapping assets. For instance, BP could swap its position in Algeria for Eni’s holdings in Australia.

Shell could swap its assets in Norway for Total’s portfolio in Oman.

Rystad said it also expects majors to divest assets with high emission intensi­ ty to meet long-term targets for reducing emissions.

Microsoft teams up with BP and Shell to work towards net zero emissions Microsoft has signed separate agreements with BP and Shell to collaborate on fur­ thering digital transformation in energy systems and advancing the net zero carbon goals of all three companies.

The deal with BP focuses on the continued use of Microsoft Azure as a cloud-based solution to enable BP to access cloud services, including machine learning with Azure Digital Twins and data analytics. In return BP will supply renewable energy to Microsoft across multiple countries to meet its 2025 renew­ able energy goals.

Earlier this year, BP announced its ambition to become a net zero emissions company by 2050 or sooner. By the end of the decade, it aims to have developed around 50 gigawatts of net renewable generating capacity (a 20-fold increase), increased annual low carbon investment

tenfold to around $5 billion and cut oil and gas production by 40%. In January 2020, Microsoft announced its goal to be carbon negative by 2030.

The collaboration will focus on helping cities achieve their sustainability aims; co-development of clean energy parks with an ecosystem of low carbon technologies such as carbon capture use and storage (CCUS); harnessing data-driven, personalized, actionable insights to empower energy consumers to better manage their home energy use; and enhancing BP’s production and oper­ ations facilities.

Meanwhile, Shell and Microsoft have also formed a strategic alliance to support progress towards net-zero emissions.

As part of the deal, Shell will supply Microsoft with renewable energy, helping Microsoft to meet its commitment to hav­

FIRST

BREAK

ing a 100% supply of renewable energy by 2025.

The two companies will continue working together on artificial intelligence (AI), which has already improved Shell’s access to real-time data insights, deliver­ ing efficiencies that have helped to reduce Shell’s carbon emissions.

Shell and Microsoft will work together on new digital tools so Shell can offer its suppliers and customers effective support in reducing their carbon footprints.

They have been working together on AI for three years. This year, 47 AI-pow­ ered proprietary applications have been deployed across Shell’s businesses. Tech­ nologies such as Real-Time Production Optimization have already shown poten­ tial to reduce CO2 emissions in Shell’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations, the company said.

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

27

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS completes three surveys offshore Canada PGS has completed the acquisition of three new GeoStreamer 3D surveys offshore Newfoundland and Labrador covering some 8500 km2.

The surveys cover some 8500 km2.

The Blomidon, South Bank and Torn­ gat Extension GeoStreamer 3D sur­ veys were carried out by the vessels Ram-

form Atlas and Ramform Titan between June and September 2020.

In Eastern Newfoundland, PGS carried out the 3526 km2 Blomidon 3D (West Tablelands) survey.

Fast-track data will available in Novem­ ber 2020, with AVO-compliant PSTM imaging and QI products. Final imaging will be available in early 2021 and full integrity QI in mid-August. The survey has targeted tertiary and cretaceous leads on open acreage that will be included in the Eastern Newfoundland Call for Bids, which closes in November 2022.

In South-Eastern Newfoundland PGS carried out the 2635 km2 South Bank 3D survey. AVO-compliant fast-track PSTM imaging will be available in November 2020, with fast-track QI in mid-December. Final imaging delivera­

bles will be available in early 2021 and full integrity QI in mid-May. This is the first 3D project in the area, which includes a huge tertiary fan system. Open acre­ age will be included in the south-eastern Newfoundland Call for Bids, closing in November 2021.

In South Labrador PGS carried out the 2050 km2 Torngat Extension 3D survey, which includes AVO-compliant, fasttrack PSTM Imaging that will be availa­ ble in November 2020, for thorough prebid evaluation, with fast-track QI products in January 2021. Final imaging will be ready in early 2021, and full integrity QI in mid-July. The survey builds on the existing Torngat 3D survey, over oilprone open acreage that is part of the South Labrador call for bids, closing in November 2021.

Global oil and gas project sanctioning will exceed pre-Covid-19 levels from 2022, says Rystad Energy Postponed spending this year, from $190 billion to £53 billion, will lead to final investment decisions (FIDs) doubling next year and exceeding pre-pandemic levels fom 2022, according to research from Rystad Energy.

Offshore commitments are now expected to reach $34 billion in 2020, down from $101 billion in 2019. Onshore sanctioning is likely to fall to $19 billion this year from $89 billion last year.

Rystad Energy estimates total sanc­ tioning to bounce back to around $100 billion in 2021, primarily supported by $64 billion spending on offshore projects. Although lagging onshore projects are projected to only account for $36 billion in 2021, there will be a steep rise in 2022 to around $100 billion, topping the expected $95 bil­ lion worth of offshore commitments that year.

Offshore sanctioning of $34 billion this year will include the $2.5 billion Mero-3 sanctioning in Brazil and com­ mitments worth $3.6 billion on the Payara development offshore Guyana in 2020.

Meanwhile Gazprom Neft has started development of its $1.3 billion Chayan­ dinskoye oil-rim development in Russia and Norway has approved the $2 bil­ lion plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Balder Future project.

Turkey set to raise estimate of Black Sea gas discovery Turkey expects to raise its estimate for the amount of natural gas discov­ ered in the Black Sea in August. The estimated discovery of 320 billion m3 of recoverable gas is expected to be substantially raised once exploratory drilling is completed in the next few weeks.

Drilling to a depth of around 4500 m at the Tuna-1 discovery would penetrate 28

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

two additional formations that appear promising, a senior Turkish energy official told Rigzone. A second drill ship is likely to be moved to the region next year.

Turkey has dramatically expanded energy exploration in the Black Sea and contested waters of the eastern Mediterra­ nean in a bid to ease its heavy reliance on imports of some 50 billion m3 of gas from Iran, Iraq and Russia.

NOVEMBER

2020

Turkish seismic vessel Oruc Reis.

In October, it was reported that the Turkish seismic vessel Oruc Reis had returned to Mediterranean waters disputed

by Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Equinor submits latest bid for UK low carbon hub An Equinor-led consortium has submitted a proposal to create a low carbon cluster in the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial region.

The application by the 12-strong Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) partner­ ship is a first step to creating the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040.

The bid for Phase Two funding from the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund builds on a success­ ful application for Phase One funding, announced in April.

The ZCH Partnership includes Equinor, Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Mitsubishi, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogen­ eration Company Limited, Uniper and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMRC).

The bid centres around the Equinorled H2H Saltend (Hydrogen to Humber Saltend) hydrogen project at Saltend Chemicals Park near the city of Hull.

H2H Saltend will be largest plant of its kind in the world converting natu­ ral gas to hydrogen, combining a 600 megawatt autothermal reformer with carbon capture. From first production, H2H Saltend will reduce industrial emissions by nearly 900,000 tonnes per year.

The second element is the hydro­ gen and carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline network developed by National Grid Ventures that aims to link H2H Saltend to other industrial sites in the Humber region, enabling them in turn to fuel switch to hydrogen and capture their emissions. These sites include the Drax Power station, SSE Thermal’s Keadby

site, Uniper’s Killingholme site and the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe.

CO2 emissions from H2H Saltend and the other Humber sites will be transported by pipeline to Easington on the Yorkshire coast and then offshore to permanent storage under the South­ ern North Sea on the UK continental shelf. A consortium including Equinor is working to develop the offshore trans­ port and storage infrastructure, and this network will be shared with the Teesside industrial cluster, where Equinor is also a partner in the Net Zero Teesside decar­ bonization project.

The $75 million ZCH proposal com­ prises private and public funding. A final investment decision is expected in 2023 with H2H Saltend and the associated infrastructure potentially coming online in 2026.

CGG releases 3D data from Gippsland Basin survey offshore Australia

The basin-wide survey, covering some 8700 km2, was completed in July.

CGG will release fast-track data from its recently acquired 3D multi-client seismic survey of the Gippsland Basin in South East Australia in the fourth quarter. The data will target bidders on blocks in the prolific, hydrocarbon-producing Gippsland Basin area of Australia’s 2020 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release.

This industry-first basin-wide survey over ~8700 km2 was completed in July. It

represents Phase II in CGG’s Gippsland ReGeneration reprocessing and acquisi­ tion project. Blocks V20-3 and V20-4 in the newly released Australian acreage are covered by the project.

‘Historically, imaging the Gippsland Basin’s shelf break and numerous sub­ marine channels has proven extremely challenging. The new survey is designed to offer the industry the highest-resolu­ FIRST

BREAK

tion 3D seismic data available with the benefit of CGG’s acquisition design and proprietary imaging technology, including a broadband, long-offset configuration along with 3D joint source-receiver deg­ hosting, high-frequency full-waveform inversion (HF FWI) and least-squares Q migration,’ said CGG. ‘Together, these will provide clearer images of the deeper targets that could not be seen in the legacy data and extend seismic coverage to the highly prospective deepwater areas that had no 3D data.’

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘The data from our new Gippsland 3D survey will complement and build on the success of our Phase 1 reprocessing of 11,500 km2 of legacy 3D seismic data with our latest imaging innovations, which led to a resurgence of interest in what was considered to be a mature basin in decline.

These two premium data sets will play a timely, valuable role in helping the industry to identify new and previously overlooked prospects in Australia’s premier oil basin.’

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

29

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS releases West Niger Delta data

The data covers two structural provinces.

More than 3500 km2 of new PGS broad­ band reprocessed multi-client data is now available in the West Niger Delta Basin, providing a clearer image of potential targets in blocks OPL 248, 249, 250, 2011, and OML 140.

This newly reprocessed dataset targets the West Niger Delta Basin and covers

two main structural provinces directly linked to the gravity-driven movement of the Akata Shale Formation.

The east of the survey, situated in the inner fold and thrust belt, is dominated by shale diapirism, rollover anticlines, and closely spaced thrust faults. The west of the survey is located in the transition­ al detachment fold zone and contains subtle faulting along with low wave­ length folding of Eocene to Quaternary stratigraphy.

The Niger Delta Basin formed during the Late Cretaceous period and is domi­ nated by up to 12 km of Late Cretaceous to Quaternary-aged clastics deposited in an upward-coarsening regressive delta­ ic sequence. The main source rocks are Akata Formation marine shales and Lower Agbada Formation paralic shales.

CGG launches 3D well path planning software

Multiple targets can be tested in 3D.

CGG has launched an interactive 3D well path planning solution for optimal well planning in unconventional and fractured reservoirs and offshore development plat­ forms.

Part of its InsightEarth 3D visualization and interpretation software suite, WellPath shows the complexity of the subsurface drilling environment in 3D so that drillers can quickly plan and QC horizontal wells on high-density, multi-lateral pads or large offshore platforms.

‘Drilling engineers now have the power to perform interactive directional well path planning while adhering to the constraints of geological targets and engi­ 30

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

neering design,’ said CGG. ‘Drillers can optimize plans based on fractures, facies, geobodies, and reservoir attributes while avoiding hazards, legacy wells, and recent completions prevalent in certain areas, such as the Permian Basin of west Texas.’

The company added that WellPath integrates all available geological and geo­ physical data and interpretations, locations and paths of planned and existing wells, and cultural data to find the optimal solution to well planning in unconventional and fractured reservoirs.

Planners can also use the functionality within the new technology to perform accu­ rate anti-collision calculations and generate reports for all wells/scenarios. This capabil­ ity can dramatically reduce planning cycle time from several weeks to a single morn­ ing, enabling drillers to meet demanding rig schedules, added the company.

Kamal al-Yahya, senior vice-president, GeoSoftware & Smart Data Solutions, said: ‘With our new WellPath capability, plan­ ning engineers can quickly guide the well path, test multiple targets in 3D, and finalize path design – all within a unified software solution.’

NOVEMBER

2020

Proven reservoirs in the basin are dominated by unconsolidated sandstones of the Agbada Formation deposited as stacked turbidite channel and fan com­ plexes (Tuttle et al., 1999). The largest accumulations are trapped in roll-over anticlines in the hanging walls of growth faults, but hydrocarbons may also be found in fault closures and subtle strati­ graphic traps.

Enhanced imaging of targets is achieved with clearer illumination of com­ plex structures associated with the diapiric movement of the Akata Shale Formation.

Optimized denoising algorithms and a full deghosting sequence have improved data bandwidth and the signal-to-noise ratio. A multiple attenuation sequence eliminated complex multiples, leading to an overall improvement in image integrity.

Norway unveils applicants for Awards in Predefined Areas The Norwegian Ministry of Petrole­ um and Energy has received applica­ tions from 33 energy companies for its Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2020.

The companies are: Aker BP, Shell, Chrysaor, Concedo, Cono­ coPhillips, DNO, Edison, Equinor, Horisont, Idemitsu, Ineos, Inpex, KUFPEC, Lime Petroleum, Lotos, Lundin, MOL, M Vest Energy, Nep­ tune Energy, OKEA, OMV, ONE Dyas, Pandion Energy, Petrolia NOCO, PGNiG, RN Nordic Oil, Source Energy, Spirit Energy, Sval, Total, Vår, Wellesley Petroleum and Wintershall DEA. The predefined area was expand­ ed to the Norwegian Sea during the preparation for this year’s licensing round. The new production licences are expected to awarded at the begin­ ning of 2021.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Ion Geophysical completes North Sea survey as it enters the 3D multi-client market Ion Geophysical has completed its first survey in the North Sea and continued the company’s entry into the 3D mul­ ti-client acquisition market.

In partnership with Shearwater, it has completed the initial phase of its North Sea 3D multi-client programme ahead of schedule. While the major­ ity of the ~11,000 km2 survey will be acquired next summer, this initial phase enables the company to complete the entire programme by the end of the 2021 season. The Mid North Sea High programme covers one of the last underexplored sections of the prolif­ ic UK Continental Shelf, and is now an area of industry focus following recent play-opening wells, said Ion. Existing infrastructure and proximity to the shore makes it attractive for future investment, it added.

‘Since the programme launched, additional acreage was awarded over the survey area, reinforcing the value of the asset and increasing the potential client

BRIEFS TGS expects net segment revenues for the third quarter of 2020 of $81 million.

Kristian Johansen, TGS CEO, said: ‘The market remained challenging during the third quarter with record low acquisition activity. As late sales of seismic historically have been a reliable indicator of the direction of the state of the industry, it is encouraging to see a 10% sequential growth in late sales in the third quarter.’

base for our programme,’ said Ion. Final data will be available in April 2021.

‘This programme marks our entry into the North Sea and completes one of the company’s top strategic objectives this year to enter the larger 3D new acquisition multi-client market,’ said Ken William­ son, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Ion’s E&P Technolo­ gy and Services group. ‘We successfully acquired the most challenging shallow water section of the survey, where con­ flicts with other operations would have been more challenging in subsequent years. Utilizing the company’s Marlin and Orca software, Ion’s Optimization Services team planned the project using an innovative digital methodology that incorporates impacts of ocean currents and nearby operations to make better decisions in real time. This assured max­ imum data collection during the available 2020 season and more uniform subsurface coverage. We are looking forward to the second phase next summer.’

Polarcus has announced the return of the vessel Polarcus Amani from the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot. The vessel will remain stacked in Lyngdal, Norway until market conditions support reactivation, said Polarcus. Meanwhile, Sovcomflot has exercised its option to extend the hire of the vessel Vycacheslav Tikhonov (formerly Polarcus Selma) for three years at half the current day rate.

Shearwater GeoServices has won a contract from Petronas for a towed-streamer 3D seismic survey on Block 52, offshore Suriname. The four-month project will start in Q4, 2020. The 6200 km2 survey in Suriname’s Block 52 and will be carried out by the Geo Caribbean vessel.

Seabird Exploration has won an OBN source contract in the Gulf of Mexico.

The three-month contract will start in Q4 2020. However, a source contract announced on 20 April 2020 has been terminated by the charterer.

UK appoints Osokey to upgrade its National Data Repository The UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has appointed Osokey as a partner in developing the National Data Reposi­ tory (NDR) platform as a critical element of the OGA Digital Energy Platform.

Osokey, which was awarded the con­ tract after a competitive tender process, will start developing new services to go live in 2021. The service will continue to host a range of information includ­ ing wellbores, geophysical surveys and petroleum infrastructure but will make inputting and accessing information easier for users. The new cloud-based approach will enable the OGA, for the first time, to host all reported informa­ tion, including considerable volumes of legacy unprocessed seismic data.

The OGA said that the new service will assist in identifying potential carbon storage sites and contribute to the UK’s net zero objectives while also enabling users to share data and access data that is machine readable to use for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Nic Granger, OGA director of cor­ porate, said: ‘Since launching in 2019, more than 500 terabytes of information have been downloaded from the NDR. We know the data is used extensively by industry, academia and government to help in a range of activities from exploration to research into carbon stor­ age and we are confident that through working with Osokey it will become an even more useful and valued resource.’

FIRST

BREAK

Magseis Fairfield has won a contract for a deepwater 4D Ocean Bottom Node survey in the US Gulf of Mexico for a repeat customer. The 80-day survey will start in December 2020.

Norway has approved the carbon capture and storage project at the Norcem Heidelberg Cement plant in Brevik, Norway. Aker Carbon Capture has signed an agreement worth NOK 1.7 billion ($190 million) to develop what would be the world’s first carbon capture project at a cement factory. The project is expected to commence in January 2021 and start operations in 2024.

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

31

INDUSTRY NEWS

Searcher provides seismic data for Australian wells Searcher has struck a deal with MGPalaeo to provide seismic data on its Australian wells database.

The AUSTRALIS database consists of revised and updated geological data

for more than 2000 wells across the North West Shelf, Perth, and Otway basins, with additional basins to come.

The datasets incorporate standardized biostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic and

The database includes some 2000 wells across the North West Shelf, Perth and Otway basins.

Weatherford launches reservoir monitoring solution

Schlumberger sells its onshore hydraulic fracking business to Liberty

Weatherford has launched the ForeSite Sense reservoir monitoring solution that shows, in real-time, the critical downhole data that determines profit: pressure, temperature and flow.

‘Data tells the story of reservoir behaviour, and reservoir behaviour determines production efficiency and cost of asset ownership,’ said Brent Baumann, president, Completions and Production, Weatherford. ‘ForeSite Sense empowers operators to monetize their data because it creates continuous, actionable intel­ ligence for any well, in any environment .’

He added that ForeSite Sense delivers solutions to drive down the cost of mature wells with ForeSite Sense pods, enables operators of shale wells to manage multiple producing zones with ForeSite Sense quartz solutions; and operators of deepwater wells to optimize reservoir drainage with ForeSite Sense optical distributed-sensing solutions.

Baumann added: ‘Its end-to-end reservoir intelligence creates the world’s only sin­ gle-sourced, production-performance solution.’

32

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

sequence stratigraphic frameworks across all basins. In addition, AUSTRALIS includes digital logs, checkshot and devia­ tion data, vitrinite reflectance and rock eval pyrolysis, plus core points. DST and RFT points are being added.

MGPalaeo said that it reviews all available palynological data to improve its correlations and interpretations and that sedimentologists routinely update the data­ base with direct observations from newly released cores.

Alan Hopping, VP of Searcher, said: ‘By offering the AUSTRALIS geological database alongside Searcher’s extensive seismic coverage we are able to provide a one-stop-shop for explorers.’

Marty Young, co-director of MGPalaeo, said: ‘Pairing AUSTRALIS with seismic was the next logical step in our database’s evolution.’

Schlumberger has agreed to sell its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the US and Canada (OneStim) to Liberty Oilfield Services, in exchange for a 37% equity interest in the combined company.

The deal includes OneStim’s pressure pumping, pumpdown perforating, and Permian frac sand businesses and the new company will deliver completion services at unconventional resource plays in the US and Canada land markets.

SLB and Liberty claimed that the deal will create one of the larg­ est pressure pumping companies in North America, with 2019 combined revenue of $5.2 billion, combined market capitalization of $1.2 billion, no net debt and significant liquidity.

‘Expanded technology and oper­ ating capabilities will further increase

2020

E&P operator efficiencies, enhance shale asset economics and raise the bar for sustainable and environmen­ tally conscious frac operations,’ said a joint SLB/Liberty statement.

The company will also offer a ‘world-class completions data and technology portfolio’ including the most comprehensive production and completions database, Big Data ana­ lytics, advanced software for reser­ voir modelling and designing optimal completions, and frac fleet automa­ tion and electrification, the statement added.

The agreement will provide for additional collaboration on areas such as subsurface expertise, downhole completions equipment, frac trees and flowback technology.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.

Special Topic

MARINE SEISMIC & EM Tougher market conditions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and intense competition have proved to be the mother of invention as the big players in the marine seismic acquisition market have responded with increasing innovation to acquire a greater volume of data that is also more sophisticated.

Ivan Gregory et al demonstrate how, with a fully 4D-focused approach, the processing sequence can be optimized to detect small changes in reservoir properties in noisy, multiple-prone, North Sea data.

Kjetil Eide et al preset the latest developments in Marine Controlled Source Electromagnetics.

Adriana Citlali RamĂ­rez et al present an overview of current seismic needs in the North Sea and contrast them with those of West of Shetlands.

Alex Goertz et al present imaging results from seismic monitoring of drillbit signals under the Ekofisk LoFS array.

Jean Paul Gruffeille et al present a survey design case history from the Gulf of Suez, in which a diverse team of geophysical experts delivered a pragmatic solution to a complex challenge in a short time.

Julien Oukili et al look at a new MAZ streamer concept that challenges existing multi-azimuth solutions, including OBS surveys, as it delivers a higher-quality dataset and reduced environmental impact.

Submit an article

Special Topic overview January

Land Seismic

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

February

Reservoir Monitoring

March

Modelling / Interpretation

April

Passive Seismic / Unconventionals

May

Petroleum Geology

June

Data Processing

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

July

Machine Learning

August

Near Surface Geoscience

September

Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering

October

Energy Transition

November

Marine Seismic & EM

December

Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow

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

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

54

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

Ocean Bottom from

Shallow Water Hybrid Acquisition Deepwater Revealing possibilities at shearwatergeo.com/obs

QuietSeis®

WANT TO GET RID OF DATA JITTER?

QuietSeis MEMS

Analog Geophone

3rd Generation MEMS Sensor ¾ Manufacturing Tolerance Immunity ¾ Temperature Variation Immunity ¾ Ageing Immunity ¾ Electromagnetic Immunity ¾ Lowest Distortion

Nantes, France sales.nantes@sercel.com

Houston, USA sales.houston@sercel.com

www.sercel.com

ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. EVERYTIME.

FEATURE: WHATSUP!

Whatever happened to VSP? In our second feature giving a geoscientist’s viewpoint, Peter Rowbotham (Editor in Chief of First Break) questions the reasons for our disregard of borehole seismic data.

The great promise My first EAEG Conference was the beautiful event in Florence 1991 when I was overawed to attend (and doze off in) talks by esteemed authors of my university textbooks and lap up all the latest developments. My research project in Crosshole Seismics meant I was particularly keen on the Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) sessions, promising the future of high-resolution imaging around the bore­ holes since seismic energy only had to pass through the attenuating near surface layer once. Walk-away, walk-above, reverse, crosshole, anisotropy, tomography, tube waves, multicomponent, talk of single borehole imaging with sources and receivers in the same hole, piezo-electric benders – the subject had many dimensions.

The current reality And nearly 30 years later, what is the reality? Performing a keyword search in EarthDoc, in Figure 1 I have charted the prevalence of a few acronyms that were around in the 1990s. Interest in VSP was on the up to 2005 but has waned since then with only the introduction of DAS applications in the last decade bringing some respite.

Of course, publications are just one side of our industry – how is VSP regarded for day-to-day applications? Both as a staff mem­ ber and as a consultant I have witnessed how VSP data is stored and used in several companies, and have also drawn on the experience of others who share my concerns. In general: - Anything from the last century – forget it. There may be a timedepth table (checkshot) but any seismic traces are inaccessible, especially if there has been an asset sale.

- More recent surveys – pdf reports of the processing, but nothing documented about the use of the VSP, the interpretation or the attribute extraction.

- Only surveys with the ‘champion’ still employed in the company with insight into the history and location of the data maintain their value for future studies.

- When a new VSP is discussed, excitement can build around previous successful applications but without consideration of what to do with it once acquired, and how to use the VSP to (i) improve the seismic image, (ii) get better well ties, (iii) create high resolution images of a target region.

Is this all glum? Perhaps the reality is that VSPs have a short shelflife and are disposable datatypes. But contrast the inaccessibility of VSP with the way we are able to carry along and access equally unglamorous surface seismic data from the 1970s-1990s. I would suggest three reasons for this: 1. Surface seismic data are easy to deal with, VSP data are not.

Our main software suites have been engineered to store, locate and visualize historic surface seismic data, and in the UK we are in the process of converting data warehouses into a National Data Repository. VSP data have been neglected in these software suites, and have fallen between the cracks.

2. Vendors in the past did not always consider integrating their output products into customer’s software, and changing soft­ ware fashions have left old VSP data orphaned.

3. Traditional discipline ownership can be unclear. VSP is seismic = geophysics, but it is associated with a well = petrophysics.

Figure 1 Number of occurrences of selected keyword search in EarthDoc. I smoothed the graphs with a three-year average to remove the spikes caused by e.g. EAGE’s biannual PRM workshop series starting in 2011; if you want to cement your favourite acronym, organise a workshop around it! The increase of publication outlets is captured by the linear trend through AVO mentions, so we can treat this as a normalizing factor.

Future guidance for new technologies You have a great idea for a new technology. How can you learn from the VSP experience? Turn the three observations around to opportunities.

1. Make accessing the data in existing software easy. Stick to established data formats and conventions, and maybe supply a ‘standard’ product for this, with your enhanced product only available to view in your own software.

2. Yes, your Python libraries are at the cutting edge of open source, but customers for the foreseeable future will continue to rely on the ‘big beasts’ for data management. Integrate with them.

3. Know your customer’s boundaries and their needs, and accept that if you span established disciplines you may require multiple product suites. Don’t assume, for example, that every company will have a geomechanics specialist.

Work out who your customer champion will be.

If you have a burning technical issue you would like to get off your chest and bring to the EAGE membership, please get in touch.

Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at peter.rowbotham@apachecorp.com.

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

103

CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 8-11 DECEMBER 2020

EAGE 2020 Annual Conference Online

Online www.eageonline2020.org

November 2020 2-4 Nov

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

Online

9 Nov

Fractured Geothermal Reservoirs: Characterizing and Modelling Fractures with Limited Datasets www.eage.org

Online

9-11 Nov

EAGE Workshop on Fiber Optic Sensing for Energy Applications in Asia Pacific www.eage.org

Online

10-13 Nov

XIV International Scientific Conference “Monitoring of Geological Processes and the Ecological Condition of the Environment” www.eage.org

Kyiv

16‑18 Nov

1st EAGE Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference www.get2020.org

Online

16-19 Nov

EAGE Saint Petersburg 2020 Geosciences: Converting Knowledge into Resources www.eage.org

Saint Petersburg

Russia

17 Nov

Marine Technologies 2020 2 nd Scientific Workshop www.eage.org

Saint Petersburg

Russia

EAGE Events

104

FIRST

BREAK

Non-EAGE Events

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

Ukraine

CALENDAR

17-18 Nov

Asia Energy Forum www.eage.org

Online

17-19 Nov

First EAGE/SBGf Online Symposium on Reservoir Monitoring www.eage.org

Online

20-21 Nov

Geoscience2020 - 5 th Geoscience Symposium of the Romanian Society of Applied Geophysics https://geosymposium.org/

Online

30 Nov 3 Dec

First EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition www.eage.org

Online

December 2020 1‑3 Dec

Second HGS and EAGE Conference on Latin America www.eage.org

Online

6-7 Dec

Eighth EAGE Workshop on Passive Seismic www.eage.org

Online

7‑9 Dec

First EAGE Workshop on Geothermal Energy and Hydro Power in Africa www.eage.org

Online

7‑9 Dec

International Conference of Young Scientists «GEOTERRACE-2020» https://openreviewhub.org/geoterrace

Lviv

7-8 Dec

Near Surface Geoscience Conference 2020 www.nsg2020.org

Online

8-11 Dec

EAGE 2020 Annual Conference Online www.eageonline2020.org

Online

14-16 Dec

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

Online

17-18 Dec

EAGE/SEG Research Workshop on Geophysical Aspects of Smart Cities www.eage.org

Online

Ukraine

February 2021 First EAGE Workshop on Optimizing Project Turnaround Performance www.eage.org

London

United Kingdom

1‑3 Mar

EAGE GeoTech 2021 First EAGE Geophysical Monitoring Technology Conference and Exhibition www.eage.org

The Hague and online

Netherlands

8-10 Mar

Second EAGE Workshop on Machine Learning www.eage.org

Amsterdam and online

Netherlands

14‑18 Mar

SAGEEP 2021 www.sageep.org

Online

23-25 Mar

IPTC 2021 http://2021.iptcnet.org/

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

30-31 Mar

First EAGE Workshop on Borehole Geology in Asia Pacific www.eage.org

Perth

Australia

30 Mar 1 Apr

Fifth EAGE Eastern Africa Petroleum Geoscience Forum www.eage.org

Online

82 nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition www.eageannual2021.org

Amsterdam

22‑24 Feb March 2021

June 2021 14-17 Jun

EAGE Events

Netherlands

Non-EAGE Events

FIRST

BREAK

I

VOLUME

38

I

NOVEMBER

2020

105