First Break October 2021 - Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow

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SPECIAL TOPIC

Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow EAGE NEWS We’re back in business in Amsterdam TECHNICAL ARTICLE Recovering elevation in seismic datasets using Google Earth

IT’S NOT JUST WHERE YOU LOOK, IT’S HOW. cgg.com

FIRST BREAK® An EAGE Publication

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

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ext generation geophysical sensing: exploring a new wave of geophysical N technologies for the energy transition

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

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Personal Record Interview

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Monthly Update

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Crosstalk

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

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Industry News

MEDIA PRODUCTION Saskia Nota (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

Technical Article

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ivana Geurts (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

37 Recovering elevation in seismic datasets using Google Earth: A case study of Parnaíba Basin

Dany Rueda S., Tainá Souza, Jorge H. Faccipieri and Martin Tygel

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Special Topic: Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow 45 Benefits of using dense OBN for exploration: an example from Utsira using AI and machine learning

Sindre Jansen, Adriana Citlali Ramirez, David Went and Bezhad Alaei 53 An enhanced fault detection workflow combining machine learning and seismic attributes yields an improved fault model for Caspian Sea asset

Carolan Laudon, Jie Qi, Aldrin Rondon, Lamia Rouis and Hana Kabazi 61 Next generation geophysical sensing: exploring a new wave of geophysical technologies for the energy transition Phil Ringrose, Martin Landrø, John Potter, Jo Eidsvik, Susann Wienecke, Léa Bouffaut, Volker Oye, Hefeng Dong, Anne Elster and Ståle Johansen 65

Carbon taxes and dealing with global warming Huw James

69 Natural fracture detection in the Middle Vaca Muerta Formation with multi-component seismic data

Tagir Galikeev, Ilya Korotkov, Thomas Davis and David Curia 75 Impact of oil and wettability on foam-assisted conformance control in a Middle Eastern carbonate reservoir Motaz Taha, Quoc P. Nguyen, Amit Kumar, Mayur Pal and Pramod D. Patil 85 Subsurface seismic interpretation technologies and workflows in the energy transition

Chris Han, Abdulqadir Cader and Mark Brownless 94 Calendar

EAGE MEMBERS CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTIFICATION Send to: EAGE Membership Dept at EAGE Office (address above) FIRST BREAK ON THE WEB www.firstbreak.org

cover: Amsterdam is the elegant setting for the first in-person EAGE annual conference and exhibition for two years.

ISSN 0263-5046 (print) / ISSN 1365-2397 (online) FIRST

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European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers

Board 2021-2022

Dirk Orlowsky President

Jean-Marc Rodriguez Vi c e-President

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

Pascal Breton Secretary-Treasurer

Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

Caroline Le Turdu Membership and Cooperation Officer

Lucy Slater Chair Yohaney Gomez Galarza Vice-Chair Michael Peter Suess Immediate Past Chair; TPC Erica Angerer Member Wiebke Athmer Member Juliane Heiland TPC Tijmen Jan Moser Editor-in-Chief Geophysical Prospecting Francesco Perrone Member Matteo Ravasi YP Liaison Philip Ringrose Editor-in-Chief Petroleum Geoscience Giovanni Sosio DET SIC Liaison Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Colin MacBeth Education Officer

Peter Rowbotham Publications Officer

SUBSCRIPTIONS First Break is published monthly. It is free to EAGE members. The membership fee of EAGE is € 80.00 a year (including First Break, EarthDoc (EAGE’s geoscience database), Learning Geoscience (EAGE’s Education website) and online access to a scientific journal.

Companies can subscribe to First Break via an institutional subscription.

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

Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Alireza Malehmir Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division

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

Lucy Slater Chair Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

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

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

COPYRIGHT & PHOTOCOPYING © 2021 EAGE All rights reserved. First Break or any part thereof 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).

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HIGHLIGHTS

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Bordeaux vintage near surface meeting

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First Latin American student chapter meeting

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Health and sustainability the talk in Serbia

We’re back in business at Amsterdam!

This is the moment we have all been waiting for … the return of our Annual Meeting. Finally we get the chance to get together and catch up with the latest business and technology, re-engage with colleagues from around the world and make new contacts. But we realize that not everyone will be able to attend because of ongoing health and travel restrictions in their countries. So we have put together a summary of all the things that will make the 82nd Annual Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam special, and remind those unable to come that most of the event is accessible online.

Opening Session and Ice-breaker It’s important to set the mood for an international event such as ours. And that’s exactly what we intend to do at the Opening Session on Monday 18 October followed by the traditional Ice-Breaker in the exhibition hall. Theme of the event this year is ‘Delivering for the Energy Challenge: today and tomorrow’.

We will hear from EAGE president Dirk Orlowsky on how EAGE sees the future and then find out how leading figures in the industry view the energy landscape in the first of our plenary session forums.

This will also be the time we recognize and honour the scientific advances and achievements of outstanding individuals in our geoscience and engineering community. (See more about the winners at www.eageannual2021.org).

A world-class Technical Programme The Technical Programme of the EAGE Annual 2021 and SPE EUROPEC

combines a diversity of topics with a high-quality and rigour unique to EAGE programmes. Join us for another fantastic edition of our world-class event, which strives to set the bar for the advancement of knowledge in the complex and wide fields of geoscience and engineering. The disciplines represented at the conference range from geophysics, geology, reservoir engineering and integrated subsurface to mining and civil engineering, data and computer science, HSE and sustainability.

The full list of topics as well as the full programme of the sessions and presentations can be found online at EAGEANNUAL2021.ORG. Remember that if you cannot join the Technical Programme in Amsterdam, all oral presentations will be broadcast live to anyone who registers for the online conference.

Visit an outstanding Exhibition Enhance your product knowledge, see, touch, experience and understand cutting edge technologies, and meet the people behind the products. Share ideas with FIRST

your peers from around the world. Grow a network of invaluable contacts for benchmarking, partnering and building your company and career.

The exhibition offers coffee plazas with social activities, Wi-Fi, Digital Transformation area, Innovation Theatre, live presentations, International Pavilion, the biggest Ice-breaker Reception and much more. You can register for the week, or per day. EAGE and our exhibitors are looking forward to your visit. You can find more information and the full list of exhibitors on our website.

Can’t attend the event in Amsterdam?

This year, EAGE will offer delegates the chance to register free of charge to the online exhibition. If you want to discover the innovations, products and services provided by our exhibitors and more, sign up today on our website.

Make sure you head over to www.EAGEANNUAL2021.org. There you can find out more about what’s on offer and, most important, register in time for the 2021 Annual Conference & Exhibition.

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EAGE NEWS

Plenary forum sessions on energy industry challenges This year we are introducing a series of related one-hour plenary sessions over the four days of the Annual Conference. International energy industry leaders and analysts will be discussing the main issues, challenges and opportunities facing the geoscience and engineering community in this time of great uncertainty.

We hope to bring the most authoritative view possible of how the development of tomorrow’s energy needs will evolve.

Each day will cover a different topic in a logical sequence from an overview

Forum Session 1: How the oil industry is addressing the energy mix to meet the goals of the transition era.

Tuesday 19 October However the energy sector develops, the oil and gas industry is going to be front and centre for decades to come. This will be the chance to find out how IOCs and NOCs view the future of exploration in the transition era, what measures are required to keep operations sustainable (e.g., digitalization, multi-client projects,

Discussion underway.

of world energy trends to the education and careers of the next generation of geoscience and engineering professionals.

Questions from the in-person and online audience will be encouraged.

Opening Debate: Energy Transition – Will great expectations be realized?

Monday 18 October Focus of the first forum will be on global energy transition issues and the pace of change in the balance of supply and demand for traditional fossil fuels and renewables. Just some of the questions arising include: What impact has Covid-19 pandemic had on transition momentum? How quickly can we reduce our dependence on oil and gas? What role will decarbonization initiatives play?

Should oil and gas companies be taking the lead?

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revaluation of legacy data, etc.) and the changing commercial and technology landscape for seismic service and equipment suppliers.

Forum Session 2: Role of geoscience and engineering in meeting decarbonization goals Wednesday 20 October The forum will review how geoscientists and engineers can support many decarbonization and renewable initiatives. This starts with the oil and gas industry itself where cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly E&P is a major priority.

Carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCSU) is another obvious application for industry expertise. But the panel of specialists can be expected to broaden the range of discussion to consider many other energy sources (geothermal, wind turbines, solar, tidal, hydrogen, nucle-

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ar, biomass, etc.) and their relevance to geoscience and engineering in the future.

Forum Session 3: Great Career Challenge – the changing education and opportunities for tomorrow’s energy professionals Thursday 21 October The forum series ends with a discussion on how the changing energy landscape will affect education, training, qualifications, and career structures of geoscientists and engineers. This is an increasingly urgent issue for both academia and an energy industry structure undergoing rapid change.

You can find details of all the distinguished panellists participating in the forums on our website.

Workshops, short courses, field trips EAGE’s Annual Meeting is known for its extensive technical programme and the generous amount of workshops covering each spectrum of EAGE’s multi-disciplinary community. Adding a workshop to your conference programme might just be the icing on the cake. If you have a hard time deciding which workshop to pick, why not go for the three-day Workshop Package registration? The package gives you access to workshops on all days (Sunday, Monday and Friday), so you can sign-up for up to three workshops.

The Annual Meeting also provides the perfect opportunity for several very interesting field trips in the area. Can’t wait to spend a day exploring in the field? Get your first-hand experience from one of the EAGE field trips. And for those who would rather have a hands-on learning experience, check out EAGE’s short courses on machine learning and seismic modelling.

So visit our website for the extraordinary range of topical and relevant learning experiences on offer and find one that suits you best.

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EAGE NEWS

Get into the community spirit at EAGE 2021 Our global community and Special Interest Groups will come together in Amsterdam. During the Annual Meeting you can catch up with Local Chapters and an increasing number of technical communities, which welcome those with a particular professional focus. And as usual there is a special programme for students including our legendary GeoQuiz contest.

Check the website for more details on in-person and online activities.

Your first port of call should be the EAGE Community Hub. Once again this will be the one-stop-shop for all things EAGE this year. There you can learn all about our communities and their upcoming activities, education and student offerings, membership services, support programmes, how to get involved with the Association and more. You can find the Hub on the Exhibition floor in Amsterdam or in the event platform if you attend online. Our staff will be available to answer any of your queries.

YP and WGE Special Sessions Young Professionals and Women in Geoscience & Engineering will run dedicated programmes that you can join on Tuesday and Wednesday to explore career development opportunities and connect with EAGE’s largest special interest networks.

AI Workshop The EAGE Artificial Intelligence (AI) community is going to host a workshop at the EAGE Annual on the ‘Development of ML Solutions at Scale: Going from proof of concepts to integrated workflows’. It’s a topic the community has been actively

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discussing over the past year. On 22 October the group plans to expand the conversation. It will no longer focus on proof-of-concept demonstrations. Instead the emphasis will be on today’s pressing deployment challenges such as incorporation of ML/AI workflows into production toolboxes, continuous training-deployment cycle, implementation challenges relating to deployment, and cloud computing.

Speed mentoring If you don’t know many people attending the conference or would like to receive (or share) advice, there is a great way for connecting at the EAGE Annual 2021 and that’s the mentoring programme.

Registered participants can already sign up from 4 October to be matched. During the event you can then connect — either in person or online — and start the conversation with your mentor or mentee.

DET dedicated session There is a red thread in the EAGE Annual programme marking sessions and activities dedicated to energy transition. Not to be missed is the Special Session on ‘Energy Transitions Endeavour - Successful Projects, Plans, and Creative Ideas to Move Forward’ coordinated by the Decarbonization & Energy Transition (DET) community.

LinkedIn training with coach Mark White — The LinkedIn Professional ​​This session is back at the EAGE Annual, this time with a spin for advanced users.

If you are ready to up your game in LinkedIn, you can join online to discover the latest features and ways to unlock more value in the most popular online professional network. Mark White will guide us through some tips and tricks to have a good social media presence, which is one of the best ways for finding the right opportunities, contacts and information for your business or career development. Individuals, as well as EAGE communities can make use of

Local Chapters Session EAGE Local Chapters working together will bring a new multi-disciplinary session to Amsterdam focusing on uncertainty in geosciences. Join online for technical insights and excellent networking.

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EAGE NEWS

the tips shared in this session to maximize benefits and improve on their communication skills.

Mental Fitness Workshop We all know how important physical exercise is, but have you ever worked on your mental fitness? This workshop, delivered both in person as well as online, will introduce key ways to help keep your focus and work performance up.

ModelVision

Hackathon Do you know how to code? Do you want to think outside the box?

Why not participate in the GeoHack. It’s a chance to gain practical experience in programming. A real case of algorithm applications on exploration field solutions may be inspired by processes from outside of the oil and gas industry. We encourage diversity in teams, the programming language is in Python.

Magnetic & Gravity Interpretation System All sensors Processing 3D modelling 3D inversion Visualisation Analysis Utilities

Minerals Petroleum Near Surface Government Contracting Consulting Education

Specially for students At every Annual, EAGE hosts a number of excellent student activities, aimed at helping the future of the geoscience and engineering community build their careers, network with potential future employers and have fun.

Geo-Quiz On Tuesday, 19 October, the geo-battle is on at the venue in Amsterdam. Student delegates are challenged to show off their geoscientific knowledge and skills in the EAGE Geo-Quiz. Up to 50 teams will strive to outwit each other and win some gadgets. Students also have the chance to participate in the online Geo-Quiz on Wednesday, 20 October.

Student e-Summit On Tuesday, 19 October, the EAGE e-Summit series aims to connect geoscience and engineering students from around the world through an interactive, online forum. In this e-Summit,

Many student activities on offer during the conference.

all student delegates are welcome to join the discussion on the highlights of the past and coming (post-Covid) year.

Online participation only.

Networking Café Are you currently eager to connect with representatives from companies or/and academia? During this session, we will bring together students and company/university representatives to talk about the opportunities in your career path. Similarly, we will be adding a fun feature where you can move around and interact with other participants. Both online and onsite participation is possible.

Local Student Meet-up The Netherlands is full of geo potential — both at companies as well as at regional universities. For that reason, we’re organizing a special programme for regional students, connecting them to EAGE, research and industry.

Education Hunt Students can get more from their participation in the EAGE annual event by engaging with the student activities sponsors. Participating is the perfect way to get better acquainted with the industry. On Thursday, 21 October it’s time for a draw and three participating students will be awarded an EAGE education course supported by the EAGE Student Fund. The hunt is fully online.

Tensor Research support@tensor-research.com.au www.tensor-research.com.au

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EAGE NEWS

Annual Near Surface meeting in Bordeaux was one to savour

CONFERENCE

REPORT

Bienvenue from Bordeaux.

Much appreciated exhibition.

After 18 month of online meetings, we finally held one of our flagship events which participants could join in person.

The occasion was the Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition in Bordeaux, France, on 29 August to 2 September. The meeting was complemented with an online edition for those still unable to travel.

Organizing the meeting was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for committees, chairpersons and staff, all working to deliver our first ever hybrid conference and exhibition. The result was a safe and well-attended meeting where delegates, colleagues and friends finally had a chance to get together again.

In order to ensure the in-person meeting was safe, all attending the conference had to go through a health check before entering the venue - a quick and smooth process taking only a moment.

Once inside, hand sanitizers were widely available and, in line with French regulations, face masks were worn during the meeting. Once familiar with the process, the conference was (almost) like business as usual.

Much of the credit must go to Colette Sirieix and Catherine Truffert, event co-chairs, for making the event a success and attracting regional audiences.

NSG Division chair Alireza Malehmir looks back at a positive in-person conference: ‘This was a landmark meeting.

It’s great to see it’s finally possible to reconnect to friends and explore the latest technologies exhibitors have to offer after such a long time. I hope the Bordeaux meeting is a starting point for a strong continued French presence within our meetings and activities. French research-

In-person sessions at last.

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ers have a lot to offer to advance near surface science across the board.’

Vice-chair Esther Bloem attended online: ‘The mix of online and live presentations worked well in my opinion. It’s more challenging to moderate as questions come from the room as well as online.

Having said that, it was great to be able to connect with both audiences. I’ve seen many new enthusiastic faces. The French scientific community is very active and the diverse representation of this year’s technical programme really speaks for itself.’

The strong regional attendance was complemented with stimulating contributions from the parallel conferences at this meeting - the second Conference on Geophysics for Infrastructure Planning, Monitoring and BIM and the first Conference on Hydrogeophysics. Sessions for both meetings attracted wide audiences - both online and in Bordeaux.

The successful conclusion of NSG’21 gives us a lot to look forward to. For starters, the return of safe in-person conferencing gives a taste of what the Annual Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam will look like. Furthermore, it sets the stage for a successful NSG conference and exhibition next year, when we will be welcoming you in Belgrade, Serbia on 18-22 September, 2022.

Back together again.

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Case Study

Unlocking Prospectivity on the Kwanza Shelf Angola

New 3D GeoStreamer acquisition combined with advanced processing techniques unveil key elements for a successful petroleum system in both the pre- and postsalt sections on the Kwanza Shelf.

Read the case study: www.pgs.com/publications/case-studies/ unlocking-prospectivity-on-the-kwanza-shelf

EAGE NEWS

International hackathon brings light into the Earth’s deep interior

Introduction session (the slide on EAGE communities is shown). Photo credit Nobuaki Fuji.

Keynote talks during morning session of Day 2.

Photo credit Jean-Arthur Olive.

Panel session on Day 3. Photo credit Nobuaki Fuji.

Two years ago EAGE had the pleasure of supporting DigitalGeoHack event that resulted in fascinating multi-disciplinary projects.

This year EAGE embarked on an adventure to support another exciting community initiative brought to us by the Collaborative Exploration of Earth’s Deep Interior (CLEEDI) organized by Nobuaki Fuji (IPGP), Jean-Arthure Olive (ENS), Milena Marjanović (IPGP), 10

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Cécile Prigent (IPGP), Charles Le Losq (IPGP), and John Hernlund (ELSI). It resulted in a fascinating multidisciplinary hackathon.

Organizing it during the Covid-19 pandemic was challenging, but the group managed to coordinate another successful event at the University Centre of Foix, Southern France, from 22 to 27 August 2021, in collaboration with the EAGE Artificial Intelligence community.

The aim was once again to gather experts across disciplines to tackle several outstanding earth science problems.

Thirty researchers participated from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (about 30% women and approximately 50% young professionals). Next to the technical projects that the participants worked on during the week, the initiative also extended to outreach and networking activities in Foix and Mazères, which took the public on a journey into the interiors of Earth and Mars.

Below is an overview of the projects presented at the event’s conclusion.

Building a flexible framework for thermokinetic modelling (Manon Sonnet, Léo Petit, Benjamin Klein, Laetitia Le Pourhiet, Jean-Arthur Olive).

The group worked on assembling a suite of codes to model the temperature structure of a subduction zone, follow markers along streamlines and track major metamorphic reactions accounting for simple kinetic delays. The test case focuses on the subduction of continental crust and the development of a reaction front as a result of a delayed reaction.

Simulating wave propagation through a subduction model (Pranav Audhkhasi, Tiphaine Larvet, Dorian Soergel, Jean-Paul Montagner, Stéphanie Durand, Laetitia Le Pourhiet).

Geodynamicists and seismologists got together to work on building inter-disciplinary models. This included converting maps of P,T and composition from outputs of geodynamic models to Vp and Vs

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using the Perple_X software, and then propagating seismic waves.

Atomic structure and physical properties of peridotite melts (Paolo Sossi, Charles Le Losq).

This project focused on Raman spectra of quenched peridotite melts, equilibrated at high temperatures under different oxygen fugacities. Fitting the spectra with components assigned to different molecular entities allows extracting the bulk polymerization of the melt, in terms of Si-O-Si bridging. This, combined with knowledge from a deep learning model of the properties of aluminosilicate melts developed at IPGP, enables the effect of the melt structure on its viscosity and, hence, on its mobility in magma ocean scenarios to be inferred.

Ultra high-pressure properties of melts: linking viscosity to phase diagrams (Charles-Edouard Boukaré, Charles Le Losq).

The idea behind the project was to estimate the viscosity of molten magmas at extreme conditions (lower mantle) through the knowledge of phase equilibria. To explore this idea the team members conduct tests at low pressure first, working on binary CaO-SiO2 and Na2O-SiO2 melts. If successful, this will open doors for new ultra-highpressure estimates of the viscosity of lower mantle melts, such as those potentially entrapped in ultra-low seismic velocity zones (ULVZ) in the Earth’s mantle.

Converting (upscaling) a ridge model with transform faults into an anisotropic tomographic image (Alexandre Janin, Milena Marjanović, Cécile Prigent, Thomas Bodin, Stephanie Durand).

The project was focused on creating an interdisciplinary scheme for examining large-scale anisotropy resulting from mid-ocean ridge ridge/transform fault

EAGE NEWS

plate boundaries using a non-periodic homogenization algorithm to produce the effective medium as seen by long waves. The obtained homogenized seismic velocity field can then be interpreted as the tomographic image and directly compared to the initial ridge model that contains sharp discontinuities.

Modelling serpentinization and hydration mechanisms at midoceanic ridges (Antoine Demont, Arne Glink, Fei Zhou, Ekeabino Momoh, Manon Bickert, SsuTing Lai, Nobuaki Fuji).

The team worked on implementing/ improving existing parametrizations of hydration reactions in geodynamical models of ridge systems. They improved the parameterizations of serpentinization reactions and their rheological implications. They also explored ways to identify deep serpentinized patches using seismic velocities and magneticdata.

The CLEEDI Team and participants.

Waveform Seismic Low Filtering of the Earth’s mantle models (Nobuaki Fuji, Robert Myhill, Anselme Borgeaud, Paul J. Tackley, Stéphanie Durand, Takashi Nakagawa, Frédéric Deschamps, Nirmit Dhabaria, Giacomo Roncoroni).

The team gathered around the long-standing question of whether LLSVPs are thermal or thermo-chemical in nature by combining knowledge from geodynamics, petrology, and seismology.

Creation and destruction of mantle heterogeneities by SiO2 exsolution from the core (Charles-Edouard Boukaré, Paolo Sossi, Bob Myhill, Paul Tackley, Stéphanie Durand, Héloise Gendre, Clara Caurant, Charles Le Losq).

This project was focused on examining exsolution processes at the core-mantle boundary and their impact on deep mantle dynamics through a literature review.

EAGE Online Education Calendar START AT ANY TIME

GEOSTATISTICAL RESERVOIR MODELING, BY D. GRANA

SELF-PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

START AT ANY TIME

CARBONATE RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY L. GALLUCCIO

SELF-PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

1 OCT – 1 NOV

DATA SCIENCE FOR GEOSCIENCE, BY J. CAERS

EXTENSIVE COURSE*

4 CHAPTERS OF 1-2 HRS

5-8 OCT

OILFIELD GEOMECHANICS: APPLICATION TO DRILLING, COMPLETIONS, RESERVOIR, PRODUCTION, GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, BY D. WIPRUT

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

7-8 OCT

SEISMIC RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION: AN EARTH MODELING PERSPECTIVE, BY P. DOYEN (ONLINE EET)

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

12-13 OCT

VALUE OF INFORMATION IN THE EARTH SCIENCES, BY J. EIDSVIK

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

14-15 OCT

MIGRATION AND VELOCITY MODEL BUILDING, BY P. GERRITSMA

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

17-18 OCT

MACHINE LEARNING FOR GEOSCIENTISTS WITH HANDS-ON CODING,

BY E. NAEINI

SHORT COURSE

2 DAYS IN PERSON COURSE

17-18 OCT

SEISMIC DIFFRACTION, MODELING, IMAGING AND APPLICATION,

BY T.J. MOSER

SHORT COURSE

2 DAYS IN PERSON COURSE

26-29 OCT

FULL-WAVEFORM INVERSION FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION RESERVOIR,

BY D. GISOLF

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

26 OCT

MODELLING COMPACTION AND CEMENTATION EFFECTS: HYBRID ROCK PHYSICS, BY M. ELLIS

DLP WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

28 OCT

IN PURSUIT OF INCREASED RESOLUTION WHILE PRESERVING AMPLITUDE FIDELITY, BY J. REILLY

E-LECTURE WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

29 OCT & 2 NOV

INTEGRATED METHODS FOR DEEP-WATER RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY J.R. ROTZIEN

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 5 HRS

2 NOV

QUANTITATIVE PREDICTION OF INJECTED CO2 AT SLEIPNER USING WAVE-EQUATION BASED AVO, BY P. HAFFINGER

E-LECTURE WEBINAR

1 CHAPTER OF 1 HR

* EXTENSIVE SELF PACED MATERIALS AND INTERACTIVE SESSIONS WITH THE INSTRUCTOR: CHECK SCHEDULE OF EACH COURSE FOR DATES AND TIMES OF LIVE SESSIONS FOR THE FULL CALENDAR, MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG.

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EAGE NEWS

Exploration community looks forward to ProGREss’21

Speakers in action at previous ProGREss meeting.

An upcoming highlight of geoscience events in Russia will be the ProGREss’21 International Conference on ‘Geological exploration as a business’. Being held for the second time in Sochi, Russia on 1-3 November, this world-class meeting brings together operation managers and best experts in exploration, IT, oilfield services and consulting.

In keeping with the times the conference is all about the growing uncertainty prevailing in the oil and gas business, the risks of reducing investment in exploration, as well as new challenges in the field of efficiency.

On the agenda of ProGREss’21 will be Management of big exploration project

from the industry’s leaders; International approaches to realization of geological exploration projects; Overview of prospective areas and the results of geological surveying in Russia and CIS countries; Implementation and development of the best geological practices during petroleum exploration projects and in conditions of high geological uncertainties; and Case studies in safe and effective geological surveying and application of digital technologies.

Well recognized names in the industry have already confirmed their participation including Shell, Repsol, Total, Wintershall Dea, Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Rosneft, Lukoil, Novatek, and Explor. This time

the conference will also have an outstanding gathering of representatives from major companies such as Microsoft, Lanit-Tercom, and CROC. In addition, we are proud to announce participants from United Corporation, Ministry of Natural Resources, State Reserves Committee of Russia, and Department for International Trade (British Embassy).

The highest safety standards regarding Covid-19 will be applied during the conference, so that this opportunity to meet in person after so many online events will be a great experience for everyone involved in the exploration community.

Visit www.eage.ru to view the programme and register.

How to write a good paper for Geophysical Prospecting A short editorial guide to increasing your chance of getting your article accepted for publication in Geophysical Prospecting.

Geophysical Prospecting, EAGE’s premier peer-reviewed journal, publishes the best in primary research in geoscience with a particular focus on exploration geophysics. As such we are always open to article submissions and offer here some advice on how best to meet the requirements for getting published.

The scope of the journal covers the potential field, electromagnetic and seismic methods applied to exploration and 12

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monitoring. The goal of the journal is to provide a valuable forum for sharing experiences and new ideas among those involved in the field of exploration geophysics.

We wish to attract high quality submissions (theoretical and numerical studies as well as case studies and review papers) from industry and academia. It is worth considering what makes a good article. High impact papers often include

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innovative fundamental research ideas and/or developments of existing methodologies with a clear path to address practical resource discovery and sus-

EAGE NEWS

tainable exploitation. They should also include enough information on methods and data to allow where possible reproduction of the reported findings.

In addition high quality papers follow well-established principles on precision, logical reasoning, conciseness, clarity and accessibility.

What makes a good paper is significant innovation, presented clearly in a candid manner highlighting both benefits and limits. Editorial policy requires that submissions have a clear purpose, so authors will do well to challenge themselves with some basic questions. What is significant about your work? Why does it merit publication? What scientific innovation, new data, new insights are presented? What is the expected benefit to the community? Does the paper adhere to a high standard of openness and transparency? How does your contribution add value to geophysical prospecting?

In order to maximize the impact of a submitted paper and at the same time minimize the chance of an unsatisfactory outcome of the review process, the Editorial Board has prepared a document to provide general guidelines for authors to consider before writing and submitting to the journal. These guidelines should be distinguished from the already existing guidelines for authors available on the websites of EAGE and Wiley (the publisher), which are just the minimum requirements to make a paper acceptable.

Scan the QR code to read the full document on what makes a good Geophysical Prospecting paper. We hope these guidelines help you present your thoughts in a rigorous, attractive and accessible way.

Contributions to Geophysical Prospecting are welcomed on a regular basis.

The journal is also planning two special issues for next year, one on ‘Advanced techniques, methods and applications for an integrated approach to geophysical prospecting’ and the other on ‘Machine learning applications in geophysical exploration and monitoring’.

Scan QR code to read the guidelines

Winner of Laurie Dake Challenge 2021 announced Under normal circumstances, winning the Laurie Dake Challenge is quite a feat. But this year the challenge was unprecedented. The assignment and dataset provided by Wintershall DEA gave each team headaches enough.

But, in 2021, our teams also had to grapple with all the complications of working during a pandemic lock-down for the whole duration of the contest.

With university facilities being inaccessible, our teams had to work with limited resources and computational power to develop their results.

Arjan Kamp, Student Affairs Committee member and member of the jury said: ‘Despite the fact that this year fewer teams took part than in previous years, which was probably attributable to the pandemic, the finalists used a considerable variety of workflows to tackle the challenging data set proposed by Wintershall. This led to exciting finals, with the work by the three finalists being very close in quality, and a very tough decision for us to assign the winning team. We also enjoyed the fascinating exhibition by Wintershall of the actual field development history and their understanding of the complex structural geology.’

It was a closely contested final round, with the teams from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India

and University Technology Petronas, Malaysia judged second and third place respectively. However, only one team could be crowned the winner of the 2021 Challenge. This year, that honour went to IFP School, France.

2021 Laurie Dake Challenge final round.

The judges of the final section were impressed by the teams’ focus on the final presentation of the field development plan in particular. Bill Richards, Student Affairs Committee member and member of the jury said: ‘For me, it was very hard ranking the top teams this year, and great to see a new team from India breaking into the last round along with the old hands from Europe and Southeast Asia.

There is such a range of technical and business disciplines involved and they all did very well in different areas. A really interesting geologic problem thanks to Wintershall.’

Enter the 2022 Challenge!

If you are interested in participating in the Laurie Dake Challenge yourself and having shot at becoming the 2022 winners, then get ready. The Laurie Dake Challenge 2022, supported by the EAGE Student Fund and Repsol, will once again invite university students to work on the cross-disciplinary geoscience and engineering integration challenge. Application for the 2022 edition will open on 25 October 2021. A cheque of €2000 divided between the three top teams and the possibility of having a meeting with senior geoscientists involved in oil and gas and energy companies: that’s the prize for the winning Laurie Dake Challenge team!

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EAGE NEWS

Best student chapter in Latin America keeping busy Student Chapter of National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico report on its recent activities.

We are very proud to have won the third place in the running for the Best Student Chapter of 2021, after the winner IFP School Paris and Universiti Teknologi Petronas. As the Mexican student chapter of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico City, we have 20 members with geophysical, geological, petroleum, and topographic engineering students. Our mission is to promote the development between geoscientists and engineers in geosciences and to encourage innovation, technical progress, and inter-disciplinary activity through cooperation, teamwork, and professionalism.

In 2020, owing to the current Covid pandemic, our activities had to adapt to the prevailing health regulations. Therefore, we made use of the available technologies and the different platforms to support us and continued to provide different activities that represented growth opportunities for students, not only of the National Polytechnic Institute but also of other universities and the general geoscience internationally.

Our social networks were also key to keeping in touch and giving greater visibility to the projects of the EAGE IPN Student Chapter. The great positive response from the community with different presentations, courses, and talks encouraged us to maintain momentum looking for different ways to share knowledge, always seeking accessibility and creativity.

Organizers at Mexican student chapter.

Within our activities carried out in the years 2020 and 2021, our main objective was to provide students with the opportunity to be part of various projects and activities within the geosciences, with a variety of topics to cover different areas of interest. Adapting to this change full of uncertainty was a great challenge. As a result skills such as distance learning, updating, and self-taught preparation for our future as earth science professionals were improved.

Our way of working was based on providing various tools and elements to students and the general community during this period to reinforce and integrate knowledge that was previously acquired

An online session for students.

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in the classroom or in their professional experience. Of course, these activities were carried out with guidance of top professionals, also having the support of some companies, organizations, and institutions.

Thanks to this synergy it was possible to successfully offer different webinars, courses and monthly presentations to continue with the training of the student community.

One of our successes was the creation of our own podcast entitled ‘Terra Sapiens’ where in addition to delving into a specific topic, we explored the experiences and work challenges that our collaborators had to go through to be the great professionals they are today. This podcast has been very well received by the community, serving as motivation and encouragement for the challenges that arise when entering the world of work and inspiration to take new paths for personal growth.

Not only did we address the polytechnic community, in the event called ‘Geocarnival’ with the participation of other student chapters it was proposed to work together with various universities in the country, to reinforce friendship and make the world of learning within geosciences more dynamic and fun.

One of our most ambitious projects was the first meeting of Student Chapters Latin America (see separate report on page 15).

EAGE NEWS

Latin American student chapters unite for first online meeting EAGE Latin America student chapters have registered a first by holding an international online event organized by all EAGE student chapters in the region.

The event — Primer Encuentro de Capítulos EAGE – 1o ECE Latinoamérica — took place between 30 August and 1 September 2021 with the participation of undergraduate and graduate students in geosciences and engineering from five countries (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Peru) and 13 student chapters from different Latin American universities.

The idea of 1​​o ECE Latinoamérica came from the students’ desire to break down some barriers within geosciences.

The main objective of the event was to unite students and professionals from all over the continent and bring greater synergy among the EAGE student chapters in the region, encouraging a stronger and more united scientific community.

One of the goals was to make it possible to exchange information between scientists from different universities and countries. As the idea of the ​​ event was interaction, the event included a series of courses and lectures on current issues in the training of future professionals in geosciences and related areas.

The event included a session where those interested could disseminate and dis-

cuss their scientific work with colleagues with different academic backgrounds and experiences.

Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru was fundamental for the organizing committee and the technical committee of the event

Chapters participating in the event.

The topics discussed were multi-disciplinary, including geology, geophysics, solid earth, oil and gas exploration, mining, energy transition, data science and machine learning and soft skills in the 21st century.

The interaction between undergraduate and graduate students in geology, geophysics, petroleum engineering was a great experience, bringing together

to get to know new realities and broaden horizons about the different cultures and their ways of approaching geosciences, remotely.

EAGE Latin America student community hopes that this was just the first seed planted for a more integrated future in Latin America, with more partnerships, integrated activities and a leading role for students.

EAGE Student Calendar 5 OCT

STUDENT WEBINAR: STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS,

BY CARLOS GIRALDO

ONLINE

8 OCT

STUDENT E-SUMMIT: GET READY FOR EAGE STUDENT CHALLENGES

ONLINE

18-21 OCT

82ND EAGE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS AND ONLINE

25 OCT

LAURIE DAKE CHALLENGE 2022 APPLICATION

ONLINE

5 NOV

STUDENT WEBINAR: SEISMIC APPLICATIONS FOR MINING USING PASSIVE SOURCES, BY DEYAN DRAGANOV

ONLINE

23-25 NOV

2ND GEOSCIENCE & ENGINEERING IN ENERGY TRANSITION CONFERENCE

STRASBOURG, FRANCE AND ONLINE

JAN 2022

MINUS CO2 CHALLENGE FINAL ROUND

ONLINE

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

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EAGE NEWS

Health and sustainability dominate discussion at meeting of Serbian societies Geoscience and health topped the agenda at a series of events on 6-9 July organized at Kopaonik Mt., Serbia, by our associated society AGES (the Association of Geophysicists and Environmentalists of Serbia) and EAGE Local Chapter Serbia, in collaboration with the SEG/SPE Student Section of the Mihajlo Pupin Institute.

EAGE executive director Marcel van Loon at the Opening Ceremony.

The IX International Conference on Biomedicine and Geosciences ‘Influence of Environment on Human Health’ and the III International Students’ Workshop ‘Pupin Meets Nobel’ were key meetings. Owing to travel restrictions, only professionals and students from the Balkan region were able to attend in person. However, several authors with accepted papers were happy to submit their pre-recorded presentations to be included in the multi-disciplinary programme.

The students in attendance were invited to participate in all three events, which provided them with a great opportunity to be exposed to the advances in multiple domains as well as to meet experts, professionals, academics and researchers from different countries. A total of 21 papers and 12 student papers were presented followed by lively Q&A sessions.

The panel discussion on ‘The Geophysical Sustainability Atlas: Mapping Geophysics to the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ was especially inspiring.

Moderated by Snežana Komatina (AGES president), the speakers Anna Shaughnessy, Emer Caslin and Maria Angela Capello

introduced the Atlas, the path leading to its production and the challenges ahead. The audience joined in a rich brainstorming session contributing ideas for future work.

After the event, a group of AGES members including students started to work on a case study project to explore future directions of geophysics and geosciences at large in a humanitarian context.

The student programme proved a productive opportunity to create new links with local universities focusing on the current state of the industry, opportunities for work, and the impact of Covid-19 on petroleum engineering.

The organizers now look forward to welcoming everyone at the next edition in May 2022.

Closing Ceremony.

The EAGE Student Fund supports student activities that help students bridge the gap between university and professional environments. This is only possible with the support from the EAGE community. If you want to support the next generation of geoscientists and engineers, go to donate.eagestudentfund.org or simply scan the QR code.

Many thanks for your donation in advance!

D O N AT E T O DAY !

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Personal Record Interview

Young Russian with a digital destiny Alexander Kuvichko is not your average Russian geoscientist. Born in Pyatigorsk, southern Russia in 1987, he showed remarkable computer aptitude at an early age. In a starred student career he followed a bachelor’s degree in computer science, with a master’s in reservoir engineering and a PhD in mathematics (his real love), all at Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. He is currently RCA DELFI Product Manager for Schlumberger in Moscow covering seven countries. Learning Chinese, parachute jumping, hackathons and losing weight are some of his varied interests.

Tell us about your early introduction to computers?

I wrote my first computer program at the age of five. My mother took me to her work and showed me a PC. I think it was an IBM PC 80286. She opened a database system where I could type ‘?’ and ask it to solve simple equations, like ‘20-10+7’. When I was eight years old, my mother enrolled me to a programming class. We learned the BASIC language, and I was able to create simple programs. At the age of 11 my father gave me my first C/C++ book.

After that, I really got it into coding. Later I was very proud to win a North-Caucasian school programming competition. The prize was a rather powerful PC, an exciting result for a 17 year-old student.

Were you always top of the class!?

Usually but not always! At university, I once scored 104 and 117 out of 100 points possible on an exam: just by doing all the extra assignments.

What does your current work at Schlumberger involve?

Currently I’m a product manager for digital solutions in Schlumberger Moscow Research Centre. The portfolio of our digital products includes active commercial products, internal products, prototypes, concepts and draft ideas. So far we have 60 different projects, and the number is growing. Our digital team enables Schlumberger to offer its global digital solutions in Russian including ‘Fit-for-basin’ cloud

technology, as well as convert research and digital initiatives to digital products.

Are there any frustrations to data science research in Russia?

No. In Russia, as in many other regions, data residency regulations are in place, so foreign data centres and cloud providers cannot be used to handle Russian oil and gas data without a specific permission from governmental authorities. But if we use local cloud providers, there are no issues. Furthermore, many oil and gas companies have started to transform into energy and digital companies, and this is impossible without doing data science.

You helped organize Russia’s first EAGE data science hackathon. How did it go?

Schlumberger co-organized a hackathon at the 2nd local EAGE conference ‘Intellectual data analysis in the oil and gas industry’.

We did it together with our cloud partner in Russia, using an AI/ML solution from our data science partner. The hackathon assignments were designed with an industry partner. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and desire to reduce the carbon footprint, using the cloud was the only option to conduct the hackathon. It was a first try, and overall it went great. We also demonstrated that we can launch our global solutions in the ‘Fit-for-basin’ clouds.

Tell us about your fitness regime Before Covid-19 pandemic times I was doing a technical sales support job, thus FIRST

did 60-70 flights per year. When my trips were paused, and I started to gain weight. In April 2020 I decided to do something about it, so got up and ran 700 m. It was really difficult, but it was the starting point. Now I run around 150 km per month, ride a bike, and burning 1000+ kcal each day. I have already lost 13 kg, run several half-marathons and made a presentation logging my progress.

What’s the appeal of parachute jumping for you and your wife?

We don’t have special licences to jump alone, but we have done several jumps with instructors. It is safe and we have good jumping sites in the Moscow area, so why not to try? I always wanted to jump since my school days, but there was always a reason to postpone, either bad weather, a busy weekend, or friends who couldn’t not come. So, I decided to go it alone – and jumped! After that my wife also decided to join me.

Are you really learning Chinese?

I started learning at the end of my PhD studies, just before the thesis defence.

Why? Just because I wanted to learn it. After studying it for three and a half years I passed some Chinese language exams and could have gone to China for one year to practice. However, by that time, I was the father of two children so had to pass. Currently I’m a bit rusty with Chinese, but I will return to it.

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Alexander Kuvichko

PERSONAL RECORD INTERVIEW

Make sure you’re in the know

EAGE MONTHLY UPDATE HYBRID

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25 OCTOBER 2nd Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference | 23-25 November 2021 • Strasbourg, France & Online

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CROSSTALK

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Societies under professional scrutiny A reminder first that the views expressed in Crosstalk are the source of revenue for the societies has been coming from the author’s alone. This is important to underline because the topic commercial sector of the oil business via sponsorship for events, of the day is the role of geoscience and engineering professional attendance at exhibitions, advertising for publications, support for societies of which EAGE is one. Not only that, the Association has students, etc. Even before Covid, the signs were evident that the been an indulgent publisher of this column since it was launched transition era was beginning to impact oil industry spending priorities, particularly on large-scale exploration projects. In addition, seven years ago without ever interfering with its content.

Our professional societies are currently under scrutiny as a geoscience-related companies have never really recovered from the result of the flurry of merger activity in North America. SPE and 2013-14 price shock, and the marine seismic business in particular AAPG are currently canvassing members about a merger of their has suffered mightily as demand for surveys has withered away. two organizations. SEG and AAPG recently agreed terms to run The pandemic in some respects has simply accelerated a joint annual meetings for the next five years, first of which was in process that was already in motion. The main societies have been Denver in September. The deal was widely interpreted as the first aware for some time that the scale of their past activities was no step in a possible union of the two societies. longer sustainable. Sensible economies have been instituted rather For the record EAGE has stood aside from these manoeuvres, than any radical change, perhaps hoping things would recover but nonetheless faces many of the challenges that are driving sufficiently to resume business more or less as before.

However, an unforeseen consequence of Covid, namely the these potential consolidations. This is because a combination of the Covid pandemic, restraints on energy company spending, restrictions on travel and meetings, has changed the commerthe evolving demands of energy transition and the rise of online cial landscape. Suddenly the possibilities of online events have emerged. Just how important is it for personnel to attend a zoom-style communication has derailed the established business model on which all societies have relied for decades and on how workshop or conference in person when an online version is readily membership services can be delivered in the future. available? That is a question that all organizations are going to ask The merger activity being advocated in in future.

North America looks straight out of the corWe will not know the full impact for a ‘EAGE faces many of porate textbook. Claims of cost savings and while. But, faced with likely long-term reducthe challenges that are efficiency are the drivers here in the face of tions in meeting attendance, societies will drastically reduced revenues, mainly as a result driving these potential surely have to develop a different structure for of Covid restrictions on meetings in person. financing events. On the bright side, it may consolidations.’

More streamlined organization, eliminating be that paid-for online participation, even if duplicate events on the same topic, reduced competition, etc are cheaper, may generate higher attendance and hence good returns. the priorities. Some members may be surprised by how much all A more complex issue surrounds the ease with which our societies are beholden to business imperatives. Yet this is the effectively free online meetings can be organized under the reality that up to now has provided the opportunity to offer a huge umbrella of a society. For example, local chapters can arrange range of activities and interests at a very affordable to members. top-class speakers and online forums with the admirable mission The enabler has been the wealth of the oil and gas industry, the of advancing scientific knowledge, conducting the proceedings extensive service sector and numerous geoscientists and engineers online and/or posting the results on YouTube. Such meetings can involved who supply substantial membership income. A major have significant value, are available to anyone who cares to log

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CROSSTALK

in, but crucially generate no income to the society in whose name the transition era. Time will tell if this gives them an edge in the the event is being run. competition between the professional societies. Rivalry will endure merger or no mergers and regardless of any increased, desirable, The online challenge to a sustainable financial model is not one that will readily go away by combining the resources of two or more inter-society co-operation. In this context EAGE for the moment at societies. A more fundamental issue is whether mergers actually least also has a branding advantage over the SPE, SEG and AAPG in that its name is not associated with the petroleum industry. achieve their objectives. In the corporate world, the outcomes are not that encouraging with financial analysts generally agreeing In all the discussion, there seems to be a basic question that more fail than succeed. That would certainly be the case in the that has been missed, namely what is the role of a professional society? The main geoscience and engineering societies are not geoscience services sector where countless mergers over the years trade unions defending workers’ rights, they are not lobby organihave rarely, if ever, produced a winner. zations, they do not have an official place in the education sphere, A Harvard Business Review article (Clayton M. Christensen, and do not award qualifications. It is true that publication in sociRichard Alton, Curtis Rising, and Andrew Waldeck, 2011) suggests ety journals and accreditation on some courses have professional there are two reasons to acquire a company, which executives career value. Yet the society’s purpose is somewhat ill-defined. often confuse. The most common one is to boost your company’s It may not amount to more than the gathering of like-minded current performance to help you hold on to a premium position, on professionals to discuss and promote mutual interests (science the one hand, or to cut costs, on the other. This apparently simply and business), advance knowledge, with at least some eye on the doesn’t happen as many CEOs are unrealistic about improvements public good. That is what the mission statements seem to suggest. possible, don’t know how to do the integration and probably paid SEG says it is ‘a global not-for-profit organization with a too much in the first place. The second, less familiar reason to mission of connecting the world of applied geophysics’. AAPG acquire a company is to reinvent your business model and thereby states that ‘the original purpose (of AAPG), to fundamentally redirect your company. The authors warn that almost nobody understands ‘A more fundamental foster scientific research, to advance the science of geology, to promote technology, and how to identify the best targets to achieve that issue is whether to inspire high professional conduct, still goal, how much to pay for them, and how or mergers actually guides the Association today’. SPE aspires whether to integrate them.

Arguably a merger of societies has different achieve their objectives.’ ‘to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, criteria on which to judge success. Yet the development and production of oil and gas resources and related joint statement from SPE and AAPG on the intention to explore technologies for the public benefit; and to provide opportunities a merger has a corporate ring about it – ‘AAPG and SPE both for professionals to enhance their technical and professional recognize that oil and natural gas will continue to be essential to competence.’ EAGE seeks ‘to promote the development and meet the world’s energy needs, and the combined membership will application of geosciences and related engineering subjects, to contribute substantially to assuring reliable and affordable future promote innovation and technical progress and to foster the comenergy supplies. Additionally, the knowledge, skills, and abilities munication, fellowship and cooperation between those working of the new organization will enable its members to accelerate the in, studying or otherwise being interested in these fields’. uptake of new technologies such as digitalization and will also be No one can deny the successful formula that SPE, SEG, AAPG essential to emerging areas such as carbon capture, utilization, and and EAGE have applied in the last decades to provide opportunities storage, hydrogen energy, and novel geothermal solutions.’ for learning, networking and sharing of knowledge benefiting The statement adds: ‘Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, countless industry and academic professionals and their organizaboth organizations have felt the impact of quarantines and social tions. At the same time it has over time led to increasing commercial distancing mandates. Combining resources would put the new competition between the geoscience and engineering societies organization in a better position to continue offering the services to support growing portfolios of events, publications, education expected by members. Synergies would reduce operational initiatives, local chapters, special interest groups, etc. Whether overlap and redundancy, thereby increasing efficiency and return that is what members want now, or envisaged when societies were on investment for members. Most importantly, it will allow the founded, is a moot point. Merger talk should produce some answers. new organization to look to the future and prepare members for When European geophysicists parted company with SEG the changes happening in the industry.’ to form the European Association of Exploration Geophysicists North American societies clearly recognize the need to adapt (EAEG) in 1951, it is perhaps salutary to consider that Associto the changing composition of their members as the applications ation activities were modest, confined to twice yearly meetings of geoscience and engineering transition away from the traditional and publication of Geophysical Prospecting, no paid staff and an resources industries. It implies a multi-disciplinary approach. That office facility provided in the Shell building in The Hague. is something EAGE has embraced for some time as it readies for

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

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HIGHLIGHTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

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Shearwater shoots survey offshore Australia

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CGG completes plastic pollution study

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PGS shoots survey East of Sheltland

TGS unveils technology advances to enable clearer imaging of volcanic sub-sea provinces

Example from EWW18 survey showing uplift after processing using DWFWI, COR, and DIS. Successful imaging features supra-basalt, intra-basalt and subbasalt. Noticeably, in lower right the velocity inversion below the basalt indicates non-volcanic sediments.

Significant advances in imaging beneath seismic-disrupting basalt are opening up opportunities in the Atlantic Margin of northwest Europe for geoscience companies, said TGS. Volcanic provinces are generated during the continental break-up, marking the boundaries of both subduction zones and spreading ridges. They provide a mechanism necessary to release pressure and energy derived from tectonic movement.

The material produced through vulcanism pours into growing basins while interbedding with, and covering, other sediment.

Hydrocarbons are eventually produced and expelled from source rocks within the basin and find their way into ideal reservoirs. Many of these optimal reservoirs are sealed or interbedded with volcanic facies.

‘Unfortunately, for explorationists this volcanic material has presented a substantial challenge to image through seismic surveying, making it very difficult to accurately prospect for hydrocarbons,’ said TGS in its latest Insights article.

Basins in the Caribbean, offshore Argentina, Brazil, Greenland, Angola, India and northwest Europe have potential hydrocarbon reserves that exist beneath volcanic facies, particularly basalt flows.

The Atlantic Margin of northwest Europe is a prime example of an area where basalt flows have hindered imaging of reservoirs.

The Rosebank field in the Faroe-Shetland Basin was discovered in 2004 and was one of the first attempts to develop and derisk intra- and sub-volcanic reservoirs.

The operators spent the next decade trying to derisk the prospects by drilling appraisal wells, some of which showed potential.

In 2010 Chevron drilled the Lagavulin well in the UK Atlantic Margin to prospect a sub-basalt target and but the well was dry. Then, in 2012, offshore the Faroe Islands, Equinor’s Brugdan II well targeted sub-basalt, but was also commercially unsuccessful. Like Rosebank, both prospects ran into seismic imaging challenges and technical drilling difficulties. Exploration in this region faltered during the 2015 economic downturn.

Over the past two decades, seismic service companies have developed FIRST

workflows that are capable of producing detailed imaging of both intra-volcanic and sub-basalt reservoirs. In 2018 TGS developed a focused research programme called SIR (Sub-Basalt Imaging and Research). The focus of this research was to adapt workflows from seismic programmes in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil where methods developed to image around and below salt have solved issues related to modelling velocity inversions, signal-to-noise (S/N) improvement in 3D shot migrations, and accurate removal of multiples.

Traditional narrow-azimuth surveys with short streamer lengths and limited source potential have been replaced by deploying multiple advanced sources in full-azimuth surveys acquired with ocean-bottom nodes (OBN) or multi-azimuth surveys with long streamer lengths.

These advances have made it possible to acquire densely spaced data with a wide spectrum of low-to-high frequencies necessary to accomplish detailed imaging in a structurally complex environment.

Advances in computing have made it cost- and time-effective to run additional de-multiple sequences with 3D Surface Relate Multiple Elimination (SRME) and advance velocity modelling methods. The improved computing efficiency when using wave equation-based techniques for velocity model updating has made

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it possible to image and map intra- and sub-basalt events.

The key technologies in the processing sequence advancing intra- and sub-basalt imaging in the North Sea include image guided tomography with Common-Offset Reverse Time Migration (COR), RTM with Directional Image Stacking (DIS), Least Squares RTM (LSRTM) and Dynamic-Matching Full Waveform Inversion (DMFWI). COR can handle inadequate ray-coverage, produce a higher signal-tonoise (S/N) ratio and image more coherent events. DIS provides a weighted method to stack the RTM image and take into account source direction, survey geometry and other stacking criteria to achieve better separation of S/N and produce a more accurate final image. LSRTM improves S/N by suppressing migration artifacts and broadens the bandwidth of the data.

With the acquisition of modern OBN surveys and longer streamer lengths in

multi-azimuth surveys, more long offset data has become available and has made it possible to use full waveform inversion wave-equations like DM FWI to further refine the intra and sub-salt image. DMFWI is an inversion method based on finite-difference modelling that reduces the differences observed in seismic and synthetic data through updates of the velocity model.

Recent research by the SIB group at TGS has shown the DW FWI to create velocity model updates that are less sensitive to cycle skipping, are able to use all information in the data including reflections and refractions, can be fully automated for detailed high contrast delineations and create a structurally conformable update.

When long offsets and robust data are available DM FWI in a processing sequence with COR and DIS are able to improve event continuity beneath the basalt without smearing faults or losing detail and improve imagining of intra-basalt reflectors.

Intra and sub-basalt plays show potential for untapped future growth and with recent advances in engineering and geophysical technologies these reservoirs can be derisked and developed economically.

‘The benefit of advancing wave-equations and seismic processing workflows to enhance imaging of volcanic facies is showing an additional benefit of providing techniques to progress other energy and climate initiatives,’ said TGS. ‘Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and geothermal exploration are two areas where accurate mapping of volcanic facies and their surrounding sediments can provide the data needed to develop these new clean energy technologies. It is becoming possible to image once hidden sediments and structures that provide valuable insight into geological processes, hydrocarbon generation, and new avenues for clean energy generation and storage.’

Shearwater shoots 3D survey offshore Australia

Geo Coral vessel.

Shearwater Geoservices is carrying out a 2500 km2 3D seismic survey in the Otway Basin, west of King Island, off the south coast of Australia.

Using the vessel Geo Coral for client ConocoPhillips, Shearwater will shoot the Sequoia MSS 3D seismic survey for the t/49P joint venture of ConocoPhillips and 3D Oil T49P. Helping to high-grade gas prospects for potential drilling.

The survey is expected to take 60 days between the middle of August and the end of October 2021.

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Under the terms of the farmout agreement, ConocoPhillips is contracted to acquire a minimum of 1580 km2 of 3D seismic data at no expense to the company. The proposed increase in size of the acquisition area will provide coverage of all leads within the T/49P Permit and tie in with the previously acquired Flanagan 3D seismic survey.

The seismic acquisition follows the approval of the environmental plan by Nopsema (National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority).

According to Nopsema, water depths in the survey area range from 70 m to 1000 m, with 91% of the survey area being in water depths of less than 150 m.

At its nearest points, the survey area is located 23.5 km from the west coast of King Island and 26 km from the Victorian coast.

The survey vessel will acquire the seismic data by towing three acoustic source sub-arrays operating alternatively, one discharging as the others recompress.

The lateral distance between each of the sources will be 25 m to 37.5 m. The source volume will be a maximum of 3480 cubic

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inches with an operating pressure of 2000 pounds per square inch (psi). There will be 12 to 18 hydrophone ‘streamer’ cables approximately 6100 m long.

The vessel will sail back and forth across the acquisition area along 48 sail lines (based on a 14-streamer configuration) that will vary in separation from 500 m to 900 m. The survey will use ConocoPhillips’ Compressive Seismic Imaging (CSI) technology, which means that while the overall width of the streamer configuration remains consistent, the internal streamer separation will vary between 25 m and 100 m with a non-uniform interval distribution. Using CSI technology means that the survey can sail fewer line kilometres and use fewer streamers and acquire the seismic data quicker than a conventional seismic survey, said Nopsema.

Upon completion of the acquisition, processing and interpretation of the survey, the T/49P joint venture will high grade prospects for potential drilling.

ConocoPhillips Australia is the operator of the T/49P joint venture with an 80% interest in the T/49P permit and 3D Oil with a 20% interest.

INDUSTRY NEWS

UK releases more than 50 years of North Sea data

John R. Underhill, professor at Heriot-Watt University praised the OGA.

More than 50 years’ worth of North Sea data has been made available by the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) through its National Data Repository (NDR) – helping companies to make better informed decisions as part of the transition to net zero.

The introduction of the new data will help areas including exploration, production efficiency and the drive to net zero – particularly the identification of potential sites for carbon storage – by providing users with immediate access to data that was previously expensive and time-consuming to retrieve, said the OGA. First opened as an online platform in 2019, the NDR originally housed 100 terabytes of well, geophysical, and other petroleum licence data. Now, transferred to the OGA’s cloud-based Digital Energy Platform, a further 400TB will be uploaded in the coming months.

It is used by more than 100 energy companies to report data under the Energy Act 2016 and Petroleum Act 1998, with that data subsequently disclosed to all generating further value.

Nic Granger, OGA director of corporate and chief financial officer, said: ‘Accessible data is absolutely essential to the future of the industry. It’s vital for exploration, production and for reuse and decommissioning and the drive to net zero.

‘The OGA is determined to meet that need by taking data and digital to the next level to enable a digital energy transition.

The enhanced NDR is a key part of that improved service.’

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Data reported to the platform will be aligned to common standards, meaning subsequent users will not have to spend time and money reformatting with the information interpretation-ready and able to be analysed quickly and easily.

Cloud-based technology eliminates the need for physical storage which, as well as reducing costs, enables users to visualize data before downloading the data they need. The enhanced functionality also allows large quantities of data to be downloaded directly without the need to order.

Russ Gilbert, wells manager, Storegga, said: ‘As a user of the National Data Repository I’m very excited to put the updated version through its paces with ease of access and download speed two of the key new features.

‘My company is a leader in carbon capture and storage and with improved access to a broad range of subsurface data across a large number of fields and wells we anticipate faster and improved ranking of sites for CO2 storage in addition to minimization of containment risk via comprehensive reservoir and well integrity characterization and assessment.’

Professor John R. Underhill, professor at Heriot-Watt University and academic executive director of the UK Centre for Doctoral Training: GeoNetZero, said: ‘Access to reliable data is the solid foundation for sound, evidence-based decision making that provides the basis for safe subsurface solutions in the low-carbon energy transition.

‘The NDR provides the data for independent academic research and industry studies in a way that few other countries do and places the UK in a superb position to evaluate carbon storage, geothermal, hydrogen and wind energy opportunities on our pathway to repurposing the North Sea for a net zero future.’

The NDR – which can be accessed at ndr.ogauthority.co.uk – is free, with organizations able to download as much as three terabytes per calendar month without charge, after which further data can be purchased at a minimal charge.

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Distributed Acoustic Sensing:

A SHIFT IN SEISMIC SENSING High resolution subsea seismic data recording with standard optical fibre OptoDAS interrogator provides: • dense spatial sampling (in-well and seabed) • very low noise (even with long lead-in fibres)

See more at: asn.com /activities /fiber sensing

INDUSTRY NEWS

CGG and Amazon develop geoscience software for Chinese market CGG GeoSoftware and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are extending their collaboration in the global E&P industry to China.

GeoSoftware 11.0, CGG’s recently launched portfolio of reservoir characterization and petrophysical interpretation software solutions, is now available on AWS China (Ningxia) region for the Chinese E&P industry.

To resolve common reservoir modelling challenges in China, owing to complex geology, thin layers, and strong heterogeneity within reservoirs, greater accuracy is needed in estimating uncertainty to reduce risk, said CGG. Jason RockMod geostatistical seismic inversion within GeoSoftware 11.0

is designed to address these challenges by providing highly detailed reservoir characterization to produce more accurate reservoir models.

‘By combining Jason inversion technology with the ability to scale and access vast computing resources it is possible to explore more modelling scenarios with greater complexity and simultaneously generate dozens to hundreds of realizations from geostatistical seismic inversion,’ said CGG in a statement. ‘New cloud-supported Jason Multi-Realization functionality benefits E&P companies by cost-effectively shortening project cycle time significantly and providing additional geostatistical seismic inversion results to improve reservoir characteri-

zation and risk assessment. AWS offers elastic and scalable cloud infrastructure to run these applications, enabling geoscientists, engineers and researchers to innovate beyond the limitations of on-premises infrastructure.’

The company added: ‘CGG GeoSoftware China provides a cloud-native, serverless, scalable solution to solve geostatistical reservoir characterization challenges on the AWS cloud platform.

Multiple flexible cloud computing services serve as building blocks for even the most demanding compute-intensive reservoir characterization applications.

NWCD is operating for AWS in China’s Ningxia region while Sinnet is operating for AWS in China’s Beijing region.

US awards research funding for direct air capture The US Department of Energy has announced $24 million in funding for nine research projects to explore and develop new methods of capturing and storing carbon from the air.

Among those awarded money are two national laboratories and seven universities.

The awards tackle topics including discovery of novel materials, chemistries, and processes for extraction of carbon dioxide from air, and combined experimental and computational studies on carbon dioxide capture for sequestration or reuse.

Washington State University and Oklahoma State University have been awarded $4.8 million to use energy efficient approaches to convert carbon dioxide capture into useful products.

The University of Illinois, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Case Western Reserve University have been awarded $9 million to advance novel approaches that use electricity or light to control the capture and/or release of carbon dioxide.

North Carolina A&T State University, Oregon State University, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have been

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awarded $6.6 million to explore new materials and chemical compounds with the potential for improved efficiency for carbon dioxide capture and regeneration.

Northwestern University has been awarded $3.3 million to examine how the dynamical behaviour of promising carbon capture systems impacts their carbon dioxide capture and release.

‘Finding ways to remove and store carbon directly from the air is an absolute necessity in our fight against the climate crisis,’ said US secretary of energy Jennifer M. Granholm. ‘This investment in carbon capture technology research through universities and DOE laboratories will position America as a leader in this growing field.’

Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of the proposed South Fork Wind project offshore New York and Rhode Island.

South Fork Wind LLC is proposing to build an offshore wind energy project 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 35 miles east of Montauk

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Point, New York. The project will deliver 130 megawatts of power to the South Fork of Long Island, New York. If approved, it would be the second commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US. BOEM will make a decision on the project this month.

Finally, BOEM is conducting an environmental review of a proposed commercial-scale wind project offshore New York.

The project proposes up to 122 wind turbines, which would generate 880 to 1300 megawatts of renewable energy and power nearly 600,000 homes. It would help New York to meet its clean energy goal of achieving 70% electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The lease area is in federal waters approx. 31 miles east of Montauk, New York; 19 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; and 17 miles from Block Island, Rhode Island.

BOEM will prepare an environmental impact statement on the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Sunrise Wind, a joint venture between Orsted North America and Eversource Investment.

INDUSTRY NEWS

STRYDE strikes big deal to deploy its nodes in Oman STRYDE has agreed with Africa Geophysical Services (AGS) to supply 154,000 nodes for projects in Oman and Africa.

The Oman-based land seismic acquisition company will use STRYDE’s Nimble and Compact systems in a bid to obtain better high-definition images for oil and gas exploration across several projects.

‘The deal is the largest for STRYDE in the Middle East and demonstrates the increasing preference for nodal systems no matter the environmental conditions or size of survey,’ said STRYDE in a statement.

OGS’ project in Oman, which is due to commence later this year, will involve

the highest ever number of nodes used for seismic acquisition in the Middle East in any one project. Around 130,000 nodes will be deployed via STRYDE’s Compact system, which offers rapid, high-volume charging and data download.

To handle such large inventory in the field, the Compact system will enable up to 13,000 nodes to be prepared in a 24-hour period.

‘Deploying more nodes creates higher trace density, which produces a much higher definition picture of what lies beneath the ground, enabling oil and gas companies to maximize their existing reservoirs,’ said STRYDE in a statement.

Salim Ajib Alhajri, chairman of AGS, said: ‘Beyond these initial projects for which we intend to use STRYDE’s nodes, we will offer the same high end acquisition capabilities to our clients who need to obtain high-definition seismic imaging in even more challenging terrains, such as urban areas, forests or in mountain ranges.’

Mike Popham, chief executive officer, STRYDE, said: ‘The oil and gas industry is starting to recognize that high-density seismic imaging is the only option to fully unlock the true value of a reservoir. Our nodes, which can be quickly deployed in their tens of thousands, with minimal impact on the environment, offer exactly this.’

PGS completes Ivory Coast mega-survey The latest PGS mega-survey data reveals Tano Basin prospectivity from shelf to deep water across the West African Transform Margin.

In partnership with PetroCi and Direction Générale des Hydrocarbures, PGS has completed phase two of the Côte d’Ivoire mega-survey, adding 9897 km2 of 3D data and 24,632 km of 2D data in the Tano Basin. Data from phases 1 and 2 have been matched, merged, and re-binned onto a common grid, to create a single, continuous 32,310 km2 volume of full-stack data in the time domain.

The latest Cote d’Ivoire mega-survey spans the western extension of the prolific Tano Basin and covers two recently spudded exploration wells ‘Baleine-1X’ (Eni) and ‘Obunu-1X’ (Total). The mega-survey is also along strike to the recent Eni ‘Eban-1X’ nearfield discovery, which is reported to have found light oil in an 80m-thick section of Cenomanian sandstones.

Numerous Upper Cretaceous turbidite channel and fan systems present in the

Phase two of our CDI mega-survey data adds 9897 km2 of 3D and 24,632 km 2D in the Tano Basin.

The CDI mega-survey now offers 32,310 km2 of continuous full-stack data for Cote d’Ivoire.

eastern deepwater area are also revealed on the new coverage.

The new mega-survey coverage allows the entire West African transform margin to be analysed in a regional context. ‘The basin-wide understanding provided by PGS MegaSurvey seismic data allows reliable regional depositional models to be built both spatially and temporally through geological time, making it easier to identify the best potential FIRST

targets for future exploration,’ said PGS. PGS 3D data along the margin covers existing discoveries, farm-in opportunities, and open blocks available for licensing.

Five key regional horizons have been tied to wells and interpreted allowing field-scale geological understanding to be placed into a basin-wide context and open acreage opportunities to be assessed with confidence.

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CGG completes mountain plastic pollution study

Snowdonia National Park in North Wales overlooking Llyn Llydaw lake.

CGG has conducted a microplastics pollution survey as part of a scoping study into whether it would be possible to create a plastic-free zone on Mount Snowdon in Wales.

The Snowdon Partnership, led by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, aims to increase public awareness of plastic pollution on the UK’s most visited mountain and consider the practicalities of introducing plastic-free areas in the national park.

Variable amounts of microplastic pollution were identified in all the soil samples collected along the busy Llanberis Path to the summit of Snowdon in April 2021 and analysed by CGG at its geoscience laboratories in North Wales for microplastic quantification and identification. A sample preparation and

analysis workflow were used for rapid, mass sample screening to identify high concentrations of microplastic significantly faster than with existing manual and optical identification methods. This workflow can be used to calculate the volume, size and shape of plastic particles within a sample.

The results were used to determine a Microplastic Pollution Index that is designed to help organizations, local authorities or government agencies identify areas of plastic leakage and wastage where microplastics may be entering the food chain or natural environment.

On Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), the largest amounts of microplastic were observed where people congregate in large numbers. Microplastic particles constituted nearly 5% of the total sample collected

at the summit. These were predominantly small, highly-abraded particles formed from the fragmentation of larger plastic material and fibres shed from clothing.

Peter Whiting, EVP, Geoscience, CGG, said: ‘With the growing need for clear and transparent environmental information, CGG’s innovative microplastic analysis technique provides detailed microplastic pollution information. Through continued investment in technology, CGG is developing advanced workflows to generate data that is key to addressing global environmental challenges such as plastic pollution. This technique complements our other plastic pollution monitoring initiatives, such as our ongoing European Space Agency project to monitor plastic pollution from space.’

Norway announces more offshore wind research funding Norway has announced $9.5 million funding for the Ocean Grid offshore wind project via the Green Platform scheme.

The project aims to develop new technology to enable a profitable development of offshore wind on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It will focus on the way offshore wind will be connected to the grid. The work will develop both bottom-fixed and floating wind farms.

The Ocean Grid project will also address the issue of market design and the regulatory framework on the development and operation of an offshore grid to connect large offshore wind farms. It

Rendering of an offshore wind farm with view of submarine cables.

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will develop Norwegian technology and a supply industry to provide new cable designs, subsea technology and floating converter stations.

Over three years the project partners from industry are expected to contribute $14.5 million for the development of the offshore grid. Energy companies and developers involved include Equinor, Agder Energi, Aker Offshore Wind, Deep Wind Offshore, Hafslund Eco and, Fred.

Olsen Renewables.

Suppliers and manufacturers are Aibel, Nexans, AkerSolutions, DNV, Benestad, ABB and Hitachi ABB.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Ineos takes landmark Danish carbon capture project to next stage Ineos Energy, Wintershall Dea and 29 companies, research institutes and universities have signed an agreement to support the second phase of Europe’s first full chain climate carbon capture and storage pilot project.

The Greensand consortium is preparing a grant application with the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme in Denmark. If successful, the consortium is planning to start work by late 2021 with the offshore injection pilot taking place in late 2022.

Mads Weng Gade, head of country, Denmark and commercial director Ineos Energy said: ‘Greensand has brought together a strong consortium of 29 companies, with strong competencies across key players from Denmark and around the world. If we are successful in receiving ongoing support from the Danish government and advisory board, Greensand will be able to take another important step forward in supporting the Danish Climate Strategy.’

A large majority of the Danish Parliament decided in December 2020 to set

aside a special funding pool to support a Danish CO2 storage pilot project, aiming to investigate the reservoir-CO2 interaction in the Danish North Sea. The pilot project could form the basis for a decision to enable CO2 storage by 2025.

The objective of the Greensand project is to safely and permanently store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per annum in the Ineos-operated Siri area.

The Completed Appraisal phase was performed by field owners Ineos and Wintershall Dea, plus consortium members Maersk Drilling and the Danish government-backed GEUS. The project recently cleared a big hurdle after DNV GL independently certified that the Nini West field is conceptually suitable for injecting 0.45 million tonnes of CO2 per year per well for a 10-year period, and that the subsea reservoir can safely contain the CO2.

Pilot phase (proof of concept) planning is getting underway with a potential start around Q4 2021. The FID for the full-scale project is planned for

the second half of 2023. Carbon storage could be operational from around 2025.

The Paleocene sandstone fields of the Siri Area in the Danish North Sea are located at an optimal depth of 1.5-2.2 km and are encased in one of the most competent cap rocks in the North Sea, said Ineos.

The area is geologically extremely stable and has retained gas and oil for 10-20 million years, it added.

In Phase 1, the storage potential is ½-1 million tonnes of CO2 per year from 2025, increasing to 4-8 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. Hence, the Greensand Area could account for all of the CO2 storage proposed in the Danish Climate Programme.

Denmark has set out a goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 70% from 1990 to 2030. Establishing CO2 storage by 2025 can only be done by using depleted hydrocarbon fields in the Danish North Sea, and such solutions are estimated to deliver 25-40% of the Danish reduction target by 2030.

TGS and Magseis Fairfield announce two carbon capture projects in Norway and Denmark TGS has announced two pilot projects for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore wind in collaboration with Magseis Fairfield.

The first project will utilize high-resolution 3D seismic acquisition in Norway at a carbon storage area to demonstrate technology for detailed imaging of the full section from the seabed to the target storage reservoir.

The second project will utilize ultra-high-resolution 3D seismic acquisition in Denmark over a wind farm with known near-seabed challenges to demonstrate applying a high-frequency source coupled with TGS’ data processing technologies.

Both tests will combine TGS’ proprietary imaging software and Magseis Fairfield’s XHR acquisition configurations to demonstrate geophysical solutions that

deliver the resolution needed at the cost level indicated by offshore wind and CCS players.

Acquisition will complete before the end of Q3 with final data available for FIRST

viewing and workshops before the end of 2021.

Ivar Slengesol, VP of new energy solutions Eastern Hemisphere at TGS, said that acquisition

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Magseis Fairfield wins large OBN contract in Asia Magseis Fairfield has been awarded a large ocean bottom node survey in Asia for an undisclosed customer. The five-month project is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2021 and will be performed using Z700 node technology.

‘With this significant contract award, we have expanded our presence beyond our core areas of the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico into Asia, where we expect to see more OBN surveys in the

years to come,’ said CEO Carel Hooijkaas.

‘The revenue generation from this project will reflect that it requires our full Z700 inventory and two node handling vessels and will therefore be equivalent to ten single node handling vessel acquisition months. As the project will be executed during the winter months in the fourth quarter 2021 and the first quarter 2022, we maintain our Z700 crew availability for the 2022 North Sea season.’

Magseis Fairfield acquiring ocean bottom node data.

Court orders US to recommence oil and gas leasing programme in the autumn The US federal government has appealed against a judgment by the district court in Louisiana v. Biden, which ordered the Department of the Interior to end the pause in new federal oil and gas leasing.

The federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing programme will continue as required by the district court while the government’s appeal is pending.

As a result, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) was ordered to submit a record of decision for Lease Sale 257 in the Gulf of Mexico to the Federal

Register by the end of August. The sale notice for Lease Sale 257 is expected to be published in September. By law, the lease sale must take place no later than 30 days after publication of the sale notice. This autumn, the BOEM also will issue and take comments on a draft environmental impact statement analysing Lease Sale 258 in Cook Inlet.

The BLM will undertake environmental reviews of parcels for potential leasing. After this review, state offices will identify eligible parcels and applicable

stipulations in lease sale notices posted later this year.

‘We continue to review the programme’s noted shortcomings, including completing a report,’ the Department of the Interior said in a statement. ‘The department also will undertake a programmatic analysis to address what changes in the department’s programmes may be necessary to meet the president’s targets of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.’

CGG shoots 3D survey offshore Australia CGG is acquiring the Sauropod 3D seismic survey (MSS) in Commonwealth

The Sauropod MSS acquisition and operational areas.

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waters of the Roebuck Basin, within exploration permit WA-527-P, offshore northwest Australia.

The survey is collecting geophysical data about rock formations and structures beneath the seabed and assessing potential for new oil and gas discoveries.

The 3500 km2 acquisition area is surrounded by a larger operational area (approx. 6000 km2) for the purpose of line turns, run-ins, run-outs, seismic testing and support activities. The operational area at its closest is approx. 120 km north of Eighty Mile Beach and 230 km west of Broome.

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The seismic Australian survey will be undertaken in water depths between approx. 95 m to 172 m.

The survey will involve a single seismic survey vessel towing a seismic source array with a total volume of 2820 cubic inches, at a water depth of approx. 5-10 m.

Each of the 12 hydrophone streamers will be up to 7000 m in length, spaced 112.5 m apart and towed at a depth of approx.

15 m.

The Sauropod 3D MSS will take a maximum of 60 days to acquire, and will be undertaken between January and May 2022.

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS releases 15,600 km2 of 3D Campos Basin data ahead of Brazil’s 17th round PGS has released final 3D Geostreamer data for the 4725 m2 and 8250 km2 surveys covering deepwater blocks in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The data covers areas offered in Brazil’s 17th licensing round, which is scheduled for 7 October.

TTI PSDM products (KPSDM, RTM) products are available over Round 17 blocks C-M-279, 348, 415, 483, plus partial coverage of 212 and 549. Fasttrack PSDM data is available over block C-M-481. As previously announced data is also available for blocks C-M-350, 417, 485.

These full-integrity and fast-track products from PGS’s Campos Deepwater GeoStreamer X multi-client 3D programme provide the only 3D data in this area for Round 17 acreage evaluations, claimed PGS. ‘The outer Campos Basin remains an under-explored region, historically due to attention given to the significant presalt discoveries in the adjoining Santos Basin.

Attention has returned to Campos Basin, with final investment decision announcements on BM-C-33 presalt (analog) discoveries, numerous Campos Basin drilling permits, and encouraging new field wildcat drilling results, including including the recently announced hydrocarbon shows reported in the Urissane and Mairarê wells,’ said John Cramer, PGS Brazil area manager.

Despite the global pandemic, PGS has now acquired more than 15,600 km2 of GeoStreamer long offset (10 km) seismic and marine potential field data, reprocessed the orthogonal legacy seismic data to perform multi-azimuth processing to enable optimal imaging of the presalt and has also produced 3D fast-track TTI PSDM products covering the outer Campos Basin Round 17 blocks.

Cramer. ‘In addition to the traditional presalt plays targeting fractured carbonate reservoirs (build-ups, microbalite platforms) and coquina deposits in a lacustrine setting, we are also observing potential subsalt plays with potential A-C-T sediments underlying allochthonous layered evaporite (salt) in the outer Campos Basin.

The available 3D Fast Tracks and gravity/ magnetics data, as well as multi-azimuth

PGS Campos Deepwater GeoStreamer X multi-client data. Fast-track TTI RTM and depth velocity overlay illustrating potential subsalt and presalt exploration targets in the outboard Campos Basin.

‘These new 3D fast-track TTI PSDM products are now illuminating the numerous under-explored plays in this region, which could not be achieved with the limitations of legacy 2D seismic,’ added

full integrity products, will provide reliable seismic imaging for exploration risk mitigation and potential drilling hazard assessment in this emerging deepwater exploration arena.’

Eni makes big oil find in Ivory Coast Analysis of seismic data has enabled Eni to make a big oil discovery in Block CI-101 offshore Ivory Coast.

The well was drilled on the Baleine prospect and discovered light oil (40° API) in two different stratigraphic levels. An evaluation programme will be carried out to assess the significant upside potential of the overall structure that extends into Block CI-802, also operated by Eni.

The well was drilled 60 km off the coast in 1200 m of water depth and reached a total depth of 3445 m in 30 days.

The Baleine-1x well was located after analysis of a wide range of 3D seismic data and regional studies in the sedimentary basin in Ivory Coast. The implementation of intelligent wireline formation testing and fluid sampling proved the presence of light oil-bearing intervals of Santonian and Cenomanian/

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Albian age. The lower Cenomanian/ Albian level shows discrete-to-good reservoir characteristics and has been successfully tested to production. The discovery is estimated at between 1.5 and 2 billion barrels of oil in place and between 1.8 and 2.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of associated gas.

It is the first commercial discovery in the deep waters of Ivory Coast since 2001.

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Fugro uses geoscience expertize to build broadband connections for remote homes in Scottish islands

Fugro’s survey vessels, including the Fugro Venturer (pictured), have performed geophysical and geotechnical surveys to help determine subsea routes for new fire-optic cables in the Hebrides, and Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Fugro has completed the offshore fieldwork phase of a high-profile multi-disciplinary contract for Global Marine to determine subsea routes for 16 new fibre-optic cables in the Hebrides and the Orkney and Shetland Islands, offshore UK. The diverse survey elements have acquired essential geo-data by air and by sea that will support the Scottish government’s ‘Reaching 100%’ programme’ (R100) to install 100% superfast broadband in the remote communities of the islands.

Using their innovative RAMMS (Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping Sys-

tem) solution, Fugro completed airborne bathymetric data acquisition of the cable landing sites in nearshore areas considered too hazardous, even for small vessels. The resulting high-resolution lidar data and imagery will be used to create a 3D model of the area to facilitate the cable route design and support mission planning. At sea, three specialist survey vessels from Fugro’s fleet performed geophysical and geotechnical surveys of the nearshore and deepwater areas, including 31 landing sites across the remote island network.

The project also comprises unidentified ordnance (UXO) hazard surveys,

sub-bottom data collection, and landbased sediment sampling. The combination of geo-data acquisition systems and expertize will ensure fast delivery of accurate integrated survey results by mid-October.

Clive Downing, R100 programme director, Scottish Government, said: ‘Digital connectivity has proven to be vital throughout the pandemic and this is something that will make a huge difference to both residents and businesses as we continue to work, learn and access public services remotely. Global Marine and Fugro have successfully mapped out the subsea routes through complex underwater and overhead surveys and this work is the first step in connecting islanders to faster broadband as part of the Scottish Government’s R100 programme for the North Lot contract area.”

Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s partnership director for Scotland, said: ‘The subsea element of the R100 build is both complex and sensitive. That’s why we’re so pleased to be working with industry specialists Fugro and Global Marine who are using innovation and technology – in the air, on land and at sea – to gather the in-depth knowledge we need to design the full-fibre network to more islands.’

Australia passes bill to develop offshore electricity generation The Australian government has introduced legislation to unlock a wave of new investment in offshore electricity generation and transmission projects.

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 will establish a framework for the construction, operation, mainte-

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nance and decommissioning of offshore electricity projects.

The bill will accelerate projects already underway including the Marinus Link transmission line, which will connect the mainland to Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation project. It will also help to progress the ‘Star of the South’ project off the coast

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of Gippsland, Victoria, and ‘Sun Cable’ in the north. Combined, Marinus Link, Star of the South and Sun Cable are estimated to be worth more than $10 billion.

The legislation covers infrastructure projects for offshore electricity transmission cables and offshore renewable energy generation, including offshore wind.

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS completes 3D Niger Delta data reprocessing PGS has reprocessed an additional 1000 km2 of 3D data from OPL 248, completing the PGS Niger Delta 2020 reprocessing package.

The West Niger Delta 2020 reprocessed 3D survey covers blocks OPL 248, 249, 250, 2011, and OML 140, and spans two main structural provinces directly linked to the gravity-driven movement of the Akata Shale Formation. Enhanced

imaging has been achieved by broadband reprocessing of PGS 3D data using modern workflows, resulting in a far clearer illumination of complex structures and potential exploration targets, said PGS. ‘Imaging of potential reservoir targets in Miocene stacked-turbidite channel complexes is significantly improved by broadband reprocessing,’ said PGS in a statement. ‘New data also offers clearer

imaging of faulting related to the diapiric movement of the Akata Shale Formation.’

The timing of the release of the reprocessed data is expected to benefit from Nigeria’s recent Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), 2021, which includes more preferential tax provisions for deep offshore projects.

Research and innovation partners are SINTEF, NTNU and UiO.

Silixa installs innovative seismic acquisition system in subsea well Silixa has installed the world’s first permanent subsea in-well seismic acquisition system at the Atlantis Phase 3 development – a new subsea production system with eight new wells tied into the current Atlantis platform, 150 miles south of New Orleans.

The Carina Subsea 4d fibre-optic system enables high-definition seismic data acquisition along the entire subsea wellbore. This allows seismic acquisitions at a lower cost, enabling better reservoir management, said Silixa.

Silixa has installed a fibre-optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system on BP’s Atlantis Phase 3. The Carina subsea system has been installed in two wells, and installation is continuing over the rest of the field. A zero offset DAS VSP was acquired to validate coupling and signal-to-noise characteristics and showed excellent data quality, Silixa said. Subsequent production noise recordings showed little impact even though there was significant production occurring, the company added.

The system can operate independently or provide complementary data to ocean bottom node surveys. It is especially effective for reservoirs that are traditionally difficult to image using surface seismic such as pre-salt reservoirs or those beneath gas clouds, it added.

The Silixa system delivers a 100x improvement in signal-to-noise ratio compared to DAS systems utilizing standard fibres, Silixa claimed. It features constellation fibre engineered with brighter backscatter centres along its length to capture and reflect 100x more light back to the interrogator without introducing significant loss to the forward propagating laser pulses. This makes this new technology ideal for subsea tie-back applications where high optical losses from subsea connectors have previously prevented DAS deployment, Silixa claimed. A further advantage is that it does not require complex electronics to be placed on the seafloor, it added.

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‘Until now, subsea fields have had to rely on sparse data acquisition due to the risk and cost of acquisition,’ Garth Naldrett, Silixa’s chief product officer, said. ‘Bringing our engineered distributed fibre-optic sensing technology to subsea wells and allowing the same data acquisition we have already enabled on land and platform wells will have a tremendous impact on the industry.

‘The first subsea DAS VSP field recording has confirmed and shown excellent data quality with high-fidelity measurements and signal-to-noise-ratio in the expected downhole array aperture for borehole seismic imaging in actively producing wellbores,’ Sebastien Soulas, senior borehole seismic advisor at LYTT, said.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Schlumberger launches upgraded fibre-optic seismic solution

Aparna Raman, president, reservoir performance, Schlumberger.

Schlumberger has launched Optiq Schlumberger fibre-optic solutions, which deliver multi-domain distributed sensing capabilities to speed up data acquisition and processing.

‘With our recent technological advancements, we have improved access to fibre-optic solutions, enabling the energy industry to harness the full power of this game-changing technology,’ said Aparna Raman, president, reservoir performance, Schlumberger. ‘Optiq solutions are providing customers with greater subsurface understanding and improved production systems performance – all while reducing operational footprint and carbon intensity.’

Integrated with Schlumberger’s digital capabilities – including intelligent end-to-end workflows, edge processing, and cloud-native applications – Optiq solutions enable the large volumes of data associated with fibre-optic measurements to be processed up to 18 times quicker than current industry practices and unlock a range of applications from borehole seismic to production and stimulation

monitoring, well integrity and leak detection, said SLB. The Optiq Seismic fibre-optic borehole seismic solution reduces data acquisition time by up to 99%, significantly reducing associated energy consumption and carbon emissions. The Optiq Seismic solution has been used to acquire more than 70 vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) in more than 17 countries. In the Gulf of Mexico, the solution was used to record 3D VSPs in four producing wells, saving 88 days of acquisition time and reducing CO2e emissions by an estimated 7537 metric tonnes when compared to conventional methods.

Additionally, Optiq solutions are being used to improve subsurface understanding for carbon capture and storage and new energy applications such as optimizing geothermal energy production systems.

Oil and gas round-up Wintershall Dea’s appraisal well on the Bergknapp oil discovery in the Norwegian Sea has confirmed oil discoveries in the Garn and Tilje Formations and proved an additional gas accumulation in the Åre Formation. The Garn and Tilje Formation discoveries are estimated to be between 40 and 84 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, whereas the Åre Formation is estimated to hold an additional 13 million to 56 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The Bergknapp discovery is 200 km north of Kristiansund and 8 km west of the Wintershall Dea-operated Maria oil field in an area close to existing infrastructure.

Lundin has won consent to start up the Solveig field in the North Sea this autumn. Solveig will produce from subsea production facilities tied into the Edvard Grieg field, 15 km away. Phase 1 consists of three wells for oil production, along with two wells that will be used to

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inject water. The field is expected to produce up to 2041. Estimated recoverable reserves from are 9.2 million Sm3 of oil equivalent in Phase 1. This is distributed between 6.98 million Sm3 oil (44 million bbls), 1.44 billion Sm3 sales gas and 0.42 million tonnes of NGL. Total investment in Phase 1 is estimated at about $750 million.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Neptune Energy a drilling permit for production licence PL 882 in the southern Norwegian Sea. The well will be drilled about 8 km northwest of the Snorre field.

The NPD has also granted Lundin Energy a drilling permit for production licence PL 976 in the North Sea. The well will be drilled about 65 km southeast of the Johan Sverdrup field.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has given Equinor consent for exploration drilling in Block 35/10 in the North Sea. The well will be drilled

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in production licence PL 630 to test a prospect named Toppand. Water depth is 354 m. The authority has also given Equinor consent for exploration drilling in Block 6407/9 in the Norwegian Sea. The well will be drilled in production licence PL 1060 to test a prospect named Ginny. Water depth is 270 m.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has given Vår Energi consent for exploration drilling in Block 7122/6 in the Barents Sea. The well will test a prospect named Rødhette. Water depth is 427 m.

The NPD has granted Repsol consent for a new start-up of the Yme field in the North Sea. Yme will produce oil for the first time in 20 years.

Start-up will be in the second half of 2021. Recoverable reserves in Yme are estimated at approx. 10 million standard m3 of oil (approx. 63 million barrels).

INDUSTRY NEWS

Halliburton updates geoscience cloud software Halliburton has released the latest version of Geosciences Suite, a DecisionSpace 365 cloud solution powered by iEnergy – an E&P hybrid cloud.

The software features tightly integrated workflows to create a geoscience solution that enables a subsurface digital twin.

This cloud solution can reduce exploration uncertainty by improving understanding of complex reservoirs to increase recovery, said Halliburton.

The Geosciences Suite provides a multi-user environment that leverages an open and collaborative platform, which seamlessly connects with other

BRIEFS PXGEO has won an OBN marine seismic acquisition project in the North Sea, commencing Q2 2022 and lasting 3 months.

PXGEO has also signed an agreement with DUG for the provision of its DUG Insight software for real-time data acquisition quality control and onboard data processing and visualization in the vessel PXGEO 2. PXGEO chief executive officer, Duncan Eley, said: ‘We will leverage DUG’s software to deliver our innovative acquisition and subsurface imaging solutions in both the OBN and towed streamer seismic segments.’

Halliburton or third-party applications.

Through the secure and scalable iEnergy hybrid cloud, operators can access their geoscience applications on both public or private cloud environments to characterize subsurface geology, the company added.

‘The Geosciences Suite delivers a complete end-to-end solution that empowers our customers to understand their reservoir geology in greater detail even in the most complex settings to improve recovery and lower development costs,’ said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice-president of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions and Consulting.

Magseis Fairfield has won an ocean bottom node contract in the North Sea for a multi-client company. The survey will be executed during Q3 2021 using approx.

500 MASS nodes.

PGS shoots North Sea survey East of Shetland PGS has completed the acquisition of a GeoStreamer X survey in the UK sector of the North Sea over the Kraken field, East of Shetland.

The vessel Ramform Vanguard acquired the multi-client survey, covering two new azimuths of 200 km2, in July 2021. First GeoStreamer X data will be available Q2 2022.

The GeoStreamer X survey was prefunded by the P1575 group in order to fully evaluate the development potential of a new western area and nearfield opportunities (ILX).

The Kraken field lies in Blocks 9/2b and 9/2c within the P1575 licence. The res-

ACTeQ has struck an agreement with GeoResources Consultancy International (GRCI) to make its TesserACT 3D geophysical survey planning and optimization software available to GRCI and its partners, including Vision Project Services.

ervoir is in oil-bearing Paleocene Heimdal sands. Kraken North, Central, and South are produced using an FPSO. P1575 group comprises EnQuest as operator, owning a 70.5% interest, and Cairn Energy (29.5%).

Sónia Pereira, PGS vice-president data sales Europe, said: ‘With GeoStreamer X data, both exploration and production teams achieve better illumination in their targeted areas, which enables much-improved fault definition and saves drill time with accurate targeted positioning.

A key part of this project was to see any nearfield potential that could be explored and tied back to the Kraken field.’

Guyana is redrafting its profit-sharing agreement to increase its oil royalties and revamp other contract terms for oil and gas licensing.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has awarded offshore block 5 to a consortium of four Pakistani companies in the emirate’s second competitive block bid round.

The consortium of Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, and Government Holdings (Private) Limited will invest $304 million during the exploration phase of the 6225km2 area northeast of Abu Dhabi City.

Iraq has approved BP’s plan to spin off its operations in the country as the British oil company looks to shift focus to low-carbon investments. The new company, Basra Energy, would hold BP’s interest in Iraq’s giant Rumaila oil field and be jointly owned by China National Petroleum Corp, one of BP’s partners at the site.

Close passes, such as this one by Ramform Vanguard and Kraken FPSO, require good planning, reliable execution and excellent communication.

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Crown Estate Scotland plans new offshore wind leasing

Offshore oil rig in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland (pic credit: Mustang Joe/Flickr).

Crown Estate Scotland is launching a new leasing process for offshore wind farms to help decarbonize Scotland’s oil and gas sector.

This process is separate from the ScotWind Leasing round currently under way for commercial scale offshore wind projects across Scotland; it is specifically designed for offshore wind farms which support the decarbonization of the oil and gas sector, as well as small-scale innovation projects of less than 100MW.

Crown Estate Scotland plans to open the leasing process for applications in early 2022. Successful applicants will then be granted exclusivity over relevant areas of seabed, with final option agreements put in place after the adoption of the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas decarbonisation Offshore Wind Sectoral Marine Plan by the Scottish Government.

A further announcement on the leasing process will be made in November 2021.

TGS appoints chief financial officer after Fredrik Amundsen’s resignation Fredrik Amundsen has resigned as CFO of TGS and the company has appointed Sven Børre Larsen as interim CFO. Larsen held the CFO position from 2015 to 2019 and has since been responsible for strategy, M&A and investor relations. Amundsen will be available for the company during his notice period of six months.

‘We are pleased to have an internal candidate to fill the role with immediate effect. As part of his previous responsibilities, Sven played an important part in the transformation of TGS from a geophysical data company to a broad energy data company. As CFO, he will continue to contribute to the growth of the company in this new market,’ said Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS.

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Special Topic

DELIVERING FOR THE ENERGY CHALLENGE: TODAY AND TOMORROW The theme for the 2021 EAGE annual conference and exhibition in Amsterdam later this month is ‘Delivering for the energy challenge today and tomorrow’.

Geoscientists are developing game-changing technology to get more value out of existing and new oilfields and be at the vanguard of the revolution in carbon cutting techniques. This month a range of papers demonstrates how the industry is engaging on these fronts to deliver for the energy challenge and how continued rapid development in digitization is enhancing acquisition, processing and imaging techniques.

Sindre Jansen et al explain the benefits of angle-rich, full-azimuth OBN data in the South Viking Graben.

Carolan Laudon et al show how a combination of ML tools generates superior results versus a single method.

Phil Ringrose et al share their vision and plans for the new Centre for Geophysical Forecasting based at NTNU in Norway.

Huw James sets out the urgent need for carbon taxes on a global scale.

Tagir Galikeev et al demonstrate how a multi-component dataset acquired in the Neuquén Basin provided high-vector fidelity and good quality converted wave data, which brings additional value in understanding the properties of the Vaca Muerta Formation for targeting highly deviated wells to intersect zones of high fracture density.

Motaz Taha et al propose using foam as a solution to improve both conformance control and the WAG process.

Chris Han et al discuss how digitalization and advancing seismic interpretation technologies will help to advance the energy transition.

Submit an article

Special Topic overview January

Land Seismic

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

February

Reservoir Monitoring

March

Modelling / Interpretation

April

Unconventionals and Passive Seismic

May

Global Exploration Hotspots

June

Geoscience & Engineering in the Energy Transition

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

July

Digital Transformation in Geoscience

August

Near Surface Geo Mining

September

Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering

October

Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow

November

Marine Seismic & EM

December

Data Management and Processing

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

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

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 23-25 NOVEMBER 2021

Second Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference (GET2021) Strasbourg, France and online www.eage.org

October 2021 4‑6 Oct

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

Lviv and Online

Ukraine

5‑7 Oct

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

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and online

Russia

10-14 Oct

BGS Congress 2021 www.bgscongress.org

Online

11-12 Oct

Third Young Professionals Summit yp-summit.org

Online

12-13 Oct

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

Online

18-21 Oct

82 nd EAGE Conference & Exhibition www.eageannual2021.org

Amsterdam and online

25‑27 Oct

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

Online

Netherlands

November 2021 1‑3 Nov

ProGREss’21 www.eage.org

Sochi and online

2‑4 Nov

Third EAGE/SPE Geosteering Workshop www.eage.org

Online

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Russia

CALENDAR

3‑5 Nov

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

Online

8‑10 Nov

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

Online

8-11 Nov

Africa Oil Week 2021 www.africa-oilweek.com

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

9‑11 Nov

Sixth EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop www.eage.org

Dubai and online

United Arab Emirates

15-17 Nov

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

Online

15‑17 Nov

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

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and online

Canada

17‑19 Nov

Monitoring 2021 www.eage.org

Kyiv and online

Ukraine

23‑24 Nov

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

Online

23‑25 Nov

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

Strasbourg and online

23‑26 Nov

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

Online

29 Nov 1 Dec

AAPG/EAGE Hydrocarbon Seals Workshop www.eage.org

Muscat

Oman

30 Nov 2 Dec

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

Ho Chi Minh City and online

Vietnam

France

December 2021 1‑2 Dec

First EAGE Rock Physics Workshop in Latin America www.eage.org

Buenos Aires and online

Argentina

1‑3 Dec

Third EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop www.eage.org

Larnaca

Cyprus

3 Dec

EAGE-BVG-FKPE Joint Workshop on Hydro- Thermal- Mechanical Modelling (THM) and Ground Truth www.eage.org

Bochum

Germany

5‑9 Dec

23 rd World Petroleum Congress Exploring Innovative Energy Solutions www.23wpchouston.com

Houston, Texas

United States

7‑9 Dec

SEG/EAGE Workshop on The Deliberate Search for Stratigraphic Traps: Has it Come of Age? www.eage.org

Online

9 Dec

Geothermal Energy - ‘New Opportunities for the Middle East’ www.eage.org

Online

February 2022 1‑3 Feb

Second EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition Leadership, Technology and Business of Tomorrow www.eagedigital.org

Vienna

Austria

7‑9 Feb

Second EAGE Conference on Seismic Inversion www.seismicinversion2022.org

Porto

Portugal

21‑23 Feb

International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022 www.eage.org

Dhahran

Saudi Arabia

EAGE Events

Non-EAGE Events

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