First Break November 2021 - Marine Seismic & EM

VO L U M E 3 9 I I S S U E 11 I N OV E M B E R 2 0 21

SPECIAL TOPIC

Marine Seismic & EM EAGE NEWS Looking ahead to Madrid 2022 CROSSTALK Running short on gas, really?

TECHNICAL ARTICLE Joint prediction using stochastic rock physics modelling

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) EAGE EDITOR EMERITUS Andrew McBarnet (andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com) MEDIA PRODUCTION Saskia Nota (firstbreakproduction@eage.org) PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ivana Geurts (firstbreakproduction@eage.org) ADVERTISING INQUIRIES corporaterelations@eage.org EAGE EUROPE OFFICE PO Box 59 3990 DB Houten The Netherlands • +31 88 995 5055 • eage@eage.org • www.eage.org

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A new wave in marine seismic source technology

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

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Personal Record Interview

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Monthly Update

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Crosstalk

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Industry News

Technical Article

33 Lithology, porosity and saturation joint prediction using stochastic rock physics modelling and litho-petro-elastic inversion

Khushboo Havelia, Surender Manral and Andrea Murineddu

Special Topic: Marine Seismic & EM 45 The impact of wavelet estimation in 4D inversion — an offshore Brazil case study Ekaterina Kneller, Ulisses Correia, Jean-Philippe Coulon, Laryssa Oliveira, Paulo de Oliveira Maciel Junior and Wilson Lisboa Ramos Filho

EAGE RUSSIA & CIS OFFICE EAGE Russia & CIS Office EAGE Geomodel LLC 19 Leninsky Prospekt 119071, Moscow, Russia • +7 495 640 2008 • moscow@eage.org • www.eage.ru

53 Variable separations for sources and streamers in marine seismic acquisition: a novel towing concept to improve survey efficiency Karim Souissi, Geir W. Simensen and Mark Rhodes

EAGE MIDDLE EAST OFFICE EAGE Middle East FZ-LLC Dubai Knowledge Village Block 13 Office F-25 PO Box 501711 Dubai, United Arab Emirates • +971 4 369 3897 • middle_east@eage.org • www.eage.org

69 Marine-controlled source electromagnetic sounding across measurement scales: applications in hydrocarbons and beyond Lucy MacGregor, Richard Cooper and Jon Nicholls

EAGE ASIA PACIFIC OFFICE UOA Centre Office Suite 19-15-3A No. 19, Jalan Pinang 50450 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia • +60 3 272 201 40 • asiapacific@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE AMERICAS SAS Calle 93 # 18-28 Oficina 704 Bogota, Colombia • +57 1 4232948 • americas@eage.org • www.eage.org

61 Real-time lookahead imaging with drill-bit seismic in the central North Sea Alex Goertz, Brian Atkinson, Tatiana Thiem, Endre Vange Bergfjord, Magne Oldervoll, Jon Haugestaul, Gábor Kocsis and Harald-André Knoop

75 Maximizing quality and efficiency with wide-tow multi-source configurations

Martin Widmaier, Carine Roalkvam, Julien Oukili and Rune Tønnessen 81 Thin sand identification in complex depositional environment by supervised artificial neural networks

Si-Hai Zhang, Yin Xu and Mahdi AbuAli 89

A new wave in marine seismic source technology Nicolas Tellier, Julien Large, Shuki Ronen and Jeremy Aznar

Feature: WhatsUp!

97 Where would be your next technical paper on this First Break landscape?

Gwenola Michaud

98 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: Sunrise during an acquisition by Shearwater.

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

Peter Rowbotham Publications 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

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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Geodynamics the topic for Cyprus workshop

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Iranian students in the limelight

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Gerard Grau remembered

Looking forward to 2022 Annual Meeting in Madrid Joseba Murillas, exploration executive director, Repsol and chair of the Local Advisory Committee, offers this invitation to members to attend the 83rd EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition to be held in Madrid in June 2022.

Joseba Murillas, exploration executive director, Repsol.

It is my pleasure to invite you to participate at our 2022 Annual Meeting in Madrid. EAGE is one of the leading global professional associations for geoscientists and engineers and the Annual Conference is a fantastic opportunity to connect and interact with colleagues from several industries and disciplines.

As I draft this 83rd Conference welcoming message, the world is already recovering from the Covid-19 health crisis that has directly affected millions of people across the planet. The pandem-

ic has not only contracted most global economies, it has also accelerated deep change in key global sectors like energy and technology.

The energy sector was already visualizing change to respond to the challenges of the energy transition and the pandemic has simply accelerated this transformation. The frequency and intensity of extreme climate events keeps increasing and the demand for action is now pervasive in our society, mobilizing governments, institutions and investors.

At the same time, the huge fluctuations in energy demand and prices associated to the reactivation of the economies have revealed the need for pragmatic solutions with ensure a sustainable transition that guarantees our vital energy supply.

The technology sector has emerged reinforced from the pandemic, due to the proliferation of digital tools, electronic commerce and new ways of working associated with the restrictions. In a matter of months, the digitalization of most companies work processes and habits took a huge leap forward, perhaps forever changing the way we will conduct our daily activities and interactions.

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The waves of change that are affecting the energy sector and the digital workplace will inevitably impact geoscience and engineering professionals. They will have to adjust, develop and foster new competencies and practices into this new era. EAGE, as one of the largest subsurface professional associations in the world, can and should play a role in outlining and promoting some of these new competencies and practices that will make geoscientists and engineers more competitive in accessing the opportunities that this new environment will provide.

That´s why we have chosen ‘Leading Geosciences into a New Era’ as the 83rd EAGE Annual Conference theme.

We are working on a conference programme that will address these challenges, promote the debate and offer some guidance on the future of our professions. We are confident that it will be of interest to all EAGE members and we are looking forward to seeing you in Madrid in 2022.

The Call for Abstracts is already open!

Submit your research before 15 January 2022 at EAGEANNUAL2022.org for a chance to be part of the next EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition.

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EAGE NEWS

EAGE Membership in 2022 is your passport to the geoscience and engineering community Have you already secured your 2022 membership? Securing yours today allows you to continue enjoying EAGE’s many benefits. It means you can also keep in touch with the geoscience community and the many areas we work in. Whether it is the energy transition, digitalization or the increasing need for resources, exciting challenges are ahead. Your EAGE membership helps you to stay on top of it all.

To get your 2022 membership application started go to EAGE.org/membership.

What you can expect from EAGE membership? Well, here are some reminders. Through our meetings, we enable discussions on a huge range of current topics informed by top professionals in the field. In the last year or two we have been able to maintain this service with online events. Now, with a gradual return to in-person events, we are excited about the 2022 meeting schedule. Highlights

include our upcoming EAGE Digital 2022, the Annual Conference & Exhibition in Madrid, Saint Petersburg 2022, the Near Surface Geoscience Conference & Exhibition in Belgrade, as well as many additional meetings planned. All these events are for you to choose from.

Those looking for greater understanding of specialized topics will be right at home at Learning Geoscience - EAGE’s online learning platform. Our educational programmes follow several formats ranging from interactive or self-paced online short courses to hands-on ‘How to’ videos.

Members benefit from complementary distinguished lecturer webinars - as well as substantial discounts on the curriculum offered.

Meantime proceedings from our portfolio of activities helps our EarthDoc online database to grow, now containing over 75,000 papers. Along with papers

from meetings, members will know that EarthDoc also provides access to numerous articles from relevant publications.

Don’t forget you also have access to your monthly copy of First Break plus one other EAGE journal of your choice.

Renewing your membership early ensures your uninterrupted engagement with the Association. January and February are months with high activity for members, plus you don’t want to miss out on our publications. Last but not least, early renewal helps you to continue to build on your membership recognition status - allowing you to get the most value out of your membership.

For those currently not a member there is a special offer. If you secure your 2022 membership today, you will get the remainder of 2021 for free!

We look forward to welcoming you to the 2022 EAGE professional community.

EAGE Online Education Calendar START AT ANY TIME

GEOSTATISTICAL RESERVOIR MODELING, BY D. GRANA

SELF PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

CARBONATE RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY L. GALLUCCIO

SELF PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

9-12 NOV

CONSTRUCTION OF FRACTURED RESERVOIR MODELS FOR FLOW SIMULATION INCORPORATING GEOLOGY, GEOPHYSICS AND GEOMECHANICS, BY R. MICHELENA, C. ZAHM & J. GILMAN

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

11-12 NOV

THE BENEFIT OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND IMAGING – THE END-USER VALUE,

BY C. REISER

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

15-18 NOV

SEISMIC INTERPRETATION: FUNDAMENTAL FOR PROSPECT GENERATION,

BY D. POWELL

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

16-19 NOV

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

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

16-19 NOV

INTRODUCTION TO DATA ANALYSIS: CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES, BY R. GODFREY

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

22-23 NOV

GEOSTATISTICAL RESERVOIR MODELING AND UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION, BY D. GRANA

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

23-24 NOV

SEISMIC GEOMECHANICS: HOW TO BUILD AND CALIBRATE GEOMECHANICAL MODELS USING 3D AND 4D SEISMIC DATA, BY J. HERWANGER (ONLINE EET)

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

23-24 NOV

BEYOND CONVENTIONAL SEISMIC IMAGING, BY E. LANDA (ONLINE EET)

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

25-26 NOV

SEISMIC ATTRIBUTES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN SEISMIC INTERPRETATION, BY B. ALAEI

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

29-30 NOV

CLOUD BASICS FOR GEOSCIENCES, BY G. HOLMES

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

29-30 NOV

FUNDAMENTALS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF SPE-PRMS FOR CONVENTIONAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS, BY V.A. HUERTA QUIÑONES

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

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

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

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

(The Utsira 3D is part of the TGS multi-client library)

EAGE NEWS

German LC hears how geophysics is in transition Geophysics in transition from a service providers’ perspective was the subject of the most recent talk organized by Germany’s Local Chapter (LC) on Bodo Lehmann.

25 August 2021.

Guest speaker Prof Dr Bodo Lehmann put the emphasis on the German market.

Prof Lehmann was wearing multiple geophysical heads. Apart from acting as DMT’s chief geophysicist, he is active in Germany’s geoscience community – among other things, being the designated president of the German Geophysical Society (DGG), and involved in academics as a lecturer and supervisor of MSc/PhD students. Thus, he was well positioned to discuss seismic shifts in geophysics during the past decades.

The on-going transition was illustrated by DMT’s history. Initially, its geophysical activities were focused on R&D in the coal mining sector of the Ruhr area. Worth, mentioning that

Ludger Mintrop – one of the pioneers in seismic exploration technologies – was once working there. Given Germany’s coal phase-out, the company moved on towards geophysical services regarding the exploration and exploitation of other mineral and hydrocarbon resources, and its activities became more international.

However, the disruption continued owing to the ongoing energy transition.

DMT’s geophysicists focus nowadays also on geothermal energies, nuclear waste storage and geophysical engineering, integrated into other technical disciplines. A strong link to education was maintained throughout the years through the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola University in Bochum, which also adapted to the German ‘Energiewende’.

However, the geophysical transition didn’t stop at universities. The evolution of the internet, digitalization, available computing power and easy online access to literature have entirely changed students’ lives and equipped them with new skillsets needed in today’s industry. Thus, the use of punched cards, 12-channel seismic acquisition tools

Historic Ruhr area.

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and days in libraries to access literature are memories of the past. Moreover, the geophysical market in Germany has changed. While it used to be dominated by a handful of large companies, it has become a scattered market with smaller companies providing geophysical services ever since technologies and computing power became widely available and affordable.

Regarding additional future opportunities for geophysicists, Prof Lehmann mentioned the on-going energy transition requiring underground storage facilities for hydrogen and CO2 (CCUS).

Furthermore, geophysical tools are more and more deployed in civil engineering, such as in the detection of unexploded ordnances (UXOs). Further to that, Prof Lehmann commented that geophysics will be used more to support geotechnics in area such as the construction of water infrastructure, mitigation of geohazards, maintenance and monitoring of infrastructure. Technologies such a drones will advance airborne geophysics, and the digitalization of analog information will feed into geophysical data integration.

All in all, an insightful reflection of changes in geophysics in Germany over the past decades. Last but not least, Germany’s scattered landscape of geoscience associations is also adapting to transition, outlined in DGG’s strategy document DGG Strategie 2020+.

EAGE NEWS

EAGE GeoTech2022 set to challenge energy transition In this welcome message, Herlinde Mannaerts-Drew, vice president, Subsurface transformation and CCUS at BP, and local conference chair EAGE GeoTech2022, shares her perspective on the future of applied geoscience in subsurface management and benefits of the integrated conference programme.

With the world slowly emerging from the Covid pandemic and moving to a new normal, it is my pleasure to announce the Second EAGE GeoTech Conference Herlinde Mannaerts Drew. & Exhibition to be held in London from 4-6 April 2022. The conference presents another opportunity where diverse minds can once more come together to reflect on how we can deliver a sustainable subsurface for the future.

Energy demand is forecast to continue to grow for at least part of the period to 2050 with an ever-greater need to materially address climate change. In this timeframe, we will continue to see the structure of energy demand fundamentally shift, with a declining role for fossil fuels, of which gas is likely to prove the more resilient, offset by an increasing share from renewable energy and a growing role for electricity. The pace with which the Energy Transition will progress remains uncertain and difficult to predict.

With gas and advantaged oil continuing to underpin evolving energy portfolios for decades to come and the need for carbon storage rising, coupled with growing footprints in renewable energy such as wind and geothermal, the need for subsurface talent will remain strong.

EAGE GeoTech 2022 plans to bring together a diverse audience of experts to focus on key challenges across the subsurface domain. This year’s workshops will seek to address how we optimize our maturing fields, advance the dial in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and explore the role of fibre in monitoring and verification.

To remain competitive in maturing our fields where value is at the heart of

the investment decision, we will need to become truly predictive about our reservoirs, while constantly monitoring and optimizing their performance. This through deeply integrating our workflows helped by digital solutions to reduce cycle time, explore alternative interpretations, quantify uncertainty, and drive data insights, further enabled by quality affordable seismic.

In our approach to storing CO2 safely and permanently, as either a service or in the context of hydrogen production and/or carbon trading, we will benefit in our quest for stores from the rigour and knowledge already established in managing oil and gas reservoirs, while expanding our knowledge and impact to the overburden. The conventional subsurface disciplines will need to be flexible to incorporate disciplines traditionally seen as niche: overburden geohazards, hydrogeology, geomechanics and geochemistry to name some. Integration of data and toolkit to incorporate all facets from reservoir to surface is highly desirable and approach to containment, and

Energy transition is the prime topic at the EAGE GeoTech 2022.

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risk evaluation will need to factor the long term. Significant innovation is still required on how we effectively verify and monitor the CO2 stored in place with solutions other than seismic as current 4D seismic solutions may prove too costly. At the same time, regulators will need to be clear on what is expected in terms of measuring, monitoring and verification, while the industry needs to educate regulators on the technical possibilities and limitations subsurface technologies have.

And is there a role for fibre? Sand monitoring distributed acoustic sensing and permanent seismic monitoring are but some of the applications in which we see fibre profiling itself as a key subsurface technology.

Furthermore, to meet the challenge of the energy transition, we will need to partner and collaborate extensively with and across industry to drive efficiency, innovation and automationin subsurface and its disciplines. We will need to dare challenge existing commercial and business models while remaining respectful of tax and government regulations.

The EAGE GeoTech Conference and Exhibition offers a fantastic opportunity for the subsurface community to meet and exchange views and best practices.

The different programmes are brought together to encourage cross-discipline pollination and create a forum for discussion and collaboration on how to best address some of the challenges the industry is facing going forward.

I very much look forward to seeing you in London. Visit the website at geotech.eage.org for more details.

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EAGE NEWS

Cyprus workshop to explore the geodynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean

Lanarca, Cyprus is the meeting venue.

The Third EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop this year will take us to Larnaca, Cyprus on 1-3 December.

After a successful meeting in Cyprus back in 2019, the workshop this year aims to gain more insights into the complex regional geology, the development and evolution of structural styles, depositional systems and their implications for the prospectivity, and further potential of the Eastern Mediterranean. Important gas discoveries have reignited exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last decade. This is coupled with finds in the offshore of Egypt, Cyprus and the Levant Basin as well as new exploration licences and bidding rounds offshore Greece and Lebanon, making the area a very active petroleum province and global exploration hotspot.

Geologically, the regions’ complex geodynamic history has seen it evolve from two extensional (Tethyan) passive continental margins to one dominated by Alpine collision, mountain building and neotectonic subduction-accretion along its northern flank. Located within the vicinity of this stimulating environment, Larnaca, Cyprus is a fitting platform to promote discussions of processes related to the formation and evolution of sedimentary basins which contain valuable resources, 8

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i.e., hydrocarbon, ores, hydro-or geo-thermal energy.

This year’s workshop will present recent advances in the wide field of the dynamics of sedimentary basins and petroleum resources and related analogues, with a specific focus on the Eastern Mediterranean area. Needing to address the challenge of the energy transition, decarbonization and meeting net zero emission targets, as well as a continued demand for oil and gas to meet energy demand, themes which evaluate and re-purpose the subsurface for alternative low-carbon use, e.g., through carbon storage, hydrogen production and storage, geothermal and wind power etc., can also be expected at the workshop.

The hybrid format of the event this year also means that participants have the opportunity to join us either on site or online! For those who would still like to contribute to the workshop, the late-breaking call for posters is still open and details can be found on the website.

Besides the two-day workshop, participants who come to Larnaca can also look forward to a field trip on 3 December to the Troodos UNESCO Global Geopark. This is considered to be a unique geological natural site. The Troodos Mountain Range is the main

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geomorphologic feature of the island of Cyprus. Covering an area of about 3200 km2 with its highest peak being the Olympus, which has an elevation of 1951 m, its well-preserved structure and rock sequence makes the Troodos ophiolite unique in relation to the other Tethyan ophiolites. The field trip will provide an opportunity for participants to delve further not only into the complex regional geology, the development and evolution of structural styles, depositional systems and their implications for prospectivity, and further potential of the Eastern Mediterranean, but also the geological evolution of the Troodos ophiolite.

Our field trip leaders, Dr Vasilis Symeou (Mapping Section) and Dr. Nikolas Papadimitriou, (Geological Survey Cyprus), says, ‘During the field trip, we will visit the wooded peak of Troodos which is actually the deepest layer of a section of oceanic crust and the Earth’s upper mantle. In other words, let’s rock and see a complete ophiolite complex that was formed 90 million years ago, 8000 m below sea level!’

Visit the event website for more details of the programme!

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EAGE NEWS

Doha workshop to revisit main challenges managing carbonate reservoirs The Fourth EAGE WIPIC Workshop: Reservoir Management in Carbonates is scheduled for 21-23 March 2022 in Doha, Qatar. The workshop co-chairs Ahmad Abushaikha (Hamad Bin Khalifa University) and Herbert Lescanne (TotalEnergies) extend a welcome.

Ahmad Abushaikha, workshop co-chair.

We welcome you to the fourth edition of our workshop on well injectivity and productivity in carbonates (WIPIC). During the 2019 workshop, we expanded the focus of the event to include the main technical challenges in the characterization and production of carbonate reservoirs alongside discussions on well stimulation and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. Deadline for the submission of abstracts is 15 December, so there is still time to contribute to the workshop.

In the light of feedback and success from the previous events, we continue

to expand the scope of the workshop to cover the entire reservoir and not just the wells. For an optimal field development, injectivity and productivity of wells is of course essential, especially in heterogeneous reservoirs such as carbonates. However, incorporation of other elements (geological modelling, reservoir simulation, reservoir management, history-matching, uncertainty assessment and enhanced recovery mechanisms) is also crucial as we move towards a multi-disciplinary approach for problem solving.

The workshop is a perfect fit for Qatar and the oil and gas community where Qatar has committed billions of dollars for the expansion of the North field, a carbonate non-associated gas field, capacity from 77 million ton to 127 million ton of LNG during this decade.

With representatives from national oil companies, international oil companies, service providers, universities and research institutes, the workshop should appeal to subsurface specialists in well stimulation and completion, log analysis, petrophysics, pressure transient analysis, reservoir geology and geophysics, applied mathematics, data science, geostatistics and reservoir

engineering, but also to subsurface generalists and reservoir managers.

The workshop continues to provide an exceptional opportunity to share experiences and propose new methods from lab scale to reservoir scale as well as innovative application of hardware and software tools for the topics under discussion. We indeed do believe that a multi-disciplinary approach is the next step forward to improve our daily work for better reservoir management of carbonate reservoirs.

Given the challenges ahead, we invite submissions on multiple research topics across the range of reservoir management. Contributions on specific topics are welcome, as are integrated case studies working across a range of scales and disciplines. All topics should be closely related to the challenges faced when managing carbonate reservoirs.

We encourage you to submit your abstracts before the 15 December deadline in order to participate in this event.

Scan the QR code for more details!

Radioactive waste storage was topic for Czech chapter Leo Eisner, chair, Local Chapter Czech Republic, writes: An in-person lecture was organized recently at Seismik’s office in Prague with Prof Jaromír Leichmann (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic) addressing the topic of selecting geologically suitable storage for radioactive waste.

Prof Leichmann stated that geological instability such as active faulting or

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highly fractured medium is not important when selecting storage for radioactive waste, as from a petrological point of view, large uranium deposits have existed for more than 270 millions of years in the Czech Republic and have not shifted. A lively debate continued after the lecture when the whole group exchanged ideas and also discussed EAGE matters. This physical meeting was welcome after the long pause due

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to coronavirus, although the number attending was down.

Chairman of Local Chapter Czech Republic hands over token of appreciation to Prof Leichmann.

EAGE NEWS

Students explain how an Iranian student chapter was established

IP/RS survey for mineral exploration.

The EAGE Student Chapter of the Isfahan University of Technology, Iran started formally in the summer of 2021 with 11 ambitious and enthusiastic MSc and PhD geoscience students.

Magnetometry survey for mineral exploration.

Attending the 8th Iranian Mining Engineering Conference.

Training magnetotelluric survey at Isfahan University of Technology.

However, the idea of establishing a chapter goes back to 2019 when some of us decided to gather together in weekly meetings to have a dialogue between various specialties in geophysics and discuss their experiments. Soon we began communications and conversations between university students with similar teams and professional experts worldwide. We also wanted to be exposed to opportunities outside academia in the minerals and hydrocarbon exploration industry. At this time we had been watching the activities of similar groups under the umbrella of EAGE, and subsequently decided to join the big family of the Association.

We have established a scientific core under the supervision of the EAGE to extend the learning of applied geophysics at the Isfahan University of Technology with the intention of success in scientific research and teamwork. We thank EAGE for supporting the chapter and are excited

to move forward to our goals and devote our skills and enthusiasm to achieving a successful career presence.

The weekly meeting: Explaining processes and inversed geophysical models.

Virtual participation at the 3rd Conference on Geophysics for Mineral Exploration at NSG2020.

EAGE Student Calendar 5 NOV

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

ONLINE

23-25 NOV

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EAGE NEWS

In Memoriam: Gerard Grau (1927-2021) The Seventies: A most prolific decade for innovation Gérard Grau, president of the European Association of Exploration Geophysicists (1976-77), honorary member (1995) and winner of the Conrad Schlumberger award (1963), has died aged 93.

He will be remembered as an unheralded but outstanding research scientist in the application of geophysics in marine seismic and related fields with influential publications to his name. After obtaining a PhD at the Californian Institute of Technology (1957), he helped form the geophysics research department at Institut Français du Pétrole becoming its director five years later and subsequently scientific adviser to the IFP science division. He also served as director of the l’Institut Océanographique de Paris (1992-2001), was president of Comité National Français de Géodésie et Géophysique, and held a number of professorships during his career.

He was recognized with awards of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

As a tribute to Grau’s career and achievements we are publishing his contribution to the Association’s anniversary book EAGE 1951-2001: Reflection on the first 50 years in which he reviewed the stellar scientific advances in geoscience in the 1970s and evolution of EAGE as we know it today.

As a member of the EAEG Council, I remember that around 1975 we were confronted with a difficult problem.

Our Turkish friends had kindly invited our Association to hold its Annual Meeting in Istanbul. We had never been further that Zagreb or Stockholm. We were very tempted to have our meeting in this beautiful and prestigious city, but some terrorist groups had been active in Turkey. Some of us had reservations about accepting the offer. In the end signs of improvement persuaded us to take the risk. It was scarcely reassuring, therefore, that when we arrived at the Istanbul venue in June 1980, two brightly shining armoured cars were on guard watching us. Fortunately everything turned out all right.

I also well remember discussions we were already having in the EAEG Council in the late 70s about how to organize joint working sessions with geologists. We were wondering how to get more interpreters of seismic data and more production engineers to participate in our annual meetings and especially our exhibitions. Such preliminary reflections slowly matured and eventually led to a continuous succession of important and happy events.

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EAPG was founded at an EAPG Conference in Berlin in 1989 and took joint ownership of First Break in 1993.

EAPG began publishing Petroleum Geoscience in 1995 and finally the EAGE was created in 1995 with its geophysical and petroleum divisions.

As a researcher I am struck by the great number of innovations in the seismic method that were tested during the 1971-1981 period. Some of these of course were not immediately ripe for industrial use and were put into practice only much later. Some of them never even reached such a stage. Nevertheless it was generally felt that all filed had to be developed more or less simultaneously. The period gave a strong feeling of teeming research activities and ideas.

Remember already in 1969, John Claerbout of Stanford University had presented his first lecture on the simulation of wave propagation in inhomogeneous media. From then on, he and his students started proposing interesting developments ready for application, particularly to the migration of seismic data. The red-cover books from Stanford were eagerly awaited. We were always wondering what new approximate wave equation

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the Stanford boys would come up with.

Previous migration procedures, such as the kind of seismic impulse holography we had developed at IFP proved much less flexible, had much less potential.

We soon adopted their methods.

Data inversion was another field that started being developed during this decade, but slowly at first. Its potential usefulness was first demonstrated by M. La Porte and his IFP coworkers when they inverted well-to-well propagation times in order to find the velocity distribution in the space between the wells. I must confess I was rather sceptical when they first started their research in that field. I was ready to bet that the inversion would be too difficult and could not be achieved practically. Later on, I was glad I had been wrong and I had not discouraged this pioneering group from proceeding with their project.

Much effort was also devoted to the development of field recording systems.

These included hydrophones, telemetric devices and even specialized digital processors of seismic information. These processors of course rapidly became obsolete as soon as the computer industry produced faster and faster machines with more and more memory. Efficient

EAGE NEWS

and fast data compression was also achieved, but not put into practice until much later. Conversational processing also began to be tested.

In the early 70s, there was no GPS available and navigation of seismic vessels along shot-lines wasn’t easy.

Automatic navigation systems were installed on board our ship, which made it possible to steer her along pre-determined straight courses and to give firing orders at the correct positions. We also produced CDP-packed sections in real time while the ship was steaming and shooting.

A reflection-refraction survey conducted jointly by a Cambridge University ship and IFP ship in the Bay of Biscay pioneered the technique that was later to be called expanding-spread profiling.

The two ships sailed in opposite directions at the same speed, one shooting the other recording. In this way we had the opportunity to acquire continuous reflections and refraction events, and therefore be able to identify the latter.

Starting in 1973, D Michon of CGG used his wide-line profiling method to

obtain 3D information. Extensive 3D studies conducted in The Netherlands

by Shell demonstrated the benefit which could be derived from such field and processing efforts. French companies had their first 3D survey shot in the North Sea in 1979. 3D studies and constant-time slices were a big improvement, especially for the delineation of faults and sedimentary channels.

At IFP, we developed a small hydraulically actuated implosion source. The pulse shape of this source was the simplest that theory would allow, and the energy efficiency was high. It was hope that such sources could be towed by remote-controlled launches and deployed both sides, at the distances needed to obtain good coverage. But the development of air gun arrays and the ability of the service companies to tow a large number of widely separated streamers brought a rapid end to our efforts.

The period was also rich in basic studies pertaining to the joint use of P and S waves to determine lithologic characteristics. The subtleties of wave

propagation in anisotropic media were also studied, especially S waves birefringence, in order to gain more information about the natural media and more accurate depth estimates.

We had some interesting co-operation projects with Soviet research groups.

But their way of generating SH waves was in applicable for industry use in our countries. We thus undertook to build a lateral weight-dropping machine. It looked much like an elephant in a circus trying to knock down a stool. The source was OK technically and made it possible to shoot interesting experimental SH surveys. It was eventually superseded by horizontal vibrators.

When I look back to the 70s in my own field of activity, the seismic method, I feel that these years were really one of the most prolific decades. Practically all avenues for further developments started being studied.

A number of useful tools were thus successfully prepared for industrial application. But as the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Gathering of Hungarian young geoscientists proves welcome respite from pandemic

The young Hungarian geoscience crowd.

The 51st Meeting of Young Geoscientists – jointly organized by the Association of Hungarian Geophysicists and the Hungarian Geological Society (both EAGE’s Associated Societies) - recently took place in Zalakaros, Hungary, on 10-11 September 2021.

Originally planned for 2020, the organizers made the difficult decision to postpone this event, so it was with pleasure that EAGE supported the new arrangements in 2021. For most of the attendees – BSc, MSc and PhD students – this is traditionally the first experience presenting their work in front of a large audience and a jury evaluating their presentations.

Moataz Mohamed Gomaa Abdelrahman (University of Miskolc) was awarded the first prize in the Applied Geosciences category, Ádám Kovács and Éva Oravecz (Eötvös Loránd University) in the Theoretical category, and Dorina Juhász (Eötvös Loránd University) for the best presentation. The topics spanned multiple geophysical studies, including geochemistry, petrology, palaeontology, hydrogeology, FIRST

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structural geology, and soil contamination modelling. Supporters of this initiative included Elgoscar-2000, Biocentrum, GeoLog, MinGeo, O&GD Central, MS Energy Solution, Vermilion Energy Hungary, Eötvös Loránd Research Network and Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary. The event was a fantastic way for reconnecting with the EAGE community in Hungary.

A session at ISZA 2021.

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EAGE NEWS

Case made for integrated geophysics and machine learning to mitigate risk in exploration Paolo Dell’Aversana of ENI, a frequent contributor to EAGE publications and meetings, provided the London Chapter’s evening talk in September online from Italy.

Dell’Aversana depicted the advantages of using integrated geophysical methods to improve the reliabity of geological interpretation. He illustrated the approach on a real case oil field study using controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM), gravity and seismic data in complex geological setting. Electromagnetic (EM) and seismic responses are complimentary as they have different sensitivity to hydrocarbons and help to distinguish between a commercial and non-comercial scenarios for the reservoir. The gravity data were used, in combination with electromagnetic data, for discriminating between resistivity layers caused just by lithology effect or by presence of hydrocarbons.

The simplest way to use more than one dataset is to co-render information, e.g., to plot resistivity over the seismic section. More advanced quantitative integration systems may include constrained inversion, model-driven inversion, cooperative inversion loops and simultaneous joint inversion.

Dell’Aversana told us about three primary machine learning (ML) approaches: unsupervised learning, supervised learning and reinforcement learning and also briefly mentioned other ML algorithms for various types of problems including image classification or probabilistic prediction.

He then explained how multi-physics datasets were plugged into the ML algorithms to provide a map of oil occurence probability at the reservoir depth. In his approach he combined multi-physics and machine learning. He starts from the wells to create training information from the borehole composite logs. Structural information from seismic was imported into resistivity domain and filled with values estimated from the logs. This obtained preliminary resistivity model was used for the EM inversion.

Borehole data were used to calibrate the experimental data as well as the velocity, AVO, resistivity and density models, thus a very large training data-model set was constructed and used for training of ML algorithms.

Features or attributes engineering is a crucial step as not all the features have the same importance for the purposes of distinguishing brine from oil at reservoir depth in a stacked reservoir. Attributes ranking was carefully performed during the study.

The presented multi-physics approach can be used for many other types of geological problems: in geothermal exploration, CO2 monitoring for safe injection and storage, monitoring and protection of aquifers as well as for inspection and mitigation of other environmental risks.

The presentation was followed by the Q&A session and interactive online communication between the speaker and the audience, where practical and tech-

Case study illustration.

Integrated data example.

nical aspects of the presented workflow were discussed. Recording of the talk is available on the EAGE’s YouTube channel. Some of Dell’Aversana’s books can be freely downloaded from his Research Gate page that he shared with us and encourage to check.

EAGE Local Chapter London acknowledges Artem Kashubin of PetroTrace, Bingmu Xiao of CGG, Lok Lee of Schlumberger, Celina Giersz of Stryde, Ali Karagul of TotalEnergies and, of course, Paolo Dell’Aversana of ENI for arranging this event.

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

John Arthur

Personal Record Interview

Meet the man who moved the Channel Tunnel John Arthur’s eventful career and major contribution to the development of the near surface geoscience division of EAGE has this year been recognized by the award of Honorary Membership. He recalls that he only became a geophysicist by accident.

Were your school friends jealous of the train set at home?

My most enduring childhood memory is of our front room encircled with a waist high bench with a fully working Hornby Dublo 00 gauge railway track layout handmade by my father - a joy to behold and to run when I was permitted to take the controls. Friends didn’t get much of a chance as my mother didn’t encourage visitors!

What inspired your interest in geology?

My family loved beaches and, based in Christchurch, we often drove westwards to explore the south coast Dorset beaches from Kimmeridge to Lyme Regis, now known as ‘The Jurassic Coast’. Not only did I discover the fascination of fossils buried in pebbles but puzzled over how sedimentary beds, originally laid horizontally, could now be standing vertically at Durdle Dor, just around the corner from Lulworth Cove.

How did your first job come about?

Even though my grammar school in Hampshire guided me through the sciences, no one was available to teach me geology. But I achieved good enough science grades to get a place in the geology department at Bristol University.

It did not go well and I was moved in my last year to a course in soil mechanics.

What luck – with this combination I was taken on in 1963 as a geologist in the soil laboratories of George Wimpey and Co.

How did that turn you into a geophysicist?

Our small group at the laboratory concentrated on investigating the subsurface for all types of engineering projects including multi-story housing blocks in areas previously coal mined. We began to realize that boreholes alone were not enough to find mineshafts, so I was sent to work alongside a small geophysical site survey company. Also Wimpey had in 1957 teamed up with Alpine Geophysical Associates to undertake offshore analogue profiling in the UK. That’s how I got to work on some of the first offshore exploratory oil well sites in the North Sea. Your last company job before going independent didn’t end well?

During my last Channel Tunnel analogue profiling survey (before digital multi-channel recording technology took over), Aquatronics in Houston offered me the job of chief geophysicist. For the next nine years I was oscillating between the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea meeting the rising demand for shallow gas surveys.

But the ‘hire and fire’ culture got me in the end. After four changes of president, the fifth one decided that a multi-lingual colleague would be a better European marketing manager and I was out. Happily it inspired me to set up my own company, so was a blessing in disguise What did you do to the Channel Tunnel?

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France Channel Tunnel. Two years later we revisited the locations of proposed rail crossovers. With improved seismic resolution we recommended relocating the UK crossover to a less faulted position.

So I like to say we moved the Channel Tunnel!

Near surface projects kept you busy…

Between 1988 and 1997 one major preoccupation was geological investigation of possible sites for a nuclear waste repository at the Dounreay nuclear fusion site in Scotland and the Sellafield nuclear facility in NW England. Just about every geophysical discipline and a large team of associates was involved with studies including airborne geophysics, land and marine seismic and gravity, down-hole geophysics and land electromagnetic trials. Overseas a Turkish oil pipeline, rail route in South Africa, iron ore development in Senegal and Black Sea drilling hazards were memorable projects.

Do you worry about future of geosciences?

Clearly the big oil players are not going to be around to recruit so much, but I think my experience shows that many opportunities arise in near surface geoscience outside hydrocarbons.

Outside work, any special interests?

I used to be an avid downhill skier. These days philosophy and singing tenor in our local church choir are things I enjoy.

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Shallow Water

Hybrid Acquisition

Deepwater

shearwatergeo.com/obs

Make sure you’re in the know

EAGE MONTHLY UPDATE

4‑6 April 2022 EAGE GeoTech 2022 (London, UK & Online) 11-14 April 2022 Saint Petersburg 2022 (St. Petersburg, Russia)

23‑25 November 2021 2nd Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference

15‑17 November 2021 First EAGE Workshop on East Canada Offshore Exploration (Online) 5-9 December 2021 AAPG/EAGE Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East (Online) 1-3 March 2022 EAGE Middle East Geomechanics Workshop (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

2-4 November 2021 3rd EAGE/SPE Geosteering Workshop (Online)

NEAR SURFACE

9-11 November 2021 Sixth EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop (Online)

15‑17 November 2021 Second EAGE Workshop on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Online)

1‑2 December 2021 First EAGE Rock Physics Workshop in Latin America (Online)

30 Nov – 2 Dec 2021 4th Asia Pacific Meeting on Near Surface Geoscience & Engineering (Online)

ENERGY TRANSITION 1-3 February 2022 Second EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition (Vienna, Austria)

23-25 November 2021 2nd Geoscience & Engineering in Energy Transition Conference (Strasbourg, France & Online)

2-4 March 2022 2nd EAGE/SEG Workshop on Geophysical Aspects of Smart Cities (Hong Kong)

9 December 2021 Geothermal Energy - New Opportunities for the Middle East (Online)

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DATA SCIENCE

15‑17 November 2021 Second EAGE Workshop on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

GEOPHYSICS

5-9 June 2022 83rd EAGE Conference & Exhibition (Madrid, Spain)

9‑11 November 2021 Sixth EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop

GEOLOGY

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

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CROSSTALK

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

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Running short on gas, really?

The 19th century Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, decision, namely the 2016 referendum decision to leave the author of such classics as Kidnapped, Treasure Island and European Union. It was fuelled by a groundswell of whipped The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an astute up anti-immigration emotion. Brits have found to their cost the observer of the human condition. For example, he offered his wheels of their economy are heavily dependent upon foreign own spin on the biblical admonition you reap what you sow labour, notably lorry drivers from the Continent, now absent in large numbers, but also upon immigrant workers in other sectors observing that ‘sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences’. such as poultry-producing establishments.

How those words resonate as we consider Covid-19 scenarMost of these setbacks are likely temporary. Governments ios. There is no point blaming anyone for the pandemic itself. It cannot be castigated too harshly for over-stimulating their happened and has had to be managed with no useful precedent economies in a good cause, if that has been the case. However, for such a global outbreak. More interesting now as we enter the on the energy front, post-Covid is turning out to be a more post-Covid era are the consequences of the strategies adopted culpable story. It has apparently been a big shock for people by government and industry to avoid an economic crisis, plus in numerous European countries to discover that there may not the malaise in which the energy resource industry once again be enough natural gas to go around to meet likely demand this finds itself. winter, and the price of fuel for heating, power, transport and factories is rising alarmingly.

Most obviously no one seriously warned about the inevitable post-Covid tsunami of cash in the hands of consumers It is tempting to pass off this disruption as an extreme seeking spending outlets after two years of enforced constraint. example of the cyclical nature that has long blighted the resource industry. However, this time it is arguably a lot more This is seen to be threatening the course of economic recovery.

The decision by governments to print money to get through the complicated and likely to be so for a long time to come. The crisis laid the foundations for this post-Covid difference is the energy transition. boom. The retail sector in developed econAs has been extensively reported, the ‘The difference is omies is now facing frustrated consumer rocketing price of natural gas and threat of the energy transition’ shortages in the main markets of Europe is demand as manufacturers and service providers struggle to get back to normal. Labour due to a confluence of factors. The starting and materials are both in short supply. Getting people back to point would be that 2020 saw global gas demand decrease for work is one of the issues as a result of government financial the first time after 10 years of growth (-1.5% vs 2019), mainly support for the unintentionally unemployed during the worst of driven by North America (-4.1%), Russia (-3.2%) and Europe the pandemic. Even China, the producer on which so much of (-2.6%), according to the recently published world energy the world depends, has proved susceptible. review by Eni. We should not get too diverted by the extreme case of the The short explanation since is that a surge in demand has put mayhem in the Britain of Boris Johnson although there is a lesan impossible burden on the supply side. An unusually long and son here. Motorists have been queuing to fill their petrol tanks, cold winter in North America and Eurasia is apparently partly to shortages of goods and services are more severe than elsewhere, blame. According to a Reuters report, compared with five-year and even the sacrosanct Christmas turkey-fest is under threat. averages, energy inventories moved from large surpluses in This is an incontrovertible case of paying the price of a past 2020 through to neutral in the winter of 2020/21 to deficits by

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late 2021. In Europe, the volume of gas in storage started the reinvest. Talk about actions having consequences. The country winter of 2020/21 at a near-record level of 1069 Terawatt-hours can rely on domestic and Norwegian gas production for about 80% of its needs, but for the rest it now has to vie with countries (TWh) but ended at just 323 TWh. The winter drawdown of 2020/21 was the second-largest on record and left inventories at around the world, including China, the biggest importer, with their lowest for three years. The US suffered a similar but less panic-buying sending prices through the roof.

What this natural gas turmoil underlines is the imperfection drastic depletion.

To meet this seasonal shortfall Russia as Europe’s chief of the energy resources market. The geoscience and engineering supplier of natural gas might reasonably have been expected to service sector is all too familiar with the cyclical nature of oil and gas business. Over the years it has nearly bankrupt itself come to the rescue. There are various explanations as to why trying to come to terms with the roller coaster of E&P spending.

Gazprom has been unable to provide extra on top of its conTime was when oil companies used to be tracted amount. The conspiratorially minded predictable enough to invest when the price immediately pointed the finger at President ‘There is little sign yet was right. By extension this should lead to Putin. It was thought that Russia’s reticence was a ploy to put pressure on Western Euro- of disillusionment with a correction in the gas supply market. Yet pean consumers to agree to the controversial measures to address the pattern has been disrupted by calls for decarbonization and the rush to renewables.

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline route. It may also global warming’ i.e., the energy transition. This is something have been seen as an opportunity to increase in which the big oil companies under pressure the price of gas with a view to quick profit. In from stakeholders and the community at large are now actively this regard, Russia certainly has form. It teamed up with Saudi participating with substantial investment dollars. This simply Arabia in early 2020 to increase their respective oil production. reinforces oil industry reluctance, evident for some years now, to At the time the theory was that the two oil superpowers were commit money as freely to new E&P projects. engaged in a commercial war trying to sabotage the US shale This underinvestment in hydrocarbons will of course have business. A more innocent explanation may be that Russia consequences if we make the safe assumption that the energy was and is worried about serving its own domestic market transition is a long-term process and that oil and gas products following the last harsh winter. A strategy based on alienating will be needed for decades to come before alternatives can fully the country’s principal customer that provides crucial revenue to if ever replace them. In this context the current natural gas crisis the Russian economy does not make sense. may be a precursor of things to come. Scarcity must surely mean At one time the US might also have stepped in to help substantially higher prices for these commodities in the future. via LNG produced from its plentiful shale gas fields. The go That prospect presents a huge challenge to popular thinking ahead to allow export of US production was given some time on climate change mitigation and the balm of government ago. But historic low prices have left investors disenchanted so promises of a magically changed environment by 2050. The the increase in natural gas exports in response to the demand latter will doubtless be at full throttle at this month’s COP26 has been relatively modest. However you can be sure that the international meeting in Glasgow, UK. current massive price hike will renew interest in shale gas There is little sign yet of disillusionment with measures although issues remain with gas supply to LNG facilities for to address global warming, but that’s because there haven’t transport overseas. been any of note. However looking ahead, will people in the The other problem that the current shortages has exposed developed world enjoying a comfortable lifestyle tolerate a is inadequate natural gas storage in Europe. Veteran analysts steep rise in their cost of living in the name of climate change of the natural gas market like Jonathan Stern of the Oxford mitigation? That surely is a potential issue in the years to come.

Institute for Energy Studies argues that this stems effectively Governments could end up having to seriously subsidize fossil from complacency. He was quoted recently as saying ‘All fuels in order to avoid the wrath of their electorates. There is governments rejected the chance to do something about this nothing new about that if a new International Monetary Fund during the 2000s, early 2010s, when there were lots of storage study is to be believed. It claims that global fossil fuel subsidies projects that needed funding. They decided to ‘leave it to the amounted to $5.6 trillion in 2020, 70% of which is accountmarket’. Last year that was a great decision with huge supply, ed for in ‘under-charging’ for the associated environmental low demand and record-low prices; this year, not so good.’ costs’ The UK has been hit particularly hard because of the As for humanity as a whole, there are many voices already decision by Centrica in 2017 to close the big Rough gas storage – and they will be heard in Glasgow – arguing that the energy facility without building any replacement. Rough accounted for transition will simply worsen the plight of less well-off nations 70% of the UK capacity. At the time the facility was ageing, already suffering from shameful energy poverty. gas was cheap and abundant, so it made no economic sense to

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

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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China market will be huge opportunity for geoscience companies, says Rystad China is looking to greatly increase oil and gas production to meet climbing domestic demand and reduce the record-high share of imports in its oil consumption.

A Rystad Energy report projects a surge in spending, which will be accom-

and well services market in the years to come, whether the field developments are conventional or unconventional, onshore or offshore,’ says the energy research company’s latest report.

China’s national oil companies (NOCs) are expected to spend more

panied by a drilling spree totalling 118,000 wells that will create ‘significant opportunities’ for geoscience companies offering seismic data services.

‘With China focused on maintaining or increasing production levels, service companies that bring innovative technology solutions to the table are likely to get a warm welcome in the Chinese drilling

than $120 billion on drilling and well services in 2021-2025. At the same time, the country aims to supply more of its oil demand from domestic sources, after the share of imported crude oil rose steadily from 2014 to a high of almost 75% last year.

CNPC, CNOOC and Sinopec are expected to spend about $123 billion on FIRST

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drilling and well services in the coming five-year period, up from a total $96 billion between 2016 and 2020.

The number of development and exploration wells drilled between 2021 and 2025 is expected to reach 118,000.

Development wells will account for 88% of the total and exploration wells will make up the remaining 12%.

‘Despite a strong policy push to electrify transport, China is still expected to use oil products to fuel its hundreds of millions of cars, buses and trucks for the next five years at least.

Although the country’s electric vehicle market is projected to achieve a 20% market share by 2025, internal combustion engine vehicles are expected to account for most of China’s transport needs and to provide a backbone for oil demand through to 2025,’ said Peng Li, energy research analyst at Rystad Energy.

Chinese oil production has fallen from 1.55 billion barrels in 2014 to 1.43 billion barrels in 2020. Domestic oil production was able to meet 26% of China’s domestic oil needs in 2020, with the remaining 74% met by imports, the highest level on record.

Given that just 2.4% of the world’s proven oil reserves are located in China, the scope for dramatically increasing domestic production is limited. China’s I

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reliance on imports – and associated energy supply security concerns – has led the government to push its domestic E&P companies to find new reserves and increase domestic output.

Domestic natural gas production remains modest compared to overall demand, but has grown from approx.

120 billion cubic metres (Bcm) in 2014 to around 190 Bcm last year. This is still well short of 2020’s total demand of 330 Bcm, meaning the nation remains reliant on imported piped gas and shipped liquefied natural gas (LNG) for more than 40% of its needs.

With gas consumption on the rise – especially as China looks to use more

gas in place of coal in power generation to reduce short-term emissions – the pressure to boost domestic gas production is an overarching imperative.

China’s 14th five-year plan for 20212025 emphasizes the importance of increasing oil and gas production, alongside increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 20% by 2025.

‘As state-owned entities, China’s major operators are not solely profit-driven. So even in a less-favourable oil price environment, we expect Chinese NOCs to perform in line with government expectations and to continue to make an effort to shore up domestic supply,’ Li added.

China has managed to maintain overall oil production while increasing gas production, despite drilling notably fewer wells in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. One of the main contributing factors has been advances in drilling and well services techniques, which is enabling China to drill an increasing number of deep and horizontal wells.

Improved well planning and advanced enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are also helping China to increase its recovery rate, even at giant mature fields such as Daqing. Another game-changer has been the rising use of fracturing services, which has boosted development of unconventional oil and gas resources, said Rystad.

ION Geophysical completes phase three of Mid-North Sea High 3D survey ION Geophysical has completed the third phase of the Mid North Sea High 3D new acquisition multi-client programme.

The programme covers one of the few remaining underexplored areas offshore UK, where relatively low development costs close to shore make it attractive for future investment, said ION. Data collection of the ~700 km2 survey was carried out from mid-September until late October.

‘Client prefunding demonstrates continued support and interest in this geologically complex, commercially appealing play,’ said Joe Gagliardi, senior vice-president of ION’s Ventures group. ‘ION is strategically investing where we believe capital will continue flowing throughout the energy transition. We expect data purchases will largely be aligned with lower risk, higher return strategies focused on stable regulatory environments, proven basins and infrastructure-led exploration that leverages existing nearby facilities.

Multiple exploration and appraisal wells are occurring within the next year to test new prospects and further define nearby discoveries. Based on the excellent phase one subsurface image quality, we expect to provide fresh insights in a new regional perspective for developing the entire Zechstein play.’

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Meanwhile, ION Geophysical has received a grant to advance port decarbonization through its Marlin SmartPort platform. The Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, funded by the UK Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The six-month pilot study will validate whether vessel fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions can be reliably estimated in and around ports using the International Maritime Organization (IMO) global standard.

Announced in March 2020, the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition is a £20 million investment from government alongside a further ~£10 million from industry to reduce emissions from the maritime sector. The programme is supporting 55 projects across the UK. As set out in the Clean Maritime Plan (2019), government funding has been used to support early stage research relating to clean maritime. The programme will be used to support the research, design and development of zero emission technology and infrastructure solutions for maritime and to accelerate decarbonization in the sector.

‘Today approximately 90% of goods are transported by sea and ship-

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ping accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions,’ said Stuart Darling, senior vice-president of ION’s Software Group. ‘Our technology is focused on creating high value information that drives smarter, safer management of the 5,000+ ports globally and the 50,000+ cargo vessels that transit between them.

This grant enables us to continue advancing our maritime digitalization platform, Marlin SmartPort, which integrates systems and data to provide better real-time visibility and actionable intelligence to operate with just-in-time efficiency, minimizing fuel consumption and emissions.

Our goal is to develop and validate fuel monitoring capabilities to start tracking and, ultimately, to reduce port-related shipping emissions.’

Plymouth Marine Laboratory will supply the data, and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult will assist with the analysis.’

Finally, ION Geophysical has engaged Tudor Pickering, Holt & Co, the Houston headquartered investment and merchant bank, to evaluate how to strengthen the company’s financial position. Options include sales of assets, private or public equity transactions, debt financing, or some combination of these, said ION.

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS completes record-breaking seismic survey in Barents Sea PGS has completed a survey for Lundin Energy in the Barents Sea that broke records for the quantity of streamers and the widest source spread.

In late May PGS mobilized for a simultaneous node and streamer acquisition, including an ultra-wide hexasource configuration towed behind the vessel Sanco Swift, on top of a massive, high-density 3D GeoStreamer spread towed behind the Ramform Hyperion, and a unique node-deployment solution.

The survey area covered 3812 km2 in a tandem source-over-streamer operation.

The GeoStreamer spread towed behind the Ramform Hyperion comprised of 18 streamers with 75-m separation and 8025 m length, setting a world-record for quantity of towed streamers, 144.45 km.

The Sanco Swift’s ultra-wide hexa-source was also a record breaker; at 437.5 m this is the widest source spread ever towed.

A substantial portion of the survey area was also covered with a sparse grid of approx. 1000 ocean bottom nodes, the first survey to use automated freedropped nodes. To deploy the nodes onto the seabed, PGS designed a conveyor belt system, installed on a support vessel, which it claimed provided greater efficiency and lower HSE exposure than other node deployment solutions. The nodes were safely retrieved from the seafloor using an ROV with 100% node recovery.

‘The successful management of this integrated technology project in a complex offshore setting, including the most advanced in-sea equipment configuration to date, is further proof of PGS’ operational capability and that this capability translates smoothly from streamer to node operations,’ said Rob Adams, EVP operations at PGS.

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)

Shearwater wins 3D seismic survey in South Australia

Geo Coral vessel.

Shearwater GeoServices has won a contract for a 3D seismic survey offshore Australia from Beach Energy.

The Prion 3D seismic durvey is expected to start in late October, in the Bass Strait of Australia. Lasting nearly two months, the approx. 890 km2 survey will be conducted by the vessel Geo Coral.

The survey will use an advanced multi-component sensor streamer system enabling superior broadband data for exploration for natural gas reservoirs.

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‘Shearwater’s global fleet of seismic vessels has enabled a series of projects in Australia, resulting in high utilization with shorter transit time between projects contributing to lower overall emissions,’ said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater.

Meanwhile, Shearwater has been awarded a 3D survey for an unnamed client in South East Asia. The one month project, which was due to start last month, will be conducted by the vessel SW Duchess.

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

INDUSTRY NEWS

TGS and PGS complete latest data acquisition offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A TGS-PGS joint venture has completed a seismic acquisition season offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The newly acquired data provides 3D data coverage to complement the existing 2D grid.

Most recently, more than 9900 km2 were acquired for the Cape Anguille 3D project. A fast-track volume will be delivered before the end of the year, with the final volume to be delivered in Q1 2022.

This survey is essential for assessing potential prospects identified from the comprehensive existing 2D library in the region. A lease round is scheduled in this area for November 2022. Additional 3D coverage links the Flemish Pass and Orphan Basin, creating a continuous dataset to support drilling in areas that will be subject to calls for bids in 2022 and 2024.

Two additional multi-client programmes were completed, including the Lewis Hills 3D Phase 2 survey, which provides a contiguous 3D tie from the Northern Orphan Basin to the Jeanne d’Arc Basin.

This survey provides unmatched long offset GeoStreamer data to provide additional insights into the highly prospective Newfoundland offshore region. Jeanne d’Arc 3D Phase 2 was also successfully

acquired, providing previously unimaged geophysical and geological knowledge of this basin. ‘We are now closer to our goal of offering modern HD3D data over the

The data acquired will contribute to our client’s efforts to derisk their investments in future bid rounds.’

Rune Olav Pedersen, president and

Seismic acquisitions offshore Canada Newfoundland & Labrador summer 2021.

entire producing area of the Jeanne d’Arc basin,’ said PGS. The latest work, carried out by the PGS vessels Ramform Atlas and Ramform Titan, brings TGS-PGS’ footprint in Newfoundland and Labrador up to 80,000 km2.

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘We have further strengthened our energy data library and position in the region.

CEO at PGS, said: ‘We are very pleased the PGS-TGS joint venture has completed the 11th consecutive acquisition season offshore Canada. Two Ramform Titanclass vessels were active for the full season, with tailored GeoStreamer towing configurations. The new datasets expand our 3D multi-client coverage for this region to 80,000 km2.’

Xodus buys Ocean Geo Solutions Energy consultancy Xodus has acquired Houston-based data interpretation consultancy Ocean Geo Solutions (OGS), adding capabilities in geophysical data processing, interpretation and reporting.

OGS assesses seabed and subsurface conditions for hazards ahead of deep-water drilling operations and the installation of pipelines, cables and structures, providing its specialist services to oil and gas operators and offshore wind developers.

Some 80% of OGS’ work is sourced from Houston-based clients and it is hoped that the deal will grow Xodus’ services in the Gulf of Mexico with further plans to increase headcount in the region in the coming months.

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OGS’ workforce, including geophysicists, cartographers and support staff will continue to operate out of its Houston office. This includes managers and former owners, Michael Pentland and Andrew Haigh, who bring more than 70 years of combined experience to Xodus.

Von Thompson, vice-president for Gulf of Mexico at Xodus said: ‘The acquisition fits with our ambitions to have a sustainable presence in Houston and will enable us to better support our clients from the start of their projects. Given the company’s technical experts’ early involvement in projects, the deal allows us to enhance our current services and acquire intelligence to allow us to better support our clients.

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‘The expertise of OGS’ specialists in areas such as geohazard analysis, in-depth analysis of the seabed and geotechnical testing and reporting will provide our clients with the insight needed to make informed business decisions, avoid potential hazards and assess the environmental impact of their projects. The enhanced competence in the offshore wind market will complement the capabilities of our experts in Boston and pave the way for the future business growth of our global offering.’

Michael Pentland, OGS director of services, said: ‘There is synergy between our experts and Xodus’ capabilities, which will further enable us to deliver quality services to an ever-growing number of clients.

INDUSTRY NEWS

TDO ups Gippsland basin discovery estimate after CGG reprocesses seismic data TDO has reported additional prospectivity within the VIC/P74 exploration permit offshore southeast Australia after seismic reprocessing was carried out by CGG. VIC/P74 in the Gippsland basin covers an area of 1006 km2 in water depths generally no greater than 80 m. The permit is covered by ~1000 km2 of recently reprocessed 3D seismic data. The permit contains numerous oil and gas shows and the Omeo gas-condensate discovery.

Additional seismic interpretation and depth conversion at the top of the Emperor sub-group has led to the identification of additional closures that may host reservoirs similar to those which host hydrocarbons at Omeo.

The next stage of exploration in VIC/ P74 will involve acquisition or purchase of modern 3D seismic data to assist with maturing the best potential leads to prospect status. Internal risking is currently underway in order to assist with informing this next stage.

Megatooth Lead is a fault-dependent closure against the Darriman Fault System with closure extending across mapped reservoirs at F.longus, Golden Beach, and Emperor levels. Fill-to-spill closure relies on the sealing capacity of an additional fault to the north that merges with the Darriman Fault system. The up-dip cross-fault seal relies on juxtaposition with the proven impermeable Strzelecki Group across the Darriman fault system.

With the addition of volumetrics estimated for the Emperor sub-group, Megatooth has a total best estimate recoverable prospective resource of 465 Bcf, up from 204 Bcf. The lead is well situated relative to the kitchen underlying Bream

towards the northeast and migration can be demonstrated by gas-condensates intersected within the Lower Latrobe Group at Omeo 1A. Emperor reservoirs at the Omeo wells lie within 1 km of Megatooth and consist of fluvial sands inter-bedded with intra-formational shale seals that reach up to 20m-thick. Recent petrophysics at Omeo 1A support the effectiveness of these seals through the delineation of gas condensates across several reservoirs.

The Oarfish lead is a three-way fault dependent closure that extends from the Top Latrobe through L.balmei, F.longus, Golden Beach and reservoirs of the Emperor. With the addition of volumetrics estimat-

and reservoir/seal pairs are anticipated to be similar, though lateral changes in depositional environment pose a potential risk for top seal extent. Oarfish is similarly well situated with respect to the kitchen down-dip and migration is anticipated to be low risk.

Oarfish essentially has the same trapping configuration as the Omeo structure, which has hydrocarbons at equivalent levels based on log analysis and RFT recovery of water and gas with a thin film of oil/condensate.

TDO is the the operator (50%) of VIC/ P74, which is located along the southern terrace of the Gippsland Basin, adjacent to Kingfish field. It is the largest-ever offshore oil discovery in Australia.

Location map of the VIC/P74 permit showing leads with prospective resources.

ed from the Emperor reservoirs, Oarfish has a total best estimate recoverable prospective resource of 544 Bcf, up from 338 Bcf. The lead is situated 2 km to the east of Omeo 1A

TDO’s joint venture with Hibiscus Petroleum continues to engage in farmout discussions for future exploration drilling and seismic acquisition.

Newfoundland and Labrador upload free historic seismic data The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) has launched a map-based Data and Information Hub to modernize access to technical information housed by the C-NLOPB. The Information Hub includes

more than 40,000 files to enable stakeholders to locate and download technical information from one location.

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photography and a listing of well logs; 2D and 3D seismic inventory, including reports, images and a listing of SEG-Y; and 2D and 3D seismic shapefiles. A link to the Information Hub can be found on each page of the current C-NLOPB website.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Wintershall Dea develops plan adapt North Sea oil pipelines for CO2 transport Wintershall Dea is working with the OTH Regensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany to adapt existing natural gas pipelines in the southern North Sea for CO2 transport.

Results obtained so far suggest that the offshore pipelines could be safely and efficiently repurposed for transport of liquid CO2. As the study progresses, technical feasibility will be tested and certification will take place.

There are more than 4800 km of pipelines in the southern North Sea, of which 1200 km are operated by Wintershall Noordzee, a 50:50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom.

Parts of this network could be used for CO2 transport. Wintershall Noordzee also operates numerous depleted reservoirs.

These are potentially suitable for storing CO2, which can play an important role in climate protection. The Dutch Continental Shelf offers enormous potential, said Wintershall: experts estimate that around 800 million tonnes of CO2 could be stored there – eight years of German

Credit: Wintershall Dea/Dominik Obertreis.

industrial emissions, based on 2018 figures.

‘Our calculations already show that existing offshore pipelines could be well suited for transporting liquid CO2,’ said Klaus Langemann, senior vice-president of carbon management and hydrogen at Wintershall Dea. Together with industry and research partners, Wintershall Dea has developed innovative calculation models.

Companies with unavoidable process emissions – for example those from the steel, cement, or chemical industries –

will soon be dependent on underground offshore storage sites for the capture and safe storage of their CO2 emissions (CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage). The CO2 produced during the production of ‘blue hydrogen’ from natural gas can also be safely stored in this way.

‘If existing natural gas pipelines can be used for this purpose, this not only improves the economics of CCS projects, but also contributes to the sustainability of many industrial sectors and their products,’ said Wintershall.

ExxonMobil steps up involvement in UK carbon capture

Mossmorran (Neil Hanna Photography).

ExxonMobil has increased its participation in the proposed Acorn carbon capture project in Scotland, UK, by signing an expression of interest to capture, transport and store CO2 from its Fife Ethylene Plant.

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gas terminals at the St Fergus complex at Peterhead, Scotland, which includes ExxonMobil’s joint venture gas terminal.

The initial phase of Acorn, which is bidding to be in the first wave of carbon capture clusters to be announced by the UK government, has the potential to deliver more than half of the country’s target of capturing and storing 10 million metric tonnes per year of CO2 by 2030. When expanded further, it will have the potential to store more than 20 million metric tonnes per year of CO2 by the mid-2030s.

The Acorn project recently announced plans to capture and store CO2 from the Grangemouth Refinery, and the addition of Mossmorran facilities will help Scotland to reduce emissions in its industrial sector.

The Fife Ethylene Plant recently completed a $170 million (£140 million)

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investment programme to upgrade key infrastructure and introduce new technologies that will significantly improve operational reliability and performance.

A further project is underway to install an enclosed ground flare. On schedule to be operational by the end of 2022, the unit is designed to significantly reduce noise, light and vibration, and it is estimated the investment will reduce the use of the plant’s elevated flare by at least 98%.

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is evaluating several other carbon capture and storage projects around the world, including in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Normandy, France; LaBarge, in the US state of Wyoming and a world-scale carbon capture and storage hub concept in Houston, Texas.

INDUSTRY NEWS

UK oil and gas resources estimate drops by 600 million barrels UK undeveloped oil and gas resources have dropped by 0.6 boe to 6.8 billion boe in the past year.

The UK Oil and Gas Authority has published the 2020 UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources report, which finds that overall oil and gas reserves as at the end of 2020 showed a decrease compared to the end of 2019. This is a result of production of around 570 mmboe in 2020 not being offset by additions to the reserves base as a result of Field Development Plan approvals and reserves adjustments for producing fields.

The mean prospective resources in mapped leads and prospects are estimated as 3.7 billion boe. This has reduced by 0.4 billion boe from 2019. This is supplemented by an additional mean prospective resource of 11.2 billion boe estimated to reside in plays outside of mapped leads and prospects.

Meanwhile, a £1 million competition has been launched to help decarbonize offshore oil and gas production in the UK. The competition, managed by the UK Oil and Gas Authority, is designed to advance the widespread electrification of offshore installations on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Organisers are looking for studies (technical, engineering, and/or commercial) that will bring electrification projects a step closer to reality.

TGS completes reprocessing of South Australia data

The winning ideas will be allocated a share of the £1 million prize.

Power generation accounts for around two thirds of oil and gas production emissions. It is anticipated that powering installations using electricity either from a cable to the shore or from a nearby windfarm, could lead to 2-3Mtpa CO2 emissions reductions, which is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from households in a city the size of Liverpool.

In addition, the resulting power demand from offshore oil and gas electrification could potentially support up to 4 gigawatts of new offshore windpower capacity.

OGA chief executive Dr Andy Samuel said: ‘Electrification of oil and gas installations is a vital part of industry’s licence to operate and to meet its North Sea Transition Deal emissions reduction targets. This is also a big opportunity for industry to support offshore wind expansion, with lasting infrastructure that will provide benefits beyond oil and gas, long into the future.”

The OGA’s Energy Integration Report found that the UK Continental Shelf could (through a mix of platform electrification, carbon capture and storage, offshore wind and hydrogen) absorb up to 60% of the UK’s entire CO2 abatement needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

TGS’ reprocessing of South Australia’s extensive open-file 2D seismic database over the Cooper Basin is now available to download.

Since 2019, TGS has been using its 2Dcubed technology to generate PreStack Time Migrated and Pre-Stack Depth Migrated 2D and pseudo-3D outputs over the basin. Field data from 3855 lines of 2D seismic data, acquired between 1985 and 2012, were used as inputs into the study, which is being undertaken with the support of Chevron.

The South Australian Department for Energy and Mining has announced that the Pre-Stack Time-Migrated SEGY data for the 2D seismic lines that were used in the reprocessing are now available for free download, along with the associated statics data. Velocity data will be added to the data package in the next few weeks.

It is expected that the full pseudo-3D PrSTM volumes and the PrSDM data will be available by early 2022. All output data will be immediately open-file and will be made available for download as soon as possible.

The new cores module of the PEPS South Australia database is now available for download and provides comprehensive details of 2400 cored intervals and 13,000 core photographs from petroleum and geothermal wells drilled in SA. It totals ~32 GB of data and offers users the ability to interact with and download individual photographs or all photographs from a selected well.

Images have been sourced from old well completion reports which were scanned by DEM-ERD in the 1990s as part of the SAEI and TEISA initiatives as well as modern digital well completion reports and GSSA and ERD geologists who have photographed cores during their research projects. The best quality images available have been used. This new database module aims to assist researchers in planning their core layouts and sampling campaigns.

SeaBird wins one-year OBN contract SeaBird Exploration has entered into a one-year contract for the Fulmar Explorer with a repeat customer.

The contract will commence this month and replaces the letter of intent that was announced on 8 July.

‘The Fulmar Explorer is in the final stage of outfitting to a high-end OBN source vessel for the future, with capability for nine gun strings, high-volume triple source, and redundancy,’ said SeaBird CEO Gunnar Jansen. ‘Securing a one-year contract in the OBN segment marks a positive shift for SeaBird, with

an improved back-log and visibility for 2022,’ The vessel will start mobilizing for the contract immediately.

Fulmar Explorer.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Shearwater and CGG win six month extension for Nebula survey offshore Brazil Shearwater and CGG have won a six month contract extension to perform the Nebula survey in the Campos and Santos basins offshore Brazil. The vessel Oceanic Sirius will continue to work on the Nebula survey until the end of the year.

Shearwater is also nearing completion of work for CGG on its North Viking Graben survey in the North Sea. The vessel Amazon Conqueror has concluded its work on the survey but the SW Amundsen is concluding the survey. The two vessels, equipped with multi-component sensors, have been working on the surveys for a total of seven vessel months, after a two month addition to the original scope.

Oceanic Sirius vessel.

Roseneft signs deals to bring carbon cutting technology to Russia Russian energy company Rosneft has signed agreements with Equinor and ExxonMobil to collaborate in lowering carbon emissions.

It has signed an agreement with Equinor to reduce the carbon footprint from joint upstream projects in Russia.

The companies will share experience and explore opportunities within such areas as reduction in flaring and methane emissions, energy efficiency and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. They will also evaluate potential cooperation for the use of renewables, carbon capture, utiliza-

tion and storage (CCUS) and low-carbon hydrogen solutions.

The Russian company has also signed an agreement with ExxonMobil to cooperate on applying lower carbon technologies on their projects. The companies will also consider carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the development of lower-carbon fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia.

ExxonMobil has an equity share in about one-fifth of global CO2 capture capacity and has captured approximately 40% of captured anthropogenic CO2 in

the world. Earlier this year, ExxonMobil established its Low Carbon Solutions business, and is evaluating multiple new CCS opportunities around the world. The business is also evaluating strategic investments in biofuels and hydrogen.

The International Energy Agency projects CCS could mitigate up to 15% of global emissions by 2040, and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates global decarbonization efforts could be twice as costly without wide-scale deployment of CCS.

TGS expects Q3 revenues of $200 million TGS expects net IFRS revenues for the third quarter of 2021 to be approx. $200 million, compared to $58 million in Q3 2020.

Net segment revenues are expected to be approx. $61 million, compared to $81 million in Q3 2020.

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ent seismic data continue to be very challenging. E&P companies’ 2021 budgets do not allow for much spending beyond what was committed at the start of the year, meaning that the recent oil price increases so far have had little impact on spending levels. However, with the current oil price, the value proposition of exploration for new oil and gas resources, is very

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attractive. As such, we remain optimistic that spending on exploration-related data and services will improve as E&P companies are entering a new budget cycle with lower levels of legacy commitments.

Meanwhile, the financial position stays healthy with approximately $200 million of cash and no interest-bearing debt on the balance sheet.’

INDUSTRY NEWS

Oil and gas round-up Equinor has concluded the drilling of appraisal well 6507/3-14 in the Norwegian Sea. The well was drilled 15 km southwest of the Norne field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, and 200 km west of Sandnessjøen. The 6507/3-13 oil and gas discovery was proven in 2019 in reservoir rocks from the Early Cretaceous (oil and gas in the Lange Formation) and the Late Cretaceous (gas in the Lysing Formation) periods. The objective of well 6507/3-14 was to delineate the discovery in the Lange Formation, and further to evaluate the reservoir’s properties. The well encountered the Lange Formation, about 45 m thick, of which a total of 24 m was sandstone layers with moderate reservoir properties. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3384 m below sea level, and was terminated in the Lyr Formation

from the Early Cretaceous period. Water depth is 368 m.

DNO has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 2/5-15 about 14 km east of the Ekofisk field in the southern North Sea and 280 km southwest of Stavanger.

The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Palaeocene reservoir rocks (intra Lista and Våle Formation sandstones). The well encountered oil in the primary target in the Våle formation, 23 m of which was homogeneous sandstone with poor-to-moderate reservoir quality.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3292 m below sea level and was terminated in the Ekofisk Formation from the Palaeocene. Water depth at the site is 67 m.

CNOOC has made a large oil discovery at Kenli 10-2 in Bohai Bay.

The Kenli 10-2 oilfield is located in Laizhou Bay Sag in Southern Bohai Bay, with an average water depth of about 15.7 m. The main oil-bearing formation of Kenli 10-2 oilfield is in the lower member of Neogene Minghuazhen Formation and the oil properties are conventional heavy oil. The discovery well Kenli 10-24 was drilled and completed at a depth of 1520 m, and encountered oil pay zones with a total thickness of approx.

27 m. The appraisal well was tested to produce approx. 569 barrels of oil per day.

Equinor has won consent to drill on Statfjord North E-4, in production licence PL 037 in the Northern North Sea. The well, in a water depth of 265 m. The main purpose of the drilling is to increase the recovery rate.

CGG to report uptick in third quarter revenue CGG anticipates Q3 2021 segment revenue to be around $270 million, up 35% year-on-year and up 72% sequentially.

Geoscience segment revenue is expected to be around $77 million, stable year-on-year and up 5% sequentially. Multi-client segment revenue is expected to be around $92 million, up 26% year-on-year

and up 149% sequentially. Equipment segment revenue is expected to be around $101 million, up 102% year-on-year and up 110% sequentially.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘We delivered a robust third quarter performance, confirming the anticipated trends of gradual recovery in geoscience,

sustained demand for our multi-client data located in the world’s most active basins, and a pick-up in equipment deliveries in the second half of the year. Multi-client prefunding revenue for the quarter was around $59 million and after-sales increased to around $33 million this quarter.’

PGS acquires 3D data covering Angola licensing round

PGS has acquired 3D seismic data covering most of the available opportunities in the Angola 2021 bid round for

the offshore Kwanza and Lower Congo Basin.

The 2021 offshore licensing round seeks to award eight areas and PGS has GeoStreamer data covering Blocks 7/21 and 8/21 on Kwanza Shelf.

It has also acquired GeoStreamer data covering Blocks 16/21 in the Lower Congo Basin and conventional 3D data covering Blocks 34/21 in Lower Congo Basin.

Its 3D MegaSurvey includes regional coverage of 45,000 km2, which includes blocks 31/21, 32, 21 and 33/21. The data also includes information on thickness FIRST

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trends, structural setting and depositional environments.

Angola’s Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) has awarded blocks for the licensing round covering the Lower Congo and Kwanza Onshore Basins.

In the Lower Congo basin winning consortiums led by Somoil (block 1), MTI (block 5) and Mineral One (block 6) have been awarded licences.

In the Kwanza basin consortiums led

by MTI (block 5), Simples Oil (block 6), Alfort Petroleum (block 8), AIS (block 9) have won licences.

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Ikon Science releases latest RokDoc software Ikon Science has released RokDoc version 2021.4 with an updated version of the Rose Diagrams plots in the Pressure and Stress Module.

Other notable enhancements include: more value from multi-component seismic data by using PP-PS mode in joint impedance and facies inversion (Ji-Fi); better control of default colours in plots, an updated saturation workflow with the option to apply Backus averaging on multiple well logs; and an improved external interface giving users the ability to capture parameters, control units, and test codes in real time.

‘We can now complete reservoir characterization workflows much faster with multi-threaded, advanced seismic data conditioning functions and multi-realization Ji-Fi exports,’ said Alan Mur, product manager for QI applications, Ikon Science. ‘With the performance improvements in this release, we see 3D exports running up to 10 times faster on existing

workstations and with convenient pre-sets for clusters, making scaling additional hardware easy. Users will find themselves spending much less time waiting and more time engaged with their datasets.’

Meanwhile, Ikon Science has upgraded its Curate data management solution.

The scalable, cloud-enabled, subsurface knowledge management solution enables energy companies to better leverage and contextualize disparate existing data, regardless of source, to drive faster and more accurate decision making.

Enhancements increase data usability by enabling users to quickly search any documents and data across projects to obtain results and share key visualizations and interpretations with all stakeholders.

They will also further validate selected well data’s relevance in specific workflows.

The seismic viewer will provide the ability to superimpose horizons, wellbore trajectories, and associated wellbore

data (logs, markers, etc.) onto the seismic viewer for a combined understanding of subsurface Built-for-purpose for geoscientists trying to get the most out of QI inversion products, Attribute Analyser provides practical insight and analysis.

Mapping and contouring will provide the capability to provide a quick and intuitive means of visualizing and quality controlling key well data items in a geospatial map view for planning, review interpretation and incorporation of data trees for deeper understanding of multiple data types on wellbore and spatial levels ‘Providing instant, seamless access to past and current project data across legacy software programs and OSDUTM data platform in one workspace while optimizing specialist apps and workflows enables energy companies to save valuable time while preserving human resources and capital,’ said Dr Denis Saussus, chief executive officer of Ikon Science.

Eni World Energy Review traces collapse in demand for fossil fuels in 2020

Eni’s World Energy Review has shown that in 2020 world oil demand collapsed by nearly 9% vs 2019 and world oil production declined by 6.5% in 2020, affecting all categories of crude.

In 2020 global gas demand decreased for the first time after 10 years of growth (-1.5% vs 2019), mainly driven by North America (-4.1%), Russia (-3.2%) and Europe (-2.6%). Meanwhile, looking at the top 10 gas consuming countries, China showed an increase (+6.5%) and confirmed itself as the world’s leading importer.

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Global gas production interrupted the positive trend of the last 10 years with a contraction of 2.8% in 2020 vs 2019, largely due to production declines in Russia (-6%) and in the US (-2.5%).

Despite the impact of the pandemic on gas demand, LNG kept on increasing its share of total traded natural gas, reaching 40% (vs 38% in 2019). In 2020 484 bcm of LNG were traded, of which more than 70% was imported by Asian countries.

Over the last year, the US increased its LNG exports by 59%.

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In 2020 wind expansion almost doubled compared to 2019 (+111 GW vs +58 GW), bringing global wind capacity to 733 GW (+17.8% vs 2019). China led the expansion (65% of new additions), followed by the US (13%).

Solar energy continued to dominate renewable capacity expansion with 127 GW of new installations. Total solar capacity has now reached about the same level as wind capacity thanks largely to expansion in China (49 GW).

INDUSTRY NEWS

OFG and DOF Subsea team up on upgrading AUV services

Inspection system for geophysical and pipeline projects.

Ocean Floor Geophysics and DOF Subsea have entered into a strategic alliance for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) services.

The partnership will leverage the two businesses’ recent collaboration in the development of the OFG AUV non-contact integrated Cathodic Protection (iCP) inspection system and enable the sharing of resources on several pipeline inspection and geohazard surveys. It will also provide the framework for a coordinated response to the increasing demand for AUV surveys.

OFG said the iCP technology delivers greater efficiencies during AUV pipeline and infrastructure inspections by allowing for anomalies and the overall system

BRIEFS The South Asian nation of Timor-Leste has extended the timeline for the closing of bids for its second licensing round from October 1, 2021 to March 4, 2022. A total of 18 new blocks are on offer in the Timor-Leste second licensing round, with 7 new blocks in the onshore area (Blocks A to G) and 11 new blocks in the offshore area (Blocks H-R).

health check to be analysed in near realtime offshore. Its miniaturized electronics also simplify deployment on light logistics AUVs, ROVs and shallow water active towfish for pipeline, cable, structure and umbilical inspection, OFG added.

Marco Sclocchi, EVP of DOF North America said: ‘Since our first project together in 2018 to prove the iCP technology on an AUV pipeline inspection survey, we have found that there is a clear alignment between our two companies in performing safe operations and providing the highest quality data in the market. This alliance will also enhance the global footprint of both DOF and OFG through the coordination of asset utilization enabling us to expand our existing operations.’

In addition to the iCP technology, the shared resources will provide the alliance with a full suite of specialized sensors such as a CathX laser and photogrammetry system and HiSAS synthetic aperture sonar on top of the standard sensors capable of performing geophysical and pipeline inspection surveys.

Matthew Kowalczyk, CEO of OFG added: ‘The introduction of iCP into the AUV market removes the final barrier for fully autonomous inspections.’

OFG said that the partnership will also allow both companies to better serve and expand their client bases in the offshore energy and seabed mining industries.

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its interests in the Permian Basin in the US to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash. It has also completed the sale of its upstream assets in Egypt’s Western Desert to a consortium of Cheiron Petroleum and Cairn Energy for $646 million and additional payments of up to $280 million between 2021 and 2024, contingent on the oil price and the results of further exploration.

Sercel has won a major contract to supply land seismic equipment for a 3D mega-crew survey in North Africa.

It includes a 508XT acquisition system with 100,000 QuietSeis digital sensors and a fleet of 20 Nomad 90 Neo broadband vibrator trucks. The equipment is expected to be delivered in Q4 2021.

CGG has completed the sale of its GeoSoftware business to Topicus and Vela Software for $95 million.

Eni and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have entered into a three-year agreement to collaborate in the promotion of renewable energy and accelerate the energy transition, particularly in countries that export fossil fuels.

TGS starts survey offshore Mauritania TGS has started a seismic survey in the MSGBC Basin, offshore Mauritania, adding to its North-West Africa Atlantic Margin (NWAAM) 2D campaign.

The survey NWAAM 2021 comprises 7500 km of seismic data, with a modern broadband acquisition set-up. Data being acquired by the vessel BGP Pioneer is designed to illuminate the regional plays in the ultra-deep and deepwater areas with a new azimuth and to provide prospectivity insights of an oil-prone area

in relation to recent key wells and the shallow water geology. This additional insight will enable explorers to build on the success the basin has experienced with the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim complex and surrounding discoveries. The project has a 60-day acquisition timeline, with fast-track data available three months after acquisition. The full dataset will be available by Q2 2022 and the project has the full support of the Mauritanian Ministry of Hydrocarbons, added TGS. FIRST

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Chevron has adopted a 2050 net zero aspiration for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is incorporating Scope 3 emissions into its emission targets. The company has set a greater than 5% carbon emissions intensity reduction target from 2016 levels by 2028. ‘This target allows flexibility to grow our traditional business, provided it remains increasingly carbon-efficient,’ said Chevron in a statement.

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ExxonMobil ups offshore Guyana resource estimate to 10 billion barrels ExxonMobil has increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana to approx. 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels.

The updated resource estimate includes a new discovery at the Cataback-1 well, which brings the total significant discov-

eries to more than 20 within the Stabroek Block.

The Cataback-1 well encountered 74 m of net pay in high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs. It is located approx. 6 km east of Turbot-1 and was drilled in 1807 m of water.

The Stabroek Block covers an area of 26,800 km2. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana is operator and holds 45% interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration holds a 30% interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana holds 25%.

PGS to report a big increase in third quarter revenue PGS expects to report Q3 2021 revenues of $142 million, compared to $85.1 million in Q3 2020.

Segment revenues and other income for Q3 2021 are expected to be $132 million, compared to $116.1 million in Q3 2020.

Contract revenues ended at $66 million ($9.3 million in Q3 2020). Segment multi-client pre-funding revenues were approx.

$35 million ($50.4 million in Q3 2020), and multi-client late sales revenues approx. $25 million ($28.3 million in Q3 2020).

‘A majority of our Q3 vessel capacity was allocated to contract work, mainly in Northwest Europe,’ said PGS president and CEO Rune Olav Pedersen.

‘While the contract market continues to improve, we are experiencing a seasonally lower activity level late Q3 and

IGas and CeraPhi sign deal to develop geothermal projects IGas has agreed with CeraPhi Energy to jointly develop geothermal energy projects utilizing specific wells in IGas’s asset portfolio.

The first project will be in the Lincoln area of the UK East Midlands on one of IGas’s existing sites. The development will capitalise on IGas’s local knowledge, surface infrastructure and existing wells and CeraPhi’s patented technology, CeraPhiWell, a closed loop downhole heat exchanger.

This project will aim to demonstrate the commercial potential for geothermal energy production from repurposing existing oil and gas assets for direct heat for agriculture, residential heating and cooling, and the development of hybrid energy systems generating both heat and power.

Stephen Bowler, IGas CEO, said: ‘The signing of the agreement with

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CeraPhi is another important step in IGas’s drive to diversify its operations, adding to the ongoing work on hydrogen production and carbon storage and bolstering our established geothermal offering.’

As local authorities and other largescale users of heat transition away from fossil fuels we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries looking to geothermal as a solution and through this growing pipeline of development opportunities, IGas is well-positioned to deliver a solution to the long-term decarbonization for heat in the UK.’ Karl Farrow, CeraPhi Energy, CEO said: ‘The repurposing of oil and gas wells to access subsurface thermal heat to produce baseload clean energy has to become a primary step to developing a wider appreciation of what geothermal can provide us.’

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early Q4. The multi-client market remains challenging, especially for the more discretionary data library sales as energy companies maintain capital discipline. We do however expect demand for multi-client data to improve going forward and also expect a seasonal increase of late sales in Q4. We had strong cash flow in the quarter and our liquidity reserve ended in excess of $190 million.’

US to hold Gulf of Mexico oil lease sale this month The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced an oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico on 17 November.

The lease sale will take place in compliance with an order from a US District Court after the Biden Harris Administration imposed a moratorium of lease sales.

The Biden Harris Administration said it is continuing its comprehensive review of the ‘deficiencies’ associated with its offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing programmes.

Lease Sale 257, the eighth offshore sale under the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Programme, will include approximately 15,135 unleased blocks located from 3 to 231 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Find out more at www.boem.gov/ sale-257.

Special Topic

MARINE SEISMIC & EM Most of the seismic service companies have survived from the disruption of the last 18 months of the global pandemic. As business gets back to normal across the world, leading to a spike in oil and gas prices for consumers, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the industry needs to discover more oil and gas to bridge the gap in terms of providing affordable energy for consumers during the continuing energy transition. There is still a great need for technological innovation by seismic data providers and they are rising to the challenge.

Ekaterina Kneller et al demonstrate how wavelet estimation in 4D inversion in a post-salt turbidite reservoir in the Campos Basin can lead to significant uplift in mapping of 4D anomalies.

Karim Souissi et al present an acquisition methodology aimed at shallow targets that require good near offset coverage and improved crossline distance between sources and streamers.

Alex Goertz et al report on the first-of-its-kind real-time drill-bit seismic acquisition during drilling of an exploration well on the Mandal High.

Lucy MacGregor et al give an overview of the role of CSEM methods during the energy transition and beyond.

Martin Widmaier et al present latest achievements in multi-sensor streamer acquisition with wide-tow sources and how these have optimized high-resolution imaging of the shallow subsurface.

Si-Hai Zhang et al demonstrate how artificial neural networks have great potential for solving the challenge of thin bed identification.

Nicolas Tellier et al present two innovate marine sources intended to address requirements for low frequency seismic acquisition.

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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FEATURE: WHATSUP!

Where would be your next technical paper on this First Break landscape?

Figure 1 12 First Break landscape. Click on the picture, URL opens for your navigation.

Over the summer while taking the responsibility of chair, First Break Editorial Board, I have dived into the last 12 issues of First Break and 97 published articles. The exercise led to a landscape draft, capturing the main subjects of interest for our European Geoscience and Engineering community (Figure 1).

Diversity and globalization Most monthly issues of First Break have six papers on a Special Topic and two peer-reviewed Technical Articles. I have been fascinated to see the diverse range of papers from technical (data acquisition, processing, modelling, and interpretation) through to integration (near surface to reservoir characterization and monitoring) and covering the emerging topics of data science and the energy transition.

As well as home turf of Europe and the North Sea, there has been an impressive range of areas covered, describing hotspots for reservoir exploration in Brazil, Chile, Mozambique and Angola, to reservoir characterization in Colorado, mining in Australia and landslide analysis in Reunion.

Shift toward underground storage exploration and energy transition What has been a pleasant surprise has been how well represented are the relevant topics of energy transition and underground storage exploration, in addition to other interesting subjects such as monitoring of artificial water reservoir or exploration for gas hydrates and sea floor. As well as demonstrating the shift toward new business and activities, these papers show how broadly geoscience and engineering can be applied. This is inspiring for our future research and work objectives, making this community

particularly attractive and skilled to deliver solutions on new and urgent challenges.

First Break reflects back what our membership submits Of course, on the drafted landscape, the categorization relative to data types and analysis goals can be discussed and changed.

Articles with multiple data types are not clearly represented to reduce the number of links and keep a relative readability. We could also imagine such a landscape to be derived automatically once the classification and the training criteria are clear. However, this simple exercise aims to capture 12 months of First Break publication and to create some thoughts.

With time, it could have been interesting to repeat the exercise taking articles of 10, 20, 30 years ago. The landscape would certainly look different yet being insightful on the type of solutions people were focusing on.

However, what is important now is to know how this landscape will evolve and how we all, as a community, are participating and contributing. Publishing in First Break is a way to share relevant information, generating new ideas for future opportunities and business.

It may be of your interest to know that the articles submitted as special topics follow a defined agenda available under the author guidelines. However, the technical papers follow their own review timeline, independently with a relatively efficient review process, averaging 30 days over the last year. So, the associate editors and myself are all looking forward to reading your next technical paper submission and seeing where it would fit in the publication landscape.

Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at gwenola.michaud@cognite.com

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1-2 DECEMBER 2021

First EAGE Rock Physics Workshop in Latin America

Buenos Aires, Argentina and online www.eage.org

November 2021 1‑3 Nov

ProGREss’21 www.eage.org

Sochi and online

Russia

1‑5 Nov

27e Réunion des Sciences de la Terre https://rst2020-lyon.sciencesconf.org/

Lyon

France

2‑4 Nov

Third EAGE/SPE Geosteering Workshop www.eage.org

Online

3‑5 Nov

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

Online

8‑10 Nov

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

Online

8-11 Nov

Africa Oil Week 2021 www.africa-oilweek.com

Dubai

9‑11 Nov

Sixth EAGE Borehole Geophysics Workshop www.eage.org

Online

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

Online

17‑19 Nov

Monitoring 2021 www.eage.org

Kyiv and online

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

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United Arab Emirates

Ukraine

France

CALENDAR

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

30 Nov 2 Dec

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

Online

Oman

December 2021 1‑2 Dec

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

Online

1‑3 Dec

Third EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop www.eage.org

Larnaca and online

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

4th Edition: AAPG/EAGE Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East www.eage.org

Online

5‑9 Dec

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

Houston, Texas

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

United States

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

17 Feb

Fifth EAGE Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Highlight www.eage.org

Online

21‑23 Feb

International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022 https://2022.iptcnet.org/

Dhahran

Saudi Arabia

1‑3 Mar

EAGE Middle East Geomechanics Workshop Lessons Learned & New Frontiers www.eage.org

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

2‑4 Mar

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

Hong Kong

China

21‑23 Mar

Fourth EAGE Workshop on Well Injectivity/ Productivity and Reservoir Management in Carbonates www.eage.org

Doha

Qatar

4‑6 Apr

EAGE GeoTech 2022 www.eage.org

London and online

United Kingdom

11-14 Apr

Saint Petersburg 2022 10 th International Geological and Geophysical Conference - Geosciences: Time for Change, Time for Chance www.eage.org

St. Petersburg

Russia

83 rd EAGE Conference & Exhibition www.eageannual2022.org

Madrid

Spain

March 2022

April 2022

June 2022 5-9 Jun

EAGE Events

Non-EAGE Events

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