GEOSCIENCES

Rocksourse contracts ElectroMagnetic GeoServices

Rocksource ASA has awarded a NOK 70 million ($11.4 million) survey on the Norwegian continental shelf to ElecgtroMagnetic GeoServices (EMGS) AS. The survey covers 25 lines, but can be increased at Rocksource’s option to 50 lines. The work is scheduled to take three months to complete, starting this summer.

“This contract represents a major step in implementing our strategy and allows us to utilize our competitive strengths in handling and interpreting electromagnetic data,” says Trygve Pederson, CEO. Rocksource will use these datasets to select prospects with high probability of finding hydrocarbons prior to investing in expensive 3D seismic and exploration wells. This will increase our overall exploration efficiency.”

“We are very much looking forward to this collaboration.” says Dr. Honny Hesthammer, chief technology officer of Rocksource. “EMGS provides data of high quality and Rocksource has its own proprietary system to handle the huge amounts of data to be acquired with respect to the crucial aspects of integrated processing and analyses for the decision making process.”

North Sea cable installation under way

Multi-Transient Electromagnetic has contracted Global Marine Systems Ltd. to install cable for the Venture Production Plc. “oil finder” project. This is the first time MTEM technology will be used offshore to seek oil and gas. Global Marine’sSovereign cable ship will lay receiver cable on the seafloor at water depths of 80 m (262 ft) to 100 m (328 ft). The recordings will be transmitted back to the Sovereign’s onboard recording facilities.

Barbados 2D campaign complete

Acquisition of 2D long-offset seismic offshore Barbados by Wavefield Inseis is complete. The project, done in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and the Environment, covers the entire Barbados shelf. The government is expected to announce its first offshore lease round for June of this year with this seismic data available to bidders.

This first phase of the campaign collected 6,000 km (3,728 mi) of long offset multi -client 2D data using the M/VAkademik Nemchinov under contract to Wavefield. The vessel towed an 11,500 m (37,730 ft) streamer and used an air gun source for improved imaging of both shallow and deeper targets. Marine gravity and magnetic data were also recorded during the survey. Data processing is under way at perforReuters by Geotrace Technology (UK) under contract with Wavefield Inseis.

“I am certainly pleased with the joint agreement between the Ministry and Wavefield Inseis,” says Andre Brathwaite, chief geologist, Barbados. “The data produced from this survey has so far proven to be encouraging and I believe that this will generate increased interest in the Barbados offshore potential.”

The survey was designed to establish the major hydrocarbon prospective trends in the Barbados offshore sector. The survey grid was designed to delineate the structural relations between the Tobago basin, the Barbados Ridge and Barbados Trough, as well as the northwest part of the Barbados Ridge. This survey also will tie together a deep seismic data set that will surround the island and provide important ties both to the onshore geology of Barbados and to the Sandy Lane well 145 km (90 mi) south of Barbados, just north of the border with Trinidad Tobago.

“This modern, long-offset seismic campaign will enable explorers to achieve a much better regional understanding of the exploration potential of the Barbados offshore sector, which already has attracted significant interest from many of the international oil companies,” says Jan B. Gateman, senior VP G&G of Wavefield Inseis. “The onshore Woodbourne oilfield that has been in production since the 1970s is in itself a proof of the existence of a mature source rock in this area. Also taking into account the hydrocarbon discoveries in the northern parts of the offshore sector of Trinidad and Tobago, it is very likely that an active petroleum system is present on the Barbados continental shelf.”

Nido identifies structures off Palawan Island

Nido Petroleum Ltd. has completed seismic acquisition programs in SC 54 and 58 offshore North West Palawan and says preliminary data interpretation, coupled with existing seismic results, has identified 675 structures with a range of play types and water depths. Further work in 3Q 2007 is expected to result in defining drilling prospects from mid-2008.