GEOSCIENCES

Gene Kliewer • Houston

TGS expands multi-client 2D Indonesian coverage

TGS is conducting a 2D seismic acquisition program offshore West Papua in East Indonesia to add 2,240 km (1,392 mi) of new 2D data to help evaluate the potential south of Salawati basin. Salawati is recognized as one of the largest oil basins in eastern Indonesia. Data acquisition is expected to end by the second quarter of this year.

“We are committed to continued expansion of the Indonesia multi-client data library in areas with high exploration potential,” says Rod Starr, TGS general manager - Asia Pacific. “This program represents a solid start for 2010 and TGS expects that it will be the first of a series of 2D projects this year, contingent on further industry support.”

The program has industry pre-funding and supports the Indonesian government’s overall objective to attract exploration and raise declining production levels.

TGS says it has the largest multi-client Indonesia data library in the industry. Upon the completion of this program, TGS’ Indonesia library will exceed 100,000 km (62,137 mi) of 2D seismic; 400,000 km (248,548 mi) of multi-beam bathymetric data; and 1,200 core samples covering over 1 million sq km (386,102 sq mi) of Indonesia’s deepwater basins.

Reinga basin opens off New Zealand

Bidding is open on six blocks of the Reinga basin off the northwest coast of New Zealand. This will be the first time blocks have been offered in the area.

The blocks cover 105,230 sq km (40,630 sq mi) next to the Northland basin which also is open for bidding. The area is geologically contiguous with the hydrocarbon producing Taranaki basin, according to New Zealand’s Crown Minerals.

“The immediate focus must be on increasing exploration activity and improving the knowledge of our petroleum basins,” says Gerry Brownlee, Energy and Resources minister. “To support exploration of this virgin frontier basin area, the government acquired 2,026 km (1,259 mi) of 2D seismic data over the Reinga basin in early 2009, as part of its Data Acquisition Program.”

A further 3,886 km (2,415 mi) of 2D seismic data is available from CGGVeritas SA, according to the ministry.

Technical advances reported

TerraSpark Geosciences and foster Findlay Associates have agreed to explore parallel research and development programs to define rapid, accurate, and robust methods to build geologically consistent 3D representations of the subsurface to gain new levels of interpretation productivity.

Paradigm has signed a multi-year global access agreement with CPC Corp. The contract will provide CPC with full access to the Paradigm seismic interpretation suite, including products such as SeisEarth, VoxelGeo, Stratimagic, and Geolog.

“After conducting a rigorous technical evaluation, we chose Paradigm software for its competitive value,” says Bishop Hsu, CPC head of exploration. “At CPC, we place strong emphasis on using the most sophisticated technology to generate the best results. We believe that this investment will prove instrumental as we expand our operations.”

Ghana to get reservoir study

Kosmos Energy has awarded OHM Rock Solid Images a contract to do a seismic reservoir characterization study of the West Cape Three Points block offshore Ghana.

The 3D project is to cover 500 sq km (193 sq mi) and will be inverted and calibrated against the Odum-1 and Odum-2 discoveries 18 km (11 mi) east of Kosmos’ Mahogany-1 exploration well.

“The West African Transform Margin play is in its infancy; relatively few wells have been drilled and there is still much to be learned about developing the most effective strategy for exploitation and production,” says Kenny Goh, Kosmos senior VP. “When confronted with a slope channel complex such as that encountered in the Campanian-aged Odum discovery, an advanced reservoir characterization study based on seismic and well data is an effective tool for reservoir delineation and appraisal. The experience Rock Solid Images has gained in the region over the past two years, including the work completed on the Jubilee field, will play a key role in the successful outcome of this project.”