Offshore SeisNews ฉ

•••   Murmanchanin RU holiday publishing schedule.
Due to staff holidays the Murmanchanin RU web site will next be updated after the Summer holiday.
Normal publishing schedule and normal length issues will start again in early September.

••• 18.07.10  Testing of BP's newly capped Gulf of Mexico oil well has been extended for a further 24 hours.
The US official in charge of the spill clean-up, Admiral Thad Allen, said the "integrity test" would not stop until Sunday afternoon.
He added that when the test ceased, containment of the spill using surface ships to collect oil would resume.
The new cap has managed to stop the flow of oil for the first time since the well exploded three months ago.
The flow of oil was shut off at 1425 local time (1925 GMT) on Thursday.
In a statement, Adm Allen said: "Based on the data and pressure readings compiled to date, the test has provided us with valuable information which will inform the procedure to kill the well and a better understanding of options for temporary shut-in during a hurricane.
"As we continue to see success in the temporary halt of oil from the leak, the US government and BP have agreed to allow the well integrity test to continue another 24 hours."
He added that at the end of the test, the surface ships resuming collection of leaking oil would have the capacity to take up to 80,000 barrels per day.
Source: BBC

••• 15.07.10  TGS has commenced a new multi-client 3D survey in partnership with PGS.
This project, ESB10, covers an 1,100 km2 area in the East Shetland Basin area immediately west of the United Kingdom/Norway border.
Ramform Viking, operated by PGS, is acquiring this multi-client high density 3D survey, utilizing 16 streamers.
The project allows TGS and PGS to continue building a multi-client 3D grid south of the successful East Shetland Basin multi-client 3D project acquired in 2009 (ESB09).
The ESB10 multi-client 3D survey is supported by industry funding and data from the survey will be available for customers from Q2-2011.
Source: TGS

••• 13.07.10  TGS charters additional vessel capacity for West Africa opportunities.
TGS has chartered additional vessel capacity to address its multi-client opportunities in West Africa. TGS has chartered Fugro's Geo Caribbean for approximately seven months to acquire multi-client programs in West Africa. The Geo Caribbean is a modern vessel capable of towing twelve long offset streamers. It is anticipated that TGS will take delivery of the vessel on or around 1 September 2010. It is anticipated that over 10,000 km2 of new 3D will be acquired under this new vessel charter.
"Over the last three years TGS has increased its 3D investments significantly in West Africa. In that period we have acquired over 21,000 km2 of 3D data in this promising region. We continue to see opportunities along the Africa transform margin as well as in the salt basins and see the charter of the Geo Caribbean as an opportunity to gain access to a world class 3D seismic vessel for utilization in a key exploration market," said Robert Hobbs, CEO of TGS. "TGS continues to be successful in diversifying its world-wide multi-client data portfolio and the charter of this impressive vessel will significantly further that effort," continued Hobbs.
Source: TGS

••• 12.07.10  GEMS mobilises new survey vessel.
GEMS group in the UK has mobilised a new vessel, Aquarius, for the North Sea oil and gas and windfarm markets. With its overall length of 77m, Aquarius is equipped with multibeam and USBL equipment deployed through moonpools as well as a full range of geophysical and shallow geotechnical sampling equipment.
The vessel provides good seakeeping and excellent station-keeping for geotechnical and environmental seabed equipment and has low acoustic noise levels suitable for the aquisition of high quality, ultra high resolution seismic data.
The vessel has a full range of navigation, positioning, multi-beam and geophysical survey equipment and can also be mobilised with 48 or 96 channel high-res multi-channel capability.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 09.07.10  PGS has been confirmed for a contract to carry out a seismic survey across the Irish Atlantic Margin region with the MV Ramform Vanguard.
San Leon Energy has selected PGS to acquire up to 300 sq. km of 3D seismic data across the Slyne Basin region off the west coast of Ireland, on acreage acquired with the takeover of Island Oil and Gas in May this year.
Ramform Vanguard is already preparing to sail to to Ireland and the survey is scheduled to commence later this month with completion targeted for the end of August.
San Leon has a 50% stake in the Slyne Basin acreage, with the remainder held by Lundin, and the survey is being provided by PGS under a seismic services agreement for work up to the value of $50 million.
Oisin Fanning, San Leon's chairman said: "The San Leon team have mobilised this significant seismic programme rapidly and it is the first work that we are carrying out on these assets; which we only acquired in May through the acquisition of Island Oil and Gas."
And he continued: "The Atlantic margin is an exciting area for us and one that John Buggenhagen, our Vice President of Exploration, considers to have the potential that the North Sea had some forty years ago."
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 09.07.10  CGG Veritas has taken delivery of a new seismic ship co-owned with Norway's Eidesvik Shipping.
Oceanic Vega, an ice-class Ulstein SX 120 design is equipped to carry up to 20 streamers at once and has been described as "..the largest and most powerful vessel of its kind," by CGG.
Initially the new survey ship will be equipped with 16 solid Sercel Sentinel streamers and acoustic and streamer steering gear supplied by Nautilus, to provide high end marine seismic survey capability.
Also the company declared its vessel utilisation and allocation rates for the second quarter this year, with 92% vessel availability, up from 90% in the first quarter this year, while vessel productivity was also put at 92%, equalling the figure for the first quarter.
And vessel allocation was split with 73% of work performed under contracts and 27% for multi-client operations.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 08.07.10  TGS has commenced a new multi-client 3D survey in partnership with PGS.
This project, NVG10, covers a 3,500 km2 area in the North Viking Graben area of the Norwegian North Sea.
The project is being acquired by the PGS Atlantic Explorer and utilizes PGS' GeoStreamerฎ Technology.
"Substantial customer interest has encouraged a second consecutive year of data collection in this area, allowing TGS and PGS to continue building on the successful North Viking Graben multi-client 3D project acquired in 2009 with PGS," stated Kjell Trommestad, VP and General Director, Europe for TGS.
The NVG10 multi-client 3D survey is supported by industry funding and data from the survey will be available for customers from Q2-2011.
Source: EMGS

••• 07.07.10  EMGS signs largest ever marine 3D EM contract with PEMEX.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA announced that it has signed a multi-year contract worth a minimum of USD 150 million with PEMEX, one of the world's largest national oil companies.
The work program, which is located in the Mexican sector of the Gulf of Mexico, consists of approximately 30 deep water 3D EM surveys. Data acquisition will be performed using the purpose-built 3D EM vessel BOA Thalassa, with mobilization towards the end of August.
As previously communicated, EMGS anticipates that the contract will generate 2010 revenues in the range of USD 20 - 25 million, and that the remaining contract value will be recognised in 2011 and 2012.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented: "As a repeat customer, we are proud that PEMEX has made this commitment to EMGS, and we look forward to working closely with PEMEX to ensure that this customer receives all the value that 3D EM technology can deliver. We are confident that our 3D EM data will create significant value within PEMEX's portfolio and, consequently, will support its efforts to improve the reserves replacement ratio offshore Mexico."
Source: EMGS

••• 07.07.10  Dunquin survey starts.
Site survey work has commenced in advanced of drilling on the potentially huge Dunquin gas prospect out in the Irish Atlantic Margin.
Licence partner Providence Resources reported today that the offshore survey work has kicked off in the Irish Front Exploration licence 3/04 in the Porcupine Basin off the west coast of Ireland.
ExxonMobil is the operator of the licence with 40%, and Providence holds 16% and Sosina Exploration 4%. ENI Ireland holds the remaining 40%.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 07.07.10  BGP Marine Shoots for Spectrum.
The BGP Challenger is currently acquiring 2D long offset seismic data on behalf of Spectrum Multi-Client in the US Gulf of Mexico. The BGP Challenger, which was commissioned in early 2009 is currently acquiring Phase 4 of Spectrum’s extensive Big Wave Multi-Client programme in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. By the end of June the Challenger had acquired more than 5,000 km of high quality seismic data with a 10,000m streamer and 4,260 cu ins source array. Spectrum’s own vessel, the GGS Atlantic, had previously acquired more than 3,700 km of Big Wave Phase 4 before mobilising to Trinidad to acquire a proprietary 3D survey.
The early stages of the acquisition programme proved to be extremely challenging. At this time the notorious Gulf of Mexico loop currents were most active. Even more frustrating for both the Challenger and the Atlantic, was the unpredictable position and movement of the loop current. The experienced international crew on board the Challenger coped well and has subsequently achieved excellent productivity acquiring up to 200 km per day.
Spectrum’s EVP of Multi Client, Charles Harmer, is very impressed with both the productivity and the quality of data acquired by BGP. "The crew on the Challenger has performed exceptionally in a difficult environment. We (Spectrum) have already commenced processing the data at our state of the art computer centre in Houston. Initial results are very encouraging producing excellent quality Multi Client seismic data. BGP are on track to complete the acquisition of Phase 4 toward the end of July 2010."
Dawson Soth, Marketing and Sales Manager for BGP also commented, "BGP is extremely pleased to have the opportunity to showcase its services in the Americas and we are delighted to work with Spectrum on their Big Wave Phase 4 programme. BGP looks forward to working with Spectrum on future projects not only in the Gulf of Mexico, but worldwide".
Source: Rigzone

••• 06.07.10  EMGS awarded marine EM contract by new customer EnQuest in UK.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has been awarded a USD1 million contract to provide marine EM services for independent oil and gas company EnQuest. This is the first time EMGS has worked with EnQuest, which focuses on production and development on the UK Continental Shelf.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented, "We are pleased that EnQuest has provided us with this exciting opportunity which will help to strengthen our UK Continental Shelf experience."
Source: EMGS

••• 05.07.10  The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has reviewed 21 recommendations after the "Deepwater Horizon" accident, with an eye to possible consequences for Norway.
The PSA concludes that almost all of the recommendations are already met by Norway's regulations. Still the PSA has decided to study four-five of the points closer. Within well integrity the PSA points out the following:
- Organizational factors, such as eduction, training and qualifications of personnel performing critical functions in planning and executing well operations.
- Operational and technical management systems for well control.
- Operation and maintenance requirements for blowout preventers (BOPs), and existing systems for setting BOP certification requirements will also be assessed.
Within well design and construction the PSA promises to follow up the Well Integrity Forum's (WIF) work. In addition the PSA will follow emergency preparedness and response principles relevant to halting a possible subsea blowout in Norway.
Source: Oilinfo

••• 02.07.10  Offshore Bahamas-focused explorer BPC has carried out a high specification seismic survey over its licences offshore The Bahamas near to Cuba.
BPC said the survey work has been carried out over the southern end of its 100% owned licences in the Bahamas near to Cuba and company chief operating officer Dr Paul Crevello who was on board the survey ship during the acquisition programme says data obtained was of high quality.
Data processing is taking place in the US after a total of four lines of seismic amounting to 194 km of data was obtained during the shoot. Data was acquired to obtain better definition of leads in the southern blocks in water depths ranging from 240 to 520 metres (787 – 1,771 ft) and to extend the company's existing data and understanding of the petroleum system in the region.
BPC is partnering with Statoil to explore other parts of the offshore regions of The Bahamas.
Source: BPC

••• 30.06.10  Eidesvik's new seismic research vessel the Oceanic Vega has been on a successful sea trial.
The vessel which is the first of two for Eidesvik Seismic Vessels. The vessel of Ulstein Sx120 design is chartered by CGG Veritas on a 12 year contract with options five year option.
The vessel has an innovative X-bow design with dynamic positioning, which is designed to provide superior handling in rough weather, and thereby reducing fuel costs.
The vessel will be delivered in July 2010, and the second Oceanic Sirius in September 2011.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 29.06.10  Rieber arranges finance for newbuilds.
GC Rieber Shipping has completed a private placement to raise NKr 450 million (US $68 m) to finance the purchase of two newbuild high-capacity seismic vessels in Spain.
After previously announcing the agreement to buy the two ships from Spain's Factorias Vulcano Yard earlier this month, GC Rieber has established a new subsidiary, Armada Seismic, to own the new vessels.
Subject to renegotiation of a guarantee, the placing will leave the GC Rieber in control of 65% equity in Armada Seismic.
The new seismic ships are due for delivery in the third quarters this year and next.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 28.06.10  Fugro Survey has been awarded a pipeline inspection survey contract.
The contract is worth approximately EURO 5 million and involves acoustic inspection of all subsea pipelines in the West Coast of India offshore Mumbai, India. The total length of pipelines is approximately 5400 km which includes trunk lines and infield lines. The work will be carried out post monsoon from mid-September 2010 to March 2011.
The project will involve deployment of Multibeam Echosounder, Side Scan Sonar, Pinger Profile along with Fugro's high performance Starfix DGPS system to map the pipeline assets accurately, in the first phase. Subsequently, a ROTV (Remotely Operated Towed Vehicle will be deployed to inspect the Trunk pipelines in more detail.
Fugro owned Survey vessel Flambouyan will be mobilized for the project. To complete the inspection work a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) will be deployed to carry out detailed inspection of critical sections of the pipelines. This type of survey is carried out at five-year intervals by ONGC (India) for monitoring of the integrity of pipelines.
Source: Rigzone

••• 28.06.10  Polarcus receives Letter of Intent from OMV.
Polarcus Limited has received a Letter of Intent from OMV (NORGE) AS for a 3D seismic acquisition project in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea.
The project will be acquired by Polarcus Naila, the company's second 12-streamer 3D seismic vessel.
The project will commence in early August 2010 and is expected to run for approximately 25 days.
Source: Polarcus

••• 23.06.10  A new Russian leader has been appointed to head up the Shtokman Development company.
Aleksey Zagorovsky, a career economist, has been appointed to replace Yury Komarov as the chief executive of Shtokman Development AG.
Russian business daily Rio Novosti reported that the change had been confirmed at the Economic Forum held in St Petersburg at the weekend – at which it was also confirmed that France's EDF was to take at least a 10% stake in the South Stream gas pipeline project sponsored by Russia and Italy.
According to Rio Novosti, Aleksander Medvedev conformed the move during a press conference at the Forum, after Komarov had apparently signalled his intention to resign earlier this year.
A contract with the new Shtokman Development AG boss is due to be signed in the near future, according to reports.
Zagorovsky was previously deputy leader of the Gazprom Dobycha Shelf, a newly established Gazprom subsidiary responsible for projects on the on Russian Continental shelf. Also he has worked for Russian petrochemical company Sibur and several major Russian banks, Rio Novosti said.
Zagrovosky, 44, was in fact appointed by the Shtokman Development AG board of directors on 25 May and the company announced the appointment on 3 June.
Shtokman Development AG's new chief executive graduated in 1991 from the Leningrad Institute of Fine Mechanics in solid-state opto-electronics and graduated from the Voznesensky University of Economics and Finance in St. Petersburg in 1995, after studying finance and credit, and then took a Ph.D. in economics.
Between 1993 and 2003 he worked in the Russian banking sector and between 2003 and 2010 was chief vice president for Sibur, and as first deputy general director for finance and economics for Sevmorneftegaz and for Gazprom Neft Shelf. Most recently he was general director for finance and economics in Gazprom Dobycha Shelf.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 23.06.10  TGS Commences High Density Multi-client 3D Data Acquisition for Moray Firth Survey.
TGS announces the commencement of a 1650 km2 high density multi-client 3D seismic survey located in the outer part of Moray Firth off the Northeast coast of Scotland.
The survey covers open as well as held acreage and is located in an area proven to be particularly prolific for hydrocarbon exploration. This has been confirmed by recent discoveries including Golden Eagle, Hobby, Pink and Blackbird.
TGS has contracted the Polarcus Nadia vessel to acquire the Moray Firth 3D survey. The Nadia will deploy 8 X 5000m of streamers for the acquisition and the project is expected to complete in late Q3-2010. The data processing will be done at TGS' imaging center in Bedford, England.
Data from the Moray Firth survey will be available for customers from Q1-2011. The Moray Firth high density multi-client 3D survey is supported by industry funding.
Source: TGS

••• 22.06.10  Rosneft and Chevron agree key principles of joint Black Sea exploration activities.
On June 17 Rosneft Oil Company and Chevron Corporation reported in Novo-Ogarevo execution of mutual agreements outlining key principles of future joint exploration activity planned for Rosneft's Shatsky Ridge offshore license in the Black Sea.
Pursuant to the agreements, Rosneft and Chevron intend to establish an operating company in Russia. Chevron will finance initial exploration activities, including seismic surveys and exploration drilling.
The Shatsky Ridge (Western Black Sea License Area) covers 8.6 thousand square kilometers and is located in the eastern waters of the Black Sea. Ten potential hydrocarbon structures have been identified, of which 5 appear promising as they contain approximately 80% of the license area's resources, or approximately 860 million tons of oil under international classification. A seismic survey is currently in progress in the license area and drilling of the first exploration well is scheduled for the end of 2011.
Source: Scandoil

••• 21.06.10  Polarcus/DMNG partnership receives Letter of Intent from Rosneft.
Polarcus Limited announced that JSC Dalmorneftegeophysica (DMNG), tendering under the terms of a joint cooperation agreement with Polarcus, has received a Letter of Intent from Rosneft for a 1,030 square kilometer 3D seismic acquisition project in the Russian sector of the Black Sea.
The project will be acquired by POLARCUS ASIMA, the third and largest vessel to date in the Polarcus fleet and the first of the ULSTEIN SX134 design.
The project will commence in August after vessel shakedown and transit to the Black Sea, and is expected to run for approximately 40 days.
Source: Polarcus

••• 21.06.10  EMGS awarded largest ever marine 3D EM contract.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract worth a minimum of USD 150 million by one of the world's largest oil companies. The 3D EM campaign will employ one of EMGS's purpose-built 3D EM vessels continuously throughout the duration of the contract period, providing substantially improved vessel utilisation levels.
Formal finalisation of contract and contract signature is expected in approximately two weeks, with vessel mobilization towards the end of August.
EMGS anticipates that the contract will generate 2010 revenues in the range of USD 20 - 25 million, and that the remaining contract value will be recognised in 2011 and 2012.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented: "This award, by far the largest ever within marine EM, is a giant step forward for EMGS. A long-term project such as this provides us with a solid platform for future growth and allows us to manage our vessel utilisation far more efficiently".
"EMGS has previously provided services for this customer, and this significant award is a major statement of confidence in our advanced 3D products and high-capacity vessels. More importantly, it is a sign that EM technology is entering the mainstream of exploration and production workflows. We are confident that our 3D EM data will continue to reduce this customer's exploration risk and finding costs, and we look forward to building on this relationship over the period of the project."
Source: EMGS

••• 18.06.10  CGGVeritas has announced the launch of BroadSeis, a new integrated service for high-resolution marine seismic.
BroadSeis is an innovative solution based on the deployment of specific configurations of Sentinel solid streamers combined with a new patented imaging technology designed to offer oil companies broadband seismic data, resulting in superior subsurface images.
BroadSeis capitalizes on the performance of the Sercel Sentinel solid streamer, particularly its extremely low noise characteristics and its ability to be deployed in configurations allowing the recording of an extra octave or more of low frequencies.
Sentinel streamers are designed to record data while being towed at greater depths and are quieter than other streamers. When these Sentinel advantages are combined with innovative specific geometry configurations and our recently patented ground-breaking imaging technology, BroadSeis delivers a very high-quality signal recorded over a wide frequency bandwidth.
Robert Brunck, Chairman and CEO, CGGVeritas, said: "BroadSeis represents real progress when it comes to high-resolution imaging of reservoirs. BroadSeis mobilizes the full range of CGGVeritas technology to deliver more precise marine data with richer frequency content. This fully 3D solution is ideal for wide-azimuth acquisition as well as reservoir imaging and characterization in general. It is also immediately available on all CGGVeritas solid streamer vessels, which make up most of our fleet. BroadSeis creates remarkable images of the subsurface and represents a new technological advance in seismic imaging." Source: CGGVeritas

••• 17.06.10  CGGVeritas announced that it has signed a Technology Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the Brazilian energy company, Petrobras, for the collaborative development and implementation of new technologies in the field of Geophysics.
The TCA sets the framework for collaborative research projects between Petrobras and CGGVeritas over a three-year time period in specific areas such as 4D seismic processing, imaging and reservoir geophysics.
These research projects will be conducted at a recently opened CGGVeritas Technology Center in Rio de Janeiro. The TCA was signed by Robert Brunck, Chairman and CEO of CGGVeritas, at the inauguration ceremony for this new Technology Center.
The Rio Technology Center is designed to offer oil and gas operators in Brazil direct access to geophysical technology developed or customized by a dedicated R&D team focused on solving local geophysical challenges. The Rio Technology Center is also developing partnerships with top universities recognized in Brazil as leaders in advanced geophysical studies such as the State University of Campinas, the Federal University of Para, and the State University of North Fluminense.
Robert Brunck, Chairman and CEO of CGGVeritas, said: "We are extremely honored to sign this Technology Cooperation Agreement with Petrobras, a leading energy provider to whom we have had the privilege of providing seismic acquisition and processing services since 1961. We look forward to building on this successful partnership and widening our technical cooperation through the joint pursuit of strategic R&D projects for the development of innovative, customized technologies that will improve the understanding of the geological challenges prevalent here in Brazil and the wider Latin America region."
Source: CGGVeritas

••• 16.06.10  PGS to install seismic system Offshore Brazil.
Petrobras and PGS have signed an agreement for PGS to install a permanent seismic monitoring system in the Jubarte field in the North Campos Basin, Espirito Santo province, offshore Brazil.
PGS shall provide and install its OptoSeis(TM) fiber-optic system, as well as perform seismic acquisition and data processing for the project.
This project is a significant step forward in the use of geophysics for reservoir surveillance, in particular 4D4C seismic to map the flow of fluids in Brazil's deep water reservoirs. It shall further improve the quality and timeliness of information that Petrobras' geophysics team provide their counterparts, reservoir and production engineers, that operate the fields.
OptoSeis(TM) technology provides richer data than other commercially available optical systems. In addition to providing better data quality, the OptoSeis(TM) system is certified for reliability for the life of the reservoir.
"Petrobras is recognized as a world leader regarding deep water technology. Hence PGS is very pleased to have been given the opportunity to help Petrobras moving the technology frontiers again, " said Per Arild Reksnes, Executive Vice President New Ventures, PGS. "OptoSeis provides high quality seismic on demand for both new and mature fields. The data from the system will give the basis for improved decisions on well placements and IOR/EOR programs. This will increase the recovery factor, which is vital for the commercial success of expensive deepwater field developments."
PGS was awarded the project after winning a commercial tender. The initial project covers a portion of the Jubarte field that is over 245 sq-km, in water depths of 1240 - 1350m. Depending on the results the project can grow to cover the entire field.
Source: Scandoil

••• 15.06.10  Seabird has secured new work.
Seabird has secured new work for its Osprey Explorer vessel operating offshore East Africa while one of its other vessels has been hit by the oil spill in the US Gulf and two other units are expected to complete North Sea work in August.
In an operational update today Cyprus-registered Seabird said the Osprey Explorer has been contracted for a 7,000 km 2D survey off East Africa and has further letters of authority for a further 10,000 km survey which is conditional on final contract terms.
Meanwhile the Hawk Explorer has firm work until until the end of this month only, in the US Gulf where it is operating as a source vessel for CGG Veritas. "This engagement is not expected to be extended beyond end of June due to the impact of the recent oil spill, and SeaBird is pursuing several alternatives for this vessel in West Africa and elsewhere", the company declared today.
Updating the status of other vessels, the company continued: "Three of our 2D vessels are now engaged on contracts through to November 2010. This refers to, Northern Explorer, Osprey Explorer, and Aquila Explorer. Munin Explorer is contracted to mid September 2010, while Harrier Explorer is continuing on a long term charter to PGS to August 2011. The Geo Mariner, 3D shallow water vessel, is employed through August 2010, with good prospects of continued work in West Africa."
Meanwhile the Hugin Explorer and Kondor Explorer are continuing with an ocean bottom network (OBN) assignment in the North Sea which is expected to complete in August. So far, 625 out of 750 nodes have been deployed as part of this work, and 30% of the seismic shooting programme has completed.
Seabird has also signalled its belief that oil companies will in future demand reservoir monitoring of deepwater fields through production, using high quality repeatable data acquisition, using 4D4C technology.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 14.06.10  GC Rieber Shipping acquires seismic newbuilds at Factorias Vulcano.
GC Rieber Shipping has entered into agreements to acquire the two high capacity seismic newbuildings numbers 532 and 533 currently under construction at Factorias Vulcano in Spain. The total investment will be about NKr 850 million and will be financed through a combination of equity and debt.
NB 532 is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2010, while NB 533 is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2011.
NB 532 and NB 533 were conceptually designed by GC Rieber Shipping, and originally ordered by Arrow Seismic in 2006. Ownership of the new buildings was transferred to PGS in 2007, when PGS acquired Arrow Seismic.
PGS' subsidiary Arrow Seismic cancelled the contracts in March 2009 and August 2009 respectively, due to delays.
"We have recently agreed to sell the 2001-built subsea vessel Polar Queen to Acergy with a net cash effect sufficient to cover most of the equity required. The divestment of Polar Queen and acquisition of NB 532 and NB 533 results in a more equal balance between the subsea and marine seismic segments", said GC Rieber Shipping's CEO Sven Rong.
"The price level for the investment in NB 532 and NB 533 is considerably lower than comparable vessels, which is expected to represent a competitive advantage".
NB 532 and NB 533 are designed for high capacity (12-14 streamers) marine seismic operations with a strong focus on safety, optimised towing and a maximum speed of 20 knots. Higher transit speed will increase vessel revenues, while lower fuel consumption will reduce vessel environmental impact and operating cost. "Overall," said the company, "the vessels are expected to be among the most cost efficient in the industry."
GC Rieber Shipping has obtained loan commitments from DnBNOR covering 60 per cent of the total investment.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 14.06.10  TGS commences 8th season of long offset acquisition in cooperation with Fugro.
TGS announced another season of acquisition of long offset data on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in cooperation with Fugro. The data to be collected (shown on the attached map) include approximately 15,000 km for the North Sea Renaissance (NSR) survey in Holland, Norway and UK, approximately 10,000 km for the Mid-Norway Regional (MNR) survey in the Norwegian Sea and approximately 15,000 km for the Norwegian Barents Sea Regional (NBR) survey in the Barents Sea.
TGS will dedicate two vessels, Bergen Surveyor and Northern Genesis, during the summer season to acquire the NSR project. The data acquired by these vessels will be processed at TGS' imaging center in Bedford, England. Fugro will also contribute two vessels, Geo Arctic and Akademik Lazarev, to acquire the MNR and NBR data, respectively. Fugro will process the data acquired on those two projects.
With the 2010 acquisition program, TGS' total long offset grid on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) increases to approximately 260,000 km, constituting the most important 2D seismic dataset for the oil industry in the NCS. Data from the three surveys will be available for customers from Q4-2010.
Source: TGS

••• 10.06.10  BOS continues Africa 2010 Seismic Campaign.
The BOS Arctic is on the move to a new challenge in West Africa. The vessel is contracted for marine 3D seismic work in Cameroon waters, currently one of West Africa's busiest exploration arenas.
The BOS Arctic will acquire a number of 3D programs in Cameroon, for Euroil (A Bowleven Company), using a six streamer configuration.
The BOS Arctic has recently completed two major 3D surveys Offshore Mozambique and Tanzania. Mr. Roar Iversen VP QHSE states, "BOS are pleased to note that following close planning & cooperation with the client, and the Tanzanian & Mozambique security interests, the surveys have been completed without distraction from outside forces and I congratulate the BOS Arctic crew for exemplary QHSE diligence. Much has been learnt from operating in these waters and we look forward to returning next season".
Source: BOS

••• 09.06.10  Fugro signs contract for new vessels.
Fugro N.V., the Netherlands, and Tebma Shipyards Limited, India, have signed a ship building contract for new Geotechnical Research Vessels.
The vessels are DP2, approximately 82.9 meters long, 19.8 meters wide and have a dead weight of approximately 2500 tons. The contract is for two firm orders plus two optional vessels for various subsidiaries of the Fugro Group.
The first vessel is to be delivered by June 2012 and the second vessel in October 2012.
Source: Seanews

••• 07.06.10  Geokinetics secures $80 million in new projects awards.
Geokinetics Inc. says that since the beginning of April, 2010, it has been awarded approximately $80 million in several new projects in South America, Central and West Africa and the United States. The company is also announcing the launching of its new Geotiger Series II highly transportable 4 component (4C) ocean bottom cable (OBC) crew to the Canadian Arctic.
Richard F. Miles, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are delighted to have secured this much new work in the past couple of months, which include acquisition projects in land, TZ shallow water and multi-client commitments in the Marcellus Shale play. These awards are in addition to the approximately $80 million in three shallow water OBC projects that we disclosed during the first quarter of 2010.
"We continue to experience an increased demand for our services, particularly in Latin America and the Far East, as well as for multi-client work in several of the shale plays in the U.S. We are also working on several large contract opportunities that we still expect to be awarded within the next few weeks. Our bidding activity remains brisk which keeps us cautiously optimistic that our backlog will continue to be supported by additional awards in the coming months."
"We are also pleased to announce that we have completed the sea trials of the world's first "Air Transportable" 4C OBC crew. This unique crew is capable of being deployed worldwide within days to the most challenging E&P environments, be it land locked or ice locked. This is a logistical game changer for our E&P customers that utilizes state of the art Sercel's SeaRay 4C OBC system and Geokinetics' proprietary Geotiger Series II Marine Fleet with its automated handling systems."
Source: Scandoil

••• 07.06.10  Kongsberg Maritime wins Hugin order from Malaysia.
Offshore Geo-Surveys Sdn Bhd (OGS), the seismic survey division of Malaysian company, Offshore Works group, has placed an order for a Kongsberg Maritime HUGIN 1000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV).
The HUGIN 1000 ordered by OGS is rated for 3,000m and is powered by rechargeable lithium polymer batteries. It carries a sophisticated geophysical and oceanographic sensor suite that can be operated simultaneously to provide high resolution data of the sea bottom.
The HUGIN 1000 system comes with a complete navigation solution for accurate geo-referencing of the payload data, making it a robust, precise and capable survey tool for the offshore oil and gas industry.
"Recognition of HUGIN around the world is high and we are seeing it grow in Asia, so we are proud to have been selected as the AUV vendor to OGS, and are confident that HUGIN AUV will perform well," comments Antoney Wellesley, Regional Manager, Kongsberg Maritime.
The AUV will be delivered as a complete transportable containerised system for use on vessels of opportunity. The system includes one 20ft ISO container for storage, battery management, vehicle maintenance, launch and recovery and one 20ft ISO container for mission planning, vehicle checkout, mission execution, and post-mission analysis (PMA). An advanced stinger system is used for launch and recovery of the vehicle over the stern of a vessel.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 04.06.10  Spectrum builds US East Coast experience with major seismic reprocessing project.
Spectrum has commenced another major seismic reprocessing project offshore the East (Atlantic) Coast, USA. The project comprises 19,000 km of vintage 2D seismic data which was acquired before the leasing and drilling moratorium was implemented in the mid 1980's.
The decision to reprocess such a large volume of data was made in response to the recent announcement by the Department of the Interior to begin the environmental analysis ahead of geological and geophysical activities offshore the eastern seaboard of the US. Subsequent to this announcement, the Obama administration stated on March 31st, that it is ending a moratorium on drilling for oil on the east coast of US from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida.
Spectrum has recently developed significant experience reprocessing nearly 30,000 km of vintage data from offshore the East Coast on a proprietary basis. A great deal of knowledge has been gained during these projects, helping to determine the optimum processing sequence to best handle imaging problems in this geologic province. This included developing a full set of support data in order to build correct geometry to merge the raw seismic data with the limited navigation data available.
A combined cascaded demultiple solution consisting of SRME (Surface Related Multiple Elimination) and Radon demonstrates significant improvement in data fidelity over prior pre-processing which either had no demultiple technique applied or a very basic FK (frequency wave-number) demultiple. Spectrum's proprietary amplitude preserving model building and imaging workflow facilitates the retention of true amplitude AVO (amplitude variations with offset) response, resulting in imaged sections showing significant improvement over the vintage stacked data displays.
Executive Vice President of Data Processing, Andy Cuttell, stated "The application of an innovative processing sequence combined with Spectrum's contemporary seismic processing techniques and extensive experience in the region will ensure a high quality final product on all our US East Coast projects both proprietary and Multi-Client".
Unusually for reprocessing, the company has achieved a good level of pre-funding for the Atlantic Coast project.
Source: Spectrum

••• 21.05.10  TGS resumed seismic acquisition of the Justice Wide Azimuth (WAZ) survey in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 May 2010.
The project's progress was previously delayed due to the Deepwater Horizon drilling accident, and the subsequent oil spill and containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the three week delay, TGS continued to acquire WAZ multi-client data in an area adjacent to existing TGS WAZ coverage in the Gulf of Mexico.
The WAZ crew is expected to continue acquisition on the Justice project until the survey area is completed which is estimated for July 2010.
TGS will continue to place the safety of its personnel and contractors as the highest priority in conducting its operations.
Source: TGS-NOPEC

••• 19.05.10  Seismic survey West of Shetland.
SeaBird Exploration Limited announced the execution of an agreement with Chevron North Sea Limited for the acquisition of a large scale ocean bottom node seismic survey West of Shetland at approximately 1,200m water depth.
The purpose of this full azimuth 4C-3D node survey is to acquire multi-component data for improved reservoir imaging and characterization. The survey will be conducted with the survey vessel Hugin Explorer with a capacity of 750 proprietary autonomous CASE Abyss nodes onboard and the source vessel Kondor Explorer which is planned to cover a full azimuth dense shooting program of about 250 square km.
The mobilization was commenced immediately after the recent completion of the node survey offshore ultra deep water Nigeria. The survey will start end of May 2010 with an expected duration of approximately 3 months including mobilization and demobilization.
Source: SeaBird

••• 18.05.10  Large interest in renewable energy.
The Research Council of Norway has received 50 applications from companies and institutes that want to test research technology for renewable energy. Applicants for wind projects dominate the group.
"The large number of applicants illustrate that there is great research activity within renewable energy. There are exciting projects that involve solar, wind and tidal power", - says Hans Otto Haaland, coordinator for RENERGI, which is the council's program for research on renewable energy. The council will now process the applications, and within June 10th it will decide which projects will receive research funds.
Source: Oilinfo

••• 14.05.10  Searcher Seismic completes Halmahera 2D non-exclusive seismic survey.
Searcher Seismic Pty Ltd in conjunction with its project partners DMNG "Dalmorneftegeophysica" and Nordic Maritime say that the Halmahera 2D Non-Exclusive Seismic Survey (HALMAHERA 2D Survey) completed acquisition on the 25th of April, 2010 utilising the seismic vessels M/V Akademik Fersman and M/V Nordic Energy.
The Halmahera 2D Seismic Survey acquired 3,518 km of 2D long-offset seismic data in a regular 15 km x 15 km grid. The Halmahera survey is located in one of the least explored parts of the Eastern Indonesian archipelago and covers approximately 32,000 sq. km over the main parts of the South Halmahera Basin. The basin is located in the Halmahera Sea, Indonesia, which lies immediately to the south east of the Indonesian Islands of Halmahera and to the north west of Western New Guinea (formally Irian Jaya).
Initial processing of the data has revealed some exciting geology within this frontier basin which could challenge conventional geological theories about the basin’s history. The Halmahera 2D Seismic Survey is expected to become a valuable tool for the international oil & gas industry and the local government in further promoting and regenerating investment into regional frontier basins.
The Halmahera 2D Non-Exclusive Survey will be processed with a full suite of deliverable products and scheduled to be available from August 2010.
Source: Searcher Seismic

••• 11.05.10  Skandi Bergen for border control.
DOF ASA subsidiary Geograph Shipping has secured a long term contract for Skandi Bergen. The ship will serve in the Australian border control.
The initial period of the contract is between four and six years, and is a bareboat charter contract with Seaforce Pty. Ltd. in Australia. The vessel will serve in a contract Seaforce has entered into with the Australian Customs and Border Patrol Services.
"DOF is very pleased to cooperate with SEAFORCE and the Australian Government, and this contract represents a great opportunity for an excellent and successful long term relationship with our Australian counterparts and its government", - says Mons S. Aase, CEO of DOF.
Source: Oilinfo

••• 10.05.10  GSP Bigfoot 1 departs for Russian pipelay project.
GSP Drilling in Romania says the pipelay barge GSP Bigfoot 1 recently left GSP Shipyard heading for Russia.
The shallow water pipelay and heavy lift barge will be undertaking ipelay operations under the Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi (DLS) contract in Russian national waters.
The pipelay barge was accompanied by GSP Queen, a DP2 AHTS.
GSP Bigfoot 1 was completed her first project, the Akcakoca offshore construction/pipelay project in April.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 10.05.10  Fugro sees increasing demand for its services.
Fugro reports that revenues in the first months of 2010 were about 10% lower than in the same period in 2009, which is in line with earlier expectations. However, from early March activity levels are improving underpinned by a strong tendering activity and an increasing backlog. Beside lower work volumes resulting from the world-wide economic crisis, unusually adverse weather conditions caused delays on both on- and offshore projects during the first couple of months. Transits of a number of (seismic) vessels to reposition them to more active regions also impacted revenues.
The backlog (for work to be performed in the following 12 months) has increased by more than 13% in the last half year and is expected to strengthen further in the coming months.
In the oil and gas sector, in particular exploration related activities (marine seismic) show an increase, which is also reflected by a higher interest in multi-client data.
National (NOCs) and large multinational oil and gas companies continue their investments and other players start again initiating projects.
The price pressure that emerged in a number of market segments is still evident, and it is expected that price recovery will only gradually take place.
Onshore and coastal infrastructure activities are showing growth in China and in North and South America.
Furthermore, indications are that the market for mining exploration work has bottomed.
In the first quarter two newly built vessels were added to the fleet: Fugro Searcher (owned) for Offshore Survey and Geo Caspian (charter) for marine seismic.
Relative to the beginning of the year the total number of employees reduced with some 100 to 13,400.
The acquisition of Interra S.A. in Chile, with a sister company TerraLaser S.A. in Peru is expected to be completed shortly. These are companies specialised in airborne mapping with annual revenues of about EUR 3 million. The acquisition will strengthen the base of our geospatial services business line in South America, where, so far, operations have taken place on a project-by-project basis.
Source: Scandoil

••• 07.05.10  CGG Veritas says the survey market is strengthening.
France's seismic group CGG Veritas says the survey market is strengthening with increasing demand as it published its first quarter results but reported an 18% slide in revenue.
CGGVeritas posted group revenue down 18% from the first quarter last year to hit US $696 million citing a seasonal decline in multi-client sales which masked "robust" sales from its Sercel subsidiary and an increase in revenue from other business segments in the first quarter this year.
Group revenue for the first quarter was $696 m, down $851 m in the first quarter last year and down from $748 m in the fourth quarter last year. Group operating income was down to $37 m fro $131 m last year and $55 m in fourth quarter 2009.
Net income was just $1m, compared with $71m in first quarter 2009 and $5m in the fourth quarter 2009.
Chairman and chief executive Robert Bunck said company results reflected weakened commercial conditions in the second half last year. "Services performance was relatively stable as lower multi-client sales were compensated by improved fleet utilization, strong activity in land and a sustained high-level of interest for our advanced processing and imaging technologies," he said.
Bunck said growing exploration and production spending should boost sales: "We anticipate the typical second quarter seasonality with increased vessel transits and demobilisation of our Arctic crews. There is also growing confirmation that increasing levels of exploration and production spending will drive a progressive recovery of the seismic market in 2010."
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 06.05.10  TGS Launches Seismic Project in Barents Sea.
TGS has launched a 2,600 square kilometer 3D pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) project over the Hoop Fault Complex, offshore Norway in the Barents Sea. This will be the first multi-client project of its kind in the European region. The project will be managed by the TGS processing center in Bedford, United Kingdom. Original data was acquired by the M/V Geo Barents and M/V Geo Pacific during the summer of 2009.
Interpretation work previously done by TGS suggests there could be favorable conditions for the occurrence of hydrocarbons in the project area.
"PSDM processing on this project will enhance the imaging of geology adjacent to and below shallow faulting, solving one of the main geological challenges in the area," said Kjell Trommestad, VP and General Director of Europe/Russia for TGS.
Final data will be available for the industry well before the application deadline for the 21st licensing round in Norway. This project is supported by industry funding.
Source: TGS

••• 05.05.10  Tideway confirms award of Nord Stream and Sevmash Prirazlomnoya deals.
Tideway Marine & Offshore Contractors, part of DEME group in Belgium, has confirmed that it has been awarded two Letters of Intent (LoIS) recently, the first to install rock on the 1,220km Nord Stream gas pipelines running through the Baltic, connecting Russia to Northern Germany; the second for rock placement to protect a Gasprom Nevtshelf platform against scouring in the Kara Sea southwest of Nova Zembla.
The accumulated value of the contracts amounts to approximately ˆ115 million, with the Tideway's share amounting to approximately ˆ65 million. In January 2009 Tideway was awarded a contract for seabed preparation prior to the installation of the two 48in gas pipelines. The new contract requires Tideway to install rock berms at critical sections after the pipeline is laid.
"This contract will represent one of the largest pipeline rock protection contracts ever awarded," said DEME. "The rock - coarse gravel with a diameter of typically less than 10cm - will be sourced from countries on the Baltic Sea coast. The rock material has to meet certain engineering and environmental criteria. Material has to be free from clay, silt, chalk, vegetation, or other deleterious substances. It will behave as any existing inert material on the seabed and will be re-colonized within a few years. In shallow waters, algae will soon populate exposed surfaces and in deeper water where oxygen and light are scarce, the surface of the rocks will be colonized by micro-organisms."
Tideway worked closely with the main contractor Saipem in the preliminary project phase. The project will be executed in a 50/50 partnership and at least two, potentially three fall pipe vessels will be deployed, depending on the pipeline installation sequence chosen. The project is scheduled to start in 2011 and will be completed in 2012. The value of this contract is approximately ˆ100 million, with Tideway's share being approximately ˆ50 million.
The second Letter of Intent calls for placement of approximately 100,000 tons of rock to protect a new offshore platform (a Gravity Based Structure or GBS) against scouring.
The platform has been built by JSC Sevmash for the account of Gasprom Nevtshelf and will be towed to the Prirazlomnoya oil field near Varandey in the Kara Sea southwest of Nova Zembla for installation on the sea bottom.
Tideway will apply scour protection rock dumping in a sub-contract to Global Maritime.
The bulk of the works will be executed during summer 2011 with Tideway’s new fall pipe vessel Flintstone, which was launched on 28th April 2010 in Singapore.
The DP2 Flintstone has a carrying capacity of 19,000 tonnes and can place rock with high accuracy at a record depth of up to 2,000m thanks to the use of highly sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment. The vessel is built under Ice Class notation, which allows more flexibility when active in Arctic waters.
The contract is valued at ˆ15 million.
Earlier, in 2004, DEME group company Dredging International dredged the channel and enlarged the access channel at Severodvinsk to enable the Sevmash platform to be towed to its final destination in the Prirazlomnoya field.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 03.05.10  TGS Comments on Wide Azimuth Project Interruption.
TGS states that the recent rig fire and subsequent spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Mississippi Canyon block 252 is located within the boundaries of the TGS Justice Wide Azimuth (WAZ) survey.
The Justice WAZ survey began in January of 2010 and was anticipated to complete midyear 2010. The acquisition was temporarily halted on 20 April 2010 when all nearby vessels were called to aid in the rig accident. After being released by the coast guard less than 24 hours later, the vessels re-initiated data acquisition in the Justice WAZ survey and operations continued until the morning of 30 April 2010.
On 30 April 2010 the Coast Guard established a vessel exclusion zone in the area of the resulting oil spill. Due to safety concerns, the WAZ crew was advised to leave the current survey area in order to allow complete access for the ongoing spill containment and dispersant efforts.
On 30 April 2010, TGS moved the WAZ crew into an adjacent project area away from the exclusion zone. It is planned that the WAZ crew will continue to acquire multi-client data in this nearby area until more information regarding the duration of the cleanup effort is available. Although it is TGS' intention to return to the Justice project as soon as conditions allow, this incident is expected to affect the timing of the completion of the ongoing Justice WAZ Survey. Management will issue updates as conditions change.
The TGS core values include responsibility to the environment and the safety of personnel involved in its operations. TGS will fully comply with all restrictions established in relation to this tragic incident and seek to assist wherever possible.
Source: TGS

••• 28.04.10  Following a debate of almost 40 years, Norway and Russia have signed an agreement on maritime borders in the Arctic frontier.
A 175,000 square kilometre area between the Spitzbergen archipelago and Novaya Zemlya has been the focus of the border debate.
The agreement was announced at a joint news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo.
"This is a historic day. We have reached a breakthrough in the most important outstanding issue between Norway and the Russian Federation," says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
"Agreement on the maritime delimitation line opens up new prospects for co-operation in the north on resources, trade and industry, employment opportunities and people-to-people co-operation across our common border. This is a historic day, especially for our populations in the north. I want to extend my thanks to our two Foreign Ministers and the negotiators for their extensive efforts, which have now proved successful," adds Stoltenberg.
Today’s agreement marks the end of Norwegian-Russian disagreement over what has been referred to as the "Grey Zone" since an agreement was penned in 1978, marking a new era of co-operation between the Arctic neighbours.
When it comes to petroleum activities that span the newly defined border, the two sides recommend adopting co-operative regulations and procedures to secure effective and responsible development of reserves.
Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Terje Riis-Johansen comments: "As oil and energy minister, I am very pleased that the boundary question in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean have been resolved today. This allows for increased activity and co-operation between Norway and Russia on petroleum sector."
The new border line between Norway and Russia "On the Norwegian side, we will now discuss how we can proceed to increase the level of knowledge about the petroleum potential in this part of the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in line with the Government's High North strategy," continues Riis-Johansen.
Source: Scandoil

••• 27.04.10  Spectrum and Hamilton Group join forces to develop 2D Multi-Client surveys offshore South America.
Seismic services provider Spectrum and Hamilton Group’s E&P Technology Group (EPTG) are planning 2D Multi-Client surveys and basin analyses offshore South America combining Spectrum’s multi-client survey expertise with basin analyses conducted by the Hamilton EPTG team, headed by Michael Hiner.
Charles Harmer, Spectrum’s Executive Vice President of Multi-Client Services, stated: "Hamilton’s basin analysis expertise, especially in offshore basins, will help ensure that we have the most effective data for our clients, giving them the ability to accelerate their interpretation by utilizing Hamilton’s basin studies."
Keith Grimes, Hamilton Group CEO said: "Aligning our E&P Technology Group with strong technical partners is a primary initiative within our company in 2010 and we are proud to be affiliated with Spectrum."
Source: Spectrum

••• 27.04.10  Hyperdynamics Expands 3D Seismic Offshore Guinea.
Hyperdynamics announced that the majority of proceeds from its $10.6 million registered direct offering that closed April 23 will be used to fund the Company's share of costs for the expanded portion of the 3D seismic survey that is targeted for the third quarter of this year.
Hyperdynamics has begun soliciting bids through a competitive tender process for a 3,500-square-kilometer seismic survey covering selected prospects within its 25,000-square-kilometer offshore Guinea exploration area. The tender includes both the acquisition and processing of 3D seismic data and was sent to major seismic contracting companies with offshore 3D capabilities.
"We have decided to increase the size of our planned 3D seismic survey from 2,000 square kilometers to about 3,500 square kilometers to enhance our chances of success in the drilling phase next year. The larger survey will allow us to cover two separate prospect areas containing multiple prospects with 3D data and to give us a wider range of choices of drilling objectives," said Ray Leonard, Hyperdynamics' President and Chief Executive Officer.
"We have a contractual commitment to begin drilling by year-end 2011; so in order to choose a drilling location and have enough lead time to procure drilling equipment and services, we need to begin shooting the seismic survey this summer. Tendering the 3D seismic now helps ensure that a vessel will be available.
"We are currently in ongoing discussions with several potential operating participants, and we expect the 3D seismic survey to significantly enhance our data set on this highly prospective acreage," Leonard said.
Source: Rigzone

••• 26.04.10  Polarcus receives Letter of Award from Nexen.
Polarcus Limited announced that it has received a Letter of Award from Nexen Petroleum U.K. Limited. for a 3D seismic acquisition project in the UK sector of the North Sea. The project will be acquired by Polarcus Naila, the Company's second 12 streamer 3D seismic vessel.
The project will commence in June 2010 and is expected to run for approximately 25 days.
Source: Polarcus

••• 26.04.10  BP Plc and the U.S. Coast Guard said about 1,000 barrels of oil is escaping daily into the Gulf of Mexico after a drilling rig caught fire and sank last week.
Oil is leaking out in two places at the site, BP spokesman David Nicholas by phone from London today. BP is responsible for the clean-up, Nicholas said.
"This is a very serious oil spill," Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry, who is overseeing the rescue and cleanup efforts, said at a press conference. The accident took place off the coast of Louisiana, where exploration was being carried out on the Macondo field. BP, the biggest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, had leased the Deepwater Horizon rig from Transocean Ltd. for drilling.
The spill covers a 400-square-mile section of the Gulf in the shape of a rainbow, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the coast, Landry said. It’s unknown when the well can be capped, she said.
Thunderstorms, rain and rough seas are hampering efforts to clean up the spillage, according to a statement today from the Coast Guard, BP and Transocean.
BP has a 65 percent stake in the project, with partners Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Mitsui & Co. owning the remainder. The cost of the clean-up will likely be shared between the partners in line with their holdings, Nicholas said.
The fire on the rig started on April 20 after an explosion that Geneva-based Transocean said may have been caused by a so- called blowout, an unexpected surge in pressure that ejected petroleum at the top of the well. The rig sank two days later.
Eleven of the 126 workers on board are missing. A search for them has been suspended and their families have been notified, Landry said.
If the missing workers died, it would be the deadliest U.S. offshore rig explosion since 1968, when 11 died and 20 were injured at a platform owned by Gulf Oil Corp., according to data from the Minerals Management Service. A 1987 helicopter crash aboard a Forest Oil Corp. platform killed 14 people.
Nearby pipelines that were temporarily shut weren’t affected by the rig’s explosion and should soon be operating, Landry said. The Deepwater Horizon rig was found capsized on the sea floor about 1,500 feet (457 meters) northwest of the well site.
Source: Bloomberg

••• 23.04.10  British-based seismic company Spectrum has backed the belief of the US Geological Survey which suggests that the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea could contain a huge 122 Trillion cubic feet of gas.
Spectrum has completed a multi-client seismic survey over the Levant Basin off Lebanon, Syria and Israel, and it says the survey has now been validated by the USGS.
Also the area is thought to contain 1.7 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, according to studies by the USGS.
"An estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, recoverable natural gas are in the eastern Mediterranean's Levant Basin Province, according to a new report released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)," Spectrum declared.
Also the area is thought to contain 1.7 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, according to studies by the USGS.
"This highly positive assessment is the first by the USGS to identify viable resources in this basin and complements a recent study commissioned by Spectrum using Multi-Client seismic data acquired and processed in the Levant Basin and surrounding areas."
Structural and stratigraphic plays types have been identified by Spectrum in both shallow and deep water in the Levant Basin region, and direct hydrocarbon indicators, including gas chimneys, bright and flat spots have been seen on seismic data, Spectrum said.
Both Cyprus and Syria are due to open bid licence rounds this year offering new and previously offered blocks.
Spectrum says it has a multi-client data library for the region using data acquired mainly between 2000 and 2002 which was reprocessed in 2008 using pre and post-stack time and depth migration techniques.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 22.04.10  Transocean rig still on fire.
11 people are still missing after an explosion on board the Transocean rig "Deepwater Horizon". The rig has been on fire for two days.
Spokesperson Sue Kerver in the US coast guard still believes they will find the eleven missing.
- We still hope to find the missing persons. The conditions are good, as we have good weather, calm sea, good visibility within seven nautical miles, and the water temperature is 19 degrees, she says to Upstream.
The rig was working on a well operated by BP, performing cementing and casing during the explosion. It is still unclear what caused the explosion, but Transocean spokesperson Adrian Rose says to Upstream there probably was a blow-out.
Source: Oilinfo

••• 21.04.10  WG Tasman delivered.
Ulstein Group in Norway has confirmed that WG Tasman was delivered by Drydocks World Dubai to Western Geco on 31 March.
WG Tasman left the yard on 10 April, heading for the North Sea.
The vessel is the fourth out of six ULSTEIN SX124 seismic vessels for Western Geco, the first three having been delivered last year from a yard in Spain. The last two will be delivered later this year from Drydocks World Dubai and Barreras in Spain.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 21.04.10  Naming ceremony for Polarcus Asima.
Polarcus Asima is specifically designed for operations in Arctic waters. On April 14th, Polarcus Limited held the naming ceremony for the company's third and most sophisticated 3D seismic vessel yet, Polarcus Asima.
The ceremony was held at the Drydocks World - Dubai shipyard in the United Arab Emirates and was attended by over 200 local and international guests.
Polarcus Asima is a purpose-built 12-streamer 3D seismic vessel of the ULSTEIN SX134 design and is the largest vessel in the company's fleet with an overall length of 92m and a beam of 21m.
Said Polarcus: "Polarcus Asima is also the first true Arctic-ready 3D seismic vessel in the industry with an ICE-1A class notation from DNV, double hull and an advanced ballast water treatment system that eliminates the risk of introducing invasive species into fragile ecosystems such as those found in the Arctic."
The vessel has a maximum speed of 15 knots and is capable of deploying 12 streamers of 9,000m length at 100m separation.
Rolf Ronningen, CEO Polarcus, expressed in his welcome speech Polarcus' gratitude to the shipyard and to all involved in the project, before commenting: "We are proud to introduce the world's first true Arctic-ready 12 streamer seismic vessel to the industry. Her advanced hull design and incorporated maritime technologies will ensure that Polarcus Asima will be one of the safest and cleanest seismic vessels in the industry for years to come, whether operating in the harsh Arctic environment where her high ice class will be critical for her safe operation, or the environmentally sensitive sea areas of Australia and Brazil where her sophisticated environmental features will come into their own."
Source: Polarcus

••• 21.04.10  Cathelco protects Russian floating nuclear power plant against corrosion.
A prototype for a series of Russian floating nuclear power stations will be protected against hull corrosion with a Cathelco impressed current cathodic protection system (ICCP).
Designed to provide nuclear power in remote regions of the Arctic, the hull of the floating power plant is being constructed at the Baltiysky Zavod yard in St Petersburg. It will then be installed with two nuclear reactors providing up to 70 megawatts of electricity – enough to serve a city with a population of 200,000.
The Cathelco ICCP system will protect the submerged surface of the hull against corrosion by ‘neutralising’ electro-chemical activity. It consists of a control panel and an arrangement of anodes and reference electrodes mounted on the surface of the hull.
The reference electrodes measure the electrical ‘potential’ at the hull/seawater interface and send a signal to the control panel which raises or lowers the output to the anodes, ensuring the optimum level of corrosion protection at all times.
"The Cathelco ICCP system has been specifically designed for Arctic conditions where the temperature of the seawater results in lower conductivity than in warmer climates. In these circumstances, a higher current density is required to achieve polarisation of the hull and prevent corrosion. These factors have been taken into consideration in the specification of the control panel and anodes", said Anna Siodlak, who has co-ordinated the project at Cathelco.
The order for the equipment was won by Marine Bridge & Navigation Systems, Cathelco’s agent based in St Petersburg.
Source: Scandoil

••• 21.04.10  Final day for Odim.
Marine equipment provider Odim has applied for its shares to be de-listed from the Oslo Stock Exchange in the wake of the takeover by Rolls-Royce. Odim signalled that it had made the de-listing application today and the last day of trading of its shares will be on 21 April.
Rolls-Royce signalled its takeover move in February and at the end of last month Rolls-Royce had acquired rights to more than 90% of Odim's shares and was moving to compulsorily purchase all outstanding Odim shares.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 20.04.10  EMGS secures pre-funding from Statoil for Barents Sea campaign.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA announced that it has secured pre-funding from Statoil to start an extensive multi-client 3D EM survey in the Barents Sea, ahead of Norway's 21st exploration licensing round.
The program presently stands at more than 4000 km2, and could be expanded subject to additional industry commitments. EMGS's multi-client data library in the Barents Sea will upon completion of the upcoming campaign cover more than 14,000 km2 of 3D EM data.
Carl Hutchins, EMGS president multi-client group, stated: "This year's survey builds on our successful 2008 campaign and will provide our clients with a significant competitive advantage when it comes to evaluating the most prospective areas. Our final deliverable product is 3D full azimuth anisotropic inversion, another EMGS multi-client first. This important tool allows geologists to position EM data at the proper depth for integration with their seismic-derived prospects."
Data acquisition will start shortly using the purpose-built vessel BOA Thalassa. Early delivery of 3D EM data will ensure that customers have ample time to apply knowledge gained from the EM surveys as a part of their bid preparation for the 21st licensing round in Norway.
Source: EMGS

••• 19.04.10  Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has acquired seismic data in the areas off Lofoten, Vesteralen and Senja (Nordland VI and Troms II).
It was during the Storting's consideration of the comprehensive management plan for the Barents Sea and the waters off Lofoten that the NPD was given the assignment of conducting geological mapping. The objective was to increase knowledge of potential petroleum deposits in Nordland VII and Troms II.
During the summers of 2007, 2008 and 2009, the NPD acquired 2D and 3D-seismics in the area, which had not previously been opened for petroleum activities. This data has contributed to increase understanding of the geology in complex areas.
Based on the new knowledge and previously acquired data, the NPD has mapped the areas and estimated the resource potential. The evaluation also covers Vestfjorden, the unopened part of Nordland V, Nordland VI and the Eggakanten area in the southwestern part of the Barents Sea.
The following are the main conclusions based on what we know today:
Nordland VI appears to be the most prospective area for petroleum resources.
Nordland VII and Troms II have a total expected resource estimate which is about the same as what is expected in Nordland VI.
The resource estimate for oil is larger than for gas in Nordland VI and VII. In Troms II, gas appears to be the most likely possibility.
The continental shelf and the declivity off the coast of Nordland and Troms counties is made up of varied and complex geology. A total of 50 prospects have been mapped in Nordland VI,VII and Troms II. The NPD has estimated the recoverable resources based on an analysis of play models.
The petroleum resources are expected to amount to 202 million Sm3 of oil equivalents, or about 1300 million barrels. The range of uncertainty in this resource estimate is expected to lie between 76 and 372 million Sm3 o.e. The figures refer to recoverable oil and gas.
Taking its basis from the updated resource scenario, the NPD has conducted an economic valuation of the petroleum resources based on a number of technical and financial assumptions.
The expected future net value is estimated at about NOK 500 billion. To highlight the added value of gradual exploration in the area, the NPD has also estimated the value using scenarios which reveal profitability that varies from NOK -10 billion to about NOK 1400 billion.
There is uncertainty associated with the estimate for the undiscovered resources. However, this uncertainty can be reduced over time, e.g. through staged exploration including the drilling of exploration wells.
Source: NPD

••• 15.04.10  SeaBird Exploration Limited provided a contract update regarding its business activities.
Further continuing a successful series of surveys in the Far East and Australia that began late October 2009, the Aquila Explorer has been awarded two further surveys in South East Asia and one in Australia with a combined total of approximately 4,500 km.
The surveys will commence after completion of her current survey for the Victorian Government and her previously reported next survey in South-east Asia. After these new surveys are completed this positions the vessel back in Australia at the beginning of Q4 after her scheduled dry-docking in September, continues her employment through October 2010 and contributes about USD 3 million additional revenue to that previously reported.
A Letter of Intent has been signed for the Geo Mariner to commence a 3D survey of approximately 350 sqkm in West Africa commencing mid April after having been idle for part of Q1. This survey will generate about USD 5 million and employ the vessel through mid to end July 2010.
The Northern Explorer has been awarded a contract of 15,500 km in continuation of her current survey schedule in Indonesia. This survey will generate about USD 9 million and commence immediately after her scheduled dry-docking in Q2, employing the vessel through to approximately end October 2010.
SBX can confirm now that the vessel to carry out the previously awarded and reported survey in East Africa of approximately 5,000 km commencing mid to late April will be the Osprey Explorer and employ the vessel through end May 2010.
Source: SeaBird

••• 12.04.10  Clydeside Surveys upgrades to SeaBat 7125-SV multibeam sonar system.
Clydeside Surveys has awarded RESON a contract to upgrade its SeaBat 7125 mounted on its Cheetah Marine-built vessel to a SeaBat 7125-SV.
The system will be used for shallow water hydrographic and engineering surveys in Qatar, where Clydeside Surveys recently won its first contract.
Clydeside Surveys specializes in all forms of hydrographic survey from multibeam bathymetric surveys to sidescan sonar, shallow seismic surveys and more general oceanography including ADCP work.
Continuing to work closely with RESON, the upgrade will follow previous purchase of SeaBat 7125 and SeaBat 8125.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 09.04.10  PGS prepares organization for future growth.
PGS has emerged as a focused Marine Geophysical company, following the sale of its Onshore business. A simplified operational model based on product lines prepares the ground for future growth.
The new organization will consist of: Marine Contract, MultiClient, Data Processing & Technology, New Ventures and Operations.
"With the new structure we aim to improve focus on the product lines and thereby position the group for future growth." says Jon Erik Reinhardsen, CEO of PGS.
He continues:"The new organization will provide our customers with cutting-edge solutions through our fleet of highly advanced seismic vessels and our leading technologies." The new organization will be effective as from May 1, 2010.
Marine Contract will offer proprietary acquisition services to our clients, and remain the main revenue source of our future activities. The unit will be led by Rune Eng, currently Group President Marine.
A separate MultiClient organization will enable us to grow our core MultiClient business. This unit will have more resources, dedicated management and be led by Sverre Strandenes, currently Group President Data Processing & Technology.
Data Processing & Technology will continue the focused growth and development, under the leadership of Guillaume Cambois, currently President of PGS Marine business in Asia Pacific. The New Ventures business area will focus on developing and commercializing PGS assets and manage long-term growth opportunities. Reservoir, EM and Optoseis will be part of this organization, as well as a team exploring and developing new business opportunities not covered by our current business models. Head of this unit will be Per Arild Reksnes, currently President of PGS Marine business in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Operations will continue to manage our fleet including renewal and growth. Operations will be led by Magne Reiersgard, currently President of PGS Marine business in North & South America.
The heads of these business units will together with the CEO Jon Erik Reinhardsen and CFO Gottfred Langseth will form the Executive Management Team of PGS, as of May 1, 2010.
Source: Scandoil

••• 08.04.10  PGS Names its New 3D Seismic Vessel the PGS Apollo.
In a ceremony in Vigo Spain today, PGS named its new 3D seismic vessel, the 10-streamer PGS Apollo. The vessel offers a powerful and efficient 3D platform.
PGS Apollo, equipped with 10 full length streamers and 12 streamer reels, is a purpose-built and efficient seismic ship in the medium capacity segment. The vessel will be a valuable supplement to PGS' existing high capacity Ramform fleet. With a transit speed of 18 knots, she is designed to move rapidly between jobs, cutting non-productive steaming time by several days.
Several new equipment handling features and maritime components are implemented on this ship, including the low resistance hull for increased fuel efficiency, a new source handling solution and a central location of the streamer reels. These features are specially designed for the PGS Apollo's sleek 106 by 19.2 /22 meter molded hull and deck, offering speed, safety, productivity and efficiency.
The new PGS Apollo is a powerful and fuel efficient addition to the PGS fleet. Smart design features have packed her slim lines with a power station capable of generating over 15000 KW, and the flexibility to tailor power consumption and minimize fuel use during operations.
Rune Eng, PGS Group President Marine comments," It is good to see this vessel completed, named, and ready for action. We are all looking forward to getting her quickly into production in the North Sea this spring. She offers high capacity and power on a small, fast platform and I believe she will be a highly effective addition to our fleet."
In addition to the state of the art seismic and maritime equipment, the new vessel is rigged with processing nodes, disk storage and tape drives capable of supporting full onboard seismic data processing.
The PGS Apollo will enter production, after a brief shakedown, with a 10 streamer project in the North Sea.
Source: PGS

••• 08.04.10  EMGS awarded contract worth USD 7.5 million.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has been awarded a contract worth USD 7.5 million to provide 3D electromagnetic (EM) data acquisition, processing and interpretation services for a repeat customer. The survey is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2010, subject to vessel availability.
This is the second part of a global 3D EM campaign for a major oil company, the first part of which was a Caribbean contract announced in mid-December.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented: "This major oil company has become one of the world's leading users of 3D EM technology, and is applying our technology strategically as an integrated part of its exploration programme and workflow. We look forward to developing this longstanding customer relationship further and continuing to deliver high-quality data and, consequently, adding value to their exploration processes."
Source: EMGS

••• 08.04.10  Spectrum Commences Fourth Multi Client Project in Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
GGS Atlantic commenced acquisition of the fourth phase (Phase 4) of Spectrum's Big Wave Multi Client programme in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Big Wave Phase 4 is a 12,000 km programme which infills Phases 1 and 2 to generate a tighter grid for prospect level mapping. Big Wave Phase 4 will further expand Spectrum's seismic coverage in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to over 65,000 km of long offset, high quality 2D seismic data.
Spectrum is utilising the GGS Atlantic to commence Big Wave Phase 4 until a contracted 3(rd) party vessel arrives in the survey area in early May.
Thereafter the GGS Atlantic will mobilise to Trinidad to commence a proprietary 3D programme. It is anticipated that the acquisition of Big Wave Phase 4 will be completed by the end of July 2010.
The data processing will be undertaken at Spectrum's state of the art computer centre in Houston with a sequence to include both pre stack time and pre stack depth migration.
Big Wave Phase 4, has already attracted significant interest and secured pre-funding at satisfactory levels. The Big Wave programme falls directly within the area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico that was announced on 31(st) March by the US Department of the Interior to be "strategically open for new oil and gas development and exploration".
Source: Spectrum

••• 07.04.10  Seaforth Geosurveys acquires dedicated survey vessel.
Seaforth Geosurveys has announced the signing of a long term exclusive charter agreement for the research vessel RV Coriolis II. The 50m former Canadian Coast Guard vessel has been operated by Reformar Inc of Rimouski, Quebec since 2002.
Under the agreement, Reformar will manage the vessel and fulfill the ship’s primary function of academic research and training, and Seaforth will utilize the vessel for its worldwide marine survey operations.
The ship, which is ISM/ISPS certified for operations in both domestic and international waters, is currently being mobilized in Quebec City with various geophysical sensors including multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, magnetometer, USBL, multi-channel seismic data acquisition and processing systems, and geotechnical sampling equipment. The vessel is also being configured for DP operation, providing excellent station keeping for geotechnical operations and as an ROV support platform.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 06.04.10  ZETA commences 3D seismic on Bobocu licence.
ZETA commenced the acquisition of 50km2 of 3D seismic over the Bobocu license (100% interest, ZETA operated) in Romania. The 3D seismic survey, being carried out by Prospectiuni, is expected to take approximately one month to acquire and approximately two months to process.
The primary focus of the 3D seismic is to enhance imaging of flow barriers on the Bobocu gas field, with a secondary focus of identifying bypassed gas.
The Bobocu gas field is located in the outer Carpathian Foredeep approximately 20km northeast of Buzau and 125km northeast of Bucharest.
Source: Scandoil

••• 01.04.10  Norwegians look to Russia.
The delay of investments at Shtokman has not yet damaged the Norwegian interest for Russia, according to Hakon Skretting in Intsok.
The decision to invest in the project was delayed with a couple of months, from the end of 2010 to March 2011.
- There is still much work going on regarding Shtokman, but projects in the Caspian Sea, Sakhalin and Yamal, now receive the greatest interest from Norwegian suppliers, says Skretting.
One of the companies that look to the East is Trelleborg, located outside Drammen. The company recently signed a contract with Aker Solutions to deliver rubber solutions for safety components on Sakhalin 1. This week Trelleborg also signed another deal to deliver fire protection equipment to the Prirazlomnaya field.
- Investments in Russia are based on long term processes. We have been working towards this market since 2003, Thor Hegg Eriksen, CEO of Trelleborg, tells Oilinfo.
Source: Oilinfo

••• 31.03.10  Offshore Hydrocarbon wins CSEM contract in India.
AIM listed Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping has been awarded two contracts for the supply of marine electromagnetic surveys for clients in India, with a combined value of approximately US$6 million.
The OHM Leader, a state-of-the-art vessel for conducting safe and reliable CSEM operations, is currently being mobilised for the surveys with the first due to start in April.
Richard Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping commented: "This will be the first deployment in India for OHM's unique WISE product which integrates CSEM with a range of other geophysical data. Our clients for these surveys are experienced and sophisticated CSEM users and our leading capabilities in such data integration were a major factor in their decision to choose OHM for this work. OHM has pioneered the use of CSEM within an integrated seismic interpretation framework using our WISE products; as a result we are seeing renewed interest in using CSEM for both exploration and exploitation applications."
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 30.03.10  An analyst believes a discovery in the Norwegian Sea may turn out to be far greater than expected.
Norwegian Shell is going to drill a new well on the Gro prospect, which is located in deep water in the Norwegian Sea.
And according to analyst Jarand Rystad in Rystad Energy, this could turn out to be a huge field, far greater than the current estimates of between 10-100 billion cubic meters, our sister site Offshore.no reports.
"If you look at the data for this area, you'll see that the outline is great, and if all this is filled with gas, then this will be a gigantic field," Rystad says.
Rystad thinks Gro could contain as much as 1.000 billion cubic meters of gas. In comparison, the original estimates of Ormen Lange was 400 billion cubic meters. Ormen-estimates have since reduced significantly, but the operator still plans to invest another NKr 38 billion in the field.
"More appraisal wells needs to be drilled at Gro. The field has been proved to contain 10 billion cubic meters of gas. However, it is likely that it contains 100 cubic meters of gas, and we can even dream of 1,000 cubic meters," said Rystad.
Rystad has based his estimates after studying NPD's mapping of the area, and he believes common sense indicate that the field may turn out to be huge.
"If it turns out that Gro is actually as high as 1.000 billion cubic meters, it means a new major field development and a new onshore facilities," said Rystad.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 26.03.10  EMGS licenses proprietary 3D EM software to a major oil company.
EMGS announced that, for the first time, it has entered into a licensing and consultancy agreement with a major oil company to provide advanced software for processing, interpreting and integrating 3D electromagnetic (EM) data.
EMGS has entered into a software licensing and consultancy agreement with a major oil company.
As a part of the agreement, EMGS's proprietary software package, which includes 3D inversion and modelling, will be installed in one of the customer's in-house processing centres.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented, "This agreement confirms our position at the forefront of 3D EM marine technology development and, furthermore, underpins our strategy to enhance the commercial adoption of the technology. We look forward to supporting this oil company in its commitment to capitalise on the benefits of 3D EM data."
Source: EMGS

••• 25.03.10  Otto commences 2D seismic program in Philippines.
Otto Energy has commenced a 2D seismic data acquisition program in Service Contract 69 (SC 69) in the Visayan Basin of the Republic of Philippines.
The seismic vessel M/V Discoverer 2, operated by BGP GeoExplorer Pte Ltd, has been contracted to record the seismic data. Otto plans to acquire approximately 900 line km of 2D seismic data in SC69 (as outlined in the attached map).
SC69 is covering an area of 7,040 km2 in the central Visayan Basin where numerous untested reef plays and structural targets have been identified on recently reprocessed regional 2D seismic data.
The offshore part of the East Visayan Basin is relatively unexplored and covered by only a sparse vintage 2D seismic grid and few offshore wells. The new seismic data aims to delineate and mature several identified structural leads and to give support to our understanding of the petroleum systems.
Source: Scandoil

••• 24.03.10  BOS open for business in the Gulf.
Bergen Oilfield Services (BOS) has established a full representative office in the Sultanate of Oman.
The opening coincides with an important exploration 2D survey win for the BOS Atlantic in Omani waters. The BOS Atlantic is one of the best equipped 2D vessels around and BOS has every confidence of establishing this as a key area for future business.
The office will be in the capable hands of Alf Hesthag, with the welcome assistance and support of local expertise.
Source: BOS

••• 23.03.10  Northern has completed seismic operations offshore West Sicily.
Northern has completed seismic operations in the offshore West Sicily thrust belt covering four licenses G.R17.NP, G.R20.NP, G.R21.NP and G.R22.NP. Seismic acquisition commenced on January 14, 2010 and a total of 1520 sq. km of 3D seismic data has been acquired using the vessel M/V Atlantic Explorer contracted from Petroleum Geo-Services Asia Pacific-Pte Limited.
The seismic acquisition is part of the work programme being funded by Shell Italia E&P S.p.A. as part of the farm-in arrangement announced in December 2008. The aim of the survey is to obtain a better quality, and more complete, definition of the encouraging structures identified by the two previous 2D seismic campaigns, and firm up prospects for drilling.
Under the terms of the farm-in agreement Shell holds 55% in G.R17.NP, and 70% in G.R20.NP, G.R21.NP and G.R22.NP.
Source: Northern Petroleum

••• 22.03.10  Gardline Wins Geophysics Survey Work on Atlantic Array Site.
Gardline Hydro (a division of Gardline Geosurvey) has been awarded a geophysical survey contract by RWE npower renewables for the Atlantic Array Offshore Wind Farm site in the Bristol Channel.
The company, part of the Gardline Renewables Group specialises in hydrographic surveys and seabed mapping and will carry out a detailed sub-seabed survey to determine the shallow geological features as well as providing topographic imagery of the seabed for both the wind farm area and the export cable route to shoreline.
Gardline has provided a multi-vessel solution to cope with the range of water depths across the site. Two survey vessels, the Tridens 1 and Vigilant, will start work in mid March on the wind farm site where depths vary between 40-60m. They will also survey the export cable route where the water is deeper than 15m. A shallow draft coastal vessel provided by Titan Environmental Survey Ltd will complete the survey of the export cable route up to the shore.
Techniques to be employed will include simultaneous multi beam (swathe) bathymetry, dual frequency side-scan sonar, magnetometer and sub-bottom profiler capable of identifying sediment thickness and basement depths across the survey area. The work is expected to take around two months to complete.
Source: Gardline

••• 19.03.10  ASB acquisition gives Spectrum Australia's largest MC 2D seismic library.
Spectrum entered into an agreement on the 16th March to purchase Australian Seismic Brokers Pty Limited "ASB", increasing Spectrum's modern 2D Multi-Client data library in the Far East by over 150,000km. In addition ASB has one of the region's largest and most extensive well log data libraries and a substantial analogue library which will allow Spectrum ASB to identify additional new Multi-Client opportunities in the region.
Spectrum CEO David Rowlands highlighted the opportunities presented by this purchase, "Spectrum has worked in partnership with ASB in Australia and South East Asia for several years, and we value ASB's experience and excellent client contacts."
He continued, "The ASB acquisition together with Spectrum's existing Multi-Client library in India, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Australia will establish Spectrum as a leading Multi-Client seismic player in South East Asia and Oceania".
ASB was established in 1988 and is Australia's leading supplier of Multi-Client 2D seismic surveys to the oil and gas industry. The company is based in Perth, Western Australia and has a library comprising over 150,000 km of 2D Pre-Stack Time Migration (PSTM) reprocessed data from Australia and the Asia Pacific region. ASB has 6 employees in Perth and an associated data processing centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, with 12 geophysicists.
Following the acquisition, Spectrum's combined global 2D Multi-Client library will comprise over 400,000 km seismic data. Spectrum is planning to invest a further US$17-20 million in new Multi-Client surveys during 2010 and add about 70-80,000 km of 2D data to the library. Targeted reprocessing of the existing library both of Spectrum and the newly acquired data of ASB is a key element of Spectrum's Multi-Client strategy and will considerably enhance the value of the enlarged library.
Completion of the acquisition is expected on 1st April 2010.
Source: Spectrum

••• 19.03.10  Veripos wins more work from Bergen Oilfield Services.
Veripos has been awarded an extension to its existing master services contract with Bergen Oilfield Services (BOS), one of Norway’s principal seismic survey contractors.
The extended contract covers continuing supply of a complete range of positioning services and equipment for BOS’s three specialist seismic exploration vessels, BOS Angler, BOS Arctic, BOS Atlantic.
Utilising Veripos’ Ultra Precise Point Positioning service for decimetre-level accuracies supported by Verify-QC software for real-time monitoring and quality control of positioning data, each vessel is also equipped with Veripos LD2-G2 integrated mobile receiver systems.
Supported by Veripos GNSS positioning, BOS has recently completed a 10,000km 2D seismic data acquisition program offshore Guinea, northwest Africa on behalf of Hyperdynamics Corporation.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian company’s BOS Angler is due to carry out major 3D surveys for ONGC and Cairn off the east and west coasts of India.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 18.03.10  Spectrum Announces New Multi Client project offshore Trinidad & Tobago.
Spectrum has received written approval, dated March 15(th) from the Ministry of Energy and Industries to reprocess approximately 12,000 line kms of 2D seismic data in the Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic Area (TTDDAA) offshore the northern and eastern coasts of the islands.
The Ministry of Energy and Industries represents the Government of Trinidad and Tobago who has granted Spectrum permission for reprocessing, marketing and promotion of the data on a Multi Client basis.
The reprocessing will include both conventional time processing and more advanced depth imaging. The reprocessed data will be added to Spectrum's Multi Client library when the reprocessing is completed in Q2, 2010.
Source: Spectrum

••• 16.03.10  Fugro’s Geo Caspian naming ceremony at Stavanger Port.
Geo Caspian naming ceremony held on Friday 19 March 2010 at 12:30 at Skagenkaien (line 04V), Stavanger Port.
Specifications Purpose-built in 2010, Geo Caspian is the world’s largest CLEAN-DESIGN seismic vessel and a key asset in Fugro’s fleet.
This C-Class vessel is outfitted with the highest class equipment and is capable of deploying up to sixteen 7,200-metre long streamers, which are fully steerable using DigiFIN technology.
The vessel has an overall length of 108 m and is 28 m wide at stern; Class DNV 1A1, EO, RP, Comfort, V(3) - C(3), CLEAN-DESIGN, Naut AW, Heldk-SH, SF, Ice C; Sercel solid Sentinel streamers 16 x 7200 m or 14 x 8100 m max. capacity; Positioning Primary navigation Fugro Skyfix-XP DGPS, On-line navigation system Concept Systems Orca; Source Sodera G-gun, single source up to 9000 cu. inch, Dual source up to 5100 cu. inch; Seamap GunLink 4000 Digital Gun Controller; Recording Sercel Seal, 24 bit digital system; Argus data recording and online QC; Processing Software FSI SeisQC, FSI Uniseis, Hardware Linux cluster and servers.
Source: Scandoil

••• 15.03.10  Fugro Searcher delivered.
On 12 March 2010, Fugro formally took delivery of a newbuild survey vessel, Fugro Searcher, which it commissioned in 2007.
The vessel will operate in the offshore oil and gas industry and the offshore renewable energy sector. It will be able to carry out the full range of site and route survey tasks to obtain the high resolution data necessary for safe, efficient and cost-effective planning, design and engineering activities involving the seabed and the installation of pipelines, platforms, wind turbines, subsea structures and other seabed furniture.
The new vessel will have permanently mobilised geophysical and hydrographic survey spreads. Geotechnical equipment will be installed on a project by project basis.
Fugro said Fugro Searcher "represents the initial steps in a global vessel replacement schedule with the objective of removing older tonnage from the fleet and clearly differentiating Fugro's Offshore Survey Division from other providers."
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 11.03.10  TGS Continues Expansion of Indonesia 2D Program.
TGS confirmed the continuation of its multi-client 2D seismic acquisition program in offshore Indonesia. An additional 7,300 kilometers of 2D seismic data is now being acquired in three areas along the Sundaland Margin; including offshore South Java, West Sumatra and Northwest Sumatra, Indonesia.
These new seismic surveys complement TGS' existing data library. Upon the completion of this latest program, the TGS Indonesia library will exceed 108,000 kilometers of 2D seismic; 400,000 kilometers of multi-beam bathymetric data and 1,200 core samples covering over 1 million square kilometers of Indonesia's deep-water basins. TGS has the largest geoscientific multi-client data library in Indonesia and the only multi-client data across the entire Sundaland Margin.
The project is supported by industry prefunding.
Source: TGS

••• 09.03.10  Aberdeen-based NCS Survey has landed a deal to provide shallow water survey services to main contractor to Saipem during the installation of an offshore section of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
NCS, based in the Westhill part of the city, has been contracted to provide a real-time sonar Touchdown Monitoring System for installation of a shallow water section of the gas pipeline in water depths of less than 50 metres (164 ft), which eliminates the need for an ROV to monitor the pipeline as it hits the seabed.
Commencing mid-year, the work contract from Saipem is worth between ˆ2 and ˆ3 million to NCS.
"The TDM system has gained rapid acceptance in the industry as it eliminates the need for a DP2 class ROV Support Vessel on pipe and cable lay projects in water depths less than 50m," explained Andy Gray, chief executive of NCS Survey.
"It enables the contractor to know exactly where the pipe is laid in real-time and thereby minimises the risk when laying near any subsea structures or other live pipelines even when there is zero visibility," Gray added.
Construction work on the huge new twin gas pipeline system is due to commence next month after Nord Stream AG – the project company established to manage the pipeline – received a final consent in February to build a section of the offshore pipeline crossing the Baltic Sea within a 374 km (233 mile) section of Finland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
That permit complete the jigsaw of permissions necessary for the construction of the offshore section of the 1,223 km (764-mile) line which will carry up to 55 Bcm of gas a year from Russia into the European gas market via the Baltic Sea, commencing in 2011.
Apart from Finland, Nord Stream passes through territorial waters of Russia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, with the offshore route running from Vyborg in Russia, to Greifswald in Germany.
Russia's Gazprom owns 51% of Nord Stream AG, Germany's BASF/Wintershall and E.ON Ruhrgas each own 20% and Gasunie of The Netherlands owns 9% of the company.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 09.03.10  EMGS awarded survey worth USD 5 million offshore West Africa.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has received a Letter of Award from an oil and gas company to provide 3D EM data acquisition services offshore West Africa.
The survey will be performed using the purpose-built 3D EM vessel BOA Galatea. This vessel is currently in transit to the survey area following completion of a previously announced contract in the Caribbean.
The work program in West Africa is worth approximately USD 5 million and is expected to commence in the beginning of April.
Source: EMGS

••• 09.03.10  Spectrum Multi Client plans earn positive reaction from analysts.
Spectrum has received positive feedback from two prestigious Norwegian financial analysts following the recent presentation of its Q4 2009 results in Oslo. Pareto Securities and First Securities have published independent reports that analyse Spectrum ASA's results, both focusing on Spectrum's ambitions and plans for investment and growth in its Multi Client library.
Pareto stated that: "Spectrum is positioned for Multi Client expansion with the financial flexibility to grow both organically and strategically". The report continued to say that Spectrum is aiming to capitalise on a window of opportunity in the 2D Multi Client seismic survey market and expects to increase investment by 50% in 2010.
First Securities views Spectrum's Multi Client expansion plans as "well timed" as oil companies increase frontier exploration efforts.
During the Q1 Oslo presentation, Spectrum announced plans for two Multi Client projects offshore US, both to be launched during the first half of 2010. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the fourth phase of its expansive Big Wave seismic programme is scheduled to commence in March / April and will probably utilise a third party vessel for the marine acquisition. Big Wave Phase 4 will acquire an additional 12,000 km of high quality long offset seismic data which it will process with both pre stack time and depth migration.
Following positive political statements to allow hydrocarbon exploration on the US East Coast, Spectrum has announced plans for a major 19,000km reprocessing project, which started in Q1 with completion scheduled for Q3, 2010. This library will complement the existing vectorised data set.
Spectrum provides seismic data processing, Multi-Client surveys and offshore seismic data acquisition services to the global oil and gas industry from offices in UK, US, China, Egypt and Singapore.
Spectrum offers 2D and 3D, land and marine seismic data processing in both depth and time.
Source: Spectrum

••• 08.03.10  Greatship Maya embarks on project on Great Barrier Reef.
Greatship Maya, a newly delivered geotechnical vessel woned by Greatsjip and chartered to Rieber Shipping's partner Bluestone Offshore's set sail on 11 February from Townsville, Australia to the Great Barrier Reef with an international team of researchers onboard.
Over a period os six weeks, the new vessel will be conducting a series of studies to determine the response of coral to sudden sea-level change and climate change.
Coral core samples will be collected at a depth of 160m and undergo basic examination on Greatship Maya before being transferred to a core repository in Germany.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 04.03.10  Reservoir Exploration Technology has warned it will not see positive cash generation until the second quarter this year as more boat crews come into operation.
In an operational update the company said its RXT 1 vessel is in dock preparing for a North Sea assignment, while RXT 2 is working in Nigeria and a third vessel is stacked in the Caspian Sea region, and RXT 4 and 5 were working in shallow water offshore Brazil since the second week of February.
Total production revenue amounted to US $14.5 million in February RXT stated today, and the company added that it is currently negotiating for an unspecified number of new contracts, mainly for the North Sea for which it hopes to announce contract awards in the near future.
"Notwithstanding the improved production in February, RXT will not generate positive cash flow until more crews come into operation in second quarter 2010," the company stated.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 03.03.10  CGGVeritas seismic group slips to fourth quarter loss.
CGGVeritas saw a 28% slide in group revenue in the fourth quarter last year to US $748 million from $1.041 Bn in fourth quarter 2008.
After impairments and restructuring fourth quarter the group reported a net loss of $411 million, down 350% from a $164 million profit in the fourth quarter 2008.
Group operating revenue for the full year was $3.109 Bn, down 19% compared with $3.850 Bn in 2008, and gross profit for the year was $738.3 million, versus $1.304 Bn in 2008. Net income for the year was $109.7 million, compared with $502.8 m in 2008 – a 78% fall.
During 2009, the company commenced decommissioning of vessels as part of a marine capacity restructuring programme, with the first six of nine planned vessels decommissioned. These included four mid-capacity 3D ships: Harmattan, Fohn, Orion and Seach, and two 2D vessels: Duke and Discoverer II.
"Overall marine restructuring charges, including the $28m depreciation of certain low-end vessels, were $144 million (ˆ103 million) in 2009 including $70 million for asset write-offs," the company stated.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 02.03.10  Polarcus receives LOI from Gassnova for 3D seismic acquisition, offshore Norway.
Polarcus Limited announced that it has received a Letter of Intent from Gassnova SF, the Norwegian state enterprise for carbon capture and storage (CCS), for two 3D seismic acquisition projects offshore Norway comprising a minimum 405 square kilometers and potentially up to a total of 900 square kilometers. The program will be acquired by Polarcus Naila, the Company's second 12 streamer 3D seismic vessel. The program will commence in June 2010 and may run for up to 50 days.
"We are very pleased to have been entrusted by Gassnova with this high profile project" commented Rolf Ronningen, CEO Polarcus. "Carbon Capture and Storage is fast becoming recognized as one of the key means to reduce CO2 emissions, with Norway one of the countries pioneering the effort to securely capture and store CO2 in suitable geologic formations under the North Sea. This new and growing business activity is also very much in keeping with our own Explore Green values and we are looking forward to participating on this exciting program."
Source: Polarcus

••• 01.03.10  SeaBird has provided a contracts update regarding some of its offshore business activities.
Continuing a successful series of projects in Australia that began late October 2009, the Aquila Explorer has entered into a contract with the State of Victoria through the Department of Primary Industries for the acquisition of approximately 7,400 km 2D marine seismic data within the Southern Flanks of the Offshore Gippsland Basin, South-eastern Australia, and covering the 2009 released Greenhouse Gas Storage blocks (Gipps-01 to Gipps-03). The project commenced on February 21st and is expected to be completed within two months. The vessel will then return to South-east Asia where she has been awarded contracts to undertake approximately 4,000 km of 2D acquisition over two areas in the Song Hong Basin.
The combined value of the firm work listed above is estimated to be in the range of about USD 6 million and provides the vessel with employment for the next 4 months. CEO Tim Isden comments "SeaBird is delighted to be associated with the Victorian Government for this project and looks forward to further consolidating its position as a leading provider of seismic services in the region."
The Munin Explorer has been awarded a contract in the North Sea as a source vessel commencing 1st June for 2 months, with the client option to extend for a further 3 to 4 months. The initial award period, including Mob and Demob will generate about USD 4.1 million, with client paying fuel cost.
The Osprey Explorer is contracted to work from completion of her current survey end February in direct continuation until approximately end March in East India. This additional survey of approximately 3,000 km will generate in the region of USD 1.7 million, with client paying fuel cost.
A Letter of Award has been received for a survey in East Africa of approximately 5,000 km commencing mid to late April. The vessel to perform this contract will most likely be the Osprey Explorer. This contract will generate in the region of USD 4.7 million inclusive of fuel cost.
Source: SeaBird Exploration

••• 01.03.10  Providence, PGS joins forces for offshore seismic ventures.
Providence Resources has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with PGS Ventures A/S, a division of Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), an industry leader in offshore seismic data acquisition and processing.
This agreement will allow the companies to co-operate on offshore seismic survey design and acquisition across the portfolio, particularly in such challenging data areas such as the Celtic Sea Basin where Providence is currently evaluating a number of oil and gas discoveries, through its SPV's EIRGAS and EXOLA. Where possible, and as appropriate, Providence will seek to leverage on PGS' proprietary technology such as the "GeoStreamer" seismic acquisition system. In addition, Providence will also gain access to view PGS' significant multi-client seismic database offshore Ireland and offshore United Kingdom.
Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Providence, said, "We are delighted to enter into this collaboration agreement with PGS Ventures which we believe will have a material impact on the development of our asset portfolio. In addition, we look forward to gaining access to view PGS' data library both offshore Ireland and the UK and benefit from their intelligence as we work with them in the development of future projects."
Source: Scandoil

••• 26.02.10  TGS Exercises Option for 3D Vessel Charter.
TGS announced that it has exercised the option to extend the charter for the Polarcus Nadia for a 6 month period following the completion of the initial program in the charter, expected to be in May 2010.
A second 6 month option for the vessel remains in full effect and would follow this extension if ultimately exercised by TGS.
Source: TGS-NOPEC

••• 25.02.10  Polarcus takes delivery of second 3D seismic vessel.
Polarcus Limited announced that Polarcus Naila AS, a member of the Polarcus Group, today took delivery of Polarcus Naila, a modern 12 streamer 3D seismic vessel built to the ULSTEIN SX124 design. Polarcus Naila is the sister ship to Polarcus Nadia, delivered to the Polarcus Group in December 2009. The vessel was built at Drydocks World – Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and will transit to West Africa to commence a charter for Noble Energy Cameroon Limited.
Polarcus Naila is a purpose-built seismic vessel incorporating the innovative ULSTEIN X-BOWฎ and designed to meet the exacting specifications for offshore seismic operations worldwide. The 88.8m double-hulled vessel incorporates some of the most recent developments in maritime systems and is fitted out with the most advanced seismic technology commercially available, including the latest generation Sentinelฎ solid streamers. Polarcus Naila is one of the safest and most environmentally sound seismic vessels in the market with diesel-electric propulsion, high specification catalytic convertors, DP2 dynamic positioning, and advanced bilge water cleaning, enabling the vessel to conform to existing and envisaged IMO and Class rules and to comply with the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) stringent CLEAN-DESIGN and COMF-V(3) class notations.
Source: Polarcus

••• 24.02.10  Fugro Synergy wins new work with KNOC in Korea.
Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has contracted Fugro Well Services Limited to drill and obtain cores from 10 sites in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea. The project is part of the Korean Gas Hydrate Research & Development Organisation’s (GHDO) ongoing programme to determine the extent of Gas Hydrate deposits in water depths between 950m and nearly 2,300m.
The workscope will be completed using Fugro Synergy as the operating vessel with support from a number of Fugro entities. Accommodation and laboratory facilities will be added to the deck layout to allow Korean and other international scientists to analyse the cores immediately on recovery.
Specialised support and scientific analysis will be provided by Geotek Limited.
The estimated 90-day project is scheduled to be carried out in spring/summer of 2010.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 24.02.10  Finance found for new IMR ships.
Bergen-based GC Rieber Shipping has secured new financing to allow it to construct two newbuild inspection repair and maintenance vessels.
Agreement has been reached with three Norwegian finance groups, Nordea, Sparebanken Vest and SpareBank 1 SR Bank for long-term financing for two subsea and IMR newbuild vessels which will fall due for delivery this year and next.
Financing for up to US $107 million has been reached for the new vessels, with a five-year term for the loan.
With the new loan, GC Rieber said today that the new ships will be 75% debt-financed, and the vessels will be based on a Skipsteknisk ST-254L CD design, and will be built at Spain's Freire shipyard.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 24.02.10  Norwegian company Seabed AS has been awarded a contract regarding search for the Air France aircraft that crashed off Brazil on June 1st 2009.
The wreck is at a depth of 3,000-4000m, and the French Safety Investigation Authority responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and incidents (BEA) has, among different companies, chosen Seabed AS to help in its search.
Seabed will mobilize its vessel Seabed Worker in Brazil at the beginning of March. The vessel is already in the area. The search is expected to last 1-2 months.
The search area, in international waters between Brazil and West Africa, is huge and far from shore, and the water depth makes the search a technological challenge.
An important task is to find the aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR). In addition to equipment and ROV on board Seabed Worker, three REMUS AUVs will be used, operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
"We have experience from work on depths deeper than 3,000m. This is deep, but we have personnel who have long experience with this type of work, and a good track record. We consider the possibilities to locate the plane as good," said the company.
Source: Seabed

••• 23.02.10  Geo Rederi sells seismic vessel.
A subsidiary of DOF in Norway, Geo Rederi, has sold a seismic research vessel to Exploration Resources II(EIR) in Bergen.
EIR had previously chartered the vessel, Geo Challenger.
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 19.02.10  Shtokman Project May Move Forward Without LNG.
Citing documents from field operator Shtokman Development AG, Prime-Tass news agency reported that the massive Shtokman gas condensate field may be developed without liquefied natural gas.
According to the report, the operator has set the deadline for an investment decision on LNG production at December 2011. If a decision is not reached by this date, the field's gas will be transported through pipeline and shipped to European markets.
Located in the harsh, arctic waters of the Barents Sea, Shtokman contains an estimated 3.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 37 million tons of gas condensate, making it one of the largest offshore deposits ever discovered.
Russian oil giant Gazprom holds a 51% working interest in the offshore development, with partners Total and Statoil holding the remaining 25% and 24% stakes, respectively.
Source: Rigzone

••• 18.02.10  Karoon provides Brazil exploration update.
Karoon Gas reported that a new 750 square kilometer 3D seismic acquisition program over Karoon's Santos Basin blocks, offshore Brazil, commenced on February 10, 2010, using the WesternGeco seismic vessel Western Patriot.
The objective of this program is to provide uniform, high-quality Wide Azimuth, 3D seismic coverage over Karoon's Santos Basin blocks. This high quality WAZ 3D seismic acquisition program is the first of its kind in Brazil and is designed to image beneath and around salt structures allowing more accurate prospect definition.
This new seismic data will aid in the positioning of exploration wells expected to be drilled in late 2010 or during 2011.
Source: Scandoil

••• 18.02.10  PGS Chooses North American Data Center Provider.
Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) will occupy a 10,000 square foot data hall in CyrusOne’s newest co-located data center located in West Houston. PGS will co-locate high-density, mission-critical data and applications servers to support exploration projects and operations worldwide.
These data processing systems and applications support several critical functions at PGS, including large-scale seismic data processing, complex reservoir analysis and interpretation and electromagnetic services. PGS desired a data center solution that could provide a secure, scalable, high density environment for the enormous amounts of vital data needed to sustain the success of its business. PGS also wanted a colocation provider that matched its commitment to minimizing environmental impact related to data center infrastructure and power consumption.
This data hall represents PGS' largest and most robust data center environment in North America, with 10,000 square feet of high-powered servers to render maximum application reliability and security.
Source: Rigzone

••• 17.02.10  Hyperdynamics Corporation has announced the completion of its 2009-2010 2D seismic data acquisition programme over its exploration area offshore Republic of Guinea in Northwest Africa.
The survey, conducted on the companies' behalf by Bergen Oilfield Services of Norway, entailed acquisition of just over 10,000km of 2D seismic to delineate areas of interest.
Dana Petroleum and Repsol are expected to contribute their pro rata shares of the approximate US$11 million total cost of the programme.
"We utilized the initial data from this broad area study to help us select the most prospective offshore blocks that we want to retain for further exploration," said Ray Leonard, Hyperdynamics' President and Chief Executive Officer.
"With the 2D seismic data in hand, our next step will be to identify those areas over which we will want to conduct a 3D survey expected to get under way in the third quarter of this year."
Source: Offshore Shipping Online

••• 16.02.10  Otto begins 3D seismic in SC55, offshore Philippines.
Otto Energy is commencing a new 3D seismic data acquisition program in SC55. Otto plans to acquire approximately 1,800sq.km of 3D data in SC55.
The seismic vessel Ramform Explorer operated by Petroleum Geo-Services Asia Pacific Pte Ltd is currently in the field and will be commencing seismic acquisition on February 10, 2010. The survey is expected to take approximately 2 months to complete.
Source: Scandoil

••• 16.02.10  PGS announced that it had closed the sale of PGS' Onshore seismic data acquisition business and related MultiClient library to Geokinetics.
Petroleum Geo-Services ASA announced that it had closed the sale of PGS' Onshore seismic data acquisition business and related MultiClient library to Geokinetics. The consideration in the transaction consisted of a combination of approximately USD 184 million in cash and 2.15 million shares of Geokinetics common stock. The 2.15 million shares issued to PGS represent approximately 12% of the current outstanding common shares of Geokinetics. Following the closing of the transaction, PGS is expected to be the second largest shareholder of Geokinetics.
The combination of Geokinetics and the onshore business of PGS will create the second largest onshore seismic acquisition company in the world in terms of crew count and the largest based in the Western Hemisphere. The company will have the assets and technical capabilities for up to 38 crews and carry in excess of 207,000 equipment channels, more than 150 vibroseis units and possess in excess of 6,240 square miles of MultiClient library data upon completion of current projects in progress.
Source: PGS

••• 15.02.10  EMGS launches 21st licensing round campaign.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has launched a major multi-client 3D EM campaign ahead of the 21st licensing round in Norway. This is a continuation of the highly successful Barents Sea project in 2008, which was the world's first large-scale multi-client 3D EM survey.
Carl Hutchins, EMGS president multi-client group, stated, "EMGS now offers significantly improved imaging and integration tools, and our purpose-built 3D EM vessels mean that we can cost-effectively deliver densely sampled regional coverage for the 21st licensing round. The 3D EM program will reveal valuable information related to the prospectivity of the survey areas. This will give bidders a competitive advantage during the licensing round, and will help to target their exploration resources more effectively."
Source: Scandoil

••• 10.02.10  The United States Coast Guard has ordered a Kongsberg Maritime EM 122 deep water multibeam echo sounder for use aboard the icebreaker Healy, the largest vessel in its fleet.
Although a Coast Guard Cutter, Healy is specifically designed for high latitude research operations in the fields of marine geology, physical and biological oceanography and meteorology.
Healy is supported by scientists from various universities and institutes, so requires high-end hydroacoustic solutions, such as the EM 122.
At a time when interest in the Arctic Ocean basin is intensifying, the new EM 122 will substantially enhance Healy's ocean mapping capabilities. The scientists embarked onHealy are involved in a wide variety of research and several of its most recent voyages have involved hydrographic work related to determining the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) of the United States. If the United States can prove that its continental shelf extends beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone, then under the United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea, the U.S. will have economic rights to the additional area.
The EM 122 was selected by a third party consulting company that was contracted by the US Coast Guard to perform a detailed evaluation of currently available deep water multibeam echo sounders. The evaluation was based on several criteria that were deemed critical requirements for the new system and its application aboard Healy. After evaluating the multibeam products of various manufacturers the consulting company came to the conclusion that the Kongsberg Maritime EM 122 was the only deep water system that met all of the criteria.
Designed to perform seabed mapping to full ocean depth, the cost-effective, reliable and easy to operate EM 122 provides unsurpassed resolution, coverage and accuracy. The EM 122 offers accuracy of better than 0.2% of depth in deep waters and has up to four times the resolution of the EM 120 in terms of sounding density, because of its multi-ping capability and ability to perform over twice the number of detections per swath.
Healy, which is named after Captain Michael A. Healy, a famous US Cutter Revenue Service commanding officer at the end of the 19th century, is currently in dry dock in Seattle, WA to install the EM 122 and to perform other maintenance and upgrades, which are expected to be completed by the spring of 2010. The 420-foot ship is capable of breaking through ice that is five feet thick at a speed of three knots. Healy is outfitted for extended deployment and has berthing for 76 crewmembers and up to 50 scientists.
Kongsberg Underwater Technology, Inc. in Lynnwood, WA is providing the EM 122 and extensive engineering support as part of the ship's upgrade.
Source:Maritime & Energy

••• 08.02.10  PGS Readies Efficient Towed Streamer EM Capability.
PGS is now an important step closer to proving the operational capability of its towed EM technology, a solution with potential to radically reduce the cost of electromagnetic acquisition. In the future this towed solution could cut the time to acquire EM surveys by up to a factor of five.
Electromagnetic surveys examine the resistivity of sub-surface structures or reservoirs. They help oil companies to assess and delineate new and current prospects and reduce risk in prospect ranking. These content indicators complement the structural information visible on seismic data.
Recent PGS North Sea tests in shallow water are proof positive that towed EM has the capability to provide reliable resistivity measurements over shallow targets far faster, and far more efficiently than current node-based solutions. These results bring full commercial application of this new tool set within striking distance.
A further step in the development will be testing a towed 3D EM solution, later this year. Depending on industry partners, the company will then tailor the system for a variety of target depths and for use in 4D, reservoir appraisal or exploration.
Recently PGS approached the industry with a Joint Industry Project (JIP), to further test and develop the system and its capabilities in both shallow water and increasing target depths.
Commenting on the JIP Dan Whealing, President of PGS Electromagnetics said, "Participation in the JIP will provide an early look at towed EM data, allowing cost effective evaluation of a developing technology. Close cooperation will ensure client requirements are recognized early in the development cycle. The JIP will accelerate the availability of this new technology to our clients."
Source: Rigzone

••• 07.02.10  Gazprom Delays Startup of Shtokman to 2016.
A consortium led by Russian gas producer OAO Gazprom said Friday it has decided to delay startup of the huge Arctic gas condensate development Shtokman by three years to 2016, amid uncertainty about global demand for gas.
The project will start deliveries of gas by pipeline to Europe in 2016, while production of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, will start in 2017, the Shtokman Development AG consortium said following a board meeting. An original plan envisioned deliveries of pipeline gas 2013 and LNG by 2014.
A final investment decision for pipeline gas will be taken in March 2011 and for LNG by the end of 2011.
The Shtokman offshore field a joint project with France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA is a technically challenging project located in icy waters in the Barents Sea around 500 kilometers north of Murmansk.
Many industry experts had questioned Gazprom's financial and technical ability to realize such a project on time amid a recession. Despite widespread skepticism that Gazprom would bring Shtokman onstream on time, the company has insisted the development remains top priority and wouldn't be affected.
Last summer, Gazprom postponed the launch of Bovanenkovo, a huge field in the northern Yamal Peninsula, by a year to 2012.
Demand for Russian gas in Europe Gazprom's key export market plummeted last year due to the recession. At the same time new supplies of LNG and shale gas swamped the market, sending spot prices lower.
Gazprom holds 51% in the joint venture, with Total and Statoil holding 25% and 24%, respectively.
Source: Rigzone/Dow Jones & Company

••• 05.02.10  Welcome back for PLBs.
Personal Locator Beacons are to be reintroduced to the UK North Sea after their operation was revised after a helicopter ditching incident last year when their signals were found to have interfered with search and rescue equipment.
Oil and Gas UK said today that the newly developed PLBs will be brought back into service for passengers on North Sea helicopter flights for oil and gas industry workers from next Monday, 8 February.
Aberdeen will be the first of three North Sea offshore transport hubs to start the roll-out of the new devices, followed by another hub covering the Southern North Sea and then Scatsa in the Shetland Islands.
"The beacon reintroduced on these hubs is the Sea Marshall AU9-HT, which has been approved by the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] and tested extensively for inadvertent operation and interference with helicopter systems," Oil and Gas UK declared today.
Another type, designated Rhotheta RT-B77 which is also CAA approved is being rolled out for use by oil and gas workers travelling by helicopters out to the Liverpool Bay area in the East Irish Sea.
"As PLBs are still being manufactured, it is not feasible to reintroduce these across the entire industry at once, however we felt it important to start the roll out as soon as possible, and this means doing it by individual hubs," explained Robert Paterson, health and safety director for Oil and Gas UK.
"Not only have the technical difficulties with PLBs interfering with other transmitters been resolved, we have also adopted much more robust life-jacket mounted PLBs, which will drastically decrease the likelihood of inadvertent operation during a flight," he added.
Nick Mair, European operations director for North Sea helicopter operaior CHC which serves many North Sea platforms stated: "The roll-out of this programme marks the culmination of several months of collaboration between helicopter operators and the oil and gas industry to address the safety issues around the personal locator beacons."
And underlined that the introduction of the Sea Marshall reinforces safety in offshore activities.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 04.02.10  CGGVeritas Announces Sercel to Request Court Overturn Jury Verdict.
CGGVeritas announced today that a Texarkana jury found that its subsidiary Sercel Inc. infringed on United States Patent No. 5,852,242 and that ION Geophysical Corporation is entitled to $25.2 million in lost profits.
Sercel will ask the Court to overturn the jury’s finding on several grounds, including ION’s failure to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the patent was infringed by Sercel and the invalidity of the patent due to ION’s failure to disclose in the patent the best way of making the invention. The Court has asked the parties to brief these issues by April 2010, and Sercel does not expect any further action from the Court until this briefing is completed.
The Court had previously found the product claims of the patent invalid, and one of the claims for a method of manufacturing not infringed.
With respect to ION’s claims that the VectorSeisฎ technology is covered by United States Patent No. 5,852,242, this issue was not resolved and continues to be a deeply contested issue.
Source: CGGVeritas

••• 03.02.10  ION wins $25 million patent infringement jury verdict against Sercel.
ION Geophysical Corporation says that on January 29, 2010, the jury in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by ION against seismic equipment provider Sercel, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas returned a verdict in its favor. The jury found that Sercel infringed the ION patent and awarded ION $25.2 million in past compensatory damages. ION intends to ask the court to issue a permanent injunction to prohibit Sercel from making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing any infringing products into the United States.
The lawsuit alleged that Sercel's 408, 428 and SeaRay digital seismic sensor units infringe ION's United States Patent No. 5,852,242, which is incorporated in ION's VectorSeis(R) sensor technology. ION products that use the VectorSeis technology include ION's System Four(R), Scorpion(R), FireFly(R), and VectorSeis Ocean seismic acquisition systems.
Bob Peebler, ION's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very pleased with the jury verdict. ION prides itself on its advanced technology and we believe that the verdict further demonstrates not only our resolve to vigorously defend our patents but also the strength of ION's extensive technology portfolio."
Source: Scandoil

••• 02.02.10  Spectrum Gears Up for Potential Seismic Ops in Atlantic Waters.
Seismic services provider Spectrum has accelerated its preparations to collect seismic data in the U.S waters of the Atlantic Ocean in response to the recent announcement by the Department of the Interior to begin the environmental analysis of geological and geophysical activities off the east coast.
Spectrum was the first company to actively collect multi-client seismic data since the leasing and drilling moratorium went into effect in the mid-1980s. It is currently reprocessing and studying existing seismic data from the U.S East Coast. Through these activities, Spectrum is gaining valuable knowledge to identify the most prospective areas for oil and gas exploration and the technologies to best image and understand the subsurface in this frontier region.
In 2006, the company submitted permit applications to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) to conduct seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys off the US East Coast. The new survey would extend Spectrum's U.S multi-client library, which has been growing since the company began acquisition offshore Florida in 2003. This modern seismic now covers much of the "un-leased" area of Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Upon receiving permit approvals, Spectrum plans to actively pursue a comprehensive program to acquire seismic and other geophysical data over the U.S Atlantic offshore continental shelf and deepwater areas focusing its activities with the knowledge gained from the reprocessed data.
Spectrum is committed to preserving the environment. Three marine mammal observers would be on duty during the seismic survey process to ensure that the vessel's operations conform to governmental regulations. In addition to observing operations, the three man team would also actively collect data during the survey process to aid research into marine mammal populations and migration patterns.
The seismic ship conforms to all U.S environmental, U.S Coast Guard and international maritime anti-pollution regulations. Spectrum is committed to ensuring health, safety and environment (HSE) standards and procedures are in place before and during each survey.
Source: Spectrum

••• 02.02.10  Sakhalin Energy delivers 100th cargo of Russian LNG.
The hundredth tanker carrying Russian liquefied natural gas, shipped from the LNG plant in Prigorodnoye, has arrived in Japan.
The cargo was delivered to Kyushu Electric by Grand Aniva, the same LNG carrier that transported the first LNG from Sakhalin.
Over 5.5 million tonnes of LNG have been shipped since Russia's first LNG plant began operating less than a year ago in February 2009. "This is a milestone for the Company and for Russia as a global energy supplier," said Andrei Galaev, CEO of Sakhalin Energy. "It shows that we have established a stable supply channel of the 'blue fuel' to markets in the Asia-Pacific. This significantly enhances the market diversification of Russian energy supplies, and represents an important step towards improving global energy security."
Source: Scandoil

••• 01.02.10  Statoil and Russian partner Lukoil are now in charge on Iraq's West Qurna 2 field after signing a development and production services contract for the project in Baghdad at the weekend.
Statoil chief executive Helge Lund and Lukoil's president Vagit Alekperov put their signatures to the contract at the weekend during a ceremony in the Iraq capital, which commits the two companies to ramping up output from the field to a target of 1.8 m b/d of oil by 2017.
West Qurna, which is thought to contain 13 Bn bbl of oil in southern Iraq near the sea port of Basra, is due to see first production again in 2013 after drilling gets underway next year. Up to 500 wells are planned and further seismic surveys as part of the development.
Lukoil holds a majority 56.25% stake in the project, Statoil has 18.75% and the Iraq state through the North Oil company holds 25%.
Source: Offshore Media Group

••• 01.02.10  TGS has launched a 2D seismic acquisition program offshore West Papua in East Indonesia.
The program adds 2,240 km of new 2D data designed to help evaluate the petroleum potential south of the Salawati Basin. The Salawati Basin is recognised as one of the largest oil basins in Eastern Indonesia with total cumulative oil production of more than 300 million barrels.
Data acquisition is now underway and is expected to conclude by the second quarter of 2010.
"We are committed to continued expansion of the Indonesia multi-client data library in areas with high exploration potential. 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", stated Rod Starr, TGS General Manager - Asia Pacific.
The program has industry pre-funding and supports the Indonesia government's overall objective to attract exploration and raise declining production levels.
Source: TGS-NOPEC

••• 25.01.10  Polarcus Nadia commences production.
Polarcus Limited announced that after a successful mobilization the seismic vessel Polarcus Nadia has now entered into production on its first project, offshore Liberia.
The contract is the previously announced Seismic Charter Agreement that Polarcus entered into with TGS on 10 December 2009. The survey is being acquired with a 10 streamer seismic array, each streamer being 7,200 meters long and with 100 meters separation between streamers.
Source: Polarcus

••• 22.01.10  Alize sets new production standard with Nautilus-Sentinel in GoM.
CGGVeritas successfully deployed its Nautilus acoustic positioning and streamer steering system on the Alize, one of its high-end vessels, which has dramatically increased production levels on the first project of the mega 3D seismic program currently being acquired for PEMEX in the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite severe winter weather conditions the Alize, on its first project of the program, has achieved a one-day production record of 117 km2 and has significantly exceeded production targets. This has been supported by the deployment of 12 Sercel Nautilus-Sentinelฎ steered solid streamers and the fact that, with a 12 by 8-km by 100-m configuration, the Alize is towing one of the largest areal receiver arrays in the industry.
Nautilus has dramatically reduced the infill requirements through consistent streamer separations and depth control across the entire spread.
The first project in the PEMEX survey program, known as Han Sur-Oeste de Tamil, covers a surface area of 12,300 km2 in the Mexican deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Robert Brunck, Chairman and CEO, CGGVeritas, said, "The Alize's deployment of a combination of advanced Sercel Sentinel solid streamers and Nautilus is setting a new benchmark for safer operations, quieter data and better crew efficiency. We are confident that, with the Alize's clear competitive technological edge and our advanced imaging capabilities, we will deliver the lowest-noise and highest-quality data to best image the subsalt areas being targeted by this survey program."
Source: Scandoil

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