NOPSEMA has requested further information from Equinor on its environment plan for their proposed petroleum exploration drilling activity in the Great Australian Bight. The assessment has now paused and will begin again when Equinor submits the additional information, having been provided 60 days to do so, the regulator said. NOPSEMA said the request for information was made in order to clarify matters raised in the plan and to address information gaps identified by NOPSEMA’s specialist team assessing the plan. “Under Australia’s objective-based regulatory regime, a request for further information is a normal step in the assessment process,” NOPSEMA added.
Company Updates
PGS and TGS announce Jeanne d’Arc HD3D in Offshore East Canada
PGS and TGS have commenced the Jeanne d’Arc High-Density (HD3D) Multiclient project offshore Newfoundland, in East Canada. The project will cover approximately 5,000km2 and encompasses multiple exploration licenses, significant discovery licenses and sections of the open acreage included in the November 2019 bid round. The Ramform Atlas will perform the acquisition, utilizing the high-resolution GeoStreamer® technology. The project is expected to complete in late Q3 2019. The Jeanne d’Arc HD3D survey borders Newfoundland’s prominent producing fields such as Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose, North Amethyst, and Hebron.
CGG Awarded Multi-Year Processing Contract by ADNOC for World’s Largest OBN Seismic Project
Subsurface Imaging, part of CGG’s Geoscience division, has been awarded a landmark processing contract by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Under its terms, CGG will perform high-end time and depth imaging of massive volumes of very high-spec data from what is believed to be the world’s largest ocean-bottom node (OBN) seismic survey to date. Starting in May 2019 – and for a period of at least five years, during the maximum seven-year contract period – CGG will process a minimum 20,000 sq km of high-density wide-azimuth OBN seismic data at its Abu Dhabi geoscience center.
Beehive prospect is further de-risked on seismic survey
Melbana Energy says preliminary interpretation of the newly acquired Beehive 3D seismic survey off Western Australia confirms some key technical characteristics of Beehive, further de-risking the prospect. Melbana Energy, operator of the Beehive prospect, located in the WA-488-P offshore permit, said the near vertical edge of the build-up clearly visible on the 3D seismic provides evidence of its isolated nature. Furthermore, the 3D data details depositional patterns within the platform and the seaway that was not able to be resolved on the existing 2D data.
CGG Cuts Cycle Time of OBN Imaging at Mad Dog Field
Subsurface Imaging, part of CGG’s Geoscience division, has delivered a step-change in subsalt image quality over the Mad Dog field in the Green Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico. CGG said that through continued investment in imaging technology and supercomputing capacity, the company was able to reduce project cycle time by almost half while delivering greatly improved subsalt images. Fast access to high-quality images was critical to BP and partners in modifying and optimizing the ongoing drilling program.
Senex and Jemena agree $50 million infrastructure deal
Senex Energy announced that it had agreed to sell its Roma North natural gas processing facility and pipeline to major energy infrastructure operator Jemena for $50 million and entered into a long-term gas tolling agreement. Senex began construction of the Roma North gas processing facility and pipeline in November 2018. Construction has been completed on-time and on-budget, with commissioning now underway. Under the terms of the agreements, Jemena will take ownership of the facility and pipeline on the achievement of agreed performance tests, expected in September 2019 (completion).
Cooper pens gas supply deals with AGL Energy
Cooper Energy has signed a new gas supply agreement with AGL Energy from its Sole (Gippsland Basin) and Casino Henry (Otway Basin) offshore gas operation. Cooper said the Sole gas field is poised to become south-east Australia’s newest source of gas supply when it starts production on completion of the Orbost Gas Plant upgrade currently being undertaken by APA Group. Cooper Energy has completed the construction of the offshore development of the Sole gas field and APA is expected to conclude the plant upgrade works and commence commissioning and delivery of sales gas within the September 2019 quarter.
Senex begins Surat Basin drilling campaign
Senex Energy has begun its integrated natural gas drilling campaign, representing a major step towards full-scale production from its Surat Basin development projects. The drilling campaign comprises approximately 110 wells across Roma North and Project Atlas that will deliver natural gas to the 16 TJ/day (~6 PJ / 1 mmboe p.a.) processing facility at Roma North and the 40 TJ/day (~15 PJ / 2.5 mmboe p.a.) processing facility at Project Atlas. Drilling began at Roma North and will continue to the end of Q1 FY20 when the rig will start drilling at Project Atlas.
NW of Shetlands insight with new generation of blended seismic
Step-change in source deblending enables bespoke, high-density acquisition designs to address difficult geological scenarios, CGG revealed in a recent release, highlighting advancements in seismic developments and a new world opening up in related spin-offs. Among many recent seismic technology advances, there has been a step-change in source deblending. This has enabled the design of surveys, which use multiple sets of simultaneous sources to provide bespoke imaging solutions for a range of challenging environments. Typically, this includes a dramatic increase in source density and the collection of additional offset-azimuth coverage without losing fold and near offset coverage.
Searcher announced expansion of Argentina Data Library
Searcher has announced the expansion of the Argentina Super-Tie 2D Reprocessing Project. Following the success of phase 1 which specifically targeted the recent offshore bid round, the project has now been extended to include all available offshore 2D seismic data in the Malvinas and Austral Basins, Searcher said. The reprocessing effort will utilize a modern broadband and AVO compliant workflow to both improve imaging quality and provide regionally consistent data coverage.