CGG has completed acquisition of its Chickasha 3D survey in Grady and Caddo Counties, Oklahoma. CGG has also purchased the rights to the Ft. Reno 3D survey in Canadian County, adding to its continuously growing data library. CGG said the addition of these two surveys, along with the company's Yukon survey, "will provide extensive coverage of the Scoop and Stack play in the Anadarko Basin and will provide our clients with greater insight into the geology of the area.
Seismic (public)
Searcher Completes 3D Reprocessing Project in PNG
Searcher Seismic has announced the expansion of its modern, high-quality and exploration focused seismic, magnetic and geochemical focused production offerings offshore Papua New Guinea with the completion of the Laurabada UltracubeTM 3D reprocessing project. The Laurabada UltracubeTM project entailed the reprocessing of two open-file 3D datasets with a modern broadband de-ghosting and pre-stack depth migration sequence over what is highly sought-after acreage. The UltracubeTM is split into two cubes: The Eastern cube is near-shore, shallow water whilst the Western cube is deep-water in the Gulf of Papua.
Geoscience study sees below the salt to solve exploration challenges in Southwest Africa
Surmounting the significant challenges of mapping deep structures below salt with seismic data alone, a new non-seismic study which includes the Gabon to Angola margin, encourages further interest in the largely under-explored Southwest Africa offshore region. The newly-released Southwest Africa Margin SEEBASE® multi-client Study and GIS from Frogtech Geoscience focuses on syn-rift basement evolution highlighting the pre-salt petroleum plays that constitute the main target following the recently discovered giant field accumulation in the South Atlantic-conjugate margin of the Santos basin in Brazil.
Jobs setback for Australian geoscientists as 2018 opening quarter cools after improved 2017
The employment recovery amongst Australia’s geoscientists has taken a step backward in the opening quarter of 2018 – cooling by more than four percent after a full year of improved employment outcomes over calendar 2017. This was the result of an Australian Institute of Geoscience survey revealing that unemployment nationally among geoscientists – who are prominent in the mining and exploration sectors - increased from 7.0% in at the end of December 2017 to 11.1% at the end of March 2018. Underemployment remained little changed at 12.9% at the end of March 2018 compared with 12.
New Zealand suspension of new offshore licensing ‘unlikely to have immediate impact on oil or gas sector’
According to data and analytics company GlobalData, the suspension of new offshore licensing in New Zealand is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the oil or gas sector, but does signal the possibility of increased restrictions in the future. Jacinda Ardern, the newly elected Prime Minister of New Zealand, signaled during an interview in October 2017 that the annual licensing process for offshore blocks would be cancelled, after a review of future block offers by the new government.
CGG GeoConsulting Launches Robertson New Ventures Suite to Accelerate Exploration Efforts
CGG GeoConsulting has launched the Robertson New Ventures Suite, an integrated and digitally transformed family of exploration-focused geoscience tools and databases that the company says will offer clients a “competitive edge in global new ventures screening and frontier exploration”. The six core products of the Robertson New Ventures Suite are Basins & Plays, Geochemistry, Plate Kinematics, Predictions, Provenance and Analogues.
CGG Launches new MotionMap UK National Ground Stability Database
CGG’s NPA Satellite Mapping group has unveiled its new MotionMap UK product for companies involved in asset management, large engineering projects, property conveyancing, insurance disputes and risk management. In a media release CGG said the UK’s geological setting, mining legacy and engineering heritage has led to substantial changes above and below ground. From subsidence and heave across coal fields in the Midlands, to tunnelling-related ground settlement in London, the impact on the landscape is “extensive yet relatively unknown and extremely challenging to map”.
Po Valley raises funds for Italian operations
Po Valley Energy Limited has secured funding of $2.5m through the issue of a convertible note with a conversion price of $0.042 per share and a maturity of three years. The ASX-listed company said the funds will be used to expedite a final investment decision for its successfully drilled onshore Selva field in Italy and to complete seismic work on its large oil condensate/gas Torre del Morro explorations licence. Company directors Kevin Bailey and Michael Masterman both intend to participate in the note issue for $700,000 and $300,000 respectfully, subject to shareholder approval, Po Valley said.
Eni to spend US$1B a year on exploration
Italian oil company Eni said it expects production to increase by 3.5% per year over the next four years and has plans to invest US$1.1 billion per year on exploration activities in its quest to discover two billion barrels of new resources. This was revealed by Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi in the company’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, which builds on the transformation started by the company back in 2014. Descalzi said over the past four years, in a very low price environment, Eni had increased its hydrocarbon production and restructured its mid-downstream businesses to drive positive structural result.
New Zealand bans new oil and gas exploration permits
New Zealand's ruling Labour Party has banned all new oil and gas exploration permits in the country. This was announced by New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who said that the changes would be phased in and that all existing permits would be honoured. The decision was welcomed by environmental activist group Greenpeace, which has campaigned for seven years to end offshore oil and gas exploration in the country – most recently with campaigns against the Amazon Warrior seismic vessel in its exploration program for Statoil, Chevron and OMV off the Wairarapa Coast.