The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has released six oil and gas blocks for bidding as part of Abu Dhabi's first ever block competitive exploration and production bid round. In a media release ADNOC said the licensing strategy represents a major advance in how Abu Dhabi unlocks new opportunities and maximizes value from its hydrocarbon resources. “It is also consistent with ADNOC's approach to expanding its strategic partnerships across all areas of its business.
Seismic (public)
Shearwater GeoServices returns to Atlantic Margin for TGS
Shearwater GeoServices has been awarded a new contract by the Multi-Client geophysical company TGS for the second consecutive year. The contract is for a seismic survey on the Atlantic Margin in the Norwegian Sea which is expected to take approximately three months and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September, 2018. The 2018 survey will cover 5,135 km2 and will be performed by one of Shearwater's vessels which will utilize FlexiSource and a wide tow spread. In 2017 Shearwater acquired 29,500 km2 of FlexiSource data for TGS, including 17,700 km2 for the TGS Atlantic Margin project.
Spectrum starts 2D Sergipe Basin survey off Brazil
Spectrum has begun a 6,000-kilometer 2D program over the Pernambuco-Paraiba basins along the Eastern Margins of Brazil. The multi-client specialist said in a market update that the survey, carried out in partnership with BGP Marine, covers an area north of the prolific Sergipe Basin that would be included in Round 16 scheduled for 2019. The survey is being acquired with a 12,000-meter cable to record data necessary to understand basin architecture as well as to image prospective zones similar to the large oil discoveries in the Sergipe Basin.
CGG GeoSoftware Donates Seismic Reservoir Characterization Software to Delft University
CGG GeoSoftware has donated its Jason and HampsonRussell seismic reservoir characterization software suites to Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. The donation of a full HampsonRussell suite and the renewal of an enhanced Jason package will enable students at the Department of Geoscience & Engineering to expand their theoretical and practical knowledge of quantitative reservoir characterization and inversion techniques.
Sercel Delivers Land Acquisition System and Neo Vibrators to Algeoland
Sercel has announced the delivery of a 25,000-channel 508XT land seismic acquisition system and 15 Nomad 65 Neo broadband vibrators to Algeoland, Algeria’s leading private geophysical company. Algeoland will deploy the Sercel equipment to conduct a major 3D seismic survey over a 2,000-km² area of the Rhourde-Nouss desert region in north east Algeria, on behalf of the national oil company. Sercel said the 508XT system drives productivity, data quality and adaptability to an unprecedented level thanks to its X-Tech architecture.
Largest lease sale in history attracts a luke warm response
Seventy-seven million acres were up for grabs in the US Gulf of Mexico, however bids were only made for 815,403 acres. The largest lease sale in history generated $124,763,581 in high bids for 148 tracts covering 815,403 acres, with 33 companies participating in the lease sale submitting $139,122,383 in bids. Lease Sale 250 included 14,474 unleased blocks, located from three to 231 miles offshore in water depths ranging from three to 3,400 meters. BP, with 27 bids, submitted the largest number of high bids $20 million.
$9.1bn will be spent on Mozambique’s upstream capex by 2020, says GlobalData
An average capex of US$3 billion per year would be spent on eight oil and gas fields in Mozambique between 2018 and 2020. Capital expenditure into Mozambique’s oil and gas projects, will add up to $9.1bn over the three-year period in upstream capital expenditure by 2020, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. Ultra-deepwater projects will be responsible for over 65 percent of $9.1bn of upstream capital expenditure in Mozambique, or $6.2bn by 2020. The deepwater projects will account for 25 percent of upstream capital expenditure with $2.3bn by 2020, while onshore projects will necessitate $0.
CGG adds new Santos VIII multic-client survey to broadband coverage offshore Brazil
CGG has commenced acquisition of a large broadband 3D multi-client survey in the pre-salt area of the deepwater Santos Basin. The geoscience company said Santos VIII is the most recent survey in CGG’s vast on-going pre-salt program that delivers “ultramodern seismic data, enabling exploration companies to better evaluate pre-salt opportunities in advance of Brazil’s pre-salt licensing rounds”. Santos VIII covers an area of over 8,000 km2 adjacent to the Peroba, Pau Brasil and Boumerangue fields.
Transocean rig heading for Phoenix South well
The Transocean-owned semi-submersible drilling rig GSF Development Driller-1 has started the final leg of its journey from Port Louis (Mauritius) to Australia for the task of drilling the Phoenix South-3 well for Quadrant Energy. Quadrant is the operator of the Phoenix project off Western Australia with an 80% interest with Carnarvon Petroleum holding the remaining 20%. Carnarvon said in a market update that slower than anticipated towing speeds had delayed the rig’s arrival, which was now scheduled for late March for drilling in early April.
CGG appoints three new board members
Following a board meeting on March 8, CGG has appointed three new board members. The company announced that Colette Lewiner will replace Hilde Myrberg, who will step down following a meeting to approve the financial statements for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2018. Lewiner graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure and has a PhD in Physics. She is a nuclear energy specialist and worked for many years in the consultancy business in energy, utilities and chemicals. She is presently independent board director at EDF, Groupe Bouygues, GETLINK (former Eurotunnel), EDF, Nexans and Ingénico. Mario Ruscev replaces Dr.