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.
Industry
Bass Oil lifts daily oil output by 20% in South Sumatra
In a market update Melbourne-based Bass Oil said it had made significant improvements to its oil producing Tangai-Sukananti KSO, in Indonesia’s prolific South Sumatra Basin. This had lifted the company’s 2018 daily field output from 550 barrels of oil per day (bopd) earlier this year, to a current 650 bopd, “with further gains of between 150 to 250 bopd expected over coming weeks”. “The significant production uplift is a direct result of the successful completion of field optimisation work pursued by Bass over the past six months.
LNG powering economic growth, boosting trade balance
APPEA has welcomed the Resources and Energy Quarterly, prepared by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, as further confirmation that surging liquefied natural gas exports are playing a major role in driving Australia’s economic growth. In 2017-18, the value of Australia’s resource and energy exports is expected to reach its highest level on record, $230 billion, on the back of rapidly growing LNG export volumes. Australia’s LNG export earnings totalled $22.8 billion in 2016-17 before growing to $30.4 billion in 2017‑18 and are expected to reach $38.8 billion by 2022-23.
Bank of China & Goldman Sachs selected to drive Alaska LNG project
The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) has engaged the Bank of China and Goldman Sachs to serve as global capital coordinators to AGDC’s Alaska LNG project. This follows the Bank of China along with Sinopec and CIC Capital signing a joint development agreement with AGDC in November to collaborate on the advancement of Alaska LNG. The signing of the agreement was witnessed by U.S. President Donald J. Trump and China President Xi Jinping. Bank of China and Goldman Sachs will assist AGDC with raising equity and debt financing for the continued development of Alaska LNG.
Trelleborg Announces New Rotary Seal for High Pressure Oil & Gas Applications
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has announced the launch of the new polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based O-Ring energized single-acting rotary seal, Turcon® Roto Glyd Ring® DXL, specifically designed to meet the demands of high pressure rotary applications within the oil and gas industry. The Fort Wayny, Indiana-based company said the “innovative design” of the Turcon® Roto Glyd Ring® DXL “provides improved dynamic sealing efficiency and reduced friction by balancing the contact force on the dynamic lip under all service conditions, allowing for superior extrusion resistance and low torque.
Over $811bn will be spent on 615 oil and gas fields by 2025, says GlobalData
Over $811bn will be spent on 615 upcoming oil and gas fields between 2018 and 2025. Globally, capital expenditure (capex) into conventional oil, heavy oil, oil sands and unconventional oil projects would add up to $352bn, $44bn, $43.4bn and $30bn respectively over the eight-year period, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Conventional gas projects will require $363.2bn, while the investments into coal bed methane (CBM) and unconventional gas projects will total $3.7bn and $1.6bn in upstream capital expenditure by 2025. Brazil accounts for $76.7bn or over 9.
APPEA calls for decisive decisions on hydraulic stimulation in the NT
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association has noted the release of the final report of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory, and commented as follows: This document confirms the conclusion of the draft report that any risks associated with onshore gas development and hydraulic fracturing can be managed by effective regulation, the peak body said.
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.
On the Topic of Lithostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy
PESA WA Branch hosted their March technical talk with over 70 people attending, with special thanks to our four sponsors: Spectrum (Platinum), CGG (Gold), Searcher Seismic (Gold) and DUG (Gold). After a delicious lunch, the WA Branch Vice – President, Victoria Seesaha, opened the meeting with the Branch updates.
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.