Shearwater has been awarded the contract for two 3D seismic surveys offshore South Korea, together with seismic data processing and imaging by Korea National Oil Corporation. This is Shearwater’s first contract with KNOC.
The contract includes reservoir properties prediction analysis following processing. It will be the company’s first reservoir characterisation project in partnership with Qeye, reflecting a complete workflow from geophysical data collection through to geoscience deliverables.
“By delivering the full sequence of geophysical services, from acquisition through to final subsurface property prediction, we support our clients’ ambitions to shorten project timelines, increase technical assurance and generate additional value,” said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater. “We look forward to working with KNOC in a new geographical market, and to deliver high-quality seismic data and reservoir characterisations.”
The Myungtae 3D survey, in Block 6-1 Central & East, covers approximately 2,575km². The data will be processed through a full time and depth imaging sequence, with delivery of predicted reservoir properties. The second survey covers approximately 500km² and with data processed through a full-time processing sequence.
Shearwater will use the Geo Coral to acquire the two 3D surveys. The surveys are expected to take approximately four months to complete during the summer of 2022. The Geo Coral is a high-capacity seismic vessel, capable of multicomponent acquisition, and has been operating throughout the Asia Pacific region for the past two years.
North Sea bottom node project
The Korea award came shortly after Shearwater had announced the signing of a large 4D ocean bottom node baseline project by Equinor. The two-month survey covers the Krafla, Askja and Sentral fields in the Norwegian North Sea.
More than 7,000 nodes, using an ocean bottom “nodes-on-a-rope” system, will be utilised for the 363km² receiver area survey. This will be the largest project of its type performed by Shearwater to date. The survey will be conducted by the vessels SW Vespucci, SW Cook and SW Tasman with start-up early in the summer of 2022.
“Ocean bottom node projects provide our clients with an excellent baseline for future 4D time-lapse monitoring to help optimise oil and gas production over time, as well as providing advanced images for improved development planning,” said Waage Basili. “Our scale, the flexibility of our fleet and its unique technical capabilities position Shearwater to execute major value-adding projects for our clients while at the same time maximising own fleet utilisation.”
The SW Vespucci, SW Cook and SW Tasman are highly flexible seismic vessels, capable of multiple applications including source, streamer surveys, and ocean bottom receiver deployment. The flexibility allows Shearwater to address a diverse range of projects safely and efficiently in succession while also delivering technical excellence.
