Protecting Offshore Energy Sources via USV
When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime…
Sandia’s Combustion Research Facility Celebrates 40th
The weather on March 6, 1981, was nothing too remarkable for the San Francisco Bay Area — a little drizzle with temperatures in the 50s and fairly calm wind. The remarkable event that day was taking place on Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus, but even those who participated in the opening of the newly built Combustion Research Facility had no idea how much that institution would change the world. “There isn’t a single modern vehicle on the road today that hasn’t benefitted from the work done at the CRF…
ROVCO Completes Galloper Offshore Wind Farm Project
Rovco completed a ROV inspection contract, a $1 million contract that resulted in completion of the baseline asset integrity survey at the newly constructed Galloper Offshore Wind Farm, a 353MW installed capacity wind farm which lies 30km off the coast of Suffolk, UK.“This project demonstrates the future of offshore inspection,” said Brian Allen, CEO and founder of Rovco. “innogy is the first of our customers to complete a whole field 3D inspection…
Damen Patrol Vessels for Offshore Nigeria
Damen recently delivered a pair of FCS 3307 high-spec patrol vessels to be operated by Homeland Integrated Offshore Services (Homeland IOS Ltd) in Nigeria, and now the boats are being prepared for their assignments. The boats will be deployed in the Gulf of Guinea to protect and support the offshore assets of Homeland’s clients which include many international oil companies.Features of the 33-m vessels include Damen’s trademark Axe Bow hull form…
Total Launches New Supercomputer
Energy major Total said its new supercomputer - which has propelled it to a world ranking as the most powerful computer in the sector - will enable its geologists to find oil faster, cheaper and with a better success rate.The Pangea III computer build by IBM will help process complex seismic data in the search for hydrocarbons 10 times faster that before, Total said on Tuesday.The computing power of the company has been increased to 31.7 so-called 'petaflops' from 6.7 petaflops in 2016…
Repsol, Emerson Pact for Geoscience R&D
Emerson and Repsol announced they have established a strategic alliance to deliver advanced subsurface geophysical technologies to reduce the time to prospect and produce first oil.Emerson, a global engineering and technology company, will work collaboratively with Spanish energy company Repsol to implement and deploy advanced subsurface imaging technologies, with core technologies developed by Repsol as part of Kaleidoscope, its 10-year innovation…
Eni Makes Major Oil Find Offshore Angola
Italian oil major Eni said on Wednesday it has made a major discovery in Block 15/06, in the Agogo exploration prospect, in the deep waters offshore Angola.The find is Angola's largest offshore discovery in years. Eni said the discovery is estimated to contain between 450 and 650 million barrels of light oil with further upside.The discovery was made in the Agogo-1 NFW well, located approximately 180 kilometers off the coast and about 20 kilometers west from the N’Goma floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO).
Total Plans Biggest Exploration Drive in Years
Total is launching its biggest exploration campaign for years in 2019 as part of a turnaround plan that is ditching the company's focus on risky long-shots in favor of areas known to contain commercial levels of oil or gas.The French major aims to drill 23 wells this year, its senior vice president for exploration, Kevin McLachlan, told Reuters, in waters off Mauritania, Senegal, Namibia, South Africa, Guyana and Brazil.While the company declined to say how many wells it drilled in 2018, McLachlan said 2019 would be Total's largest program in years.
CGG Survey Favours Gabon's Offshore Expansion
Geoscience company CGG is extending its Gabon multiclient data footprint with a 9,800-km offset 2D seismic survey in an unexplored deepwater area of the South basin.The integrated Geoscience company said it is building on the recent success of its 25,000-sq-km 3D BroadSeis survey, which led to the Boudji-1 and Ivela-1 oil discoveries. A subset of the data over the offered license blocks will be available in advance of Gabon's 12th offshore licensing…
Big Oil Digs North Sea's 'Final Frontier'
"Little hope of THIS rock ever producing oil," BP geologist Bill Senior scribbled in 1977 on a note assessing a recent oil discovery in a distant corner of the North Sea.That same rock is today the heart of BP's prized Clair field in the West of Shetland region, which this week started its second phase of production.The giant bridge-linked Clair Ridge platforms are among the projects that have given new life to this area of the North Sea, one of the oldest offshore basins…
High-End Seismic Imaging Solves Shallow Gas Challenges
The latest Q modeling, and Q-compensating imaging techniques bring greater clarity to Northern Viking GrabenCGG has recently completed seismic depth imaging of its entire Northern Viking Graben multi-client survey, in the Norwegian North Sea. The latest visco-acoustic (“Q”) velocity modeling and seismic imaging technologies have been applied to BroadSeis broadband variable-depth streamer field data, acquired between 2014 and 2016. The final output forms a contiguous data volume covering 35…
Fugro Goes Seep Hunting off Eastern Canada
A geophysical acquisition portion of a 2018 Carson Basin seep hunting program offshore eastern Canada recently completed by Fugro covered an area of 18,875 square kilometers in water depths from 300 to 3,300 meters in this frontier region offshore Newfoundland. From its deepwater survey vessel, Fugro Searcher, Fugro acquired multibeam echosounder data (bathymetry, backscatter intensity and water column) and sub-bottom profiler data which were used…
GE to Divest Baker Hughes Stake
General Electric Co said on Tuesday it will spin off its healthcare business and divest its stake in oil-services company Baker Hughes, leaving the once-sprawling conglomerate focused on jet engines, power plants and renewable energy. The changes aim to reward battered shareholders and strengthen GE's balance sheet by reducing debt, building up cash and further shrinking GE Capital, GE said. Shareholders will receive 80 percent of the value of GE Healthcare as a tax-free distribution, GE said. GE shares jumped 5.2 percent at $13.41 in premarket trading.
Fugro Sells Seep Data Before Canadian Offshore Bidding
Fugro and partner Amplified Geochemical Imaging (AGI) have reported recent success selling licenses for data from a frontier region offshore Canada. The data were acquired during a hydrocarbon seep survey, heat flow and geochemical coring campaign in the large Orphan Basin, situated on the continental margin of Newfoundland.The comprehensive data package is being licensed from both Fugro and AGI and includes multibeam echo sounder data (bathymetry…
CGG Begins Deepwater Survey Offshore Brazil
CGG said it has commenced acquisition of a large broadband 3D multi-client survey in the pre-salt area of the deepwater Santos Basin. Santos VIII is the most recent survey in CGG’s vast ongoing 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.
Ardiseis, CGG Complete Highest-Density Seismic Survey
Ardiseis, subsidiary of the Arabian Geophysical and Surveying Company (ARGAS), the Middle East’s seismic acquisition specialist, and its technology partner, CGG, have announced the successful completion of the world’s highest-density broadband seismic survey ever acquired onshore or offshore. The ultra-high density of the data recorded on the West-Kalabsha survey on behalf of Apache Corporation (Apache) heralds a step-change in the quality of seismic…
Pressured for Profit, Oil Majors Bet Big on Shale Technology
Shale oil engineer Oscar Portillo spends his days drilling as many as five wells at once - without ever setting foot on a rig. Part of a team working to cut the cost of drilling a new shale well by a third, Portillo works from a Royal Dutch Shell Plc office in suburban Houston, his eyes darting among 13 monitors flashing data on speed, temperature and other metrics as he helps control rigs more than 500 miles (805 km) away in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield.
Fugro, AGI to Supply Seep Data to Canada
Fugro said it has teamed up with Amplified Geochemical Imaging (AGI) to acquire offshore hydrocarbon seep data in advance of Canada’s 2018 east coast bid round. Bathymetry, backscatter and water column anomaly data will be collected to pull together a comprehensive picture of surficial geological features. These data will be used to identify and precisely target the best locations for geochemical sampling, enabling clients to improve and de-risk their exploration programs.
CGG Completes Perdido Subsalt Survey for Pemex
CGG has completed ahead of schedule an 11,500 sq km wide-azimuth (WAZ) survey on behalf of Pemex in the deepwater Perdido area. This new survey has been acquired perpendicularly to existing WAZ data and the combined Imaging of this first large-scale orthogonal WAZ data set is expected to provide significantly enhanced subsalt imaging results. A fast-track TTI RTM image for the first block of approximately 5,200 sq. km was delivered earlier than planned, helping to guide the client’s drilling operations.
Building a National Resource Offshore Brazil
CGG has been present in Brazil for over 55 years, since the company began working with Petrobras in 1961. Its long-established Rio de Janeiro Subsurface Imaging Center, with its strong reservoir characterization group, has the largest computer capacity and greatest expertise in the region. In 2010, CGG also opened a technology center in Rio with a world-class R&D team, working with Petrobras and other local agencies to focus on solving local geoscience challenges.
