Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - seismic

Rockhopper Exploration discovered up to 1.4 billion barrels boe in its Sea Lion prospect in the North Falkland Basin during the spring of 2011. In 2012 disappointment set in with many dry wells and only Borders & Southern Petroleum finding an estimated 190 million barrels of condensates in the South Falkland Basin. In 2013 exploration was basically halted while seimic surveys continued. There were two 3D seismic campaigns in the South Falkland Basin and the start of a third. 2013 also saw FOGL and Desire Petroleum plc merge, which has resulting in a larger company with a budget of $275 million for exploration. The major focus in 2014 will be on the Sea Lion discovery in the North Falkland Basin.

Few people acknowledge this but the exploratory campaign that led to the 2006 discovery by Petrobras of the Tupi (renamed Lula) field, at the Santos Basin in Brazil was partially triggered by early pre-salt finds in West Africa and the knowledge that the petroleum systems on both sides of the South Atlantic were similar. With the experience gained from drilling Lula and other subsequent pre-salt discoveries in Brazil, interest returned to the pre-salt in Angola’s conjugate Kwanza-Benguela and Namibe Basins. The common origin of the reservoirs and similar tectonics increased the belief that similar plays should exist in Angola. The Santos Basins is a major hydrocarbon basin along Brazil’s Atlantic coast.

AUVs had only been used for a limited number of tasks dictated by the technology available until newer technologies were developed. With the development of more advanced processing capabilities and high yield power supplies, AUVs are now being used in Brazil for some new tasks, although its primary function is still seismic studies and environment analysis.The players in the Brazilian O&G market use AUVs in conjunction with Survey ships to make detailed maps of the seafloor before they start building subsea infrastructure; pipelines and subsea completions can be installed in the most cost effective manner with minimum disruption to the environment.

Pre-salt and post-salt exploration in the Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo basins along Brazil’s southeast margin has yielded extraordinary success, while their southern sister, the relatively unknown Pelotas basin, has seen little attention for over the last ten years, despite displaying clear direct hydrocarbon indicators in previous seismic surveys. However, a new 2D seismic program acquired in 2013 by Spectrum Geo Multi-Client is revealing new evidence for sand-rich systems and oil plays, making the deepwater Pelotas basin an excellent choice for blocks to be nominated in Brazil’s upcoming 13th bidding round, which may take place sometime in 2014.

Petrobras and PGS (Petroleum Geo-Services) announced on June 14th, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro that they have signed an agreement for PGS to install a permanent seismic monitoring system in the Jubarte field in the North Campos Basin, Espirito Santo province, offshore Brazil.PGS will install its OptoSeis fiber-optic system, as well as perform seismic acquisition and data processing for the project. This project is a significant step forward in the use of geophysics for reservoir surveillance, in particular 4D-4C seismic to map the flow of fluids in Brazil's deep water reservoirs. It is hoped that the system will improve the quality and timeliness of information that Petrobras' geophysics team provide their counterparts, reservoir and production engineers, that operate the fields.

This new technical cooperation agreement between Petrobras and CGGVeritas highlights the importance of geophysical studies to the future of O&G exploration in Brazil.CGGVeritas  has announced that it has signed a Technology Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the Brazilian O&G player, Petrobras, for the collaborative development and implementation of new technologies in Geophysics. The TCA sets the framework for collaborative research projects between Petrobras and CGGVeritas over a three-year time period in specific areas such as 4D seismic processing, imaging and reservoir geophysics. These research projects will be conducted at a recently opened CGGVeritas Technology Center in Rio de Janeiro.

PRAVAP (Advanced Oil Recovery Program) began in 1993, when there was a need to create technological projects for the company to increase the recovery factor of its fields, prolonging its production on an economic and environmentally correct basis. PRAVAP main objectives are to provide and advance technological solutions that increase the recovery factor of oil fields, for optimum economy and permit exploration of fields considered under-commercial due to restrictions in existing technology. PRAVAP is organized in systemic projects, which are groups of research projects with a common objective. Wells - Its focus is on various technologies applicable in the well-formation interface…