Shell to Use New AI Technology in Deepwater Oil Exploration
Shell Plc will use AI-based technology from big-data analytics firm SparkCognition in its deep sea exploration and production to boost offshore oil output, the companies said on Wednesday. SparkCognition's AI algorithms will process and analyze large amounts of seismic data in the hunt for new oil reservoirs by Shell, the largest oil producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. "We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to reinvent our exploration ways of working," Gabriel Guerra, Shell's vice president of innovation and performance, said in a statement. The goal is
Fugro Assisting Petronas with Suriname Offshore Exploration Efforts
Dutch offshore survey services provider Fugro said Wednesday it was conducting a seep survey and geochemical campaign in Block 48, offshore Suriname, for the Malaysian oil giant Petronas, to assist with the oil company's oil exploration activities.Using the survey vessel MV Fugro Brasilis, Fugro is responsible for geophysical data collection, heat flow measurements, core sampling and onboard geochemical analyses, which aim to optimize future exploration activities in this frontier area. The fieldwork for the campaign will run through Q1 2021 with subsequent geochemical analyses and final
Chinese Seismic Vessel Seen Moving Near Malaysia Amid Rising South China Sea Tensions
a near-constant presence in Luconia Shoals, off the coast of Malaysia’s Sarawak state on Borneo.Last year, at least one China Coast Guard vessel spent weeks in waters close to an oil rig in a Vietnamese oil block, operated by Russia's Rosneft, while the Haiyang Dizhi 8 conducted suspected oil exploration surveys in Vietnam's EEZ. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur and James Pearson in Hanoi; Additional reporting by Joseph Sipalan and A. Ananthalakshmi in Kuala Lumpur, Ain Bandial in Bandar Seri Begawan, and Judy Hua in Beijing; Editing by Gerry Doyle
Exxon Taps Ocean Infinity to Survey the Stabroek Block
to produce 750,000 bpd from the block by 2025, ExxonMobil has said.In late January, the supermajor announced its 16th discovery at the Stabroek Block as it continues to search for, appraise and develop resources within the closely watched region, which is seen as a new frontier for offshore oil exploration and production.Global oil firms are preparing to spend more than $53 billion in the Stabroek Block during the coming decade, according to Rystad Energy
Lukoil Scans for Treasures Ahead of Oil Exploration
A recent subsea survey project in the Black Sea has scanned for ancient shipwrecks and other archaeological treasures ahead of future oil exploration in the area.UK based services firm James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) said it completed the deep-towed subsea survey on behalf of Russian oil and gas company Lukoil in waters offshore Romania that are known to hold treasures dating back to Venetian golden era of centuries ago.The survey covered an 8- by 6.13-kilometer grid over three planned exploration wells in approximately 1,000 meters water depth, in the Ex30 Trident Block.Being the site of a recent
Researchers to Monitor Disruptive US Gulf Current
, with a long term goal to improve forecasts for safer offshore operations in the region.The Loop Current System (LCS) is the dominant ocean circulation feature in the Gulf of Mexico, influencing all ocean processes in the Gulf with implications for a wide range of human and natural activities, from oil exploration to coastal eco-systems. To date, knowledge of its underlying dynamics is limited.URI’s initial study aims to improve the understanding and prediction of the LCS by deploying a seabed network underwater oceanographic equipment, including Sonardyne International’s Pressure Inverted
The Decommissioning, Marine Life Connection
, and which is now beginning to recover. It could be that this is due to coral larvae drifting in from North Sea platforms.Phase 1 of the program looked at the composition and biodiversity of marine life, from plankton to mammals. This included looking at plankton levels and distribution before oil exploration started up until now. It looked at connectivity and reef effects and aimed towards being able to model eco-systems to predict the effect of man-made structures.While Phase 1 helped progress the understanding of the effects and connectivity of man-made structures in the North Sea ecosystem, some
Aker Bets on Software Engineers for Its Oil Business
field on the Norwegian continental shelf with Aker BP's adjacent Ivar Aasen field makes sense because getting more real-time production data from a rival in a similar geological area could help it improve its own oil output."Aker BP's view is that, unlike seismic data interpretation for oil exploration, operational data is not a strategic know-how to be protected," said its chief Karl Johnny Hersvik.For Aker ASA, the biggest shareholder in Aker BP and Cognite, the Lundin Petroleum deal is part of its plan to create software for an industry that can be improved and refined the more it
Singapore's Offshore Industry Recovering
bracing for a long period of convalescence. The specialist divers and engineers servicing rigs in Southeast Asian waters have moved on and may be unwilling to return for lower wages.Bankers, having been bitten by the sector, are reluctant to lend. And oil prices have recovered almost too quickly for oil exploration and production clients to have the confidence to turn enquiries into actual orders."While we may be at the bottom of the cycle, we view the recovery as more gradual with risk of most new order wins being low or zero-margin jobs," said Ajay Mirchandani, head of research for ASEAN at
February 2025
