Month: September 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Extends New 2D Multi-Client Program Offshore Panama

ION Geophysical Corporation announced an approximate 50% extension to its previously announced program offshore Panama due to strong client interest and prefunding to evaluate offshore Panama in advance of the anticipated license round. The client-driven survey provides a regional framework typical of BasinSPAN™ programs to evaluate the geology of the Panamanian offshore, while the new extension provides more detailed coverage that will allow E&P companies to evaluate blocks ahead of the expected license round. Recent exploration success offshore Colombia, adjacent to Panama’s Caribbean coast, has created interest among E&P companies in high-quality seismic data to evaluate the hydrocarbon prospectivity on this margin. The expanded program will be approximately 9,000 kilometers and is the only modern data available offshore Panama.

Brian Hanson, ION’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Over the last 18 months, we targeted opportunities less dependent on cycle recovery in specific geographic areas and production optimization offerings, and we are seeing these efforts pay off. We launched four new programs this year that met our strict underwriting standards in addition to the continued success of our 3D multi-client Campeche reimaging program in collaboration with Schlumberger. We have seen renewed interest in clients underwriting programs in advance of license rounds and to evaluate new discoveries.

“The program has been progressing well with excellent data quality and solid productivity, due in part to the deployment of our offshore operations management software, Marlin™. Marlin enabled us to navigate one of the busiest maritime transit routes in the world near the Panama Canal resulting in a safer and more efficient program. Akin to modern air traffic control systems, Marlin integrates a variety of real-time data sources that enables multiple stakeholders to share and visualize vessel route plans, foresee and avoid conflicts between vessels and fixed assets, optimize schedules, and measure and improve asset performance. Marlin enables greater collaboration allowing underwriters to tune into what’s happening in the field real-time from their offices to monitor program progress and key statistics.”

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Fugro Roadware Jobs – Canada

• Marketing Coordinator
• Customer Support & Electrical Engineer Technician
• Executive Assistant & Receptionist

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Schlumberger: Antitrust – Not to get EDC, friendly state needed

Keeping oilfield servicing Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC) under Russian jurisdiction or in hands of a state friendlier to Moscow that the U.S., would be reasonable. Igor Artemyev, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, said.

In July, EDC agreed to sell 51% to U.S. oilfield servicing giant Schlumberger, but the antimonopoly service said that the deal was problematic due to the political situation. Natural Resources and Environment Ministry suggested Schlumberger develop a mechanism to protect EDC’s projects in Russia from the Western sanctions.

“The international situation is worsening, and EDC is one of our largest companies. It is engaged in servicing contracts, it services drilling rigs and oil production. Taxes on oil production account for half of the Russian budget. Let’s suppose that tomorrow someone in Washington decides on new sanctions. And shareholders will order Schlumberger to stop operations in Russia to save their money. This is a risk for the country,” Artemyev said.

“If we had at least some certainty that our American partners, I mean the U.S. Department of State, will behave in a predictable way, we might have approved the deal…The current situation is that the West introduces new sanctions against Russia on a monthly basis. So the Russian government is thinking that it would be better to keep the company in Russian jurisdiction or in the hands of a country that is friendlier than the U.S, reported Prime.

“I respect Schlumberger very much, including respect for their independent position that they have shown. They are good specialists, and I am sure they should work on the Russian market. But it would be risky to give them such a significant market share.”

In August, the watchdog received a request to purchase a stake in EDC from a consortium of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the Russia–China Investment Fund (RCIF), and Middle Eastern investors. Mubadala was later named among the investors. Artemyev said in September that a government commission for foreign investment control should study the request.

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CEO keen to see Russia improve port infrastructure for LNG bunkering

The president and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group), Sergey Frank, says he is hopeful that Russia will be able to improve its port infrastructure for the supply of LNG bunkers and is keen to see the country’s authorities offer incentivesto shipping companies that adopt the use of eco-friendly solutions.

Speaking during the signing of a set of agreements for the construction of five LNG-fuelled Aframax tankers for the transportation of crude and oil products, Frank said: “We hope that the beginning of serial production of cutting-edge, large-capacity, LNG-fuelled tankers in Russia will facilitate the further development of Russia’s port infrastructure that will allow ships to be bunkered with LNG fuel at Russian ports.

“We are also looking forward to seeing Russian regulators and maritime authorities continue with providing incentives for charterers, ship owners, and fleet operators who are taking real steps towards investing in green technologies.”

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Increased tendering and upcoming licensing rounds buoy seismic vessel market

Leading marine seismic survey companies Polarcus and PGS have spoken of improved tender activity and greater optimism about the market next year

Depressed demand for marine seismic activity is usually the first sign of a downturn in the offshore oil and gas market. Equally, improved demand for marine seismic projects often signals the beginning of an upturn in the market.

Both companies have described increased levels of tendering activity, and both have significantly reduced their cost base in recent months. Polarcus said overall marine seismic activity is picking up, and PGS has described an increase in demand for multiclient work of the type in which it specialises and in production seismic projects.

Speaking at the recent Pareto Securities Oil & Offshore Conference, representatives of leading marine seismic firms Polarcus and PGS both had cautiously optimistic things to say.

Polarcus CEO Duncan Eley noted that the oil price has stabilised and oil companies have been sanctioning projects based on their capex guidance at the beginning of 2017. It said tender activity has increased from their previously low levels, and Q3 2017 saw Polarcus receive the greatest number of tenders since Q2 2015.

The company said there has been a 50% increase in square km of surveys tendered to date in 2017 compared to 2016. “Activity is returning to new and dormant basins,” said the company, noting that this year has also seen the most West African tenders issued since 2014, and elsewhere, the Guyana-Suriname Basin continues to draw interest from major oil companies.

Polarcus believes it is well placed to respond to new tenders having reduced its gross cost of sales to an all-time low level in Q2 2017. In that quarter, its gross cost of sales fell 10% compared to Q1 2017.

In a presentation at the conference, the company said E&P companies were now consistently cash positive. It also noted that seismic vessel supply has continued to reduce as tender activity increased.

For its part, PGS said its focus on multiclient business had brought greater stability to its performance despite the highly cyclical nature of the market. The proportion of its work that is multiclient will continue to increase going forward, and its revenues are currently dominated by multiclient projects.

The company said it “retains flexibility to leverage a recovery in the marine contract market” as oil companies invest more in producing fields and fields under development.

It anticipates that the number of production seismic (4D) projects will more than double in 2017 compared to 2016 and is expected to increase further in 2018. PGS said 4D activity is increasing in the North Sea, West Africa and Brazil, and it will conduct more than 50% of global 4D surveys for 2017. PGS is well positioned in the 4D market, and around 35% of 2017 contract revenues are expected to come from 4D.

PGS said it was working on a number of encouraging leads for development in 2018 with growing demand for marine seismic being driven by positioning for strategically important licence rounds, seismic commitments in E&P licences, a significant increase in production seismic – especially in the North Sea, West Africa and Brazil – and ongoing growth in multiclient activity, which is expected to continue to increase.

In the introduction to its most recent seismic vessel register, Clarksons Research noted that weak E&P spending continued to negatively impact the seismic survey vessel market, with around 29% of seismic and geophysical survey vessels laid up as of the beginning of June 2017.

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Wellfield acquires Sercel 508XT land acquisition system

Sercel has sold a 2,000-channel 508XT land seismic acquisition system to Wellfield Services. Headquartered in Chile, with offices and operations throughout SouthAmerica. Wellfield Services selected Sercel’s latestgeneration 508XT system to conduct surveys in challenging terrain with dense vegetation in Brazil.

Used in combination with the SG-5, Sercel’s high-sensitivity 5-Hz single sensor, the 508XT will significantly increase production while ensuring optimum data is recorded for the best imaging result. With 17 systems and over 130,000 channels delivered worldwide to date, and proven operations in some of the most difficult environments, the Sercel 508XT is now the system of choice for all challenging land surveys.

Simplifying field operations and offering uninterrupted acquisition, the system’s revolutionary cross-technology architecture (X-Tech) maximizes productivity for any survey configuration. Pascal Rouiller, Sercel CEO, said: “We are very honored that Wellfield Services have chosen Sercel equipment for their upcoming survey program in Brazil.

Designed to operate in the most complex and harsh environments, we are confident the 508XT will meet the operational challenges faced in Latin America.” Juan Rafael Bascur, Wellfield Services, said: “We chose Sercel’s 508XT land seismic acquisition system to help us speed up operations and improve productivity in what will be a very challenging survey environment.”

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GeoSoftware celebrates 30 years of software innovation in reservoir characterization

CGG GeoSoftware is marking the 30th anniversary of its flagship reservoir characterization software products, Jason and HampsonRussell, at the SEG Annual Meeting in Houston. The occasion reflects a commitment to continued innovation and development to help geoscientists better understand the Earth’s subsurface and maximize the potential of reserves.

In an ever evolving industry, GeoSoftware seeks to improve and modernize the two products to meet today’s toughest challenges. Integration between the two is a key objective in order to help E&P companies even further reduce the risks and uncertainty associated with hydrocarbon exploration, development and production.

Growing from a three-person startup in 1987, HampsonRussell became part of Veritas DGC in 2002, and subsequently CGG in 2006. Initially running on mainframe computers and small PCs, the software now runs on powerful personal workstations. Applications have evolved to include all aspects of AVO, post and pre-stack inversion, and multi-attribute, time lapse, multi-component and azimuthal analysis. Customized workflows allow HampsonRussell users to integrate all aspects of reservoir geophysics. A strong research and development team works to ensure continued innovation to meet the needs of future geoscientists. “Companies of all sizes depend on HampsonRussell software for key E&P decisions. This popularity is a result of our ability to consistently deliver sophisticated geoscience techniques in an interactive and intuitive environment that provides reliable results,” said Brian Russell, Vice President, CGG GeoSoftware.

Jason was the brainchild of four young entrepreneurs from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and joined CGG in 2013. The initial single 1D inversion product has expanded to become the complete Jason Geoscience Workbench of today. One of its creators, Jason Product Development Manager, Peter Mesdag, said: “Our high-end, cross-product workflows enable clients to reveal reservoir properties through integrated seismic-to-simulation workflows. They can identify anisotropy, locate thin beds, evaluate stress forces and obtain a better understanding of reservoir dynamics.” John Pendrel, CGG GeoSoftware Product Manager for Deterministic Reservoir Characterization, adds: “Throughout Jason’s history, the focus has always been on delivering value to our clients, and progress can be attributed to an exceptional multi-national staff with research laboratories in The Hague, Houston and Dallas.”

Kamal al-Yahya, Senior Vice President, GeoSoftware, CGG, said: “By bringing HampsonRussell and Jason under the CGG GeoSoftware banner we boosted our ability to optimize and integrate geoscience workflows and became the seismic reservoir characterization software of choice in the geoscience sector. With these two products leading our comprehensive software portfolio that includes InsightEarth, PowerLog and VelPro, we deliver advanced technology that enhances any software workflow across the entire journey from exploration and development to life-of-field production management.”

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Deepwater could create long-term growth

Deepwater E&P activity offshore Myanmar might pick up, argues Clarksons Research, which could create opportunities for vessel owners, despite a cabotage market in the country.

Clarksons said that recent deepwater gas discoveries offshore Myanmar have bolstered the confidence of oil companies sufficiently for them to start planning deepwater drilling campaigns, in spite of weaker energy prices. So, could these first steps be an indication of Myanmar’s deepwater E&P potential?

Historically, E&P activity offshore Myanmar was focused in shallow water, with discoveries in water depths of less than 200 m accounting for 78% of all offshore finds in the country as of September 2017. Myanmar’s first deepwater find, the Mya South gas field, in a water depth of 560 m, was not discovered until 2007.

The country held its initial offshore licensing round in 2013, awarding 20 offshore blocks, of which 13 were located in deep or ultra-deepwater areas, indicating strong operator interest in Myanmar’s deepwater potential at the time.

These 13 blocks were awarded before the downturn but with energy demand from Myanmar’s major gas export partners such as Thailand and China and its domestic market expanding, Clarksons argues that there are incentives for operators to get involved in E&P activities in these deepwater blocks, which are thought to hold large gas reserves. Loosely upheld cabotage rules – due to a lack of locally-flagged offshore support vessels – has increased competition in charter markets, driving down rates, potentially reducing deepwater E&P costs.

The discovery of very large gas fields like Shwe Yee Htun and Thalin, at depths of 2,000 m and 836 m respectively, has also strengthened operator interest in Myanmar’s deepwater acreage.

Clarksons noted that Woodside has a five-well deepwater drilling campaign scheduled to commence this year and Shell is reportedly planning to drill in its deepwater blocks soon. Meanwhile, Total has recently farmed into 50% of Block MD-7 (average water depth, 2,436 m). On national oil company (NOC) front, Petronas acquired a 36% stake in the AD-9 and AD-11 ultra-deepwater blocks in March.

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SovComFlot named Tanker Operator of the Year

Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has won the award for Class NK Tanker Operator of the Year at 2017 Lloyd’s List Global Award. The winners were announced at the ceremony held in London on 27 September 2017.

This is the fourth year running that the Group has been a finalist of the Lloyd’s List Global Awards, one of the most respected awards within the international maritime industry.

Judges said Sovcomflot is an innovative Russian state-owned enterprise which shines in a trade that has high barriers to entry and has prospered whilst operating in some of the world’s most difficult waters environmentally.

Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President and CFO of SCF Group, who represented the Company at the award ceremony, commented:

“It is a huge honour for us to be named Class NK Tanker Operator of the Year at the 2017 Lloyd’s List Global Awards. These awards are amongst the most coveted and independent forms of recognition available within our industry. We are delighted to see the panel of judges, comprising some of the leading industry experts, recognise SCF’s steady efforts to to grow and develop its tanker operations. This includes our introduction of innovative, state-of-the-art vessels, as well as our transformational initiative to convert the large-capacity tanker segment to the use of more environmentally-friendly LNG fuel. Such an endorsement, from respected industry peers, clearly demonstrates that SCF has its priorities right, and once again attests that SCF is justly considered a market leader.”

He added:

“In his welcoming remarks, Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade reminded those in attendance that many of today’s shipping technologies did not even exist when the publication hosted its first awards ceremony exactly 20 years before. To be sure, only a short while ago we could not even imagine how advanced contemporary technology would become. Seven years ago, Sovcomflot’s tanker SCF Baltica became the first large-capacity vessel to travelled the full length of the Northern Sea Route, and this year, the Company’s state-of-the-art icebreaking LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie has completed the same voyage in just six-and-a-half days.”

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