Seismic testing, a step related to natural gas well development, has begun in Monroeville.

During a council meeting on Tuesday, municipal Manager Tim Little said he met with Monroeville-based Huntley & Huntley earlier this year. During that meeting, the oil and gas company said it hired two Texas-based companies, Geokinetics and Cougar Land Services, to conduct seismic surveys in Monroeville.

“All they’re doing is exploring for gas. This does not mean that they will be, or there will be, drilling coming in, big drills and booms coming onto people’s property,” Little said.

The process expected to last through summer is related to a 200 square-mile radius of gas exploration that spans several municipalities in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, said Huntley & Huntley spokesman Dave Mashek.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. and Hess Corp. have both made a final investment decision to proceed with the first phase of development for the Liza field offshore Guyana.

The Liza Phase 1 development includes a subsea production system and an FPSO vessel designed to have the capacity to process up to 120,000 b/d of oil from four subsea drill centers consisting of 17 wells, including eight producers, six water injectors, and three gas injectors.

Production is expected to begin by 2020, less than five years after discovery, and develop about 450 MMbbl of oil. The development received regulatory approval from the government of Guyana.

Phase 1 is expected to cost more than $4.4 billion, which includes a lease capitalization cost of about $1.2 billion for the FPSO facility and $3.2 billion for drilling and subsea infrastructure. Hess reported that its net share of development costs is forecast to be about $955 million, of which $110 million is already included in its 2017 capital and exploratory budget. About $250 million is expected in 2018 and approximately $330 million in 2019, with the balance expected between 2020 and 2021.

Located in the 6.6-million acre (26,800-sq km) Stabroek block, the Liza field is about 190 km (118 mi) offshore in water depths of 1,500 to 1,900 m (4,921 to 6,234 ft).

ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. is operator and holds a 45% interest in the block, along with Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. (30%) and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Ltd. (25%).

Exxon also reported positive results from the Liza-4 well, which encountered more than 60 m (197 ft) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs, which will underpin a potential Liza Phase 2 development. Gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek block are now estimated at 2 -2.5 Bboe, which includes Liza and other successful exploration wells on Liza Deep, Payara, and Snoek.

Drilling of the Payara-2 well on the Stabroek block is expected to begin later this month and will also test a deeper prospect underlying the Payara oil discovery.

 

On June 14, 2017, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of SAExploration Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) determined that the entire amount of the cash performance awards for 2016 payable to Jeff Hastings, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Brian Beatty, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, and Brent Whiteley, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, under their respective Amended and Restated Employment Agreements with the Company dated August 3, 2016, will be paid by the Company in cash. It was previously anticipated that 33.33% of such awards ($321,029, $321,029 and $172,569 for Messrs. Hastings, Beatty and Whiteley, respectively) would be settled in equity of the Company. As a result, Messrs. Hastings, Beatty and Whiteley will receive, all in cash, total cash performance awards for 2016 of $963,087, $963,087 and $517,707, respectively. Item 8.01. Other Events. On June 15, 2017, the Board appointed Michael Faust as the lead independent director of the Board. Mr. Faust has served as a director of the Company and as a member of the Audit Committee of the Board since his appointment to the Board on January 11, 2017.

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Reference is made to the resolution passed at the annual general meeting of Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA on 25 April 2017 to reduce the Company’s share capital by NOK 295,147,251 by way of a reduction of the nominal value of the shares to NOK 1.00. The completion of the share capital reduction has today been registered with the Register of Business Enterprises. After the share capital reduction, the share capital of the Company is NOK 32,794,139 divided into 32,794,139 shares, each with a nominal value of NOK 1.00. The capital reduction has been carried out by way of a transfer to other paid in equity, and no distribution is being carried out in connection with the share capital reduction.

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Spark Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ion Geophysical Corporation (NYSE:IO) by 41.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 46,322 shares during the period. Spark Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ion Geophysical Corporation were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IO. Oxford Asset Management boosted its position in Ion Geophysical Corporation by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management now owns 88,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 17,673 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ion Geophysical Corporation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 267,254 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Ion Geophysical Corporation by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 259,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 106,324 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ion Geophysical Corporation during the fourth quarter worth $508,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Ion Geophysical Corporation by 90.3% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 42,959 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 20,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.73% of the company’s stock.

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Following agreement with key financial creditors, CGG begins legal process to implement balance sheet restructuring and create sustainable capital structure.

CGG today announced that following execution of legally binding agreements in support of the terms of the agreement-in-principle with key financial creditors announced on June 2, 2017, it has begun legal processes to implement a comprehensive pre-arranged restructuring, with the opening of a Sauvegarde proceeding in France and Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 filings in the U.S.

CGG will now seek an agreement with the required majorities of creditors. Subject to their support and the plan’s approval by the shareholders’ general meeting, this agreement will become binding on all creditors following court approval.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGG said:
“CGG has accomplished a major step today for its comprehensive financial restructuring plan. The June 2, 2017 agreement-in-principle with our main creditors and DNCA has been signed and the restructuring plan meets our objectives of substantially reducing the debt on our balance sheet while preserving the integrity of the CGG Group.
CGG will continue normal business operations during this process, and the restructuring transactions will not affect relationships with our clients, business partners, vendors or employees. We will maintain our commitment to operational excellence and our customers can be confident that they will continue to receive the best-in-class service and support and innovative solutions they are accustomed to without interruption.
We expect that our financial restructuring can move forward quickly to strengthen our balance sheet and to position the company well for the future.”

Full .pdf data available from the link below.

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New multi-client geoscience programs maximize value of seismic and give regional context to support exploration efforts.

CGG’s JumpStart™ multi-client geoscience programs integrate the most advanced seismic data with reviewed, calibrated and interpreted well and geological data for petroleum systems evaluation, supported by regional interpretations and reports. The aim is to provide a single source for all the available information about an area in a consistent, accessible and ready-to-use format, in order to maximize the value of the seismic data and provide a regional context to support exploration efforts. There are seven JumpStart programs nearing completion, offshore Mexico, Brazil, Gabon, Australia, Indonesia & Timor Leste, and Norway, with more programs in the pipeline.

The three major components of a JumpStart program are: the acquisition and processing, or reprocessing, of seismic data; collation and analysis of available wells, including core data where possible; and integration of this upgraded data, and other available information, into a comprehensive interpretation and evaluation of the basin’s petroleum system(s). The typical workflow starts with a regional geology review which forms the basis for the interpretation of the seismic data, basin model building, and play fairway analysis.

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Schlumberger and Seitel today announced a strategic multiclient alliance to reimage and acquire new geophysical data in key areas across onshore Mexico. Approximately 25,000 kilometers of 2D seismic data from Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) data library will be reimaged covering lease blocks in the current Bid Round 2, as well as future onshore lease round blocks. In addition, new multiclient data acquisition projects are already in development.

The newly reprocessed seismic data and any new acquisition projects will provide subsurface images of proven oil and gas reservoirs in the Sabina-Burgos, Tampico-Misantla, Veracruz and Sureste areas, as well as the under-explored Chihuahua province, and other strategic areas. The reimaging program covers both conventional and unconventional onshore lease blocks in the areas.

“The areas for reimaging were strategically selected to deliver regional analysis of the prospective plays across onshore Mexico with both organizations using high-end processing workflows,” said Maurice Nessim, president, WesternGeco, Schlumberger. “This alliance capitalizes on each organization’s strong commitment to Mexico exploration over some of the largest onshore Mexico fields, including the onshore Cuenca del Sureste Basin, which shares many hydrocarbon system elements with the prolific Pilar Reforma-Akal in the shallow water Campeche area.”

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Bell Geospace, the world leader in Gravity Gradiometry, has completed a FTG survey for GTK, an agency of Finland’s Ministry of Employment and Economy.

The survey was conducted in the municipality of Inari, Finland and has provided GTK with a solid basis for geological research and mineral potential evaluation.

Work was completed ahead of time and with both environmental and livestock issues to overcome, the service provided by Bell Geospace was sensitive to local factors.

Use of Bell Geo’s Basler Turbo aircraft ensured extremely low noise emissions during the project, which minimised disruption for reindeer husbandry, a vital part of the culture and livelihood in northern Finland.

The outcomes will now be modelled with interpretation for the agency to facilitate evaluation and modelling of ore and mineral deposits.

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Seismic player Shearwater GeoServices has signed a contract to join the Full Wave research consortium as a late participant.

Shearwater GeoServices said on Wednesday that the 3D anisotropic FWI code would be incorporated into the company’s OpenCPS seismic processing software for use in advanced model building and depth imaging.

The OpenCPS FWI interface will be made available to Imperial College London and oil company participants within the consortium.

The Full Wave research consortium was initiated in 2002 to develop practical three-dimensional FWI computer codes for application to field seismic datasets.

The current phase of the research, Full Wave Game Changer Phase II, began on January 1, 2015. The Game Changer developed a fully anisotropic 3D elastic FWI code and is developing FWI techniques that do not require low frequencies, accurate starting models, or large source-receiver offsets.

Mike Warner, an Imperial College professor, said: “We are pleased to have another industry partner join our consortium. The FWI interface and other tools provided by OpenCPS will greatly enhance our ability to test and develop the FWI more efficiently.”

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