Offshore SeisNews ©


••• 21.12.12 EMGS: Shell and EMGS sign global frame agreement.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) today signed a three-year global frame agreement with Shell International Exploration & Production B.V. (Shell) for the provision of 3D electromagnetic (EM) services.
Roar Bekker, EMGS chief executive officer, commented: "We are pleased to enter into this agreement with such an experienced user of EM technology. Shell was one of the EM pioneers and is now leading the way in using 3D EM data as an integral part of its exploration strategy."
Source: EMGS

••• 21.12.12 TGS signs Letter of Intent for 3D Vessel.
TGS announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with CGGVeritas Services S.A. to charter a 12 streamer vessel, for 3D multi-client projects in Europe during the 2013 summer season.
The charter will begin in April and last for approximately six months.
The details of the individual projects to be completed under this charter will be announced separately.
Source: TGS

••• 21.12.12 GC Rieber Shipping ASA - update on contracts.
Geo Atlantic: Seismic operator Fugro has decided not to declare its option to extend the charter of the 3D vessel Geo Atlantic beyond October 2013.
GC Rieber Shipping views the seismic market outlook as strong and considers this an opportunity.
Source: GC Rieber Shipping

••• 20.12.12 Seismic enhancement for Grane oil field.
Reef Subsea in Norway has clinched an offshore construction constract related to increased recovery at Statoil's Grane heavy oil field.
Under the NOK 200 million deal, Reef is to deploy a number of offshore assets to provide a permanent reservoir monitoring system at the Grane field which is to become operational in 2014.
Up to 200 kilometres of subsea seismic cabling are to be installed and buried in the Grane field area in a water depth of 130 metres (426 feet) as part of the contract, which will cover up to 50 square kilometres of the Grane reservoir.
Vessels Polar Prince and Reef Larissa are due to be deployed as part of the offshore construction programme which involves trenching and burial of the seismic sensor array cables, a riser umbilical, cable terminations and subsea protection structures. Offshore construction work, which will also involve the deployment of a heavy duty subsea plough, will take up to 100 days.
"This award confirms the validity of our business model with three complementary businesses IMR Construction, Power and Umbilical Dredging and Excavation, able to bring together integrated services when requested by our client's projects," noted Tim Sheehan, chief operating officer for Reef Subsea Group.
Source: Offshore.no

••• 19.12.12 Severely damaged VOS Sailor towed ashore (UK).
VOS Sailor standby vessel which was on Saturday severely damaged at Balmoral field, offshore Aberdeen, UK, has been towed ashore.
The owner of the vessel, Vroon Offshore Services, informed via its website that the vessel had reached the port of Fraserburgh on Monday night at approximately 20.40 hrs local time, after being towed back by the salvage tug Kestrel.
VOS Sailor became disabled in extremely severe weather conditions in the Balmoral field, some 120 nautical miles off Aberdeen. Eleven of the twelve crew onboard were successfully evacuated from the ship by helicopters.
At the time of the incident winds in the area were reported to be Southeasterly 60-75 knots with 6.5 metre seas. Bond Offshore Helicopters informed that the salvage operation was very difficult because the vessel had lost all power after being hit by a wave, hampering rescue efforts, which had to be conducted in the dark.
As previously reported, one crew member died in the incident.
"The body of the crew member will be returned to his family by the authorities in due course," Vroon said in the press release issued yesterday.
Vroon added: "Management and staff at Vroon Offshore Services (UK) offer their deepest condolences to the family of their deceased colleague. The company’s thoughts are with his relatives, friends and fellow crew members. Vroon Offshore Services (UK) is offering its support to the family in these extremely difficult times."
Source: OffshoreEnergyToday

••• 19.12.12 FairfieldNodal opens Moscow office.
Seismic industry leader expands true cable-free product and technical support in Russia and the CIS.
FairfieldNodal has announced the opening of a representative office in Moscow to provide seismic systems and technical support capabilities for customers in this important oil-producing region.
Denis Tomashin manages the new office for FairfieldNodal as its chief representative. Tomashin, a geologist and geophysicist, provides local expertise and industry knowledge pertinent to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Prior to joining FairfieldNodal, he worked as the deputy director general for marine products for JSC SMNG-Center.
"This region presents unique challenges," said Tomashin. "Our true cable-free land and marine nodal recording systems make data acquisition safer and more viable, particularly in areas where extremes in weather and terrain present considerable risks."
Privately held FairfieldNodal is headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, and offers a full spectrum of true cable-free nodal seismic products and services, from systems design, manufacturing and sales to acquisition, processing and multi-client licensing.
Source: FairfieldNodal

••• 19.12.12 NATO: In the last 6 months Somali pirates have captured no ships.
NATO officials say no ships have been hijacked off the Somali coast in the second half of this year, reflecting a sharp decrease in piracy along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Commodore Ben Bekkering attributed the success to the continuing efforts of an international fleet along the coastline, combined with better security measures by merchant ships and increased pressure on the pirates within Somalia itself.
About 20 vessels from NATO, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and other countries regularly patrol Somalia's 1,900-mile-long (3,100-kilometer) coastline.
Bekkering, who until recently commanded NATO's four-warship flotilla in the area, says "This has been the first clean slate for a long time."
Still, he noted, pirates continue to hold five ships and 136 hostages seized in previous years.
Source: Maritime-Connector

••• 19.12.12 Kongsberg Maritime wins contract to supply a sophisticated survey suite to a vessel.
Kongsberg Maritime has been awarded the contract to supply a sophisticated survey suite to a vessel currently under construction and for use by a consortium of German universities. The universities are the first to specify the high-end 0.5 deg x 1 deg configuration of the EM 122 multibeam echo sounder system.
The contract, an open tender won amongst tough competition, covers all hydro acoustic aspects of the new build survey vessel Tiefsee Forschungs Schiff (TFS), which has been commissioned to replace the old RV Sonne, the current vessel being shared by the same group of German universities.
The EM 122 is a field proven and reputable deepwater echo sounder that offers increased performance in the 0.5 deg x 1deg configuration, providing a larger swath width and higher resolution.
In addition to the EM 122 0.5 deg x 1 deg multibeam system, the Kongsberg Maritime systems on board TFS include an EM 710 0.5 deg x 1 deg system, Seapath position reference system, EA600 Hydrographic single beam echo sounder and EK60 Scientific echo sounder.
All systems will be completely integrated in a sophisticated hydroacoustic lab, featuring a state-of-the-art video wall.
Source: Scandoil

••• 18.12.12 SeaBird Exploration and Searcher Seismic in partnership for MC2D in the Barents Sea - Q2 2013.
SeaBird Exploration Plc has partnered with Searcher Seismic Pty Ltd on the multi-client 12,000 km Snospurv 2D high resolution seismic survey covering the Bjarmeland Platform in the Norwegian Barents Sea. The survey is scheduled to commence in Q2 2013 and is estimated to take 4 months to complete.
The platform area consists of several play types already proven in other parts of the Barents Sea and the survey will be undertaken to specifically target the prospective Triassic-Jurassic sections to the south and west. In addition, the Carboniferous/Permian and the Triassic section will be the main exploration targets to the northern part of the survey area.
No exploration wells have been drilled to date in the Bjarmeland Platform, despite covering an area of almost 35,000 km2. As well as unlocking the potential of this vast area, the survey will also provide the necessary link for regional interpretation into the promising South Eastern Barents frontier which is soon to be opened for exploration.
Data will be available for participating companies from Q3 2013.
Source: SeaBird

••• 18.12.12 SeaBird - backlog for Northern Explorer.
SeaBird Exploration Plc announced that they have secured approximately 100 days of backlog for the Northern Explorer in South Africa.
The contracts have an estimated value of USD 8.5 million.
Contract startup is before the end of the week.
Source: SeaBird

••• 18.12.12 Turkey to purchase 2 seismic research ships.
The Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Mining Exploration Institute (MTA) each plan to buy a seismic research ship soon.
The TPAO's new seismic research ship, a product of advanced technology, will be purchased for approximately $150 million, officials from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said. The purchase, however, needed to be concluded through a specific procedure that required the TPAO to first lease the ship and subsequently finalize the purchase after completing the necessary paperwork and obtaining clearances. The TPAO decided to purchase a seismic research ship to search for oil in the seas surrounding Turkey after the Greek Cypriots started their oil exploration in the east Mediterranean. The ship will primarily explore in Turkish waters but will carry out explorations in international waters if needed. Officials said TPAO is reviewing the ships on offer and will announce its decision soon.
The MTA is currently having a third ship built for its own use in a simultaneous development. The ship will enable Turkey to conduct research more efficiently, the officials said.
Turkey recently leased a seismic research ship called Piri Reis for oil and gas exploration. Rejecting claims that Turkey only has one research ship in the east Mediterranean, the ministry said there are currently two Turkish ships - the Piri Reis and another ship - conducting research off the coast of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). With the two seismic ships that the TPAO and the MTA are planning to purchase, the total number of Turkish seismic ships will reach four.
Source: Maritime-Connector

••• 18.12.12 FOGL - Falklands 3D Seismic Survey commences.
Falkland Oil and Gas, the oil and gas exploration company focused on its extensive licence areas to the South and East of the Falkland Islands provided the following update in respect of 3D seismic operations.
The PGS M/V Ramform Sterling has commenced a 3D seismic survey over the mid Cretaceous Diomedia fan complex within the southern area licences. The survey will cover a minimum area of 4,000 square kilometres and is likely to take approximately 4 months to complete. This survey will be operated by Noble Energy Inc.
The original plan was that the Diomedia survey would be acquired later in 2013. However, due to the late completion of the Scotia well, there has been insufficient time to allow the Scotia results to influence the exact location and design of the 3D survey. As a result, FOGL and its joint venture partners have decided to swap the order of the two surveys and the northern area 3D survey will now be acquired in the fourth quarter of 2013.
A second 3D survey, operated by FOGL and using the PGS M/V Ramform Challenger, is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2013. A further announcement regarding this survey will be made once the vessel arrives in the Falklands.
Tim Bushell, Chief Executive of FOGL, said: "We are pleased to announce the start of a very important 3D seismic survey programme, which marks the continuation of our exploration activities. The 3D seismic will be invaluable for identifying future drilling targets, locating good quality reservoir and differentiating oil from gas prospects."
Source: FOGL

••• 17.12.12 TGS signs Letter of Intent for 3D Vessel.
TGS announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Dolphin Geophysical AS to charter the 16 streamer new build vessel, M/V Sanco Swift, for 3D multi-client projects in Europe during the 2013 summer season. The charter will begin in July and last for approximately three months.
The details of the individual projects to be completed under this charter will be announced separately.
Source: TGS

••• 17.12.12 PGS: to start 15,550 km2 MC3D Survey - offshore Uruguay.
Petroleum Geo-Services will start acquisition of 15,550 km2 of GeoStreamer® data in four blocks in Uruguay in mid-December, 2012.
The seismic vessel Ramform Vanguard will undertake this MultiClient survey, one of the largest ever in the region, which has received strong industry support. For blocks 6, 11, 12 and 15 awarded in the 2nd License Round, announced 19 March 2012, this will complete 3D seismic work program commitments.
The new 3D GeoStreamer® seismic dataset will be acquired with the most advanced seismic technology available. Fast track processing will provide Operators with early access to these images and more time to evaluate exploration potential prior to moving to the next exploration phase for the awarded blocks, which will likely require drilling commitments.
"PGS has a long history of investing its latest technology in South America. The first deployment of our unique GeoStreamer® technology in Uruguay opens a new frontier with tremendous exploration potential for industry adding to our already extensive South America library" states PGS Regional President MultiClient, Nathan Oliver.
In Uruguay, PGS will work closely with ANCAP (Administracion Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland) the state owned entity as partner in Uruguay, and operators to ensure this project not only delivers top quality data and time savings but also improves the collective understanding of the regional geology.
The new Uruguay MC3D will add to existing 2D data in neighboring Pelotas basin, currently available as part of the PGS Brazil MegaProject. Together these datasets will provide the best possible understanding of the hydrocarbon potential of the region.
Source: PGS

••• 17.12.12 Dolphin Geophysical awarded multiple North Sea 3D seismic contracts for 2013.
Dolphin has been awarded several contracts for the upcoming North Sea season. The awards are for both 3D and 4D seismic services and will involve three of Company's 3D seismic vessels with a total duration in the range of 8-12 months.
Dolphin will revert with further contract details when present 2013 guidance on or about 8 January 2013.
"These early awards with major clients improve our earnings visibility and supports our view that we can expect a busy summer in the North Sea", says Atle Jacobsen, CEO.
Source: Dolphin Geophysical

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