PGS is to start a 8200sq km survey of the Nordland Ridge area of the Norwegian Sea, starting May and to be completed during 2016. The survey is a prefunded GeoStreamer project and extends the existing PGS library coverage of the Halten Terrace to provide a regional dataset of over 29…
Statoil has reached a deal with Austria's OMV to acquire a 30% interest in an exploration permit offshore New Zealand, increasing the Norwegian oil major's interests in the region. Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 57073 covers 9800sq km in the East Coast Basin…
New African Global Energy and Tower Resources have decided to drop their deep-water frontier acreage offshore offshore South Africa, but will be seeking a third partner for another exploration block. The firms were partners on the SW Orange Basin Technical Co-operation Permit (TCP)…
Australia’s 3D Oil has commenced a farm-out process for its Otway Basin permit T/49P, offshore Tasmania. Image from 3D Oil. In T/49P, 3D Oil is the operator and holds 70% interest…
Norway-based seismic firm Magseis has, together with its partner BGP, has been awarded Saudi Aramco’s S78 project for large-scale ocean bottom seismic acquisition in the Red Sea. The project is expected to last nine months plus one year…
CGG has been awarded an extension to a major 3D seismic survey it successfully completed on the Caribbean coast offshore Colombia in late 2015. The new survey follows on from the original over 16,000sq km survey CGG conducted over portions of the Col-1 and Col-2 blocks…
The job of placing ocean bottom nodes for seismic acquisition could be set for a revolution. Elaine Maslin looks at Autonomous Robotics Limited’s concept. A single node, nose on. Images from Autonomous Robotics Ltd…
ION Geophysical has been awarded an extension to its existing multi-year contract with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the national oil company of Mexico. Under this contract, ION is providing a broad range of seismic data processing for multiple offshore and onshore surveys…
TGS has acquired 93,000km (50%) of the 186,000km 2D seismic project, Gigante, which covers the entire offshore sector of Mexico and ties into TGS' regional 2D seismic grid covering the entire US Gulf of Mexico. Interpretation of preliminary…
Heather Saucier examines the geology of the Mediterranean and North African region, and assesses where more discoveries could be made. The location of four assessment units in the Nile Delta Basin Province in the Eastern Mediterranean…
Irish oil explorer Providence Resources has agreed to a license deal with seismic firm Searcher Seismic covering its Newgrange prospect in the southern Porcupine basin. Searcher had already announced a major new multi-client 3D seismic program…
CGG is to start a multi-client airborne gravity and magnetic survey offshore South Africa this month ahead of a new licensing round expected in the region later this year. The Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) has authorized the program…
It's what just a few years ago was seen as possibly one of the most unlikely places for a battle over who could tow the largest seismic spread. However, just that is underway offshore Myanmar, or Burma, which has come under exploration…
Norway's latest awards in predefined areas (APA) license round has been hailed a success with some 56 exploration licenses being offered on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The APA rounds offer acreage in known areas on the shelf, rather than frontier acreage…
Searcher Seismic has started Phase 2 of the Silver-Eye Broadband 3D survey in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway. Following the successful acquisition of Phase 1; comprising 2663 sq km, Searcher is now acquiring additional broadband 3D data in the area…