controlled source electromagnetic resonance 19
The intention is to pay particular attention CSEM seabed logging to date.
to nurturing the existing As for OHM, its much needed
strategic alliance with good news was revealed in
Fugro regarding the late May. The Aberdeen-
application of EMGS’s headquartered firm had
apparently unique 3D landed a modest contract
EM technology. with UK explorer Nautical
The Norwegian Petroleum, which is keen
firm operates the to develop its Quadrant
world’s largest EM 9 Kraken heavy crude
(electromagnetic discovery but needs to build
applications) survey a better picture of the scale
vessel fleet and has of this apparently promising
conducted over 400 surveys find. This $1million contract
to improve drilling success marks the first full commercial
rates across the world’s mature use of its WISE (Well Integration with
and frontier offshore basins. Seismic and Electromagnetics) technology
This is a lot more than OHM has that uses available seismic and well data to
thus far completed, also ExxonMobil underpin CSEM survey design enabling CSEM technology
which has utilised a proprietory variation on to be successfully applied in technically challenging
the CSEM theme known areas.
as R3M on a variety Fig. 2. An EMGS graphic showing how a CSEM array is Kraken is located on
of locations offshore organised over a target. North Sea block 9/2b and
Brazil, Colombia, the just booked survey
Canada, US Gulf of Mexico and in the West Africa theatre, follows a successful pilot project undertaken for the
notably Nigeria. licence partners earlier this year.
Arguably the two must significant business CSEM data acquired by OHM during the pilot project
developments for EMGS of late is that, based on the new was integrated with the client’s existing well and seismic
production licenses awarded to existing clients in the 20th data using WISE workflows and determined that the
Licensing Round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf this resistive body associated with the discovery in well 9/2-1
year, the company expects to realise uplift revenues in extended significantly north and south of that well.
excess of $10million from the Barents Sea multi-client 3D The appraisal survey will now map the lateral extent
EM campaign conducted in 2008. of the discovery and help distinguish between competing
Bekker sees ‘significant potential’ for additional geological hypotheses, which in turn will guide further
sales from new customers that have been awarded 20th appraisal drilling. The campaign was scheduled to be
Norwegian Round licenses. conducted by OHM’s dedicated vessel OHM Leader in
The latest and very significant piece of good news is June, with initial results expected in July this year.
that the Norwegian firm is to carry out a CSEM campaign A successful outcome is important both for Nautical
offshore Newfoundland, utilising the survey vessel Siem and partners Canamens Energy North Sea and Celtic
Mollie. This $12million package of work is for a so far Oil, and also OHM as WISE is the subject of a three-year
undisclosed client. However, Bekker believes that either joint industry project co-ordinated by the UK North Sea
ExxonMobil or StatoilHydro is that client as, in April this industry body ITF (Industry Technology Facilitator) and
year, Statoil declared a discovery at Flemish Pass, some launched in 2008.
500km east-northeast of St John’s, Newfoundland. The goal of the project, sponsored by a consortium of
The clue pointing to ExxonMobil is more compelling. oil companies and the OHM Group, is to develop new and
And it lies in the EMGS statement announcing the innovative methods of jointly integrating and interpreting
contract. In it, Bekker says: “We value our long-term seismic, CSEM and well log data – the ultimate objective
relationship with this supermajor, and we are proud that being to provide improved maps of reservoir properties,
EMGS has been asked to continue the work we started such as hydrocarbon saturation, across a field.
in this area in 2006. The customer has become one of Investigations include establishing the optimum
the world’s leading users of 3D EM and is applying our algorithm for remapping CSEM results into the higher
technology as an integrated part of its frontier exploration resolution seismic data and developing a joint inversion
programme and workflow, thereby reducing risk in a methodology for seismic and CSEM data.
challenging exploration environment.” This ground-breaking research, clearly being applied
It happens that CSEM work was conducted by EMGS for real in the case of Nautical’s Kraken asset, will further
for ExxonMobil in the Orphan Basin in 2006. assist the industry to exploit the combined strengths of
ExxonMobil and StatoilHydro, of which EMGS is in each of these valuable data types, allowing application to
essence a spin-out, are the world’s heaviest users of both existing and newly acquired data. l
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