PGS to Shoot Largest 3D Seismic Survey, Major Multiclient Distal Miocene Study

Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) has awarded Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) the industry's largest 3D marine seismic survey, an 8-10 month project valued at over US$30 million. PGS's high-tech acquisition vessel, the Ramform Explorer, will be employed to conduct the shoot utilizing a 10-streamer mode and a single source to achieve a high-definition configuration capable of being utilized as a time-zero reservoir characterization and production monitoring survey for future 4D activity.

In a separate project, PGS has received sufficient industry underwriting to commence its new multiclient "Distal Miocene Project-Offshore Texas." The study is based on data from 160 key wells that penetrate Miocene strata and will integrate selected regional 2D data. The purpose of the study is to build an advanced stratigraphic framework and to predict the presence and distribution of sands downdip in the Miocene slope and basin floor environments.

The study will be done in conjunction with QC Data Inc. and Paleo-Data, Inc., who will provide the digital well log data and biostratigraphic control, respectively. The seismic data is owned by JEBCO Seismic, LP, and represented by GeoData Corp. of Houston.

Available to the industry in late June, the study's key deliverables include: chronostratigraphic/lithostratigraphic cross-sections isopach maps, sand percent maps highlighting slope and basin floor depocenters, paleobathymetric maps for key stratigraphic intervals, and a summary report.

"This study sets the stage for the next phase of exploration in the Western [US] Gulf of Mexico," said Allen Bertagne, Vice President-Geoscience for PGS Reservoir. "With an improved understanding of sand distribution and thickness, companies will be able to focus on areas with the largest upside potential."